Diver in Lobster Wrestling Match

An experienced diver told how he "wrestled" a 3ft (0.9m) lobster into a string bag after it attacked him. Chris Hovard, from Wyke Regis, Dorset, was diving when the creature - weighing more than 10lbs - scuttled towards him near Weymouth jetty on Saturday.

The 51-year-old, who has been diving for 34 years, said he had never seen a crustacean "anywhere near this size". The lobster, he named Lemmy after the lead singer of rock band Motorhead, is now at Weymouth's Sea Life Park.

Mr Hovard said: "I was diving when I spotted an old boiler which I believe may have been used in the Northe Fort in the olden days and then was thrown into the sea when it was no longer needed. I was swimming around it when the lobster came at me, its claws snapping. I could hardly get my hand across the back of its shell. You'd need a saddle to ride it. I managed to get it with a pincer movement. The commotion stirred up a silt cloud which momentarily stunned him and this was when I managed to grab him." Lemmy is thought to be about 50 years old.

PS I can think of another near 50 year old crustacean (Sorry Chris) I also think he may know some other old boilers down Dorset way

Stoney Cove ~ Mid-Week Dive Trip

As the recent weather has been so appalling and it doesn't look like there is an end in sight I was considering a mid-week trip to Stoney Cove.

Why midweek? Well forget weekends you can't get near the place. Why stoney cove? 'Cos there is plenty to see, reasonable depths, some visability, good on-site facilities & guaranteed diving !

Cons: - its a long way to go , an approximate 300 mile round trip!

So if like me you are getting itchy fins and fancy a bit of freshwater relief post a reply to this message with available dates.

Wednesdays have always been a pretty good day to go although you still need to get there reasonably early to get a waterside parking place.

Check out their website http://www.stoneycove.com/

Tad

Meridian Divers ~ Pool Session

It is planned to have a pool session on Thursday 19th July 6.30- 8.30 with a view to having regular weekly or bi-weekly sessions. after that.

Costs are being calculated, however, running try dives would help offset the cost of the sessions.

Your support would be welcomed as this is a great resource for the group.

Tad

Phocine Distemper Virus in Seals

Seems that this nasty Virus may be coming back to our Seal's. For more info and the latest press release see the British Divers Marine Life Rescue website : www.bdmlr.co.uk/

They need our help, so please keep your eyes pealed.....A subject close to my heart....xx

Expressions of Interest : Airborne 19th August

I am using this post to record in order of receipt expressions of interest in the proposal to dive & watch some the Eastbourne Airborne event on the 19th August. If interested email me / add a comment to the blog. The definitive list will be on this 'front' page.

1. Chris P
2. Tad
3. Trekker
4. Therese S
5. Simon T
6. Jim H
7. Debs
8. Tracey
Volunteer for Crew : Diving Diva
Rerserve: Matt C
Reserve: Trekker


FOR INFO:
Programmes for Airbourne not available yet (29/7/07) , but the Red Arrows will be there on the Sunday and that flying displays start from noon.

Swanage photographs

Meridian Divers Meeting ~ 27th June

Despite it being another atrocious June evening in terms of the rain a hardy ten divers attended the Meridian Divers meeting and dutifully worked there way through the agenda (thank you Shiela!).

Tad brought along samples of the new Meridian Divers Polo Shirts and the first orders were placed , if the weather ever lets us go diving I am sure we will look very smart!

PADI have contacted us over the rescue performed by Ernie B and have said that they will ensure the comments on the rescue will be entered entered into their recognistion programme. Again, well done Ernie , your rescue training paid-off!

I was pleased to report an unrelated meeting with the HSE Diving Inspector who has written to comment on the "outstanding documentation" that we now have in place under the Approved Codes of Practice. This documentation represents a complete re-write of the documentation that I previously used in training. The HSE have referred a copy of my health and safety presentation to PADI as the HSE are continually seeking to raise standards. PADI have written to me suggesting that I independently produce a training package on the HSE requirements. This is all very encouraging .

Simon gave a report on the Swanage Dive trip which is all set to be a dive trip in 2008 (just get the feeling the restuarants were part of the decision making there!!).

Meridian Divers are in the process of checking out some local swimming pools which can be used for training and practice. A check-out session is being arranged for 'members' next Wednesday evening and an email with details will be circulated. Meridian Divers now have access to a lot of diving equipment which will be a benefit.

Dives and social events were planned so even if the weather is poor we will have a busy schedule for the rest of the year.

Notes of the meeting will be circulated as soon as possible.

More on the MD polo Shirts

Hopefully this should please those in touch with their feminine side. The MD polo shirts are available in Cranberry/Pink & Red (& many other colours) and the HB121 Cranberry/Fuchia & Red

The Fuchia colour is a dark pink and comes in sizes 10-18. The darker colour will show up the logo better as the lettering is in white.

I will bring a sample of the logo to the meeting next week, but for now see above.

Tad

Next Meridian Divers Meeting

The next Meridian Divers meeting will be at the:

.

Berwick Inn

at

7.30pm on Wednesday 27th June

.

Looking forward to seeing you there !

Swanage Dive Trip

Well here it is .....that place of divers pilgrimage , the Pier at Swanage. Some would say that you cannot truly call yourself a UK diver until you have dived the Pier. Well that might be a load of ol'tosh but Swanage is a lovely week-end dive trip location. It's in ready striking distance from those living on or near the Merdian line on the south coast.

There are plenty of good B&Bs at reasonable prices, loads of places to eat, a pleasant bay, a promenade that meets most divers needs (good cheap food and drink!) and of course there is a diver centre with gas station actually on the Pier. The Pier has free trolleys to carry your dive kit and the dive boats tie-up a few yards from the dive centre. It's convenience diving!

Our trip (15th & 16th) turned out to be a great social but weather, last minute cancellations, equipment and other events took some of the shine of the diving ! Never one to be too concerned about my nosh I just happen to mention in passing that the Anchor Inn does a tasty dish of scallops and the Italian restaurant down the road presented a very enjoyable bowl of mussels in a white wine sauce!

