SCUBACHAT
Playing tag
RECENTLY , MY WIFE AND I WERE DUE TO return from a liveaboard in Egypt when we received the news that our flights had been delayed and as we were transiting through Zurich , we would miss our connecting flight and had to overnight in Zurich . All this would have tested the patience of Job but that is not what this letter is about .
Before we went to Egypt , I had purchased some Apple Tags and secreted them in our luggage , just in case . So , we could track our suitcases and see where all our dive gear was . When we went to sleep in Zurich , my case was at Zurich airport ... but by next morning it had somehow made its way to Heathrow . This was puzzling , as my wife ’ s case was still in Zurich .
Diving for All in Gibraltar
Further thoughts on plastic
READING BECKY HITCHIN ’ S ARTICLE [ October 2023 ] on plastic rubbish in the sea is saddening . A few years ago , I saw a lecture by one of the Cousteau brothers highlighting how bad the issue was , and it hasn ’ t improved since . At the time , it made me wonder how much of our rubbish , sent abroad for recycling , actually reaches its destination .
In the late 80s , phosphorus began appearing on Scottish beaches ; it had been dumped in the Beaufort Trench after the
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Never mind , I thought , I ’ ll catch up with it when I get to London . Imagine my surprise when I landed in Heathrow and switched my phone on to discover my case was not in luggage retrieval , but had moved six miles away from the airport !
After collecting my wife ’ s case from the carousel and checking to make sure that mine wasn ’ t somehow returning to the airport , we filled in a lost luggage report . Still , I wasn ’ t happy and decided , having collected our car , to go looking . The Apple Tag tracked the bag to a warehouse in a small trading estate .
There I discovered a firm that returns lost baggage to travellers . Sure enough , there was my bag and after chatting to the person in charge , who contacted Heathrow , my bag was returned to me .
But it turns out that the luggage tag fitted at Hurghada check-in desk had someone else ’ s
DIVERS FROM TWO GIBRALTAR DIVE clubs , Noah ’ s and GSAC888 , recently took part in the revamped Diving for All ( DfA ) club awareness training , delivered by Paul and Linda Ritson of the East Midlands regional team .
Three instructors , Steve Marsden , Nicky Barbara and Bianca Daniell , went on to participate in the workshop , becoming the first Diving for All instructors in their clubs , and in Gibraltar . DfA encourages divers and clubs to think innovatively when approached by anyone living with a disability , enabling a positive approach that will allow inclusivity . Given that around 20 per cent of the UK population is living with some form of disability , and that diving is recognised for its therapeutic effects , it ’ s important to broaden traditional recruitment and embrace as diverse a range of our communities as possible . LINDA RITSON , East Midlands Regional Team
Second World War . It became apparent that some of the ships had started dumping their dangerous cargo before ever reaching the trench . Speed , crew safety , laziness – whatever the reason , it was easier to start dumping once well out to sea .
It made me wonder if plastic destined for recycling has the same fate . Dump the stuff they don ’ t want , as soon as they are out of sight , and keep the valuable plastics . Profit is king and drives everything that companies do .
Landfill isn ’ t the solution and sending it abroad isn ’ t the solution .
Reuse it or recycle it ourselves ; it ’ s the only solution . PETER SLEGG , HUGSAC name on it . So , my own bags wouldn ’ t have been returned to me unless someone had looked at the luggage tag I had fitted . I would have been left to pursue an insurance claim .
The moral of this story is that if you value your luggage , then a tracking device of some sort will give you some peace of mind . KEITH WOOD , Worthing BSAC 1323
Remembering Jack Bird
IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS THAT we report the death of Jack Bird , aged 77 . Jack was first and foremost a diver but became a BSAC Advanced Diver and Advanced Instructor and worked for many years on the Southern Region Coaching Scheme , BSAC ’ s Instructor Training Scheme and was a key member of the Try Dive Teams at the Dive Shows of the mid 1990s .
His greatest joy was introducing nervous people to diving , as well as training new instructors . He was also an intrinsic part of a BSAC expedition to St Paul Island in the Gulf of St Lawrence , Canada , for which he carried out extensive wreck research . After retiring from Lloyd ’ s of London , Jack set up Lighthouse Diving , selling Kowalski Diving Torches in the UK to divers and camera operators until Mr Kowalski retired and the business changed hands . LIZZIE BIRD