Shoreham Diving....

Simon T has forwarded me the following dive opportunities from Iles-World -of-Diving, if anyone is interested:-

July dates:-

Monday 2nd July - SW Rocks DRIFT 12-14 metres depth - meet at marina 6.15pm, phone shop 3.30pm - any qualification - £20

Saturday 7th July - Stanwold wreck 27-31 metres depth - meet at marina 8.15am, phone mobile 6.30am - advanced or above - £30

Saturday 7th July - Pentrych wreck 24-25 metre depth - meet at marina 2.15pm, phone shop 12pm - advanced or above - £25

Sunday 8th July - Indiana wreck 6-7 metres depth - meet at marina 7.15am, phone shop day before! - any qualification - £25

Sunday 8th July - Worthing Wall 13-14 metres depth - meet at marina 12.15pm, phone shop 10am - any qualification - £25

Monday 9th July - Kingmere Rocks DRIFT 14-16 metres depth - meet at marina 6.15pm, phone shop 3.30pm - any qualification - £25

Saturday 14th July - City of London wreck 27-28 metres depth - meet at marina 9.15am, phone mobile 7am - advanced or above - £25

Saturday 14th July - Indiana wreck 6-7 metres depth - meet at marina 2.15pm, phone shop 12pm - any qualification - £25

Sunday 15th July - Miown wreck 10-11 metres depth - meet at marina 9.15am, phone mobile 7am - any qualification - £20

Monday 16th July - Silo Reef DRIFT 5-6 metres depth - meet at marina 6.15pm, phone shop 3.30pm - any qualification - £20

Saturday 21st July - HB Pentrych wreck 20 metres depth + SW Rocks DRIFT (2 dives) - meet at marina 7.15am, phone shop day before! - advanced or above - £45

Sunday 22nd July - Worthing Wall 12-13 metres depth - meet at marina 8.15am, phone mobile 6.30am - any qualification - £25

Sunday 22nd July - Indiana wreck 10-11 metres depth - meet at marina 1.15pm, phone shop 11am - any qualification - £25

Monday 23rd July - SW Rocks DRIFT 13-14 metres depth - meet at marina 6.15pm, phone shop 3.30pm - any qualification - £20

Sunday 29th July - City of London wreck 27-28 metres depth - meet at marina 9.15am, phone mobile 7am - advanced or above - £25

Sunday 29th July - Miown wreck 6-7 metres depth - meet at marina 1.15pm, phone shop 11am - any qualification - £20

Monday 30th July - Worthing Wall DRIFT 12-13 metres - meet at marina 6.15pm, phone shop 3.30pm - any qualification - £25

Simon has booked a place on the dates in red ..any buddies up for it ?

Littlehampton Dive Trip ~ Sun 15th July

The MD meeting of 3oth May decided to make a day dive trip (two dives, a wreck & a drift) on Sunday 15th July aboard Copperhead II . There are a maximum of eight places. Places will be secured by receipt of payment. First cheques come first served!

Cheques Received:-
1. Chris-P
2. Sheila B
3. Ernie B
4. John D
5. Mandy G
6. Paul G
7. Simon T
8. Jim H
Reserve : Matt W

Update 2/6/07: Trip now fully booked , add a comment if you would like to be a 'reserve'

Newhaven Dive Planning ~ Sat 9th June Low Tide

At the MD meeting on 30th May the following divers indicated that they wanted to join the proposed 1pm boat dive on the above date. Details are being confirmed. Please add a comment if you would like to be added to the list (diaries always mean that there will be a need for reserves!) :-

1. Matt
2. John
3. Simon
4. Ernie
5. Shiela
6. Tad
7. Chris
8. Jim,
9. Mandy
10. Paul
11. Reserve: Stephen

Update 7/6/07: This dive will be on the wreck of the Brisbane . Ropes Off time is 1130hrs BST . Please ensure that you are loaded in good time!

Meridian Divers Meeting of 30th May

An impressive turn-out for the meeting kept the pub manager very happy as I'm fairly certain we make up the majority of his takings when we hold our meetings! They always seem keen to know when we are next back!

The numbers meant we could make some provisional bookings for another dive trip and other dives and events. More details on those when the notes of the meeting are produced and circulated. It looks as though the newly planned dive trip to Littlehampton may be oversubscribed and so the usual 'first-come-first-served' principle will have to be applied. As soon as I get a figure for the boat charter I will circulate it and ask for cheques. Receipt of cheques will be the order of booking places.