Several of us stayed at Buddies B&B where hosts, Lesley & Jason looked after our needs with enthusiasm. They say they are diver friendly and they are! Here I go again .... the breakfasts were all you could possibly ask for ! Jason is a Divemaster and operates dive tours through his business http://www.scubadivingtours.co.uk/ . Interestingly Jason knows an old acquaintance of ours....Amro Shehata of the MV Valerie fame! Small world eh?

Personally my diving was limited to two dives on the Kyarra. Swanage's most famous wreck. During our stay divers were pulling up perfume bottles from the wreck just as they have been doing for decades, there seems to be plenty more to find! The second dive was better than the first and gave us a nice slow cruise from the bow to nearly the stern. Visibility was around 4m with our max depth at 28.7m. The sea conditions on surfacing from the second dive, on Sunday, were much better than Saturdays when it was almost possible to hide a dive boat between the waves.

It was good to see Sheila & Ernie on the trip but sad that four divers were unable to join us through events having booked. We certainly had a good time 'debriefing' the dives in the evening !

Pinch more than an Inch

As requested the sizes for the Meridian polo shirts in inches. There is a minimum run for these of 15 so please order one or more!
Size’s:
XS = 34''
Small = 36''
Med = 38''/40''
Large = 42''
XL = 44''/46''
XXL = 48''
3XL = 50''/52''
suits you sir !
Tad

Meridian Diver Polo shirts

Hi all
At the last MD meeting we discussed the Meridian diver polo shirts. The designers have now come back to me with costs (very very good).
Could all those who have an interest in purchasing one of these soon to be very desirable items
let me know the sizes (S M L XL ) and the quantity you require.

You can have any colour you like as long as it is Navy Blue due to the set up costs.

If you do want a shirt drop me an email at paradive@tadtaberer43.fsnet.co.uk costs will be around £16 (payable up front with order) with surplus funds going into MD funds as discussed at the last meeting.

Tad

PADI Assistant Instructor Performs Textbook Rescue

Meridian Diver Ernie B, a PADI Asst Instructor, had his rescue skills tested for real on 9th June. Thankfully he was not found wanting and without a shadow of a doubt if it wasn’t for his prompt actions and diving skills his buddy, Sheila, might have suffered a severe injury. Meridian Divers don’t have a medal to award but if they did Ernie would surely get it.

Ernie and Sheila descended on a shot line that had been placed on the wreck by another dive boat, on reaching the bottom at around 20m they released the shot line and were about to start their tour when his buddy signalled "Up". As Ernie and Sheila started to launch their Delayed Surface Marker Buoy the attentive and observant Ernie became concerned for the condition of Sheila, he then saw her condition deteriorate and as a result immediately employed his PADI training to recover an unresponsive diver from under water. In textbook fashion he immediately conducted a controlled positive buoyancy ascent (as described in the Rescue Course: Rescue Exercise 6) and brought her to the surface where she was assisted by dive boat crews. Ernie’s buddy was given Oxygen and rushed back to Newhaven aboard the dive boat.

Ernie and Sheila were taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital. Ernie was released quickly however his buddy who had inhaled water was kept in longer for observations. Neither diver required hyperbaric treatment. Ernie’s fast thinking saved the day, his efforts were supported by the dive boats present. The full rescue was co-ordinated by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency who responded to the dive boat's emergency call and arranged the ambulance and hospital co-ordination along with the RNLI attendance. The Royal Navy diving doctor was, through MCA engagement, able to give a full brief to the hospital. A text book rescue, which prevented a far more serious outcome.

Meridian Divers will be contacting PADI to commend Ernie and others on their response.

Wreck of the Brisbane ~ 9th June 2007

Another lovely sunny day and seven divers with two crew went to sea to dive the wreck of the Brisbane on a low tide. On arrival at the dive site "MV Sea Zones" had shotted the the wreck and were putting divers down. They were happy with our divers using their shot line and our divers went down in a 2 , 3 , 2 pattern.

The sea was flat calm and the vis was pretty good at about 3 to 4 m. This is the tale of the 3 diver buddy team! The wreck stood in 24m of water and the uppermost points were at about 17 to 18 metres. So a nice shallow dive on a benign sea!

We arrived at the wreck amidships on the port side. From there we slowly made our way to the bow which was very well defined and stood proud of the sea bed. The plating on the bows sides was pretty much intact but both sides had a pattern of small holes allowing us to peep into the wreck. The forecastle area of the wreck was reduced to a framework.

It was a luck dive for Keeley B ( a student of one of the Sussex universties) because she had lost her large halogen dive lamp on the wreck. We found this lamp and later returned it to her. Now that was luck Keeley!

Our team of three followed the port gunwhale to the bow then descended to the bottom before returning to the deck and tracking aftwards along the starboard side. It was a superb dive with the low depth helping to give us a very long bottom time. There was little or no current and the visibilty was very good for the time of year.

The Brisbane is a big wreck and after such a good dive I think we must think about diving her more often!

The ride back to Newhaven was more novel than usual but landed us back on the quayside in time the usual post-dive debrief over and egg and bacon butty at the Coral Cafe!

Max depth 24m , bottom time 54 minutes.

Lancer II Weekend ~ 2nd & 3rd June 2007

Saturday 02/06/07
Lancer II
Arrived on the wreckless seabed, followed the anchor's drag marks, bounced the anchor along the seabed and wondered how many divers I was flying like kites. Reached the end of the drag marks and still no wreck. I was just working out how to get my kites to do a loop when Stephan saved them with some inspired compass work. A patch of darker water became a shoal of Bib. The shoal became the bow of the Lancer, a pebble dashed wall of pink and white Plumose anemones. Marsh mallows. Circling the bows we headed aft. Checked out the sea life apartments in the boiler tubes, crab and blennie neighbours. Hope they've got adequate parking, nothing worse than having to lug your kit for miles because of inadequate parking facilities. Some of the tubes were empty, second homers presumably. I'm musing about great crab hooks filling the skies of Newhaven and hoicking residents off their balconies and out of their flats when Stephen spots the biggest crab I've ever seen, huge barnacled claws, then a lobster who didn't seem to have any claws at all. Up the DSMB through sphere and teardrop shaped plankton, every metre or so a couple of strings with a tiny jelly fish type thing on the end, pulsating iridescent fringes. Must come up with a signal for "Not over there, here, here on the end of my finger"

