Barry Maisey - 25th July 2013

From Maggie

With thanks for all the cards, flowers and support from the club

 

 

Six Go Mad At Divers Cove - 26th May 2013

by Ken

Fine golden sand, clear blue skies, 14C water, Mayflies and the warmest day of the year. Bermondsey 42 decided to try the latest hot venue south of London.

Divers Cove has the nicest setting of any of the inland sites. It is in leafy Surrey and surrounded by mature trees. Outside the shop, café and changing rooms there are a few tables and chairs to enjoy the dappled sunlight. All very lovely, especially on a sunny spring day.

We entered the water in waves, although of course it was flat. Victor and Brett first, just in case the fish "as big as dustbins" were unfriendly. Next Lee and Jill, with Jill trying out a dry suit in preparation for Ireland. Lastly, myself and Frank, looking for enough depth for Frank to do a midwater DSMB deployment and me hoping to get some back finning practice.

What did we see? Some strange fairground style cars which might have been golf carts, a couple of boats, at least one platform, lots of drowned trees and thousands of tadpoles. Oh and one carp pining for the fjords.

How deep?  I got 8m, Frank 8.5m but with a very silty arm. They claim 9.

Viz? We had a bit. Obviously if you kick it up you can't see your buddy, and apparently the fish will kick it up when startled. Being shallow and sunny helps, as does the mostly light coloured bottom.

Lee, Jill and Frank went in for a second go. I had a coffee and loaded the car, Victor and Brett sped off into the distance.

No complaints of cold, hot drinks available, civilised changing. Did we really go diving?

by Frank

Facilities sit within leafy surroundings and are new and well looked after. According to the site owner, compressor, decent kitting-up benches and an improved dive platform will be added in May/June. Well accessible from London. As for diving - easy and ideal for training, navigation, shake downs.

Aquatic life seems to flourish (owner will introduce additional carp and trout in the coming months). Underwater 'attractions' are somewhat limited and overall depth does not exceed 8m (without sticking computer deep in the mud). Overall, a pleasant site but I wonder if the drive to Buckland or Wraysbury may be better value for money.

Club Committee Meeting – 24th May 2013 – Notes

Apologies

• None

Barry

• Barry sadly passed away on Wednesday. A eulogy has already been posted on the club’s Facebook page. Clive to write a longer eulogy/obituary (based on Dave’s text and picture) to distribute to members by email. Flowers (Teresa to get) and card from the committee to go to Maggie. A collection will also be made at the pool.

Publicity

• Bjørn has good ideas for the noticeboard. Clive to enquire re: progress.
• No responses were received to emails sent to potentially-interested people following LIDS.
• Litterpicks are good for attracting new members. Brett suggested visiting Greenland Dock this year.
• Leafletting and a stand outside Decathlon also suggested.
• James (Amphibian) asked to join the club’s Facebook group. The committee had no objections to this.

Medical forms

• These are being collected, scanned and stored in a Dropbox folder only accessible to Brett and Victor. A few forms are still outstanding (albeit from members who haven’t dived yet this year). Victor to chase.

Communication

• Brett has set up 3 email addresses/lists: 1) for committee members to communicate with all other committee members; 2) an address for the committee to use to communicate with all club members (messages will be “blind” and will not reveal individual email addresses); and 3) an address for any club member to use to communicate with all club members who have agreed to receive emails from that address (again, messages will not reveal individual email addresses). Brett to email all club members to ask them to agree to be included in this third email address/list.

Club analyser

• The committee agreed it would be useful for the club to have a gas analyser, and should obtain one. Analyser to be kept with the club mobile phone and charger, in a rigid box. Lee to research cost (possibly second hand), and authorised to spend up to £150. Brett to obtain rigid box.

Kit storage

• Grant has offered space in his shed, located opposite the pool. It has brick walls, a solid roof and a wooden door, is approximately 7’ by 3’ in size, and is overlooked by the rear windows of flats. Padlock would need replacing. All club bottles and weights would fit. Another option would be the storage room at the far end of the pool (previously used when dive clubs met 3 nights a week at the pool) in which a cage could be installed. The committee discussed access, security and practicalities of both options. Not all cylinders need filling every week, and not all need filling at the same time. Weekend kit loans further complicate the need for access to the storage space. Masks, fins and snorkels could go into storage space every week as they are never borrowed. Storage of at least some kit would help during weeks when Ross is away. Concern regarding leaving large amounts of kit in storage for long periods. Clive to find out more about the room at the pool.

Training

• There are enough dives scheduled to complete the current Ocean Diver cohort’s training. Agreed to take trainees on a lake dive in June, and sea dives later in the year.
• Trainees have signed up to Lee’s Malta trip – this should not be their first sea dive.
• Next lake trip (26/05/2013) will be to Divers Cove. Lake trip on 06/07/2013 will be to Wraysbury.
• Sports Diver and Dive Leader trainees are progressing well.
• Rate of attrition amongst Ocean Diver trainees is a concern.