The enthusiasm to get in the water was really good to see, let's make sure it happens!

New EU Valve Standards

For those of you who like their air on the oxygen rich side and have dedicated cylinders for this purpose, new standards for valves on cylinders come into force next year for cylinders using 22% 02 and above. There will be a new type of fitting called the M26 valve thread fitting which is similar to a DIN but slightly bigger.

The UK's HSE have fought against this imposition from some eurocrat but alas have lost. This new standard will known as the BS EN144-2003. This system has been used in the rest of europe since 2003.

There is a petition against this which you can access online at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SCUBA-valves/#detail if you wish to fight against the euro nanny who feels that divers are not capable of knowing what gas is in their own cylinders.

Tad

Titanic's Sister Ship to become Divers' Paradise

Well that's the headline in the Telegraph which goes on to say :-

When it was launched in 1914 it was intended to be superior to its sister ship the Titanic but, two years later, the Britannic lay at the bottom of the Aegean Sea - the victim of a mine laid by a German U-boat. A project is under way to transform it into a subaquatic paradise for divers and a haven for tourists.

Now that going to be quite a project, not least as the wreck lies in 122 metres of sea water ! One to watch closely! More info and pictures on :-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/20/nship20.xml

MCS ~ Your Support Needed

The Marine Conservation Society are seeking support for their representations to Government reagrding the Marine Bill White Paper .

It's very easy to assist to support the MCS, all you need to do is visit the link below and follow their helpful guidance, that's assuming you value our marine environment and want to do something to help it improve:-

http://www.mcsuk.org/mcsaction/marinebill/have+your+say+on+the+marine+bill

Swanage Dive Trip ~ 16th & 17th June 2007

Due to house moving dates we now have a vacancy on the above trip to Swanage with four wreck dives planned. If you are interested please let me know / add a comment.

Royal Navy Clearance Divers in Action!

Saturday 30th June & Sunday 1st July

Eastbourne Emergency Services Display , or Eastbourne 999 as it is commonly known ,will have a display from the the RN Clearance Divers.

The Southern Diving Unit 2 (or SDU 2) is the team of RN Clearance Divers based at Horsea Island in Portsmouth. Every Clearance Diver undergoes training in the following fields:

• Diving in all types of Naval Diving equipment, to depths of 60 metres.
• Mine Countermeasures ( the clearance of mines at sea).
• Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( Bomb Disposal by sea or land).
• Underwater engineering and Demolitions.

The Divers of SDU 2 are ready for a bomb disposal callout 24hrs a day, 365 days of the year. They are often sent to the assistance of fishing vessels, which have trawled up mines, bombs or torpedoes. On other occasions the team will deal with unexploded ordnance found on the beach, or found inland. Increasingly, the team will be called to suspicious packages, which may be bombs placed by criminals or terrorists.

In a typical year SDU 2 Divers will attend several hundred EOD incidents.

MCS Dives ~ Spaces for the urgent filling thereof!

June 16th-17th Lyme Bay. Two days hardboat diving from Lyme Regis. The prime aim is to look at the state of the pink sea fan populations on reefs we have surveyed before to compare the current situation with the earlier records. In addition to sea fan surveying divers can contribute to general Seasearch recording and complete qualifying forms, or just take photographs or enjoy the diving. We need a number of divers to fill this trip which will have to be cancelled unless there is a surge in bookings within the next week.
Contact Chris Wood chris@seasearch.org.uk or call 0776142096 for more information.

June 22nd-24th Manacles, Cornwall. Three days diving on the rocky pinnacles and reefs around the Manacles, justly famous for their jewel anemone clad walls, sea fan forests, and if you are very lucky, basking sharks. We have three places available for this weekend.
Contact Brod Mason at brod@brodmason.co.uk or call 07836 570321

June 24th-29th Alderney Channel Islands. Alderney is the least well known of the Channel Islands in terms of diving and Seasearch has been invited to carry out a survey of it's marine life and habitats for the Alderney Wildlife Trust. This is real exploratory diving but to take part you will need to have had previous Seasearch experience. We have either one or three spaces available and for more information contact Chris Wood at chris@seasearch.org.uk or call 0776142096.

If you haven't checked list of dives available for a while go to the MCS website www.mcsuk.org and follow the 'what we do' and 'divers pages' links to see the full list of dives we have organised.

