There be dolphins in them there waters!bournemouthandpoolediving.co.uk/waterspout/WATERSPOUT... · 2014. 6. 25. · WHAT WOULD MAKE A MIDDLE AGED LADY WANT TO ... our most important

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The Magazine of Bournemouth & Poole Dive Club

58 years of Adventurous Safe Diving

WaterSpout Spring 2011

There be dolphins in

them there waters!

2011 Dive Program

Waterspout Spring 2011 Page 2 of 22

Index

WaterSpout ............................................................................................................................ 1

Spring 2011 .......................................................................................................................... 1

2011 Dive Program ............................................................................................................. 1

Introduction Members ............................................................................................................ 2

Chairman‟s Blog ....................................................................................................................... 3

A Shore Thing or Shore Enough or Satisfaction Enshored ....................................................... 4

Dive Program 2011 ................................................................................................................. 10

Diving Officers Report ............................................................................................................. 14

Boat electronics update .......................................................................................................... 15

WHAT WOULD MAKE A MIDDLE AGED LADY WANT TO DIVE? ........................................ 17

A Load of Old Balls ................................................................................................................. 19

Bovisand 2011 ........................................................................................................................ 20

Mid-week diving with Bournemouth and Poole Club ............................................................... 21

Plea for Articles ....................................................................................................................... 21

Cover Photos – Steve Mitchell

Introduction Members Welcome to the annual magazine of the Bournemouth Diving Club. Dorset„s biggest and longest established diving club. The club has recently restructured to make itself even more welcoming to new divers regardless of their qualification level or organisation. The Clubs membership now includes divers affiliated to PADI, BS-AC and SAA. This policy has been very successful in attracting new members and for the second year running we have seen a substantial increase in membership. We believe this is due to our commitment to go diving at least twice every week weather permitting. Our own 7 diesel inboard RIB is kept in Poole Harbours best marina at Parkstone Bay and is fuelled up and ready to go each week as per the program in the middle pages of this magazine.

As you can see the program has been extended this year to include weekday diving as well as the usual easy dives of the Saturday, and deeper longer dives of the Sundays. There really is something for everyone in this year‟s program.

As I speak the boat is undergoing a major refit including a 3D sonar and GPS combined which will improve wreck and dive site locating.


The clubs social and expedition life continues to be active with trips to the Red Sea and Bovisand already in the planning.

So, once again I hope you enjoy your diving in2011 and look forward to seeing you on the water.

Chairman‟s Blog The Clubs Boats 1991-2011

A reflection on triumph and disaster by Adrian King

Having been in the club for about 20 years and held most positions on the committee at one time or another I thought it might be interesting to reflect upon the various boats that I have seen come and sink over the years.

Our present 7 meter inboard diesel RIB is a far cry from the early craft we bravely put to sea in. The present boat may have given us a rich mix of pain and joy but as I look back they all have!

In the early 90s the club had 2 squiggies called 6-1 and imaginatively 6-2. The 6 denoted our branch number and the suffix the boat number. They were called squiggies because they had soft hulls which were supposed to lock rigid but never did, so they would bend disconcertingly to the shape of the waves .They both stacked onto a 4 wheel trailer and the engines, a 25 horse power and a mighty 30 horse power fixed on their own sack truck which then bolted onto the trailer. In its day this set up was the envy of every other club. The boats could just about take 6 divers and could be carried – yes carried over Chisel Beach by the crew.

As none of them would be able to walk the following day and as RIB‟s were just arriving on the scene the club decided to get up to date and buy a RIB. We debated endlessly before saving up, raising loans and grants to but a 6 meter Humber RIB with twin manual start 55 horse power Mariners. The boat was sponsored by local marine electronic company CEETREK and was names “Sea Anchor” It was at this point that I took over as boats officer and disposed of the faithful 6-1 and 6-2. The new RIB opened up new diving for the club and for the first time made it possible to dive the Kyarra from our own boat in anything other than a flat calm. It had 4 fuel tanks and burnt so much fuel that we bought 2-stroke oil by the drum. Membership at this time was hovering around a 100 and there were times when it was impossible to get one of the 8 places onboard. We therefore decided to buy a beautifully maintained Zodiac with a Mariner 40 from a member of Arnewood Divers. Unfortunately we blew it up too hard and left in the sun on a hot day and the port tube bust! It was never the same after that!