Dive list

• Agreed that more sea/day dives need to be organised. Swanage could become a 2-day trip (1 day of which could be for trainees – perhaps 3 dives including the pier). Brett to book dive in July. Vobster to be deleted from dive list due to lack of interest (thus freeing up that weekend).

Socials

• Clive to look into Lea Valley white water rafting (doesn’t require minimum numbers). Victor to look into Thorpe Park (open late evenings). Teresa to organise a barbeque at her house, on a non-diving weekend in July or September.
• Noted that socials directly after dives might not be popular, as people often want to go home.

Privacy

• Privacy policy discussed, and amendments agreed. Victor to redraft by end of next week.
• A column will be added to the medical forms spreadsheet, noting which members have signed the privacy policy form.
• Online dive list and training schedule to refer to members by first name only (with a capital letter for surname, if needed). Surnames to be removed from blog entries. Committee members’ surnames will, however, be online, and members (and would-be potential future committee members) will be reminded of this at the next AGM.
• Brett confirmed the club website does not use cookies.
• Clive to email past committee members to ask them to delete/destroy any personal information of members, if they haven’t already. Victor to draft this email with reference to data protection guidance.

Membership

• Some memberships have lapsed. Lars to chase.

Deptford Creek Low Tide walk - 19th May 2013

by Victor

Turned out nice again. With the weather not doing what it had been predicted to do, 8 of us gathered in sunny SE London for a guided walk along Deptford Creek, the tidal part of the River Ravensbourne. This was one the monthly walks organised by the Creekside Centre (http://www.creeksidecentre.org.uk/ ) and led by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic Nick Bertrand.

We were instructed to find a walking stick and a pair of waders in the changing room, and after an introductory talk on dry land we descended into the creek, splashing our way along as Nick talked about the history of the inlet, some of the structures that line it, and – most importantly – the wildlife that exists (and in some cases thrives) here. During the 2 hour walk we saw native birds including grey wagtail, moorhen, swans and ducks, and invasive species such as the mitten crab and Asian clam. The wildflowers that line the creek (some native, some not) were also pointed out. Dipping nets were emptied into a bucket, revealing how the shallow waters were teeming with shrimp, and were also home to flounder and leeches. The flounder were particularly interesting – these fish can be seen on UK dives, and go through an extraordinary metamorphosis as they grow into adults: one of their eyes migrates to join the other, so that both are on the same side of the head – useful if you’re a bottom-dwelling flatfish.

Nick told an interesting story about shopping trolleys. Some years ago, the Environment Agency came to the creek and hauled out hundreds of them. The result: the creek’s fish population plummeted. We all know that rubbish and junk can be harmful and dangerous to wildlife (some of us are still haunted by the pictures we were shown at school, of mice and frogs trapped in glass bottles), but as divers we’ve often seen how wildlife can also make good use of human-made structures and dumped objects. It seems shopping trolleys proved similarly useful to fish in Deptford Creek.

With the sun still shining, we all ventured to the Bird’s Nest PH for a cheeky afternoon drink before hometime.

Practical Rescue Management SDC - 18th May 2013

by Victor

This course can be done for fun as a standalone Skill Development Course, however it also covers lectures DT9, DT10 and DT11 and open water lesson DO5, and therefore counts towards your Dive Leader training. 6 students from a variety of places including Guildford, Hertfordshire and Gravesend (plus Chris and Victor from Bermondsey branch) attended the course. Andrew MacLean was the boss for the day, with Caroline and Craig also instructing.

The day began at Maidstone SAC’s building. Straight away we split into groups and were given 2 incident scenarios where we had to consider how problems could have been prevented, and how they could be dealt with. Those simple exercises got us thinking about what common sense preventative measures we could put in place when diving with our respective clubs, to reduce the risk and seriousness of incidents.

The morning continued with lectures, and then arrangements for the afternoon’s practical session were made. This involved driving northwards in a convoy to Leybourne Lakes, paying and collecting the gate key from the hut at the west end of the site, and then driving back around the lakes to the far east end and finding the divers’ car park. At the end of this slightly complicated journey we moved to an ideal area for the afternoon’s exercises – a good, dry, tidy area of grass with plenty of space and a convenient water entry/exit point.

The first rescue scenario was managed by Andrew, and then a further 6 scenarios followed, each one different to and more complicated than the last. Every student took a turn being rescue manager, without being told in advance what the scenario would involve. The rest of the group played the various roles of buddy, rescue assistant, unconscious/bent/panicking diver, first aider and interfering passer-by. Early awkwardness (who enjoys role playing with strangers? – anyone?) soon disappeared and by the end of the afternoon we’d witnessed some impressively theatrical vomiting (bad fill scenario), panic and cadaverousness. Passing dog-walkers were quietly informed that there wasn’t actually a real incident occurring. Chris was the last of us to be rescue manager, and was given the most challenging scenario to deal with – there were casualties left, right and centre. Those of us who hadn’t administered oxygen or used a defibrillator before were shown the basics.

