Imperial College Underwater Club headed west to Cornwall’ s Lizard Peninsula for a training bonanza
CLUBDIVING
Imperial College’ s divers mass on the beach at Porthkerris
Served on the Drawna Rocks
CLUB: Imperial College Underwater Club DESTINATION: Porthkerris Divers, Cornwall
OBJECTIVES: To complete the open water training for eight Ocean Diver Trainees and five Sports Diver trainees, as well as preparing two of our Assistant Open Water Instructors for their practical instructor exams.
Looking out to Drawna Rocks
Imperial College Underwater Club headed west to Cornwall’ s Lizard Peninsula for a training bonanza
THE TRIP: We arrived at Porthkerris Beach on a gloriously still Thursday morning, full of optimism and sunshine— little did we know, that was the best weather we’ d get all week! Spirits were high as we unloaded what felt like a thousand cylinders from the minibus and wriggled into drysuits, many for the first time. Luckily, the only casualties of the first day were a couple of torn wrist seals( and Ethan’ s sunglasses).
By Friday, the sea had other ideas. Swell moved in, so we packed up for Mullion Harbour. We squeezed in two days of diving there— well, most of us. A few defected for pizza and ice cream at Roskilly’ s( no regrets).
Just in time for our penultimate day, the skies cleared and we finally launched our beloved RIB, IC Diver— or‘ Icy’ to friends. Thanks to a brilliant shore team, a tight schedule, and everyone pitching in, we pulled off a smooth operation with both shore and boat dives running in sync. The teamwork was top-notch, and we managed to complete everyone’ s training while exploring two exciting new sites off the Manacles. Two of our newly-certified Sports Divers even had a visit from a curious seal while exploring the nearby Drawna Rocks.
LOGBOOK MOMENT: While the weather wasn’ t ideal, the company made it a great trip regardless. In the end, the biggest success wasn’ t just completing all the training, but about introducing the next generation of ICUC to the joy of UK diving. And maybe a little bit about the ice cream, too!
DIVE TEAM: Abi Langbridge( Co-Organiser); Jacob Broughton Venner( Co-Organiser); Egor Kaygorodov; Joe Hadden; Ellie Hadden; Mike Sims; Ben Sargeant; Martin Gillet; Joel Peck; Aditi Sitolay; Ethan Emmett; Tom Ashton-Key; Srinika Selvam; Rachel Ha; Ciaran Jones; Giuseppe Giardina; Louie Kelly; Anna Silver; Yong Lee; Leo He; Joseph Hansen-Shearer; Ciaran Stirling-Loyer.
The sacred ritual of drysuit zip checks
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