Undaunted we decided to buy a second more simple rib new from Blue Water Maritime in Emsworth and wanted something that would plane with our (still running) Mariner 40. So one Sunday morning eight of us with kit went up to Chichester harbour with our engine to test a promising looking boat with a cathedral hull. It worked brilliantly (in the calm of the harbour) so we ordered one. Unfortunately when we took delivery of the new boat months later it was nothing like the one we had ordered. In fact it was a right mess that appeared to be all bow! It


looked like the front 6 feet of our present boat and nothing else. It sank on the first outing and was duly returned to BWM maritime with an instruction to build what we had ordered. Just after this boat arrived the home made trailer we had built for it fell apart on Alder Hills resulting in the skeg getting snapped off the now rather fed up looking OBM. By now it was 1997 and there was still a core of keen divers in the club, so we decided to sell Sea Anchor and the aptly named Spare Rib and buy a bigger RIB.

A few of us went to the Southampton Boat show and for the first time saw RIBs with inboard engines. For the second time we embarked upon a major fund raising episode and together with a healthy bank balance raised just under £40,000 to buy our present boat. It was the business! At this time there was nothing like it in Poole so we had it built in Canary Yellow rather than RIB orange. Another reason it was built in yellow was because all the electronics for it were supplied free by Humminbird whose colours are yellow and black and that‟s way it‟s called Humminbird. There was no tax on Marine diesel then and in the first year of operation our fuel costs went from £2000 to £400. We spent almost all the money we had on the purchase and were lucky to get sponsorship of £100 per month of the first 2 years of its life from the Buckinghamshire Fastener Company and that is why it had Buckinghamshire written down the side for 10 years. I could go on and on about when the club van caught fire and burnt all the electronics but that‟s a story for another time. The clubs boat continues to be our most important asset and for me at least a great source of fun, frustration and yes, entertainment.

Adrian.

A Shore Thing or Shore Enough or Satisfaction Enshored As is usual in August my family and I take a summer holiday. I‟m sure I‟m not the only diver who has to negotiate with their wife and children (mine are aged 13 and 11) to make sure they get somewhere that provides the sun and pool they require and somewhere that enables me to get under water. It‟s always tricky and holiday diving usually involves me being away for most of the day on a boat. Still, it gives them a break from me!

However, the choice this year meant that most of the dive sites ensured that I could be back at lunch time after 2 dives – although it usually meant a 7.00 am start!

I‟ve been to Egypt a few times on liveaboards and enjoyed diving on boats out of Sharm el Sheik and El Guona but this time we decided to try something a little more off the beaten track so this year it was a five hour flight from Gatwick to Marsa Alam with a 45 minute transfer to our eventual destination of El Quesir, north of Marsa Alam in Egypt.

What readers may not know is that virtually the entire coastline from south of Hurghada almost to Kenya is one enormous long reef. This provides the diver with a fantastic range of shore dives and the area around El Quesir down through Port Ghalib and on to Marsa Alam is a particularly rich area


for diving and one of the areas where, if you‟re lucky, you‟ll come across the dugong. Unfortunately for me there were no sightings this time around.

During my two weeks all but the Elphinstone dives were done from the shore – but don‟t be misled – the diving was great. It also gave me the opportunity to dive with divers from Poland, Slovakia and Italy who all spoke perfect English (which was extremely lucky as I don‟t speak anything else except a smattering of Greek) and all of the trips involved no more than 3 or 4 divers plus the guide which is far preferable to diving with some the bigger companies who appeared to have scores of divers at Abu Dabab and Elphinstone. A big thank you must go to my dive guide for the week – Hassam - and also the other divers who may each trip so enjoyable - Libor, Yoslek and Luca.

The DIVES –

Abu Dabab

About an hour‟s drive south from El Quesir is Abu Dabab. This a popular dive site with good facilities (including functioning toilets, bars and a restaurant on the beach) so expect to encounter a few groups of divers. The kitting up areas are all covered so you can get out the sun and get your kit in relevant comfort.

This site has two distinct dives. The first is on the north reef. Entry is via the beach where you wade in over the sand to waist deep water slip on your fins and away you go, descending slowly along the foot of the reef to 30 meters where you then turn and ascend along the reef wall.

The reef here is in great condition with very little dead coral and packed with life. Clouds of anthias and chocolate dippers festoon the reef with lion fish and masked puffers in abundance. We also encountered several clown fish and couple of very large octopus.

Dive Data: Max Depth 31m, Dive Time 62 Mins, 1 X 12ltr Air.

