CLUBFOCUS
Where do you usually carry out training ?
We normally have a weekly pool slot . For the last few years , due mainly to cost , it ’ s been a pool share with another local club – Bristol No 3 – and it has has worked out very well . We see it as a good thing to build bridges with other local clubs . To complicate matters , the pool we use was closed for refurbishment more than a year ago . The work required was found to be more extensive than at first thought , and it hasn ’ t yet reopened . We do have a back-up plan for a pool share with another local club and we used it briefly back in February , before lockdown .
What about openwater training ?
Quarry diving in the summer allowed us to finish off most of the Sports Diver work apart from the rescues , which were too difficult to do for practical reasons . We are fairly lucky in having three quarries within about an hour ’ s drive : NDAC , Vobster and Cromhall . Although only the latter two reopened , that was enough for us to do most of what was required . Back in March , our Sports Diver trainees also had a few lectures to finish off plus the theory exam . These were all done by Zoom with a lot of hard work put in by Chris Bonham , Training Officer at the time , and a core of four or five instructors , who have been helping out over the summer . This has been enough for the limited training we have been doing . In fact this probably represents the majority of the active Instructors on the club .
What about diving ?
During the summer we mostly dive at weekends with the odd mid-week dive thrown in . We have some great photographers in our club . Though most of the diving we do is recreational open circuit we do have a small team of closedcircuit rebreather divers , who do some deeper technical dives . We have recently visited the Farne Islands , Porthkerris , Mull , Swanage ; but we do most of our RIB diving in Plymouth .
What are your favourite local sites ?
Hilsea Point , a spectacular scenic dive not far from Plymouth Sound , was a favourite last year along with SS Persier and the Whitsand Bay wrecks . We love to dive the James Egan Layne and the Scylla . The Rosehill challenges our shotting skills , but there are many scenic dives and even reliable bad weather alternatives , such as the Breakwater Fort . The lure of a Bovisand Burger or a sighting of an undulate ray can persuade some surprising people to get out of bed .
Chris Barr on ‘ Beryl ’ the RIB
What diving plans do you have for the future ?
We are looking at visiting the Maldives and Shetland in 2021 and Mull in 2022 . Pete Cittern , our Membership Secretary , is a big fan of Scottish diving , having organised trips to the North Isles , the Hebrides and St Kilda over the past 25 years . He suggests the trips well in advance to get prime dates pencilled in with the skippers . Then we send a confirmatory deposit one year ahead ; funded direct by the divers , not the club , as we have had our fingers burned in the past . We are planning to go to Shetland in 2021
Flying the flag at NDAC
with Andy Cuthbertson and MV Jean Elaine . Shetland has fabulous viz and a mix of wrecks and scenic sites that gives the feeling of being on an adventurous expedition , even when in reality you are only just around the corner from a sizable town .
We plan to visit Mull in 2022 . We always stay at Salen Pier House and Lochaline Boat Charters come over to collect us . We ’ ll dive all the usual suspects in the sound , go out towards Coll ( to see basking sharks , minke whales and dolphins ) plus the spectacular vertical wall at Bo Fascadale , between Ardnamurchan and Eigg , that really is something to look forward to . �
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