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Stoney Cove in the snow
December 30th saw (probably) our last trip of the year, to Stoney Cove.
Despite snow on the road and an indicated air temperature of -1 Centigrade
(centre picture) seven divers turned up. Pictured left and right are Fred
(who could do to check his DV retainer) in the unusually clear viz.
Brian Dove Memorial Dive
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The Brian Dove
memorial dive (named after a former Club member who passed away in 2001)
takes place on Boxing day. During a quick dive in the Blue Lagoon,
divers collect tags from a shot line. Later, over a warming pint
of ale, the tags are drawn to allocate raffle prizes to the divers.
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Club Wedding number three
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On December 20th Pete and Penny (both club members) were married at the
Guildhall in Northampton. Pictured are the happy couple relaxing after
the excitement of the previous few hours.
MKSAC wishes Pete and Penny many happy years together.
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Vobster Quay
A quick recce trip to one of the new UK inland dive sites, Vobster Quay.
First impressions were that there was nothing special (like light!).
However the long tunnel swim-through was quite impressive. The unexpected
sight of a fridge, kettle and cup of tea (below, left and right) brought a smile
to the dives faces.
Rescue Management
Sunday 14th December saw the practical part of "Practical Rescue Management"
(the theory having been done the previous Sunday in the Clubhouse). Left
to right, recovery of a "body" into a boat, administration of Oxygen and a
hysterical casualty.
BSAC 50th Anniversary
The DOC was followed by a dinner dance to celebrate fifty years since the
founding of BSAC. We returned to the Waldorf Hotel (left) where the first
two members (Oscar Gugen and Peter Small) formed the Club in 1953. The
champagne reception was followed by an introduction by the BSAC President,
Prince Charles (seen on screen through the balloons, centre). The formal
dinner (right) was followed by a raffle and dancing into the small hours to a
live band.
Diving Officers Conference
The DOC took place in London on November 29th. The usual updates on
training and diving were broken by various amusing and entertaining
presentations. The details will follow in the next newsletter but pictured
are (left to right): - The NDO (Lizzie Bird, in red) and First Class Examiner
(Clare Peddie) distribute the First Class Diver awards; Reg Vallentine tells the
audience "Once upon a time in the BSAC"; The "Open Forum" with questions from
the audience.
Christmas Dinner
Christmas Dinner 2003 was taken in the historic surroundings of
Bletchley Park (below left). After a brief tour of the museum including
one of the Enigma machines (below right), the group retired to the
Ballroom (right) for dinner.
Before the dancing started, awards were given to Adrian, Chris and
Frank (below centre) for service to the Club over many years.
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Weymouth weekend
Probably the last trip to Weymouth this year was the weekend of 4th and
5th October. The aim was to give our newly qualified Sports Divers a
taste of depth and "proper" diving. Despite a few problems on the A34,
three dives were carried out. Clockwise from top right; Conger eel on
the Binnindijk, worried looking Sports diver about to undertake his first UK
sea dive, the RIB Protector, divers ready to dive and sunset over Weymouth.
Unfortunately, no pictures of "The Ethel" since my camera is not rated
that deep!
Well done to Tony and Carl, thanks to Sonia, Chris, Graham and Adrian.
Thanks to
Grahame Knott for his help in organising dives after we lost our RIB
near Winchester.
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BBQ and night dive
As is traditional, our last Wednesday at the Blue Lagoon was marked by a
night dive and barbecue. On the left, the last divers enter the water as
darkness descends. On the right, hungry divers gather round the fire.
Lundy
More dry suits and seals as we set off to the remote island of Lundy (well,
not that remote really). Left to right, a seal tries to remove my ankle
weights, base camp on Lundy, wreck of the Robert and a Yarrell's blenny (also on
the Robert).
