Villa in Paphos, Cyprus

Trainee Dive Master Shaun J who I met on the Equipment Specialty course on 19th January has emailed me details of a Villa he has 5 mins outside of Paphos, (Southern) Cyprus. If anyone would like more information add a comment / email me and I'll put you in touch! Some years ago I dived with CYDIVE a well known outfit based in Paphos. They were a friendly crowd but there are several other operators in the area. Shaun's villa overlooks the sea and promises super sun sets!

Diving Northern France : Fast Action Required!

Further to our meeting and the general interest in diving around France, I have had a reply back from Steve.

He has a 5 day trip to Dieppe pencilled in for 28 July to 1st August- 10 places available or a 4 day trip from 7th July to 11th July around Fe Camp tho these dives are a little deeper - to about 36m. (tho if we doing Looe this probably not good idea anyway)

He does have people interested so we need to act fast. You are looking at a price of around £330 pp plus accommodation and food.

Please add comment to blog if you are interested - I need to let Steve know asap.

Meridian Divers Meeting 30th Jan 2008

Thirteen Meridian Divers attended the meeting with another seven sending apologies. The first meeting of the year is always an important one as it helpful to get together to explore some new ideas for the dive diary. The meeting has outlined a string of new projects for 2008 , as ever, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating - or in other words, as ever, we need to get commitment to make things happen. Meridian Divers have an outstanding record in that respect as this blog records all the events, training, trips, holidays and socials that have we have converted from idea to reality. Sheila is busy now writing up the meeting notes and as soon as they are available they will be circulated , I think you'll find some exciting opportunities on the menu!

After the business of the meeting Tony gave us an update on the progress of the Sink-One-For- Seaford project. Tony and colleagues will be making a presentation to SEEDA in the next few weeks which will help them determine if they will fund a feasibility study. It seems everyone agrees that something should be done for Seaford but unfortunatley not everyone agrees how that should be done. There are of course two different plans being discussed locally, the plan put forward by Jim Skinner (who previously presented to MD) and the Sink-One plan. As a consensus has not yet emerged there is all to play for by both advocates.

Apart from the trips / events organised by MD contributors, it is good to see contributors adding their personal diving plans to the blog. It's a good way of getting us to do more dives 'cos we can , where available, book the same trips in a more informal process. Meridian Divers is all about 'doing it' and there's no membership costs!

French Week

Just a quickie, I have checked Steve's current list and he has a 5 day trip, 6th -10th October to Dieppe. Price for the week in £330 plus accommodation and food. Also need to check re air fills. Depths are 40m on the Mon & Fri and 20-40m Tue - Thurs. However, if we were able to book the boat for ourselves we could probably ensure max of 30m. I have emailed him to check availability of this week and to see if he could arrange anything else. Will post on blog as soon as I get a reply.

Dives with Channel Divers

Following our very productive meeting, here are the dives I have currently booked:

March
Mon 17 - Indiana (TBC)
Fri 21st - Oceana
Sun 23rd - Alaunia

April
Sun 13th - Seaford Ferry
Fri 25th - City of Waterford

May
Fri 9th - Quail

June
Fri 6th - Ikeda

August
Tue 19th Pentrych

November
Sun 2nd - City of Waterford

December
Sun 14th - Thompson

If we want to get doing the Thompson, Steve is also doing the following dates:
Sun 24th Feb (but some of us are in Brussels)
Mon 16th June
Tues 1st July ( i cant skive off work for this one!)

Plenty of dates on Steve @ Channel divers list - there are more I want to do but need a buddy so get your diaries out!

DAN & LIDS

DAN Europe will be exhibiting at the London International Dive Show (LIDS) at the Excel Exhibition Centre on the 8-9 March 2008.

We will be providing membership and renewals at the show. We also have a wide range of DAN Products on show including Oxygen and First Aid equipment. A DAN Training specialist will be available to discuss the wide range of DAN Europe training programmes on offer. There will also be present, as is usual, the DAN Europe Medical Director for the UK and you are free to come over and discuss with him any diving medical problem that is troubling you. You can find us on stand 451.

We look forward to seeing you at the show.

Chris Young
Regional RepresentativeDAN Europe UK, Gibraltar and Ireland

MD Note:- I expect a number of local divers will be going to LIDS, I've always been surprised at just how many locals are there - mind you some them won't advertise the fact they go every year! Mum's the word!