The second dive is starkly in contrast but the prize when you reach there is well worth it. After an hours surface interval we entered the water and this time headed south over the sand for about 10 minutes towards the banks of eel grass encountering dancing hermit crabs and numerous other small critters along the way. This dive was no more than 15 meters deep but when you get to the eel grass you are confronted with large green sea turtles – we must have encountered 9 or 10 on the dive. What was unusual for me was the remora. I‟ve seen plenty of turtles but never with remora on them. All the turtles we saw had them – some as many as four. These wonderful animals pay virtually no heed to the divers and continue to feed on the eel grass giving you ample time to take loads of photos.

As we returned I saw something else I‟d also never encountered before – a line of what must have been 100 squid in mid water advancing like a squadron of spitfires in line abreast. This wasn‟t the last time either as we experienced the same thing on another site later.


Abu Dabor


By far and away my favourite dives of the whole trip. This site is 45 mins south of El Quesir. To get to the site though we had to drive through a building site for a new hotel before parking up next to the beach – there are no facilities here at the moment. A short walk over a sandy bottom before fins are put on descending through a canyon and cavern with light streaming in from above exiting at 12 meters in the side of the reef.

The first dive headed south over a magnificent reef covered in life with large blue trigger fish and a couple of solitary turtles. The coral here is vibrant and swarming with fish and very large groupers. Just fin very gently and take your time – there‟s so much to see. Coming back you ascend back up through the canyons where puffer fish rest beneath the roof – magnificent.


The second dive is as good as the first. When we exited the reef we first headed straight out over the sand for about 3 minutes to an eel garden and stopped for 5 minutes just to watch all the eels swaying around. Leaving here we headed north (left hand side of the reef) which is just as good as the south.


Elphinstone Rock

This required a drive of about an hour and half to the Eco Lodge hotel where we boarded a Rib for the only boat dive of the holiday. Facilities here are very good with dedicated kitting up areas, toilets etc. Once on the rib it‟s about a 25 minute ride out the site. Anyone who has dived here will tell you how good it is, the reef is colourful and swarming with life – we even saw a grey reef shark.

The first dive saw us descending to the South plateaux to a depth of 37 meters where we sighted the shark below us on the side of the reef before rising up to the next plateaux at 25m and then around the side to slowly ascend the side of the wall.



After conducting our surface interval in the Rib in the shadow of a large safari boat the second dive was on the north wall which, while not as good as the other end of the reef, was still a great dive. But beware of the currents – at one point we had to turn around as we couldn‟t get around one particular corner due the force of the current! Just turn around and go with the flow.

Dive Data: Max Depth 26 m, Dive Time 53 Mins, 1 X 12ltr Air.

Marsa Asalia

This was the furthest destination we travelled to and was a good 2 hour drive away (albeit in an air conditioned mininbus) but well worth it. This site really is in the middle of nowhere as you turn off the main road and head for the sea over a desert road for approx half a mile. There are no facilities or shade here on the beach and the dive centre staff rigged a ground sheet from the back of the pickup carrying the dive equipment to an old beach umbrella which at least meant we could get out of the sun during the surface interval (the minibus driver having the good sense to go somewhere else for snooze!).

For the first dive we swam over the eel grass to the south reef. Again this reef is great condition with lots of hard and soft coral. The visibility is down to about 10m over the sand but when you reach the reef it improves to normal. Several large blue trigger fish, turtles and lion fish greet you all along the reef as you ease your way along for 25 minutes before turning and returning along the along the reef, ascending slowly as you go.


The second dive took us to the north reef. Just as good as the south reef this again is teeming with life with large octopus swimming along the coral and changing colour and texture every time they landed on something. Once again we greeting by a long line of Squid hovering in mid water about 5 meters from the edge of the reef – presumably hoping to pick of the odd fish who strayed away from the safety of the coral.


El Cheik Malik

This site is about 30 mins south of El Quesir and apparently is one of the best areas to sight the elusive dugong. So we headed out across the eel grass for 10 minutes searching but with no luck before returning to the reef. At only 12m this is a shallow dive but this does mean you‟ll get plenty of time underwater to take it easy and look around. This site does not appear to be in as good condition as the others and there is a reasonable amount of dead coral. However, this is still a good reef and I don‟t think I‟ve ever encountered as many Lion fish on one site before – everywhere you looked there appeared to 2 or 3 sitting together.


Mangrove Bay

This was a 10 minute drive from the hotel. When you arrive you kit up and then walk out over the flat top rock along a route that the dive guide assured me is one of only 2 routes allowed for entry. It is advisable to wear boots here so those of you who dive with slip on fins will have to tread very carefully and watch where you put your feet as it can be both slippery and sharp in places.