Splash point gullies - 2m viz
We plough through the soup peering at sea life and each other. Fan worms withdraw into their tubes, velvet swimming crabs hunker down in their crevices and a couple of intimate edible crabs blush, "Excuse me, terribly sorry"

Sunday 03/06/07
Lancer II
Into the waves, drop down a couple of metres, then back up for extra weight for some, down again but a sticky ear slows things down, I'm about to give up and surface when it equalises. At the bottom of the shot a lobster and a lump of wreckage away from the main wreck. Chris launches the anchor on a lift bag, and reels off to find the wreck, Tad lifts the line clear of the wreckage and looks like a dog owner in the park. Chris' regulator woofs in the distance and a cloud of silt billows out of the murk, he's found a bone? Chris returns and we try the opposite direction. Bib hug the wreck and lead the way. Ascending the hull we find what could have been a spare anchor. Peering into a hole I spot a conger, point it out to Chris but fail to realise he can't see it from his angle and watch with growing concern as he pokes his head in the hole tickling it's nose with his exhaust bubbles. Must come up with a signal for "Not over there, here, here on the end of my finger"

Bimble, bimble, Tompot blennies pout for pictures, blob and up.
Plankton fields forever.
Surface to discover the Sussex coast being erased by a fog bank, white cliffs of Beachy head, splash point and then Newhaven disappear. Returning to a marina encompassed by fog. Newhaven is transformed. The hills seem to crowd the harbour, I feel like I'm in Cornwall.

lancer030607

Web Fame!

May be this www thingy is better than we thought! Whenever I search the web for things I find thousands of links that take me all over the place. But, luckily it seems there are people out there who can work it better than me or may just have a certain knack when it comes to fishing around for info. I had an email from a diver called Dave who had a try dive in Greece who said:-

"I found you on the web, saw pics of xmas party and was intrigued when you wrote about" what we are" or was it "who we are" , it seems to me that dive shops want to put you through padi and then leave you to your own devices find a boat and a buddy or join their club for a fee, last year I did a try dive on holiday and thought i might learn, but once qualified where would I go diving, so i thought if i came to one of your meetings you might be able to offer advice"

Dave must have had one heck of a try dive if he has had to confront all those concerns so soon in his diving career. Of course I sent him an invite to come along to the good ol'Berwick. So just may be we'll seem him and he won't remain the 'Mystery Diver'.

PADI UK Diving Promotional Video

For your info PADI have produced a video promoting UK diving , it's now on You Tube and you can visit it via the link below:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCjvU3d6tQo

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...

ScubaPro Xtec 2 piece wet suit for sale

Black 7mm semi-dry wet suit with 5mm over suit limited use, good contition Size, large. Selling because its too tight a fit and I get exhaused getting into it. New suit is much bigger: £80 or offer.

If interested make a comment here and Chris will send it on to me.

T R Thompson Dive ~ Sun 29th April

The continuing glorious weather during April saw four Meridian Divers back on the wreck of the project wreck , the T R Thompson. Whilst perhaps a little optimistic given the amount of plankton an underwater video record of the dive was made as part of our efforts in the Adopt A Wreck Scheme.

For more information on this dive see the sister blog:

http://trthompson.blogspot.com

About Meridian Divers....

Now that Meridian Divers have been around some time (won't be long before we start planning for a birthday party) it probably worth restating what 'Meridian Divers' actually is!

Of course there is a good clue at the top of this page ...it's a NETWORK stupid! It doesn't actually have a membership list but it does have a circulation list. Why doesn't it have a membership list? Well, it doesn't charge membership fees so how could you tell who is and who isn't a member at any one time?

It's just a bunch of divers who are interested in what diving opportunities there are locally and sometimes further afield. It's a means by which like-minded divers can keep in touch with out paying membership fees, it's a means of sharing information free of charge, and it's an excuse to regularly meet up for a drink and a snack with other divers and chat about diving!

Those in the 'Meridian Divers' network can, if they wish, join this blog and post their own diving info with a view to finding buddies, promoting diving and making arrangements. The network has other advantages, like the discounted kit servicing that was arranged.

In fact Merdian Divers is not commercial in any sense, it doesn't charge anyone anything and it doesn't provide training! It's independent and informal! Some people in the network are dive professionals (currently two charter dive boat skippers are in the network, they'll certainly charge you if you use their services but Meridian Divers won't! Others are instructors either linked with a Centre or not) but the point is that it is not a business and it's not tied to any one commercial entity! Indeed the network, with divers interests in mind, has promoted the services of a variety of suppliers of diving services. Whilst some of those in the network are PADI members individually or by virtue of their business status, the network itself is not recognised by PADI.

If you would like join the network, free of charge, just add a comment to this (or any other post) including your email / contact details. Your comment won't appear on the blog until you are made a 'contibutor' which requires your email address! Like many networks, Meridian Divers doesn't have a constitution or rule book (many dive 'clubs' don't) so that means there isn't a book to throw at anyone, but of course the promotion of safe, responsible and fun diving is at the heart of what Meridian Divers is about!

Wanna give it a go?

Malta Diving

Hey all.

While you've been frolicking with Flipper, I've been eating all the food on the Maltese Islands, in a series of epic meals interspersed with the occasional dive. Here are some links to the three so far, which I offer by way of a taster for the sort of thing you should expect to see if you go on the September/November dive trip to Malta (when are they again?)

1. Blue Hole, Gozo
2. HMS Maori
3. Exiles Lido, Sliema

Also, I'd like to elicit your help in identifying some of the specimens in the pics. Those of you who went on the recent Fish ID course should be eating this for breakfast.

PS Some really angering news here of spear-fishers taking all the octopus every day, and of grouper being tied off on strong lines at 50m, left to tire themselves out before being collected the next day. it's enough to make you reach for a veal steak instead of that crab stick...

BBC South East " Dave the Dolphin" 26th April

BBC SE presented a story on the 6.30pm news about a short video of 'Dave' the Dolphin who was swimming close to a rowing boat of the Kent coast. The boat owner was criticised by the BDMLR and the Police for getting too close to the Dolphin. The boat owner in his defence said the Dolphin approached the boat. Now who's gonna believe that ? We all know a small row boat could out pace a Dolphin ! The Police reminded the boat owner that the Dolphin was a protected animal and advised keeping a distance from it.