Iles Diving

As you may of heard Iles World of Diving is closing down. They are however, going to continue operating dives on their rib. Attached is link for dives in March and April. Their rib takes 8 divers - if we can get 8 divers, 7 pay and the 8th goes free! May be worth looking at - they have some evening dives and quite a few are fairly shallow. I have to admit - a fair few of them I haven't even heard of! For more details check out http://www.scubatraining.com/BoatCharter.htm

Wraysbury Take 2

Due to lack of nutters - I mean divers, the intrepid duo (Tad and I) are delaying our immersion into the ice until next week (not that it's gonna get any warmer by then!). This gives me time to get over my cold and everyone to get their butts off the sofa!!!!! So come on, who else is gonna join Tad and I? It's not deep and it's a good opportunity to check out your kit. By hook or by crook I AM going to get wet next week- the bucket's on standby!

Equipment Course

Some divers could be forgiven for not taking the Equipment Course on the basis that they think :-

1). they know enough about their kit already,
2). the course is not going to help them, and
3). person presenting the course will not be particularly experienced.

Well divers have an uncanny knack of always thinking they know it all the second they get their first certification, but they may be right about point 2). if they don't get the right person takinng them through the course.

How do you get the right person? Well it helps to have an Instructor who has the manuafcturers own certifications plus the ASSET technicians qualification. It helps even more to know that the Instructor is the person who has been servicing your kit (and many others) for years ! And so it was at today's course with Simon Forster.

Now, I have know some Equipment Course students be quickly run through rather a slim syllabus in a matter of a few hours. Simon, however , spent a complete day with his students and stripped down & reassembled almost every piece of scuba kit apart from a rebreather. I've done a few dives and picked-up a certification or two on the way but I have to say I learnt a lot on this course, information that will continue to stand me, hopefully, in good stead.

If you missed this course, you might think about doing one if you are going to get immersed (!) in diving. But DO make sure you get someone with the training, experience & knowledge . And lets face it's a good way to spend a January day as you prepare for another seasons diving!

ADVICE For DMs & Instructors: The Course advised "If you use your equipment for teaching (paid or unpaid) , then under the HSE Diving at Work Regulations you MUST be able to PROVE that your equipment has been serviced regularly."

Wraysbury Dive ~ Sunday 27th January

Is anyone interested in doing a dive or 2 at wraysbury on Sunday 27th Jan. Yes it will be cold as yes it will be murky but I am sure there are some of you who are wishing to blow of the cobwebs and remove yourselves from the nice warm settee and Sunday afternoon matinee.


Tad

The wreck of the T.R.Thompson

Another clip from T.R.T project dive.This one shows the spare prop blade sorry about the lighting.

NEMO 33 ~ Booking Documents

Hi NEMOnauts, I have emailed out to those on the trip (15) the NEMO forms that need to be completed. Please reply to me with the necessary information and take careful note of the conditions and information that they have provided.

It looks as though most of you have now booked your travel & hotel arangements so we are getting close to having completed all the planning & preparation.

Now all we need are some good restaurant recommendations! From our last visit to NEMO & Brussels I don't think we'll have too much trouble finding a place in the city centre!

Latest information on Seaford Beach proposal.

Hello, latest news about the Seaford beach defence scheme is that a meeting of Seaford Town Council on Thursday 24th January (7pm, Baptist Church, Belgrave road) is to include a discussion on Seaford Beach.
I will post Jim Skinners' "Seaford Beach – the case for change" document as a comment to save space on this page.

More details on the meeting are available from Seaford Town Council on (01323) 894870 or at seafordtowncouncil.gov.uk/meetings.

Jim (H) on behalf of Jim Skinner.

Equipment Course & Servicing ~ Update

Just to confirm that Ocean View will give us 10% discount again on kit servicing if it's taken down on mass, and I am happy to take it down.

Also, the Equipment Speciality Course covers more than the normal PADI certification. It includes dry & wet suit repairs plus a lot more in depth knowledge re maintaining dive equipment - could be handy for when we dig out our moth bitten suits for the first dive of the season!!

Gently does it.

My first attempt at st starting a blog thingy, s so I'm a little nervous.

Nauticat out of Brighton has places available to dive the Indiana on Monday, 17th March. The depth will be 12m + a drift. For me it's an ideal first sea dive of the year. Would anybody care to join me? The cost is £40 and ropes off at a very reasonable 11:30. There are currently 6 places out of 12 left. Oh, and it has an electric lift....mmm. Please let me know and I'll get it booked.

Kit Servicing

Hi all,

I'm planning a trip down to Ocean View at the end of the month so if anyone wants any kit servicing, I am willing to take it down with me - just bring it to the meeting on 30 Jan together with a list of what equipment and it's requirements.

I will be speaking to OV tomorrow and hopefully, as per last year and the agreement we have for courses, M Divers will again get the 10% discount.

