With just a month to go until BSAC ’ s 70th Anniversary , the club ’ s Heritage Advisor Jane Maddocks looks at our tradition of project diving
ENVIRONMENT
Taking it further
70 years of diving with a purpose
With just a month to go until BSAC ’ s 70th Anniversary , the club ’ s Heritage Advisor Jane Maddocks looks at our tradition of project diving
BSAC is 70 years old . Wow ! We have moved from fetching neoprene wetsuits with dashing yellow tape on the seams , the glories of the twin hose regulator , and the big , fat , low pressure single cylinder to sophisticated , streamlined , even heated , drysuits and dry gloves .
In warmer waters , the wetsuits are a range of dynamic colours , the equipment is so easy to use , and mini cameras mean that everyone can record their amazing dives and post them on the web for everyone to see .
Now we can enjoy an amazing choice of cylinder configuration , rebreathers , and computerised dive management systems .
One thing about BSAC members has remained constant over the last 70 years . We are explorers . We adopt new technologies and still enjoy the excitement of diving a wreck , seeing marine life , and perfecting our own diving skills .
It is this constant of enjoying the diving that makes a bridge between the last 70 years , and the next .
One of the excitements about new technologies is that they make doing more with our diving really within reach . It is unlikely that there will ever be another Mary Rose event , in which some 500 recreational divers made a substantial contribution to
Life on a soft sediment seafloor ; a large necklace shell
the location , excavation and recording of that amazing ship . But we have stuff now that can make the whole underwater scene accessible to the world .
So , what ’ s on your diving agenda for the next 18 months ? If your diving is branch orientated , or if you are undertaking projects with a group of friends , there ’ s much that you can get involved with . If your passion is wreck diving , then please think about your favourite wreck . Do a 15-40 second video recording what you see or take stills .
Send them to me , and I can put them onto the database that is set up to record our irreplaceable resource that is the UK ’ s array of shipwrecks . If photogrammetry is your scene , again , please send images to me so that they can go onto a wreck database supported by the heritage agencies . You keep copyright – but it records exactly what was in existence , and when .
You could also plan to contribute to the massive new citizen science project that is the Convex Seascape Survey . BSAC publicised this in August on social media , but here ’ s a quick reminder if you missed it .
The Convex Seascape Survey is an amazing citizen science project run jointly by the Blue Marine Foundation , Exeter University and Convex ( a large insurance company ). This is a fantastic opportunity for all our divers anywhere in the world to make a difference to our understanding of soft sediment seafloors . So , how do you get involved ?
When you dive , take photos or short videos of any soft sediment seafloors on any continental shelf , anywhere in the world . Then send the images to Exeter University where they will be analysed by scientific research staff .
If you are worried that you might not recognise the soft sediment seafloor , don ’ t be . That is why Exeter University have their seafloor scientists checking the images and inputting the data . Send what you think fits the bill . If it does – wonderful , if not the data won ’ t be entered .
It is part of a five-year project , and the results are going to be useful in looking at the effects of climate change . The even better news is that you can combine it with wreck dives and scenic dives . Diving with a purpose is such good fun , and doing something towards understanding seafloor carbon capture is even better !
Check out convexseascapesurvey . com / citizen-science /
Perhaps you could also plan to join in with Seasearch and become a Seasearch Observer , on the way to becoming a Seasearch Surveyor . Doing some introductory courses with the Nautical Archaeology Society could transform what you do underwater .
You may want to get to grips with BSAC ’ s Marine Life Awareness course or start the Wreck Awareness and Wreck Diver Courses to enhance skills .
However , diving is more than just training and doing courses . I believe that diving is a way of travelling to fun , excitement , and exploration . It is a tool that can take us to places that we are lucky to see . Enjoy . Who knows what the next 70 years will bring ?
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