Thought I'd mention it here , not least because of the very occasional (but nevetheless recent) encounters between divers & Dolphins in the Channel. Naturally I have given JimBob's full details to the RSCPA so that they can track him down as a vicious videographer of marine mammals and clap him in irons as soon as possible! JimBob , of course, has tried to make it seem as though the Dolphin he videoed was an adult who approached him to offer it's informed consent to the videography, whereas we suspect the creature was just after a quick snack courtesy of the flat fish in the possession of the nearby decompressing divers.

For the record, your Honour, it is my humble belief that 'Dave the Dolphin' is not the same Dolphin that JimBob videoed, indeed it is another species in my view! But what do I know. I do know that Diving Diva has sent the JimBob images to the BDMLR for identification ....so JimBob it's only a matter of time before you are publically outed by the BDMLR & BBC. Take him down and may God have mercy on your soul! That Channel Diver Skipper is looking to do time over this one as well, no doubt he should have abandonned his divers once the Dolphin turned up. Fin before Steam and all that!

Meridian Divers Meeting ~ 25th April 2007

The meeting was addressed by guest speaker Jim Skinner regarding his proposals for improvements to the shoreline at Seaford. Jim is raising a petition to the Environmental Agency that seeks to have them reconsider the long term plans for that part of the coast. Jim's vision was exciting and we wish him success in his endeavours.

Other business discussed was:-
- The Adopt a Wreck Scheme
- NAS training
- Update on the T R Thompson project
- Update on Swanage & Gozo diving trips, green light for both , but a couple of places left.
- Congrats to the Marathon runners Nick & Alex (Simon mentioned his 1999 medal!)
- Feedback on the dive trip trip Brussels (NEMO 33)
- Chartering FIZZING
- Feedback on the Advanced Buoyancy Course
- HSE Medicals
- Training/Courses
- Future dive & social events
Full details of the meeting will be circulated as soon as practical.

Creature on the T R Thompson dive of 21st April.

Sorry about the quality but they are screen grabs from a Quicktime movie on a digital camera. Very envious of the guys in the water was tempted to "fall" in.

LANCER II Dive Report ~ 22nd April 2007

The fantastic weather continues...and so do the dives! Six divers went out to the Lancer II on a low tide, which given the wreck is quite shallow allowed a nice long dive.

The wreck was shot by putting a line down to the midships just aft of the boilers. The viz was good at about 4m and the depth allowed a fair amount of natural light. Lancer II is deteriorating as each season passes, no surprises there I suppose. The Bow is slowly becoming more a framework than a complete hull. At the top of the fo'c'sle the depth was a mere 16m.

Simon & I had a good tour of all parts of the wreck and enough time to explore off the wreck , finding the second much smaller area of wreckage that is a little distance away from the major part.

At the end of the dive it was back to Newhaven for tea and biscuits while the other four divers swapped cylinders for their second dive. Sadly Simon & I only had half-day passes and had to get back after a single dive.

Superb diving ~ Saturday 21st April ~ TR Thompson

Had to get straight to the blog after a super dive on the T R Thompson today (aboard Channel Diver with Steve Johnson) . Horribly early start , ropes off at Brighton at 7am but well worth it. Calm sea, beautifully sunny day , full boat of 12 divers, my buddy was Jim-B.

The TRT dive saw us enter at 8.50am and dive to a max of 28metres for 44minutes. The water had plenty of plankton and on the wreck it was pretty dark but viz was 3 to 4 meters (getting better!) . Jim & I made straight for the bow as neither had been there before. We saw both anchors (square profile anchors) and a third admiralty pattern anchor on the wreck. The Admiralty pattern anchor (curved style) had a broken 'spade' on the left side, (very distinctive).

We then made our way amidships to see two boilers and the triple expansion engine after looking at a massive twin winch and a set of steps lying horizontal. If it had been a little lighter this would have been an amazing dive.

We performed a deep stop at 15m then the safety stop at 5m . After surfacing we stood on the deck of the dive boat and watched the rebreather divers finish their time on their DSMBs. As we did so the last two in the water were circled for 15minutes by a dolphin. A smallish one of 3 to 4 feet in length. When the last two made it back on board they reported the dolphin was coming within arms reach of them . Fantastic! My first sighting of a dolphin off the East Sussex coast and curiously , on the same wreck where dolhins were spotted two years ago! Oh and should you want evidence.....Jim videoed the dolphin from the surface as it followed us away enroute for our second dive , a drift off the Hove coatst. The second dive at around 12m also extended for 40 minutes and whilst pleasant was less 'newsworthy'! All in all a great day out!

NAS Annual Conference 10th & 11th November 2007

For information on the NAS Annual Conference , visit their site at:-

http://www.nasportsmouth.org.uk/news/conference2007.php

Scubapro Divers Days

SCUBAPRO UWATEC are pleased to annouce the launch of their Diving Days. In conjunction with our authorised Dealer Network, this is a fantastic opportunity for divers to try all the latest, innovative SCUBAPRO UWATEC products at a number of key diving locations around the country.

On Sunday May 13th SCUBAPRO will be at Wittering Divers, East Sussex for the first of these diving days.

The new Galileo SOL dive computer and Twin Jet MAX fins will be available for trial by any qualified diver for shore diving from the bay or through Wittering divers, who will be operating short boat shuttles to the Mulberries and other shallow sites for pre-booked divers (boat fees payable to Wittering Divers). All divers need to do is turn up on the day to go shore diving and speak to the SCUBAPRO UWATEC team. Trial products will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Later in the day there will be a BBQ and many giveaways and prizes.
For more information email Wittering Divers or SCUBAPRO UWATEC UK

Martello Beach Dive ~ Seaford Wed 18th April

Got to make the best use of these lovley sunny days! Tad, Lou & I tried our hand a little shore dive off the beach at the Martello Tower at Seaford. The viz looked better than it did on the Newhaven Arm at the week-end and when we got it was not bad (OK not good, but not bad!) at around 2m. Sadly no treasure was found and not much else for that matter but a pleasant bimble followed by coffee & cakes at the Cafe . Parking and cafe were less than 50m from our entry/exit point , oh how tiresome! Best sightings, a few shrimps and velevet swimming crabs. More interesting sights on the beach ;-) !!