When you get to the edge of the reef you jump into a half canyon, put your fins on and descend.

Heading south, the reef here is typical of most reefs but strangely there was distinct lack of life below 15 meters. The wall does drop off to some considerable depths here but as the fish life was sparse we tended to stay in the 10 to 15 meter range. There are some large green cabbage corals here with lots of plateaux to glide over through the anthias. After 30 minutes we turned round and came back but instead of exiting where we went in you continue North and follow the reef around to the other


entry/exit point which entails ascending to the reef edge and then floating over a ribbon of coral in 1 meter of water before you end up on a small sandy area where you can remove your fins and walk up the beach.


Simon Bevan

The regular watch at Portland Bill National Coastwatch Station on Sunday, 6 March might have been pleasant and uneventful had it not been for the sight of the Coastguard Helicopter „Rescue 106‟ plotting its way round a search pattern looking for a missing diver, overdue from a dive the previous day off Lulworth. Sadly there was no good outcome. Unfortunately, again, it was just one of the many incidents we either observe, or are involved in, relating to diving, sailing or fishing throughout the year.

National Coastwatch is an entirely voluntary organisation that sprang up following the decision taken in the 1990s to abandon the traditional cliff top coastguard lookouts. In the era of widespread use of VHF with Digital Selective Calling and mobile telephones, the authorities apparently saw visual lookouts as redundant and chose to use Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres as their only fully manned facilities.

Today, 18 centres exist each operating around the clock, but consultation is now ongoing concerning the intention to reduce these to 2 full time major stations - with another 6 operating during daylight hours only. Portland MRCC does not feature in the proposed arrangements.

Local people were not so convinced back in 1990 that visual watches were unnecessary, and are even less impressed with current plans today. However, it is not NCI‟s part to involve itself in the politics. We are concerned simply to serve the maritime community as best we can.

The first NCI station at Bass Point began watchkeeping in 1994; by the end of 2010, we had 44 operational stations, with another 6 sites under consideration. In all there are 1,900 volunteer watchkeepers, all operating to an agreed standard and contributing in excess of 190,000 hours of surveillance at no cost to the public, acting as the eyes and ears of the emergency services to provide immediate and accurate information to HM Coastguard concerning actual and potential accidents.

Whilst high technology and sophisticated systems are aids to improved safety, a computer cannot spot a distress flare, an overturned boat or a yachtsman in distress. Other vulnerable activities such as diving, windsurfing, canoeing, water skiing and sea fishing are also made safer with visual surveillance from NCI lookouts.

The safety of users of inshore waters is enhanced by the presence of our watchkeepers who have direct contact with the coastguard to alert them to the need for emergency action and monitor the action taken. The same applies to numerous walkers who use the coastal paths. Watchkeepers


ensure that the appropriate emergency services are directed swiftly and accurately to the scene of any accident, a factor that can be critical to the recovery of the casualty.

Our concern is with the smaller, leisure sector craft; commercial traffic can generally take care of itself - although in the past we have warned coastguard of a chemical tanker about to run over the Shambles Bank, which woke everyone up, including the Ship‟s Master. So, in our local area, the Portland Race, and the waters off St Alban‟s Head are watched carefully. Yachts are an obvious focus of attention, so, too are any boats with divers down, especially off Portland. We try to keep SMBs under observation where we can - just in case. We won‟t communicate with a casualty by VHF except in dire circumstances, but its surprising how many times a craft will report difficulties off the Bill, when in fact it is a mile or so away. We are then able to give coastguard a more precise position and so speed up a helicopter evacuation of a diver to the recompression chamber at Poole. The last thing we want to see is the helicopter overflying the casualty vessel thinking that it‟s somewhere else - and waters can get crowded from time to time and spotting a particular boat from the air is not all that easy.

Volunteers come from all walks of life, because of the nature of the job and the hours we keep - typically 0700 until 1900, seven days a week - many of our watchkeepers are retired. Some are ex-mariners with a wealth of experience (from Admirals to Able Seamen); some have had no previous exposure and are trained to do the job from scratch. HM Coastguard assesses the competence of all stations annually and uses most stations to good effect. Here in Dorset we are especially pleased to have a close relationship with the Weymouth MRCC (Portland Coastguard), through the good offices of the local Regional Manager. How that will pan out if Solent becomes our nearest centre remains to be seen. But you can rest assured that if you are anywhere near the local NCI Stations, at Peveril Point, St Alban‟s Head or Portland Bill, we will try to keep an eye on you and help ensure your safety.

