SWOT analysis, the club hit on an idea that changed everything— using project diving to inspire members old and new.
The strategy worked. IPSAC now has around 40 active members, all driven by a shared love of purposeful diving.
Long-time member Nick Reed recalls one of the club’ s most memorable ventures— the Valentine 75 Project.“ We’ ve always done project work, but this one really captured everyone’ s imagination,” he says.
Between 2017 and 2019, IPSAC members surveyed and researched the seven Valentine tanks off the Purbeck coast— amphibious vehicles that sank during Second World War training exercises. The project combined underwater surveys, wildlife monitoring and historical research, culminating in a 75th-anniversary exhibition honouring the men who lost their lives. The team even interviewed one of the few surviving soldiers from the exercise— an unforgettable experience.
Their efforts earned IPSAC the Nautical Archaeology Society’ s Adopt a Wreck Award in 2018 and led to appearances in
Marine life on old pier leg
Valentine tank and diver
Encrusting life on pier structure
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