Chris-P

An Armful on the Arm!

Jim & I opted for an ol'favourite by way of a dive today - the Newhaven Harbour Arm (West). It was not so much a bit of a handful but more a bit of an armful! Viz I mean, of course! The viz dropped off quickly beyond arms length (though was a little better in the shallower parts, probably through better light!). Not sure if we didn't see anything or if there was nothing to see, hard to tell! Jim tried a few camera shots - he can sometimes produce a silk piccie from a pigs ear!

A chat in the Divers Rest (Coral Cabin) with Glenn H indicated that the illusive viz is out there somewhere, Glenn reported 6m viz on the Clodmore recently! Not sure if he was narked when he made the assessment but we hope the exception becomes the rule!

Now we are at mid-April lets have some viz reports coming in!

DAN Research ~ Read All About it!

Matt has kindly located the following DAN link for anyone (Tad?) interested in knowing where diving research is going these days (as per the DAN Divers Day posted below).

Read the link material and see the future ! In the longer term I can see Dive Tables / Computer Algorithms a changing!

https://www.daneurope.org:443/eng/lettmed.htm

Spanish treasure?

Gold coin found beneath the Palace pier, I think it could be Spanish. I'm sending it off to the N.A.S for analyses. Very excited, will keep you all posted.
Jim

NEMO 33 Profile

NEMO 33 Profile , including both a Deep Stop & a Shallow Safety Stop following the DAN Seminar!

And another MCA Coded RIB at Newhaven

Richard's RIB 'FIZZING' has been brought up to Category 4 MCA Coding Specification and is now in use, Richard will soon be circulating dates when the boat can be chartered.

Coded diesel RIBs are fast becoming 'de rigeur ' for diving from Newhaven these days. This has got to be a good thing for divers in general and diving safety in particular.

Congratulations to Richard on getting the boat Coded, it does involve a lot of expense but I know Richard will be very satisfied with the result as he was the very first (in my diving career) to spell out the need for Coding for boats operating commercially. As a dive skipper who walks the talk, he'll get a drink from me at the next Meridian Divers meeting (and to make-up for all the breakfasts I've had to buy him in lieu of payment)!

DAN Research Specialists

DAN Europe staged a major event in Brussels on the 7th April as they held their "DAN Divers Day on Advances in International Diving Research" at NEMO 33 . The morning was packed with speakers from all parts of Europe, the USA and South Africa all of whom were leading diving research. The new information was overwhelming and you gained a sense of getting this straight from the horses mouth. The seminar showed the latest research using ultrasonics and doppler effect monitoring of bubble formation. Watching bubbles passing through a heart then watching the effect of the smallest amount of exertion by a diver had on those bubbles was quite shocking! In the afternoon Matt & I had the opportunity to do a 37 minute dive in the 34.4 metre pool whilst wearing DAN computers and then had our hearts monitored for bubbles before & after exercise. The pool was awesome, even in clean pool water it is difficult to see nearly 35m to the bottom, but NEMO 33 is more than a single deep dive , they have linked pools of 3m,5m and 10m in addition to the BIG one! You can swim through a tunnel from the 10m to the big one and there are air pockets to ascend into and have a chat if you want!

I have to say a fantastic day (and an excellent two day break) ! Matt & I picked-up our DAN Research Diver certification cards , a little nicety provided by DAN which I am sure we will pull out when we are playing the usual certification card poker!

The city of Brussels made an effort tp welcome DAN and in honour of the day dressed the famous Mannekinpis statue in SCUBA gear! Marvellous gesture! Those who fancy doing a short European break will find Brussels very accessible, picturesque and home to a very novel diving experience!

April Fools!

Jim & Matt tried a dive on Newhaven Harbour Arm on Sunday 1st April - the viz wasn't a great success, which is in keeping with other recent viz reports but taking a boat ride to Harbour Arm was !

The local boat dive season has now 'officially' opened and soon the marina pontoon flags will be flying!

City of Brisbane & Brighton Pier 2nd April

10 divers aboard 'Brighton Diver' basked in the sunshine all the way from Brighton Marina to the City of Brisbane wreck site, it was bright day with moderate swell. But brightness soon disappeared beneath the waves and at 9m down it was torches on! At 24m down it was pitch black and a bit of a re-run of the the last channel wreck dive. In orther words short but not so sweet! Still you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a Prince! The second dive at 8m on the Brighton (Palace) Pier was more of a success. Being above the 'torch' needed level it was light enough to mooch around. I found a large quantity of fishing weights, many concreted into the seabed, I put a load into my goody bag and gave them to a University student on the dive when we got back to the boat! He was going to melt them down for dive weights. Thirty one weights bagged! Not bad ! Roll on the decent viz!

City of Brisbane Dive ~ Monday 2nd April 2007

Late News: - I had an offer to buddy-up on a two tank dive out of Brighton Marina on Monday 2nd April , first dive on the the wreck of City of Brisbane. There may be other places spare for these dives - buddied pairs needed! £38 for the two dives! I don't think the viz will be much to talk of ....but we live in hope!

Meridian Divers Meeting ~ 28th March 2007

A very strong turn-out at this evening's meeting, with 15 divers attending. Plenty of positive activity going on, with updates on dives done, trips booked , trips still open for bookings, courses attended and charter dives planned!

Full minutes of the meeting were taken by Shiela and will be circulated soon.

SEASEARCH Fish ID Course ~ 25 March 2007

Five Meridian Divers attended the Fish ID course held at the Shipwreck Heritage Centre in Hastings. The course was organised by Bryony Chapman (Kent SEASEARCH) and presented by Dr Frances Dipper, author of "British Sea Fishes". The course reviewed classifications, distinguishing features, identification and recording techniques and included the examination of specimens for identification practice and a practical application in the Sea Life Centre aquarium.

Each delegate was provided with a pack including printed onformation and CD of all the course presentations. At the conclusion of the course delegates had their SEASEARCH "Training & Qualification Records" updated with the Specialist Course.