Young Visitors
In September we had a young visitor, Elizabeth, to watch us dive. With a keen eye
for a picture she took the following. (Centre, repairs to the entrance
between two scenes of tranquillity)
Repairing the Blue Lagoon
It was more than two years since we had last done any work on the access to the water at the Blue Lagoon. Two winters and thousands of divers had taken their toll and
the entry was becoming a serious hazard. 6th September was the day and a small team, assisted by a JCB laid over 150 bags of sand and cement.
Pictured are (left to right) the site before work started, the first bags go in and the new improved access.
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Club Wedding number two
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On 28th August, two more Club members tied the knot. Pictured are
Elaine and Phil on their big day. We wish them every
happiness in their future life together.
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Diving with seals, "The Smalls"
24th to 26th July and it was off to "The Smalls". The isolated outcrop of rock 20 miles out to sea (centre)
is home to some very playful seals which nibble your fins (left) and some huge crabs and lobsters (right).
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Newport Carnival
Saturday 12th July saw the RIB join the local carnival. Pictured are
(left) RIB on parade, (centre) Newport Carnival Queens and (right) a stilt
walker lending us a hand.
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Summer BBQ
On 6th July a barbecue was held. The weather was fine (for a change) and a good time was had by all. Thanks to Graham and Shirley for their hospitality
Below, Graham cooking, Mike overcome by the event and some of our younger visitors.
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Scapa Flow 2003
From 21st June (as it happens, the anniversary of the scuttling of the German Fleet) to 28th June we dived the wrecks of Scapa Flow. Our Dive
platform was the MV Halton with a superb skipper, Bob.
Pictured are a diver next to the upturned hull of one of the enormous wrecks, a Ling and the breech block of one of the huge guns. Full details (and pictures) coming soon.
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Search and Recovery Course
On 18th May, we ran a search and recovery course. Lectures and "dry" practice on the Saturday were
followed by putting theory into practice on the Sunday.
Pictured are (left to right) a pretend search outside the clubhouse, divers practicing knitting as they start their
underwater circular search and a wreck full of divers and lift bags.
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Weymouth - Novice Weekend
10th and 11th May saw our annual forage to the coast to give our freshly trained divers their first taste
of salt water. The weather was none too kind, showers and a biting wind but six Trainees and their Dive Leaders made it.
Wrecks dived were the Countess of Erne and The Spaniard. Many thanks to the group of divers who recovered her weight belt
after Stephanie dropped it while climbing back into the RIB. Pictured are Steph learning to drive the boat, the second wave departing for
the Countess and the usual "Explosion in a Dive Shop" look of divers on the slipway.
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Thames Valley Police Divers
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On 26th April, eleven of our members visited Thames Valley Police
Divers at Sulhamstead near Reading. During a fascinating two hour
tour, we examined one of their boats ("Integrity", on its trailer, below
right) and had the opportunity to try some of their special equipment (Alan
in full face mask, below left). The centre picture below shows our
group next to the Underwater Search Team's "Van".
Thanks to Sgt Gill Williams for the informative (and amusing!) tour and all the
stories. These ranged from grisly tales of searching for bodies to the
tale of "the cow in the culvert", not forgetting the story of the diver
trying to clean a swimming pool (in low viz) with a dead hedgehog!
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Swimathon
On 1st March, a team from MKSAC took part in a "swimathon" raising
around £240 for local charities. The team averaged around twenty
seconds per length over a fifty five minute period.
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Club Wedding
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On 22nd February, two Club members tied the knot. Pictured are
Colette and Cameron on their big day. MKSAC wishes them every
happiness in their future life together.
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AGM 2003
The 2003 AGM took place on Jan 26th. Pictured are (below left)
five of the six Advanced Divers who passed in 2002. Below centre,
Colette and Sonia, two retiring Committee Members are thanked by the Diving
Officer.
Below right, voting is hectic for the Wally of the Year Award.
Right is Chris, celebrating not only his Sports Diver and (for the second
year running) the Training Officer award but also the Wally Award.
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Practical rescue Management
First event of the year was a PRM course. Despite the frost on the
ground (see first picture), sixteen students had a wonderful time brushing up on
their rescue and management skills.
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