A Milton Keynes Christmas

The 2002 MKSAC Christmas Dinner was held at the New Inn in New Bradwell on Friday 13th December. The dinner was followed by the usual raffle and disco.

Wine tasting

On 29th November, the club had a visit from Ron Gleeson of Buckingham Wines. Ron kept the members entertained for over two hours as he explained (and gave tastings of) the differences in vineyards and taste for a selection of eight different wines. Each was from a different region in France and Ron was then able to take orders to stock members cellars for Christmas.

A Few Last Bluey Pictures

As we come towards the end of the year and the cold weather starts to set in, numbers diving at the Blue Lagoon decrease. Pictured in November are a hardy pair playing with the crayfish! For more details of the crayfish, see the page on Blue Lagoon Wildlife.

The Perfect Storm (Part 2)

Mid October saw our third (and last) trip to the Weymouth hard boats. Our normal dive boat, Wey Chieftain, was out of action and the boat Dive Time stepped in to allow us to dive. The weather on Saturday was warm but windy (see pictures left and centre) and several of the divers succumbed to sea sickness by the time we made it to the Pomerainian. On Sunday, more than half the divers dropped out. The remaining five, after a rough trip (right), had a pleasant dive in Portland Harbour and "rescued" several crabs and an assortment of non-ferrous metal.

Stantonbury Have-A-Go

Saturday 5th October saw the first of our try-dive sessions organised by Stantonbury Leisure Centre The eight victims had a fine time being introduced to the gear and then swimming through hoops or playing noughts and crosses. Thanks to Fred for the photos.

Carnival Grant

On Sunday 6th October we were fortunate enough to be presented with a donation from the Newport Pagnell Carnival Committee. Picture is the MKSAC Chairman accepting the cheque on behalf of the Club, (seated) Wendy of the Carnival Committee and (with chain) the Mayor of Newport Pagnell, Michael Barry.

Blue Lagoon BBQ

Wednesday the 25th saw our last Wednesday at the Blue Lagoon. As is traditional, the night dive was followed by a barbecue. A warm evening saw nearly twenty members and lashings of food. For the first time, a competition was held, all the questions being related in some way to the Blue Lagoon. Pictured right are Wilf and Pete, the winning buddy pair clutching their prize's.

Oban 2002

The Clubs major trip in 2002 was to Oban for a week. The weather was kind, the wrecks were good and the viz superb. Add in superb food cooked by one of our number (thanks Chris) and you have everything for a good trip. Pictured are the boat moored in Tobermory (one of our longer trips), a stone bottle found by one of our number and the boat moored at the side of the Sound of Mull while we barbecue between dives. Full story and pictures are here.

Boat Handling Courses

The weekends 13/14th July and 27/28th July saw two boat handling courses. These took place at Old Harbour Dive School and gave our club five more BSAC boat handlers and two more BSAC Diver Coxn's. Pictured on the left is Chris guarding the RIB in Weymouth harbour while the rest get the fish and chips. Centre is Neil preparing to throw a rope to a stranded fishing boat. On the right Ian, our Instructor, says a gentle prayer that we will not hit the harbour wall AGAIN.

Weymouth Weekend

The first weekend in July saw our second hard boat weekend of the year, again diving from Wey Chieftain II. The full story can be found here, wrecks dived were the Salsette, the Sudon and the Aeolean Sky. Pictured is a rare shot of the DO wearing twin tanks and wings, members relaxing on Saturday evening and the boat with skipper (Graham) and helper Paulo).

2nd Nitrox Course

Over the weekend 29 and 30 June (and planning around the World Cup) four MKSAC members qualified as BSAC Advanced Nitrox Divers. The two day course included a day of lectures followed by a theory test (right) and two dives in the Blue Lagoon (left). A central feature of both days was measuring the oxygen content of the breathing gas using a variety of analysers (centre).

Thanks to Dive Central for help with the equipment for the course.

Cornwall

June 15th saw the Club off to Cornwall for a weeks diving. The weather on the first day was not too promising (see right). However by Monday the wind dropped and many wreck and scenic dives were completed. Wrecks included the Kantoeng Dredger, a chain of yard-high buckets stretching across the sea bed as far as the fifteen metre viz could see. Another dive (scenic this time) saw dog fish, Wrasse, Cod and Pollock. A seal was seen (briefly) around Gull Rock although did not hang around for long enough to be photographed. The wildlife highlights though were (right) giant jelly fish complete with cleaner fish and (bottom right) an octopus. Bottom left shows a sponge, observed between the urchins and anemones. Time between dives was occupied by giving everyone a chance to handle the boat from our newest members through to those more experienced.

The Perfect Storm

The May trip to the Scilly Isles was not treated kindly by the weather. After diving on Saturday and Sunday, storms blew in. The holiday was cut short and the divers flew home on Wednesday.

Novice Weekend 2002

The weekend 19th to 21st April saw our usual foray to Weymouth to give our newest recruits their first taste of sea diving. This year saw unusually inclement weather. Nevertheless, our five students and seven Dive Leaders got a few dives in with the Spaniard, Countess of Erne and Sand Barges on Saturday. On Sunday the weather cleared and it was "on" for HMS Hood.

MKSAC takes to the (air) waves

Friday 12th April and Milton Keynes Sub Aqua takes to the waves. This time though it was the air waves with a half hour chat on Michael Barry's show on Cable Radio Milton Keynes.

Twice around the World

Friday 22nd of February saw the first social event of the year. Keith (below left) and Tania (below centre) gave a fascinating talk and slide show describing how they travelled around the world; twice. Their trip took in 98 countries and lasted more than 16 years. Below right, members continue to quiz Keith over cheese, biscuits and a glass of wine.

AGM

The AGM was held at the Clubhouse on Jan 27th. Apart from the usual Officers reports and accounts, a number of presentations took place. Pictured are (left) Dave and Colin celebrating 25 years diving together and (right) Chris holding his award from the Training Officer. Far right, Adrian holding his award from the Diving Officer.

Nitrox course


	First event of 2002, a joint Nitrox course with Roade and Northampton sub aqua clubs'. A day of lectures in our clubhouse followed by a chilly two dives in the Blue Lagoon saw six more BSAC Advanced Nitrox divers (plus one Nitrox Instructor) for the club. Roade (pictured right) gained another four Nitrox Divers.