More info on :- http://seasearch.org.uk/

Sponsoring Nick & Alex ~ Supporting Leukaemia CARE

Just see what you can do if you focus your efforts! Nick & Alex have been training hard for the

London Marathon on 22nd April

.

and have raised (as of today) over £1325 towards their chosen charity , Leukaemia CARE. I have to say I am so impressed with their efforts , I am also impressed with how easy it is to sponsor them from the comfort of your armchair ! Click on the link below and you won't even have to run down the bank!

.

http://www.justgiving.com/AlexandNick

.

SWANAGE DIVE TRIP ~ BOOKED!

SWANAGE ~ HERE WE COME!

I am pleased to announce that the Boat Charters have been booked for four dives (two on the famous Kyarra) and that cheques have been received from 10 divers (there are two more places if we have late joiners!) . A list of B&B accommodation has been circulated to those taking part and I know that some of you have already booked your rooms. Now all we need is some lovely weather! And of course some more trips in the diary!

Horsea Sunday 25th March

After my dive at Horsea a couple of weeks ago I am off there again on Sunday. More weight for my dry suit and more understanding after a pool dive. Looking to be there at about 11:00. Once again, the more the merrier? I'll ask my buddy there about Swanage. It's all prep. for my first sea dive of the year on 31st March, Indiana wreck. Sounds like the viz can only be better. Oh dear, shouldn't have said that!!!

(Promoted from comment to post obo Simon T)

W A N T E D ~ DIVERS for TRIPS !

Wanted ~ divers for the West Wales Dive Trip.

Date option (C) is now the only unbooked date - speed is of the essence if we are going to get that date. We have seven divers and need ten to make this happen.

Final decision at the next Meridian Divers meeting!!!

Pentyrch Profile

OK , ok, after the debate on diving costs here is the Pentyrch Profile , admittedly not one of our finest dives , but a very fine profile I would argue!

Mysterious Wreck Retains Her Secrets

12 divers from as far a field as Croydon & Norwich boarded the (brand new!) Channel Diver at Brighton today . The boat cast-off shortly after 8am and against lively seas made progress towards the South West sailing to a point south od Shoreham . After an hour or so of switch-back ride the boat circled the last known co-ordinates for the stricken vessel. 'Adventurous' was the word running unspoken through several divers minds, but the swell had reduced a little an most ventured down the shot line to a wreck that hithero hadn't appeared my my log book.

The 'Big Boys' were amongst the first in, with rebreathers and stages. Then followed more common rigs and then rigs like mine (very common!). But as Jim H and I neared the bottom of the shot line ,'What was this?' divers coming back! It was certainly very dark , and the viz was less than a metre. Were they in problems? No, they had just thought 'enough is enough' . The shot was at 23m and on top of the wreck and after a fairly short while Jim & I decided to follow the 'Big Boys' , back up the line! On surfacing after 20mins all but one other pair were back on the boat!

So the wreck revealed nothing to us , which wreck was it ? Hard to say but it was at the co-ordinates of the Pentyrch (Page 97 Dive Sussex), so I guess it was the Pentyrch, how would I know? I didn't see more than my hand hold!

Oh well that the 'starting gun' for me , 1st UK Sea dive this season , it can only get better! Steve, the Skipper laid a bet with me that after all my kit servicing I'd get a free-flow. Well all the kit worked like a dream , well done Ocean View!

Proposed 'Adopt A Wreck' Training Weekend - 13-15 April 2007

Ian Barefoot at the Diving Into History Project of the Nautical Archaeology Society has sent me details of a good value Adopt A Wreck sponsored 'NAS Mini-Summer School' for the above week-end. The training weekend will allow students to get their Intriduction and Part 1 courses done in one week-end. Sadly I can't make it but hopefully others among you can!

I will circulate the full details by email. Add a comment if you do not receive the email or are not on the circulation list!

Diving Too Deep?

The linked BBC story :-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6379839.stm

tells of a diver who went to 40m in the Red Sea, got a bend then found that her insurance didn't cover her emergency treatment.

Worth checking the small print on your insurance ! There are plenty of wreck dives off our coast that are regularly visited by recreational divers and which are over 30m deep.

Some insurance policies will state a max depth, others state a limit equivalent to your level of training . What is the limit for a PADI Advanced Open Water diver ? 30m ! May be worth thinking about the Deep Diver Specialty if you want to get a certification to a max of 4om.

DAN Europe Divers Day ~ Brussels ~ 7th April

Looks like there WILL be a Meridian Divers 'contingent' :-

Matt C - Reservation No.182
Chris P - Reservation No.184

If you are quick there are still a few places left (max 200).

Want to do a 33m dive in a clear warm research pool?

DAN Europe promised to put on a major event this spring - they have just announced the details of a research conference and diving opportunity in Brussells on 7th April 2007 :-

https://www.daneurope.org:443/eventi/2007/Aprile/DanDay/www/DAN_DAY_BRUXELLES_eng.htm

In which you can take a dive in the WORLDS DEEPEST pool :-

www.nemo33.com

Sounds interesting - I'm checking out the details! If you are up for a visit add a comment to the blog , maybe we can make a mini-trip out of it. Good hotel rates for DAN members !

Dive Kit Servicing

Alan has kindly offered to deliver all the equipment collected at the last meeting to Ocean View for servicing. I'm glad I gave my kit an inspection, the neck seal on my drysuit which had only been replaced a year or so ago had perished in a few small places ! That came as a big surprise as the previous neck seal had lasted a LOT longer! The kit will be delivered for service tomorrow (Sun 4th) .

LIDS Car Share? 10th or 11th March

If anyone is planning to go to LIDS this year I have a couple of members interested in car sharing. Any takers / offers email me or add a comment to the blog. It would be unusual for a number of local divers NOT to be there !!

DIVING TRIP PROPOSALS - Rolling Feedback

I'll use this post to summarise the feedback received regarding the 1/3/07 email that circulated FIVE proposals, I'll update this as feedback arrives:-

Proposal 1 - West Wales
Date
A No longer Available
B No longer Available
C (7): SamB , Chris+, DDiva, Jimbob, SimonT+, Shiela & Ernie,
D No longer available

Proposal 2 - Farne Islands
Not a runner!