The day was well organised and illuminating, and left us much more confident and informed as to how a rescue scenario can be managed. Log books signed and paperwork issued, we were done by 5.30pm.

Beginner’s Critter/Photography Dives, Scubafest - 3rd-6th May 2013

by Victor

Good visibility, a high probability of seeing critters, and a similarly-interested (or at least patient) buddy meant this was a good opportunity to dive with a camera and try to take some pictures. I’m no photography buff, my critter spotting and identification skills are limited, and my camera isn’t anything special (it’s a basic, 7-year-old, point-and-click thing with an integral flash, and didn’t cost a huge amount even with its underwater housing), but by the end of the weekend I had a few dozen half decent shots. Some of them are good enough to show other people.

Looking for critters – especially small stuff – can be like looking for a lost earring on a patterned carpet: you adjust and instruct your eyes to pick out a certain shape or colour. Claws poking out from behind a rock, a blue-grey body in a hole, and something that just doesn’t look quite right can lead you to interesting things. Best small finds on this trip were a pipefish (hard to spot in amongst the weeds) and a tiny bell-shaped hydroid medusa – as small as a 5p piece – which propelled itself using a pulsating movement and which was fascinating to watch.

Torches proved invaluable, even on relatively shallow dives. They’re useful for searching in nooks and crannies, and restore the colour (reds, then yellows) lost at depth. For photography, a flash does the same job, revealing how colourful UK waters actually are. Other things that help: a macro or magnifying glass feature on your camera, a lack of current and surge (so you don’t get thrown about when trying to take pictures), Paul Naylor’s book, and critters that kindly keep still (anemones, dogfish, crabs and starfish were easier to photograph than the bib, pollack and electric blue cuckoo wrasse we saw on this trip). And of course, due to sods law, more critters will inevitably appear on the last dive of the trip when your camera has run out of battery/memory and you left it on the boat – that’s when we saw cuttlefish, common prawn, burrowing bivalves with only their siphons visible in the sandy bottom, and dozens of hermit crabs. In these situations, it’s best to just enjoy the dive, take it all in (using your mental camera), and not worry about missed photo opportunities.

 As for future dives - if anyone knows where all the nudibranchs and seahorses are hiding, please let me know. Ta.

Shoreham – 20th April 2013

by Jill

I woke up to a bright sunny day and was thankful as it seemed to be a pretty great day for a dive.

It wasn’t too early of a start and I was picked up by fellow BSAC 42 member Ed. The drive to Shoreham was uneventful and we arrived at the boatyard in plenty of time to haul our kit onto the boat using the trolleys provided. Two by two the other divers arrived and did the same. This dive consisted of 8 divers; Brett, Kim, Ed, Lars, Mariette, Chris and Pat. Soon enough it was time to ‘set sail’ at about 11.30 am.

The air temperature was still pretty chilly for late April and the wind picked up as we proceeded along the channel to open water.

Our Skipper Chris was on his own today with his first mate having suffered an injury. Chris was a great help around the boat and especially at providing cups of hot drinks as this was a life saver later on in the trip.

This was a day of firsts for me. My first UK sea dive and my first wreck. It took roughly an hour on the boat to reach the first dive site. The seas seemed to be relatively calm however that didn’t stop me from feeling a queasy from the trip. Our first dive spot was the wreck of the 'City of Waterford', a passenger steamship that sank off of Beachy Head, Sussex in 1949 after a collision with another ship in fog.

I was told I would be going in last, which gave me plenty of time to get my kit ready. As the other divers prepared to get into the water, I waited. It was a good time to watch the procedure of how to enter the water. Timing was a pretty critical factor so that you would land as close to the buoy leading to the wreck as possible. Everyone did a great job

Then it was my turn to go. Brett went in first and I followed shortly after getting the signal from the skipper. The water was awfully cold it seemed (in my wetsuit). My dive computer said the water was a balmy 7 degrees. Any extra movement let a little more water in so I tried to keep still.

After acclimatizing a little, Brett and I started to descend. I had been warned that the visibility would not be great but I wasn’t ready for how little light actually made it down to the wreck and how dark it really was. A torch was definitely needed!

I stuck pretty close to Brett for the dive as we toured around the wreck. There was various marine life in sight and the first thing I saw were tunicates stuck to the side of the wreck and fish which kept just out of our torch beams. A few of the divers found scallops and crab as well. After 40 minutes, I was definitely feeling the cold and it was time to get out of the water. We started to ascend and did a 3 minute safety stop. I thought getting back onto the boat might be a problem but Lars was able to take off my fins while I was standing on the ladder which was a great help.

We all had hot drinks while waiting to arrive at the next dive site which was the ‘Pentrych’, sunk by U-Boat torpedo in 1918 in 21m of water. I decided to give this dive a miss as I hadn’t quite recovered from the cold of the first dive. Apparently the visibility on this dive was a bit better. Pat and Chris were able to find a good size lobster, lucky them!

After we reached port and put our kit in the car, we were off for a well deserved drink before returning home!