If you would like to know more about NCI, you are welcome to visit any station in person, or call by telephone. We are always able to give you an Inshore Waters Forecast or a prevailing weather report. Or visit the NCI website, which contains station contact details and watchkeeping times, at www.NCI.org.uk.


Dive Program 2011 The Dive program is open to non-members, dives can be booked anytime, but club members take priority till the Thursday before the weekend. The Marshal can show discretion if non-members are members guests and are traveling a long way. All Dive sites are provisional on weather and experience of divers, the dive marshal will attempt to meet everyone‟s needs. If you want to go diving irrespective of the dive site phone the Marshall! The Boat will go out diving with a minimum of two divers and an approved boat handler, so why not organize a few evening dives. If you are down as marshal and can’t make it contact John Lewis or Vic. If no marshal is assigned then why not arrange a dive?

Friday dives have no marshal assigned, if you want to go diving set the email, facebook or any other chain off and see who wants to go.

Day Date HW Dover Local Time

LW Poole Local Time

Arrive for Slack

Approx depart time

Minimum grade

Dive site Dive Band

Marshall Telephone no. Mobile no

hr min



LW Poole Local Time

Arrive for Slack

Approx depart time

Minimum grade

Dive site Dive Band


hr min



LW Poole Local Time

Arrive for Slack

Approx depart time

Minimum grade

Dive site Dive Band


hr min



LW Poole Local Time

Arrive for Slack

Approx depart time

Minimum grade

Dive site Dive Band


hr min

S

S


Diving Officers Report For those unfortunate enough to work for a big company, you‟ll be all too familiar with terms like “safety culture” and “safety led behaviours”. Normally these are backed up by systems for reporting accidents, abnormal events and near misses and whilst a lot of it is tosh, there is benefit from looking back at near misses to see what we can learn from the past to try and prevent future occurrences.

Last year we had a couple of instances which could have gone pear shaped:

An out of air situation; and

A less experienced diver losing their buddy.

These aren‟t new or even that uncommon (in other clubs of course), but in the former case we can in the most part avoid the situation through proper air management and in the latter case through ensuring new divers are quickly acquainted with the use of delayed surface marker buoys and then carrying one.

I will now stand on a soap box and say that there is never any excuse for running out of air, or very few which don‟t involve kit failure. I guess the older divers amongst us were brought up on the 50 bar rule, i.e. you left the bottom with a minimum of 50 bar in you set, but those were the days when decompression diving wasn‟t the norm and 30 m was a deep dive. So let us say you‟re at 30 m, with 5 minutes of stops at 6 m and using a 12 l cylinder (12 x 50 = 600 l) and the s**t hits the fan. Your breathing rate is going to speed up to probably double or more, 20 l per minute is a pretty average surface breathing rate, so for simplicity it goes up to 50 l per minute it could be higher. At 30 m you‟ll be breathing (4 x 50) 200 l per min, dropping to (1.6 x 50) 80 l per min at 6 m. It‟ll take you about 2 minutes from leaving the bottom to reach the stop (although it always seems to take me longer), so taking an average breathing rate of (280/2) of 140 l minute this gives an air requirement of 280 l + the stops of (5 x 80) 400 l about 80 l more than you‟ve got and that‟s if it all works out well, you might be lucky and have your buddy to help you out! I always tend to leave the bottom with 100 bar (even in a twin set), try it and see how many times you surface with less than 50 bar, cause they will be the dives you would have run out on. Alternatively, you can plan the dive and use a modified rule of thirds, calculate your total gas requirement, and give yourself a 50% margin on top of this i.e. the dive takes 2/3rds of the total gas required and leaves you with a third in reserve. Another way of looking at it is you should be finishing a dive with a third remaining or 80 bar for a 240 bar cylinder or 100 bar in a 300 bar cylinder, which looks pretty similar to what I‟ve advocated.

The club policy is that divers who are new to the club need to confirm their training and experience, ideally before they arrive at the boat yard and are expected to do a check out dive (unless an experienced member can vouch for them). On this dive they will be expected to dive with an experienced member of the club and demonstrate the use of a delayed SMB and make their own way safely to surface – where this isn‟t the case they should continue to dive with dive leaders and above till this skill is learnt.