Proposal 3- Swanage
Date A (13 expressions of interest)
(Note 7/3/07: Sidewinder is NOT now available for Date A above, but Mary Jo is!)
(Note 14/3/07: Date A is now the target date, cheques are now required, places will be allocated on first-come-first-served basis according to receipt of cheques :-
1. Chris
2. Emily
3. Lou
4. John D
5. Jim H
6. Simon T
7. Sheila B
8. Ernie B
9. Frank M
10.Sam B
11.
12.
Reserve.
Reserve.


Proposal 4 - Southern Eire
Not a runner!


Proposal 5 - Gozo / Malta
Date
A (3): Sheila& Ernie, Chris ,
B (3): Sheila & Ernie, Chris ,
C (9): Emily & Lou, Shiela & Ernie, Chris , Deborah, Josie, Kevin and Rebeca,
D (10): Emily & Lou, Shiela & Ernie, Chris , Simon, Deborah, Josie, Kevin and Rebeca,

Please note that some date options clash with others - any problems that this may lead to will be sorted-out in the next stage of planning ....it's a numbers game!

+ = With a non-diver.

Last updated 21/3/07

LUNDY Dive DVD

Last year I dived Lundy Island with a bunch of serious u/w photographers & videographers, today I received a DVD of the trip with some lovely 'footage' of seals underwater , a very nice souvenir - thanks to Rob W who sent it to me. If anyone wants to know a little more about lundy Island diving , ask very nicely and I might lend you the DVD!

Summary of Diving Trip Proposals

A basic summary of the dive trip proposals discussed at the 28th Feb meeting has now been circulated by email. If you do not receive this email and would like a copy , please add a comment to this posting.

Please let me know if you are interested in a proposal / date . Nil returns would be very helpful.

Thanks

Chris

Meridian Divers Meeting of 28th Feb 2007

The meeting was held in the Berwick Inn and 12 divers were present, new 'member' Ken P was welcomed. The meeting discussed the dive trip research that had been undertaken since the last meeting . A summary of the trip planning research will be circulated as soon as possible, it is hoped that from the summary a smaller selection of destinations will be identified for trips.

Sheila will produce full minutes for later circulation. Drinks & snacks were quaffed as usual and fingers were crossed for an active season. Alan has taken over the role of gathering equipment for servicing by Ocean View at Lancing, he left at the end of the evening with a car loaded with dive kit! Thanks Alan !

Wraysbury Water-Voles Sighted

Wraysbury is a miniature lake (or large pond) just off Junction 13 of the M25. But the glamour doesn't stop there. Underwater sights include containers, taxis, a blue boat, silt, fresh-water mussels and clams, and parts of trees. Surely no Red Sea resort can boast similar attractions?

For 32 whole minutes on Sunday 25th February this body of fresh water was also host to a curious-looking three-bodied, three-headed diver (see picture). King Tad of the North was flanked by Jim and Matt, eager to protect him from the on-rushing schools of lake-friggles. A sunken river-boat was the main non-silt-based highlight. Its head was admired but not used, even though it was far cleaner than the porta-loos being used by desperate waddling divers, top-side.

• Hero of the half-hour: Jim, who used inch-perfect navigation to return the trio back to their launch platform. Or a few feet to the right of it.


• Special guest star: a fat swan, sporting a heavy, black-footed limp as it lurched over the gravel and launched itself onto the water.


• Special mention: Heathrow airport, for providing the aerial display of unsettlingly huge jets a mere 1000 feet above.


• Dive stats: 6 quid a head, cheap sausage sarnies, plenty of tea and cheesy chips on tap*, a mini-dive-shop on site, and the occasional cantankerous swan. Average depth: 7m. Drive time to site: 90 minutes. Dive time at site: 30 minutes. Faff time before and after: 200,831 minutes.
  

* Part of our surface cover team demanding supplies

Tad Answers Members Questions at PADI Forum

Intsructor Development Course Staff Instructor Tad impressed his colleagues by answering members questions at the PADI Members Forum at Croydon on 22nd February. Shame he didn't take his jacket off though , then all would have seen the Meridian Divers emblem on his shirt. He might know his diving but we will have to work on his marketing skills.

Well done Tad!

Where's The Air ?

Getting gas - starting a list for local public supply :-

Ocean View Diving - South Street, Lancing
Air & Nitrox
Air fills - £2.50 (offer a 6 fills for the cost of five where a pre-paid card is used).

Iles World of Diving - Ferry Road , Shoreham
Air Only
3 litre pony - £2.00
7, 10, 12 & 15 litre - £3.00

Wittering Divers - Portland Road , Hove
Air & Nitrox
£?

Add comments with any others!

Diving World ~ A Roller Coaster Time

It's all happening this year. One of our founding blog members has sent me a news story about Dr Jules Eden (Dive Doctor ) being suspended by the General Medical Council for a 'cavalier attitude' . Oooops! The GMC is not known for knee-jerk or ill-considered actions, another space to watch. Dr Jules worked with the London Diving Chamber, no , it's NOT the one we use, we visit London Hyperbaric Medicine.

See:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6380135.stm

Ol'Boyz Reunion at the PADI Members Forum

It was good to meet with some ol'dive pros and catch-up on all the local news over a cup of coffee at the PADI Members Forum held at Croydon this evening. Ken and Ray H with Del M (Assistant Instructors) along with Tad , Al and myself had a pleasant evening chatting and were briefed by PADI Regional Manager Graham Owen. It's a fairly long haul upto Croydon for the Forum but Graham joined the Meridian Diver crew for a drink and a chat after the event so we squeezed a little more value out of the trip!

Naturally invitations to join this blog have been extended to Ken, Ray and Del (along with clan members Simon) , so I'm hoping that we'll see 'da boyz' listed as contributors pretty soon.

PADI reported a drop in Open Water certifications in the UK during 2006 and as a result will be promoting more entry courses this year. Graham was upbeat about the UK industry saying that he was currently seeing more Dive Centres open than were closing.

As a matter of interest another delegate at the Forum was the Instructor who during 2006 was seeking to buy the Newhaven centre. The Forum is a good place to network with other dive enthusiasts and I think we will see some divers making visits to East Sussex as a result!

Horsea Island ~ Inland Diving Site 24th February

YOU TOO CAN DIVE THE ROYAL NAVY CLEARANCE DIVER TRAINING SITE :-

Simon-T is planning a visit to Horsea Island on Saturday 24th February ( I think!) short notice but I guess for the fleet of foot there is an opportunity to tag along!

