Thought it would be useful to store this information so everyone has access to it. As I find more Information I will make it available to all.

Please find attached the user manual for the club radios

ICOM IC -M601

Belper Sub Aqua Club Easter 2009 Expedition to Oban

 

This Easter Belper Sub Aqua Club enjoyed our diving holiday and expedition based near Oban on the North West Coast of Scotland. Oban, also known as the gateway to the Isles due to the large number of passenger ferries departing for the neighbouring Isle of Mull as well as the Inner and Outer Hebrides, is equally ideal for the use of the Club boats. Each of our two boats, rigid inflatables (RIB’s)  has a powerful engine capable of speeds of up to 40 knots which gave us access to world class dive sites either within the Sound of Mull or to islands to the south of Oban, ranging from fantastic ship wrecks to spectacular scenic dives.

 

Our actual base was Puffin Divers just south of Oban and this provided safe mooring for out boats, whilst the nearby Oban caravan park provided comfortable low cost accommodation for our ten strong expedition.

 

Club members travelled up on the Thursday before Good Friday in order to make the maximum use of the Easer Holiday, which meant that most members of the expedition were able to complete nine dives before returning home on Easter Monday afternoon.

The diving itself was carried out over an impressive range of sites, ranging from the gigantic wreck of the Rondo half way up the Sound of Mull, with its crystal clear water and plunging depths, to an exhilarating drift dive through the beautiful and serene Garvallach Islands to the south. The underwater visibility was generally very good for the whole weekend, whilst the weather top side, ranged from a little light drizzle on the Friday and Saturday to a glorious flat calm sunny day on the Sunday.

 

In all, we each spent over six hours underwater (or in Nigel’s case well over seven hours!) and the boats travelled over 70 nautical miles over the three and a half days. We encountered many varieties of fish, crab, lobsters, and Scallops, not to mention the fantastically colourful sponges, soft corals and anemones that seem to cover every surface, including the wrecks, in this part of Scotland. Overall a cracking trip, made all the better by excellent planning from our expedition organiser Sue, and one we’ll certainly want to repeat before too long.   

 

 

 

 

Trip Report By: Martin Rawson (Club Chairman)

Information regarding new hyperbaric chamber in Rugby

We would like to inform you of the opening of a new Hyperbaric unit in Rugby St Cross Hospital. The hospital offers all the normal range of services to divers: treatment of DCI, Dry dives and medicals (including HSE and fitness to dive.)

Information can be found on our web site.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like more information or come and see us.

Regards Ian Sibley-Calder

Dr Ian Sibley-Calder

Midlands Diving Chamber

Hospital of St. Cross

Barby Road

Rugby

CV22 5PX

Ext: 23442

01788 579 555   -  07770 632893

www.midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk

www.drsibley-caldermedicals.co.uk

Weather forecast good, 8 keen divers wanting to get wet on the traditional February weekend to Plymouth.
We were all set a keen but were left without the club boat due to faulty tires on the trailer. The tires had only few miles on them but on inspection were completely unsafe to use. These faults are currently being investigated by the suppliers and no doubt we'll have more news on this soon!

As part of the weekend was to be to introduce Lucy to her first open water dives after finishing pool training and not wanting to disappoint her Sue and I decided to take her shore diving. Fortunately the weather looked fine for this on the South coast and rather then spending loads of money going to Stoney with the masses decided to head off to Devon.

It was a good choice, we set off 07:00am Sat morning and was in Brixham before lunch. We managed two dives on Saturday from Breakwater Beach where Lucy completed a number of training drills and assessments with flying colours, she certainly made a good impression for saying it was her first dives in the sea with full kit including drysuit.

After a curry and a night in a B & B next morning we headed for a site that Sue and I had never dived before - Babbacombe Beach. After filling our cylinders we headed down to the rather limited parking by the the shingle beach.
We managed two more dives here, this is a site worth remembering as its completely sheltered from all but NE winds and it really is an interesteing site for shore diving.

We then headed back up the M5 homewards with no traffic jams at all!!!

So all in all a good weekend, it was warm and sunny, the sea temp was around 8c and calm and Lucy had good introduction to UK diving. With going Sat morning the overall cost per dive was probably no more then doing 2 dives in freezing Stoney and the experiance for our student was far better.

I am proposing an Easter dive trip to Oban for a long weekend Friday - Monday.
I've contacted the caravan park who still have limited vans left for the bank holiday weekend but we need to move fairly quickly and book it as he wouldn't reserve them for us.
This trip would be suitable for all levels (including any trainees) and the more the merrier.
Please let me know if you are interested as soon as possible.

One week after announcing this all places (12) were filled with one standby.

This is a weeks liveaboard sailing from Plymouth on Loyal Watcher to the Scillies between 2nd and 9th of May
See www.loyalwatcher.co.uk for more info.

This is now booked and deposit paid.
If anyone else wants adding to standby list please let me know.
Any other details just ask

Will try to keep blog site updated with whats going on with regards to Dive Planning

Diving stopped on Bikini

 

See link below

 

http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?id=7126&sc=1&ac=d&an=7126:Diving+ceases+on+Bikini+Atoll...

I have put all Club charts, dive guide books etc, kept at the garage, into one box.  This box is on the racking in the Eagles side.  I have put it there to keep it away from wet kit etc that comes in the entrance.

In order that this information is available to all, I have created a list, which is attached.

If you have other club books, charts etc that you want to keep at the garage please put them with the above information and update the attached file