BSAC has clubs in several European countries , who sometimes get the chance to meet up for fun dives and training . Report by Jörg Corsten
PHOTO : SVEN MÜNSTER |
Heidetaucher Club
Hamburg
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Berlin |
Poland |
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Sundhäuser-See |
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Germany Czech Republic
France
CLUBBING
A statue in the atmospheric waters of Sundhaeusersee
RSAC Basel
Switzerland
European vacation
BSAC has clubs in several European countries , who sometimes get the chance to meet up for fun dives and training . Report by Jörg Corsten
Austria
Italy
LOCATION : Germany CLUB : Heidetaucher WEBSITE : www . heidetaucher . de
LOCATION : Switzerland CLUB : Roche Sub Aqua Club WEBSITE : www . scroche . ch / tauchen
In contrast to the relative proximity of dive clubs in the UK , BSAC ’ s branches across Europe are geographically very widespread ; we rarely have the opportunity to have a fun dive together . Heidetaucher in Germany and Roche Sub-Aqua Club ( RSAC ) of Switzerland share a passion for scuba diving but they are more than 730km ( 430 miles ) away .
In 2023 we had the great opportunity to get to know each other and enjoyed a joint trip to Hemmor lake , a 55m-deep quarry near Hamburg . Then , in early June of this year , it was time for the two sister clubs to meet again . After carefully packing their dive gear , tanks , and supporting material , 25 divers from Heidetaucher and RSAC hit the road for a long weekend at the Sundhäuser See lake in Nordhausen , Germany .
After a seven-hour drive to the north-east , two full-packed cars from Basel arrived safely at their destination , their passengers in various states of ‘ hangriness ’. We pitched our tents , or moved into the accommodation
26 we ’ d booked in advance , having welcomed the numerous Heidetaucher members , who had embarked on their own two-and-a-halfhour road trip .
The Sundhäuser See is the second most popular diving lake in Germany after Hemmoor , which we had visited the year before . It usually provides good visibility , but on this occasion we noticed a significant decline throughout the day . There are lots of attractions at the former gravel quarry , various sunken items placed to enhance its attraction for divers . The sunken habitation of Nordhusia , which harbours a diveable church , fountain , and even a gibbet , is just one of many attractions . There are also well-preserved sunken ships and cutters covered in large freshwater sponges , all highlights of the lake . A large population of crayfish , massive carp , swarms of perch and large mussels are among the animals frequently encountered .
While every attraction is well-marked with a surface buoy , the local tradition is to take a bearing and follow the compass - for example , to discover the celebrated underwater dragon ‘ Sunti ’, which we could not find right away due to bad visibility . There was obviously no way around the opening game of the European Championship between Germany and Scotland . We enjoyed seeing the wonderful fans from both teams while enjoying a cool beer or two . But it was not all just fun , we had proper training as well : Andrea from RSAC conducted her Practical Rescue Management lesson , which National Instructor Kevin Holmes , a member of the Heidetaucher , supervised . Tim from Heidtaucher was able to complete his Discovery Diver and Lennart could sign off all of his lessons to become an Ocean Diver . Congratulations to all of you .
All our divers enjoyed their time in Thuringia and are looking forward to their next meeting - perhaps in some of the Swiss Lakes right in the middle of the Alpes ? Maybe the BSAC Clubs in Darmstadt ( DE ), Brunssumm ( NL ), Noordwijk ( NL ) and Sennelager ( NL ) would like to join us ? We will hopefully report back in a future issue of our club magazine . �