Simon , if that is the case, perhaps you could add a detail or two by way of a comment?

New Local Wreck!

Six people have been rescued from their motor yacht that burst into flames two miles off the coast in West Sussex.

The yacht has apparently now broken into and sunk.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6373671.stm

Link to NAS Training Course Diary

The following link will take you to the NAS training course diary :-

http://www.nasportsmouth.org.uk/news/diary.php?subject=IKUWA3

for those interested in following their NAS 'career'.

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Now that this blog has a number of posts , it's worth reminding uers of the 'Search' function at the top left of the header . The function can be used to quickly search the content of all posts.

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Wraysbury Diving Sunday 25th February

For the hardy souls that have expressed an interest in Diving at Wraysbury on Sunday 25th.
The gates open at 9.ooam but car parking can be a bit restrictive depending on how busy the site is.

Cost is £6 per day and airfills are available on site

Directions available at www.wraysbury.ws or tel 01784-488007

would anyone like to suggest a meeting time? I thought around 10.30 am

Water temperature is approx 5-6.C mmmmm

Tad

Once A Diver Always A Diver ~ Taba Egypt

Once a Diver , always a Diver, at least I think that was what my instructor said! And as Leopards don't change their spots I thought I'd give it another go!

Just back from a week at Taba, Egypt. Taba is in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, near the border with Israel. From Taba you can easily see Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. I managed to tuck-in six dives with a Dive Centre that serves the area "Red Sea Waterworld" . It was hardly their peak seaon which meant they took out a full sized day boat with only three divers on board! Despite so few day boat divers they were happy to take the boat up the coast to Fara'un Island , a small fortfied island with some nice dives off it's shores. The watchers became the watched as a submarine like glass-bottomed boated glided above us..

The dive guides were able to give a more personal service than may have been the case in busier times of year and I averaged 52mins per dive, with max depths ranging from 18m to 29m.

Very nice casual break with some good diving but with sites not as spectacular as those seen in Marsa Alam .

I want one of these !!!!

The C-Quester, as it is officially known, costs around £40,000. Small change, no doubt, for the diver who has everything and still wants more. It provides all the excitement of scuba diving without leaving the comfort of an air-conditioned cabin.

Those who have taken the controls liken the experience to 'flying through water'. The first mass-produced commercially available submarine, the C-Quester, comes from a company calling itself UBoat Worx. It is designed and produced in Holland.

The sub, which weighs up to 1.8-tons, can be launched from a yacht or slipped into the sea from a harbour-side ramp. The pilot climbs in through a hatch in the top, rather like a racing driver levering himself into his car, and steers using a joystick.

Inside the cabin, the pressure remains the same as that on land, meaning pilots and passengers (in the two-seater model £61,000) do not have to worry about the bends. Air quality is also assured, with a filtration system removing spent air and pumping in oxygen.

When the pilot wishes to descend, he opens flaps on the back of the board which lets water into the hollow hold beneath him. This allows the sub to reach depths of 164ft.

The motors power the submarine back to the top, with the water being expelled from the hull just before it reaches the surface. A spokesman from the manufacturer said: "Passengers can experience the wonder of diving and the beauty of the oceans without having to obtain a scuba diving qualification. "We have sold them to people who love to dive or have a big boat and also to people who see them as a toy."

Obviously some people have far too much money but if you want to buy me an xmas present this year look no further,

Tad
Source Daily Mail 9th February 2007

Clearance Diver course photos

Hello all,
For those of you interested, here are a few photos from my old course;

Horsea Lake.


The lads, note switchblock on BCD used to select bailout cylinder.


Diving with SABA Mod. 1, black device attached to mask is a cylinder pressure sensor, activated at 50 bar

Beginning hull search.

Found a limpet mine.

Safe diving, see you all beneath the waves!
Andy

Wraysbury Diving

As mentioned at the last group meeting I am planning a trip tp Wraysbury towards the end of the month.

Anyone interested please could you let me know the prefered date. I was thinking of a Sunday as most people are free.

Who knows if this weather continues it could turn into an ice dive. Anyhow the water will be warmer than the air temperature.

I will be taking my Aga Divator full face mask ( see picture above) anyone who would like to give it a go will be more than welcome.

Tad

Egypt Trip ~ November 2007 ?

Having spoken with Chris P over the weekend it was agreed that I research the potential for a Diving trip to Sharm in November 2007

I shall contact various Companies to see what they can offer, at the moment I shall be looking at a straightforward Dive trip with Day boats and not consider any additional courses

Interested parties to let me by adding a comment to this post:

1. Clinton
2. Trekker
3. Chris-P
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Recompression Chamber Aware Divers!

Eight divers spent the day with London Hyperbaric Medicine on 4th Feb undertaking their Recompression Chamber Awareness Course.

The course is always regarded as a success by those who participate and gives divers :-

a). A 'dry' dive to 40 metres (for a longer bottom time than the would normally be able to conduct as no-decompression divers)

b). A test to make bring home the effects of Nitrogen Narcosis ( the effects of narcosis are more apparent in a 'dry' dive).

c). An insight into DCI and recompression chamber treatment that should help reduce any anxiety if they or a dive buddy ever need treatment for real.

Next Meridian Divers Meeting ~ 28th February

The next Merds meet (usual venue) is:-

Wednesday 28th February

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Hoping the the dive planners have been busy!

News from DAN

Dear Diving Friend,

If you have not yet made plans for the festive period around April 7-8, 2007, we have a good and unusual suggestion for you to use some of your free time diving as well as learning about the safety of diving!

DAN Europe organized a big international scientific and diving research event in a very special place! You will have the opportunity to learn about the most recent advances in recreational diving research , directly from the leading international scientists and researchers.
A selected group of divers will also be trained as DAN Research Specialists, who will be able to operate through the DAN Europe Diving Safety Laboratory and organise research dives in their region.

On top of that, you will have the opportunity to become a Research Diver and experience a dive in one of the most peculiar and unique "warm-water" diving sites in continental Europe!
Participation in the lectures and certification as Research Diver are free of charge!
Consider this and keep your April 7-8, 2007 weekend free for this event!

Very shortly DAN Europe will be circulating more detailed information and the complete program of the event! Stay Tuned!