SCUBACHAT
Brine of Britain
A DAY BEFORE THE LOCKDOWN THAT WAS DUE to take place on the 5th November last year , Basingstoke BSAC pushed their boat out from Swanage slip and set a course for the Valentine tanks in Poole Bay .
The days leading up to the 4th had been very stormy , so there was little expectation of seeing much on the dive , but between lockdown and the weather it was the only possible dive window open to us , so some us grabbed the opportunity to be under water .
The weather had been so bad that a fisherman / diver at the slip had looked incredulous at us , and advised us that we were wasting our time because the viz would be pants . But we were desperate divers , and fortune favours the brave ; we were blessed with sunny skies , smooth seas and the assistance of Swanage Charters , who kindly allowed us to use their fixed shot and guiding lines .
Once on the seabed and with the visibility as predicted being about a metre , there was a danger of swimming straight into the wreck and being concussed , the most damage the tanks had inflicted on an individual since they sank in April 1944 .
The visibility was so poor even the fish we saw weren ’ t sure they ’ d actually seen us . Our reward came as a credit later against the frustration of lockdown ; the day had provided us with an opportunity to relax with an easy safe dive , be out on the water in the sunshine and in the company of friends whose smiles said it all .
Roll on the success of the jabs and the freedom to include ourselves in the company of our diving buddies to throw ourselves into the brine of Britain . DAVID HERBERT , BSAC 609
Club life during Covid
DESPITE OUR EARLY SEASON DIVING PLANS GOING ON HOLD , WE decided early on that continuing to engage with our members was the best way to keep the club going . Following a quick committee ( virtual ) meeting , we lowered the club fees for the following 12 months to just £ 1 per month . We started organising virtual club nights too , just to keep in touch with people , share jokes and plan for the future .
By the end of June , when the lockdown began to relax a bit , we started to plan Covid safe dive trips again , using the BSAC guidance . Initially just snorkelling locally , then shore diving . When snorkelling photos started to appear on Facebook , people commented how much they were missing the diving . So , as soon as we were able , taking the number limits in to account , we started to organise club boat dives and meeting outside for socially distanced club night meets . Diving kicked off with at least one trip per weekend throughout July , August and September , always diving fairly locally , and we still managed to dive a range of our favourite local sites . In total we achieved 18 days diving , with 22 different divers , totalling 139 dives .
Unfortunately , all of our trips away were cancelled and current restrictions have put an end to diving for us for now . However , we have held a well-attended virtual AGM ( with more members attending than usual !) and have been putting together a tentative dive calendar for 2021 . Our local pool remains firmly closed , so we are researching possible future alternatives for that too . Normality will return , and as a club we aim to be able to safely return to the water as soon as possible . NICOLA FAULKS , Diving Officer , Tyneside SAC
Trials of Towcester
DURING LOCKDOWN WE ’ VE BEEN running virtual club nights once a fortnight - not that well attended , maybe everyone is zoomed out through working on it but still an opportunity for people to come together . Membership has dropped from 42 to 31 over the last year - over previous years we ’ ve managed to keep numbers fairly even . We ’ ve not had access to a pool since last March . When lockdown lifted , our leisure centre decided to refurbish the pool and other pools in the area decided not to open for clubs .
I ’ ve been diving since the late 1990s and there is a noticeable change in how many people are interested in learning to dive and diving in the UK . Where we once had groups of a dozen coming through for training , it ’ s now one or two and often retention is an issue alongside time commitments . Busy lives with ever-stretching work requirements , family commitments and multiple hobbies impact the level of active club members - the committee has remained the same for the last five years and there is little interest from any other members wanting to take an active part in running a club . These seem to be fairly common observations , which I think BSAC is trying to address - maybe there will be some pent-up demand for outdoor leisure activities once we ’ re all let out !
Fortunately , Towcester Divers did get out to dive the South Coast a few times last year – you can read about the trips on the club ’ s blog at towcesterdivers . co . uk / blog . The picture shows Durdle Door from the sea during our August outing to Weymouth . KAREN HUMPHREY , Towcester Divers , Northants
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