It is also worth pointing out deco diving is not taught by most other agencies, so before allowing anyone to undertake a planned deco dive that person must demonstrate they have conducted safety stops using the same dive kit on a previous club dive or with an experienced club member.

Last year we came close to hitting the target for the number of dives undertaken and with the extended dive program, which now includes Wednesdays and Fridays, we should do a lot more diving this year weather permitting.

The highlight for me last year was West Bay in May, when we had over 10 m viz, with daylight on the bottom at 40 m. The Sidon and the M2 were both spectacular and the sea was fairly flat, so all in all a top weekend. This year I‟m marshaling West Bay over the bank holiday weekend, so if you‟re interested let me know ASAP as I need to arrange the family‟s accommodation!

We also managed a couple of trips out to the Aparima on consecutive weekends which proves how much the viz can change in a week!

Let‟s hope for a flat calm and sunny 2011(although this is likely to be 2012, when it will screw up the Olympic sailing), with 20 m viz on every dive – well we can all dream.

Safe Diving

Vic

Boat electronics update On a cold day at the end of November last year, a number of members went out on the RIB and trialled a new Hummingbird GPS with modern side scanning sonar. Using marks in our current GPS, we headed out to the area of the Valentine tank in Poole bay to try and locate them. Anyone who has tried to find them using our current equipment will know how hit and miss it can be trying to find them, and this day was no exception. We then turned to the side scan sonar and scanned an area of sea bed about 240 feet wide under the boat; a detailed 3D representation of the sea bed came up on the screen. Within less than a minute, a distinct rectangular shape appeared on the screen about 100 feet of to the side of our boat, undoubtedly one of the tanks. Simply by moving

the cursor over the shape, the unit automatically works out the coordinates of the mark, and it can be saved as a waypoint. A simple „Go to‟ button then directs us too directly above the saved waypoint.

As the light started to fade and sleet started to fall, we headed round into Swanage bay to have a look


at the familiar Fleur de Lys. Whilst this wreck is never too hard to find as its buoyed most of the time, it was interesting to see how it looked on the side scan. A couple of quick passes some way either side, and it was very easy to pick out the shape of the hull, suggesting that on larger wrecks, we could probably pin point where on the wreck to put the shot line in. A clever function allows you to select an area of seabed and zoom in to see greater detail. The screen layout is fully configurable to allow full or split screen on any functions.

The Humminbird unit also has more traditional 2D sonar and full moving charts, so you can see exactly where you are at any time, a godsend on those days that we are caught out with bad visibility / fog. Best still, is that you don‟t need a computer degree to work it as it is fairly intuitive, rather unlike some find the current GPS. Within a couple of hours, we had tried and used most of the functions, although it is fair to say, that a little bit of playing and experience will help get the best out of the side scan function.

The unit also allows connection to modern DSC VHF marine radios. This means that the boat position is continually sent out to the VHF radio. In an emergency situation, a red button is pressed and held for 5 seconds on the VHF radio and an emergency call is sent with the boats position to the coastguard. Normally this is followed up with a standard Mayday call, but in any case, the coastguard already has our exact position.

Many club members will be aware that during the winter, the boat has been having a fairly major overhaul with the engine out. As part of this, the committee have decided it‟s also a good time to review our 15 year old electrics, navigation and safety equipment and bring it up to date. We are working hard to try and source an ex demo unit similar to the one we trialled last year. We have a good relationship with the UK importer of the units, and at the time of writing, are waiting for a suitable unit to become available hopefully well less than half retail price. It will come complete with the full UK warranty. We are also replacing the current VHF radio with a smaller waterproof unit which has the DSC function built in. Over and above the obvious safety improvements, the new unit should allow us to pin point wrecks quicker and find new and interesting seabed features to explore. All being well, and a Humminbird unit becoming available, we hope to have it fitted ready for the start of the 2011 season.

Members will be aware that Adrian King has sent out a letter asking for a small contribution of £30 towards this modernisation project. Thank you very much too all those members who have already contributed, but if anyone else wishes to help, donations would be gratefully received.

Tristan Oliver

Treasurer

Note: Images are for illustrative purposes only.(do not buy a car of this man – Ed)


WHAT WOULD MAKE A MIDDLE AGED LADY WANT TO DIVE?

It is the same motivation as for many other people I guess, but for me…….. well let‟s just say Jacques Cousteau has a lot to answer for (I’ll vouch for that – Vic).

As a teenager, diving seemed an unobtainable dream to me, a wonderland of adventure; but only for others. The Cousteau T.V. programmes in black and white were thrilling, and even now to see diving on T.V. sends a little shiver down my spine.

