Welcome
I hope everyone ’ s been enjoying what has turned into a great British summer . And for BSAC divers all over the world , I hope the past few months have been productive for you as well .
It ’ s a time to live in the moment , but equally a time when memories are made . Sometimes , we may even be making a little history without knowing it . I believe that BSAC ’ s club and training systems have the effect of creating an ongoing legacy , of lives transformed and knowledge flowing through the generations .
Few divers will leave such a significant legacy as several individuals who appear in this issue of SCUBA . We have Rick Ayrton , the deep wreck diver , who is interviewed by Yo-Han Cha in his monthly column [ page 19 ]. Then there ’ s a former BSAC Chair , Dr Nic Flemming , whose landmark contributions to the world of maritime archaeology are highlighted in Jane Maddocks ’ ‘ Taking it Further ’ column [ page 48 ].
One diver who has left a huge legacy is my friend , Reg Vallintine – scuba resort pioneer , author and historian , who died in July , aged 92 . For most of the 1970s , Reg served as Director of BSAC , presiding over a period of great expansion . He had a way of getting involved with many of the big diving breakthroughs over a 60-year career in which every experience was recorded meticulously in his logbooks .
You can read SCUBA ’ s tribute to Reg on page 32 , but on a personal level I ’ d like to thank him for his friendship , and for helping me to understand the history of British diving . I visited him occasionally at his home in Sheen , marvelling at his library and shelves of mementos of a life in diving ; he was always patient with a naive young reporter in need of information .
Key to Reg ’ s legacy is the kindness he had for everyone he met – the countless people he taught to dive , welcomed to BSAC or hosted at his resort . So many of us have a positive memory of Reg , because kindness and generosity were part of his character . His life was one long series of adventures , but his greatest reward came with the friendships he forged along the way .
See you in the blue , Reg .
Simon Rogerson – Editor simon @ scubamagazine . co . uk
Cover photo : Big blue octopus out for a walk on Habili Nakari , Red Sea , by Alex Tattersall .
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