High Wire Act at Bewl Water

The Anthony Nolan Trust & The British Red Cross Aerial Slide 2007

Join the Anthony Nolan Trust and the British Red Cross on this fundraising challenge weekend. Take off from a tower 100 ft above the Bewl Water reservoir and slide 800ft through the air!

No experience necessary, just a head for heights. Enjoy the thrill of a lifetime! A £15 entry fee and your pledge to raise a minimum sponsorship of £100 is all that’s required. Bring the family and make a day of it.

Saturday 30th and Sunday 1st July

.

Thought this might appeal to some of you , especially after a visit to Bewl Water was discussed at the last meeting . Let me know / post a comment if you are interested.

Next Meridian Divers Meeting ~ Wednesday 30th May

Hi y'all

Our industrious Hon Sec, Shiela has produced the notes from our last meeting (25/4/07) which will be sent out today. Thank you Shiela !

The next meeting will be held at the:

Berwick Inn at 7.30pm on Wednesday 30th May.

Help the Ageing

ahoy there all amateur underwater archaeologists.

i am trying to date this piece of water junk found in Malta near the wreck of the Maori. from the corrosion and growth, I reckon it's been there 5-10 years. yay? nay?

so, how long has it been in the water? how much of its wear was suffered at the surface?

the ultimate aim is to identify the make and model (and preferably before all my biker friends find the answer).

Thanks in advance.

PS no reward is offered, but you're free to claim the bike if you're willing to collect it.

Pipefish Watch!

Seasearch is calling on all divers to look out for and record the pipefish and seahorses they see on their dives around the UK. They club divers and others to make a special effort on the Seasearch DIVE IN weekend of 9th-10th June 2007 but you can record sightings at any other time as well.

In the last couple of years we have seen a big increase in diver sightings of the snake pipefish and both species of seahorses. Formerly rarely seen, the snake pipefish has become abundant at certain times of year, especially on North Sea coasts, but unusual numbers of juveniles have been seen in the Atlantic as well.

PADI Specialty of the Month ~ Night Diver

PADI have announced that 'Night Diver' is their Specailty of the Month for May. For more info follow the link:-

http://www.padi.com/padi/en/kd/nightdiverspec.aspx

Tasmanian Devil

Diving Geordie lad 'Robbo' is soon to take on his new nick name , the 'Tasmanian Dive Devil' , he's about to start his journey to Tasmania to dive the kelp forests and meet-up (hopefully) with some Tasmanian Sea Dragons! It's a tough job,....etc! Robbo will be diving with the Eaglehawk diving centre . The link below will take you to their short video clips on the forest & the dragons! Nice one Robbo , hope you bring us back some brillian pictures!

http://www.eaglehawkdive.com.au/TheGiantKelpForest.htm

Getting Up Close & Personal !

Past dive buddy, Ken , has kindly sent me some shots he took off of Selsey last week. Ken's pretty handy with his camera as you can see. When the viz hasn't reached it's Southcoast best it's not a bad idea to get up close & personal with the cam! Well done Ken!

Seasearch

Seasearch inform me that they have an exciting programme of courses and surveys this year.

As always all the information is on the website at www.seasearch.org.uk

There are 'Observer' and 'Surveyor' courses in Kent/Sussex during June if anyone is interested.

MENCAP Dive Challenge 23rd & 24th June 2007

Tad may beat me up for this post , but for your info MENCAP are running their third Dive Challenge in June .

Full details on :-

http://www.mencap.org.uk/html/fundraising/events/dive/dive.asp

Copperhead Diver II ~ Back in the Water!

Sean White has announced that his Littlehampton based RIB is back in the water for dive charters. Sean has a fine twin-engined boat and run's a tight ship! Many of us have great dives with him over the years.

Information on his charter schedule can be found at:-

http://www.copperhead-diving.co.uk/schedule/

Best wishes to Sean (details below) who has just overcome an injury!

Sean P. White.
(Diver/Skipper)
Copperhead Diving.
Littlehampton Marina
West Sussex

T: 01243 811477
M: 07801 511135

Petition for Marine Reserves in the UK

add your name to the list here:

http://www.marinereservesnow.org.uk/

also, April's National Geographic covers the complete ruination of global fishing stock, and how marine reserves, with 100% no-take zones, can help reverse the trend.

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0704/feature1/

On the plus side, there are some photographs which make wannabe underwater snappers feel sick with envy and despair...