I was born and brought up on an Island and being surrounded by sea, and wanting to know what is “down there” is just another part of growing up. Some neighbours in the next village triggered my ambitions. Three brothers, John, Mike & Rob Corlett, very handsome, adventurous, and a little older than me and my friends, were in the forefront of diving in the Isle of Man (they even had their own boat!). This was of course before B.C.D.s were


available in the form we use now and I believe that they used the “Air pump” type of system at that time. Well the years passed, as they do, jobs, marriage, children, and then some wonderful grandchildren! So where‟s the diving? Ahh, you may well ask!.

Whilst on holiday in Cyprus I took a try dive; a very nice 18m depth to a 20m long wreck from the 1950‟s but the dive was only a one off. Three or four years later a young teenage friend said to me “I‟m going to be a Qualified Diver in 6 week stime”. Well it doesn‟t take long for 6 weeks to pass, and hey presto, she qualified! So there was the thought firmly planted, if she can do it---- I can do it! Four months later in 2004 I qualified and since then have done 70 dives in different parts of the world – a modest record but they have all been wonderful.

I am a keen sailor and with my husband Rod regularly sail the Ionian in Greece which has so many good dive schools, and those of you who have been there know just how wonderful the visibility is. I have dived off many of the Ionian Islands including Corfu, Lefkada, Cephalonia and. Poros in the Aegean

Lanzarotte, and Tenerife are good, but when I went, it was winter there which meant the visibility was not at its best. However a swim with 20 or so rays was a highlight for me. The staff at the school fed them every day, and I was able to fumble a little fish into the mouth of one. Ooohh! I now realise this is not the best way to deal with wildlife, but I didn‟t know that at the time and ignorance is bliss.

Three years ago Rod and I made a trip around the world and of course diving was high on the agenda. Our trip had taken us to Cairns on the north east coast of Australia and so it was Barrier Reef Australia here I come! Yes, the ultimate adventure. Well a severe head cold nearly put an end to that!! Our time in Cairns was getting limited but we stayed on to make a dive possible, and chose the world famous Agincourt Reef. Agincourt is 40 kms out from Port Douglas just north of Cairns. The wind was force 4 to 5 and a bit worrying but the reef protects the dive a bit, so we went ahead. In a bit of a swell, F4 – F5 on the ocean, is not very nice!! and guess who gets seasick, oh yes, I forgot, --it‟s me. The plan was for three dives and by the time the first was due I was feeling ok again so while Rod was snorkelling I took the plunge and had a great time. There was a colourful pillar of about 12 m high, so pretty with anemones, coral and all the rainbow colours of the shoals and streams of fish. A white tipped reef shark just cruising around was the highlight for me. After the second dive we started to prepare for the third which was outside the reef from where the shelf then drops off to about a mile down!! The return is through a hole in the reef. By now the wind was freshening and and I felt that it was a good idea not to make the 3rd dive, because I felt a little tired and that my experience was not up to it. Ah well, a little disappointing but some wonderful memories for all that.

I was looking forward to some diving in New Zealand but missed out as when we got there it was windy, with poor vis. most of the time we were near the coast; such a shame. However on the way home there was one more chance to get in some diving when we stopped off at Raratonga in the Cook Islands. We hoped to go to two or three of islands but found the distances were much greater than we had thought. This meant flying between places, which of course can be very limiting. However Raratonga is a very interesting island. The island is full of contrasts and a good place to chill out. The interior is very mountainous and rocky and there is one road around the coast. We used the buses a lot, one is the CLOCKWISE bus, and it passes the other bus, the ANTICLOCKWISE one, on their tour around the coast. The island is completely surrounded by an inshore reef, except for a small gap which provides a


channel to the only harbour and consequently the sea is shallow, exceptionally clear, and warm. Rod reckoned that the snorkelling was much better than the Barrier Reef .

The dive school in Raratonga is run by Dave and Karen and they have their own very large wreck to play with. Dave had worked with my Instructor in Dorset for a long time; they were very professional, and they made us very welcome. We had an unforgettable 10 week trip made all the better by my diving experiences. Diving adds another dimension to sightseeing. So that‟s what made me want to dive. For the future, I would like to get more training and experience, and to consolidate on what I‟ve done already.

Helen Whitham

A Load of Old Balls By Mike Dominey – There’s a surprise

There are still some surprises left in Swannage Bay. Last year a cannon ball was found near the ledge, there have been a number over the years, the question comes to mind, how did they get there?