See you in couple weeks

Nemo 33

video borrowed from youtube to help inspire you all for our forth coming trip to Nemo 33 in Febuary.

ps hope we can take our cameras

Brussels NEMO 33 Dive Trip

I have circulated details of the Brussels NEMO 33 dive trip today. The details have been emailed to everyone that has shown an interest in attending (currently 15+) , apologies if I have missed anyone off the list , please let me know if you want to be added to the trip circulation list.

The trip will take place on Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th February.

Next Meridian Divers Meeting ~ Wednesday 30th January

The first 2008 meeting of Meridian Divers will be held at 7.30pm Wednesday 30th January at the Berwick Inn. The first meeting is always a good one to bring your diary too!

LAST MINUTE TRIP : Anyone interested in a one week, shore based, 10 x boat dive holiday in Marsa Alam starting 12th March let me know. Some excellent diving 'down South' and a refreshing change from the what are becoming the overcrowded tourist Blackpools of the Northern Red Sea.

PADI Equipment Specialist Course

This is just the time of year, if you are not jetting off to warmer climes or longer hours of day light to be preparing for the years diving! It's a good time to sort out your servicing but how about going a step further and doing the PADI Equipment Specialist Course.

Further PADI information on the Course can be obtained from:-

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

There will be an Equipment Specialist Course running on Saturday 19th January . If you are interested and want more info , add a comment or contact me.

NOTICE: This Course goes beyond the PADI requirements and includes 'in-the-field" repairs to wet & dry suits and regulator maintenance. It will be a full days instruction.

Diving Centre For Sale

One or two MDers are acquainted with this Dive Centre which is now up for sale at just short of £70k (leasehold), which given that includes all equipment and facilities is not exactly a high price. The low price is perhaps indicative of the difficulties involved in operating Dive Centres in the UK, where many in the South East have not survived. Locally, in recent years dive centres in Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton and Shoreham have closed which has no doubt reduced confidence in the industry. A reduction in supply should result in more business for those that remain but there is little to suggest that valuations have been maintained let alone risen. With the loss of diving centres there is a greater need for divers to ensure that they keep creating diving opportunities - I like to think that's what Meridian Divers is all about!

If you do fancy taking the brave plunge any buying a dive centre the full details are on:-

http://www.ukdiving.co.uk/lakeside_diving_centre_for_sale.php

Buddy Required!!!

I'm sitting here planning some of my diving for the year ahead - the only thing I lack is a buddy (sad cow that i am!) Looking ahead to Easter weekend - I after a buddy for Fri 21/3 to do Oceana and Sun 23/3 for Alaunia, plus other mid-week diving (depending on what days i can skive off work!) These dives are with Channel Diving so lots of space, tea and choccy bics!

So come on and get your diaries out! I up for some beach diving too!

Photo Competition 2008

For those of you who got a nice new shiny UW camera from santa or those who already have one, I am thinking we should run some sort of photo comp throughout the year culminating in some sort of prize next Xmas for the best overall shot.

The picture could be from your diving holiday or just from the many UK trips and dives Meridian Divers are planning this year.
A suitable prize will be decided on and the winning photo will be framed and hopefully published .

Your thoughts on an A4 sheet of paper please.

NY News from India

HMS Enterprise ~ Multi Role Survey Vessel

Andy C has been a busy boy pursuing his Naval career (and one or two other things as well - with varying degree of success!) He's just finished a visit to India and after playing with a variety of underwater devices went on a tour of Mumbai (Bombay). It's hard to know how to paraphrase Andy's report of the trip for a wide audience! Shall we say that he seems to have enjoyed himself and tried out a range of local delicacies, one of which was the beer. Apparantly there is no shortage of beer or entertainment for the sailors! That said, Andy became the entertainment at one point when an old lady set her attack monkey onto him! Send us the video Andy !

Good luck with it all Andy, my advice is to be at the back of the queue when the boys bring out the car battery, there are easier ways of getting a matelot to dance a jig!

NY News from Australia

Erstwhile local diver Robbo, now resident of Oz, infamous for his combining diving with helicopter rides (let's not mention THAT Looe Diving Trip!) has decided to take things one step further ... helicopter rides are not enough for this man of action , no , he's now taking flying lessons and when he's finished a spot of maintenance ( shades of THAT Looe Trip) he'll be back under the water as well! The good news is that no light aircraft can yet fly around the world on a tank of fuel ... this means we won't have to watch the skies continually for fear of being dive bombed by the only Ozzy Kamikaze Geordie in the history of aviation.

Best wishes Robbo.