I was told there was a cannon at Peveril Point by the previous president, so I thought I would do some checking myself. I contacted the librarian at Swannage to see if she could point me in the right direction, to which I owe her a debt of gratitude. She directed me to a web site called the gatehouse (http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/English%20sites/950.html) – which provided the following info.

A semi-circular battery with six guns stood on Peverel Point in 1774, together with a stone-built watch-house, turfed on the outside. An earlier battery stood on Peverel Point, being built between 1584 and 1586. A vaulted stone magazine 12 feet by 10 feet was erected to keep powder. During the Second World War, a rectangular L-shaped gun emplacement of mixed concrete on stone, with 4 x embrasures on top covered by metal grids 2ft 6 inches x 1ft 11inches was built here. Two 4-inch Naval guns were mounted. A coastguard station and residence has since been erected near this spot.

She also recommended Swannage Past by David Lewer and Dennis Smale .

Finding the cannon ball is only half the story, without care and attention they quickly revert to a pile of rust. Some say put them in the toilet cistern, or water butt, I chose electrolysis. Three battery chargers and a packet of caustic soda, mean that I‟m now the proud owner of a nice clean cannon ball (middle ball) unlike Colin Davies crusty swollen thing, which matches his cannon ball!


Bovisand 2011 After 2 days of diving in 2009 and 3 days in 2010, a full Monday to Friday has been booked for 2011.

Last year (2010) about 20 divers hauled themselves down to this maritime fort in the Plymouth Sound. The usual Mewstone, Scylla and James Egan Layne were duly dived and this time we went a little further afield to the Persier and, at last, to the Eddystone Lighthouse.

This year Discovery Divers are quite happy to go even further and try Hands Deep (another scenic wreck near the Eddystone) and the Maine. Marvellous stuff.

This year the date has been moved to June – the reason being is that the weather has been very good in past years and also the possibility of basking sharks.

I have been lucky enough to snorkel with these magnificent animals quite a few years ago while diving at the Lizard. All we saw from the boat was a huge, floppy fin and as it moved away from the boat I bravely slid into the water – to find as the bubbles cleared it had turned around and was coming towards me. The body is an amazing thing – as the brain was thinking „I can see sunlight shining through its gills and it‟s got tiny teeth‟ another part of me wanted to „eject‟ matter to beat the fastest retreat. Luckily, everything stayed in place. As it went past, accompanied by fish underneath (remoras?), I thought I would swim with it. Even though the hand glued wetsuits we had then doubled as straitjackets I had a good pair of fins, so off I went after it. No chance! Without hardly moving its tail, this awesome fish (6m+) just vanished into gloom. If we could get another look at these fantastic creatures it would make the colder June waters worth it.


The date is 20-25 June and hopefully this year we can repeat the pizza/BBQ evening overlooking the quay and a meal at the Eddystone pub (fantastic raffle, amazing prizes!). Interested?

John Lewis (Expedition Officer)

Mid-week diving with Bournemouth and Poole Club How many of our club members fancy a dive in the week? Our human wreck and fish finder, Steve Ching, has offered to cox if he is free. This means we can find motor out to an interesting/different/fascinating/exciting spot, dive it and be back in plenty of time to buy Steve a drink. Marvellous!

The dates are in the dive program but are not set in stone. Hopefully, a group of mid-weekers will start up and take things as they come – bearing in mind the weather and tide state.

I plan to try and make as many of these as I can. If you are interested then contact Vic or myself and if you have any ideas then let us know. If the proposed side-scanner comes good this year then life would be perfect.

John Lewis (Expedition Officer)

Plea for Articles Hopefully this issue will inspire some of you to make your own contributions, after all the quality of Waterspout is down to the contributors (irrespective of how hassled they‟ve been thankfully). Rest assured, if you haven‟t had an article in this edition, I‟ll be after one for the next!

If you want to see one of your photos on the front of Waterspout or an article included (and even if you don‟t) please supply a photo or electronic copy or email Vic Cooper.


West Bay 2011

Diving – contact Paul Bluett

Saturday 27th

August:

Barbecue on the campsite.

Provided by the social committee.

£10 per adult/ £5 per child

Please let us know on the Saturday morning if you

want us to cater for you.

Sunday 28th

August:

Dining at the Seagulls Restaurant. Places are relatively limited so please telephone Nikki on 01725 516458 as soon as possible if you wish to join us. Orders can be placed at the restaurant on the night.

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