Life on the South Male Atoll

I am hugely conscious that in writing this dive report I might be tempted to mirror that time honoured start of school term essay 'What I did in my summer holidays' but to do so would be so 'me, me, me' that I would run the disturbing risk of upsetting some faint heart! So to prevent that awful occurrence I'm going to write about a mate who recently went diving in the South Male Atoll.

My Mate (MM) (not to be confused with a yeast extract sandwich spread) , went diving with Ocean Venture Diving (OVD) based on the tiny ilsand of Fihalhohi on the South-West of South Male Atoll. OVD is a German operated SSI Platinum Dive Centre. The SSI agency was created by some divers who were part of PADI but decided to go their own way. They are a very friendly bunch and some of the staff have been on the island for many years.

MM did nine dives which is not a lot in a fortnight but he didn't want to upset my wife, er, I mean his wife, by being underwater too much! A quick summary of his dives was:-

1. House Reef (South ), 67 Mins , Max Depth 18.3m

2. Banner Reef, 54 Mins, Max Depth 20.7m

3. Rannalhi Bodul Giri, 52 Mins , Max Depth 22m

4. Kandoma Beru, 52 Mins, Max Depth 20.6m

5. Vaageli Faru Tila, 36mins, Max Depth 29.9m

6. Rannahli Bodul Faru North , 49 Mins, Max Depth 18.6m

7. Endiri Giri , 51 Mins, Max Depth 23.2m

8. House Reef (North), 62 Mins, Max Depth 16.8m

9. Guradoo Kuda Kandu, 50 Mins, Max Depth 25.3m

The visibility was mostly in the 15 to 20m range with a couple of dives a little less. The water was a little warmer than Stoney at 28 Deg C every day. All diving was done on 12 Litre Aluminium tanks filled with air (though Nitrox was available - but with an old gas gulper like MM there was not much point having Nitrox in 12 Litre tanks , 'cos the gas went before the NDL!).

Some of the dives were in current , some a moderate current which kept the old biffer puffing away as white tip reef sharks effortlessly headed straight into it with barely any movement in their fins. The coral in some of the dives has (sadly) seen better days but the often strong currents in the Maldives does give you the chance of seeing some bigger life. So White Tips & Napolean Wrasse were reasonably easy to spot. Spotting black tip reef sharks was even easier for MM as they swam around the shoreline all the time.

The island has readily accessible snorkeling and diving alsmost around it's entire circumference and snorkelling over the drop-off almost every day it was possible to see almost as much as by diving , just less of the bigger stuff! That said rays & turtles are regularly seen whilst snorkeling.

All boat diving is done from Dhonis (wide, shallow keel, wooden boats with cover from the sun) and the Dhonis daily criss cross the Atoll going from East to West Sides. A slow Dhoni ride across the width of the entire atoll would take about 45 minutes.

I believe MM enjoyed his little stay on the island , a gin & tonic on the beach watching the sun go down seemed to round off a days hard graft wrestling with all that heavy SCUBA stuff.

Oh - and here (above) is the obligatory Clown Fish shot! Apologies on behalf of MM for that further self-indulgence!

More Local Diving ~ Sovereign Divers

Congratulations to Sovereign Divers on the start-up of their new blog.

In recent years there has almost been a rebirth of local diving, with new firms, new clubs , new boats and lots of new blogs, it's very encouraging (especially in the economic climate) . The local growth in diving & diving facilities may give boost to the 'sink-one' campaign, which could yet become a 'Sink-one-for-Sussex' scale project.

T R Thompson - 14th December 2008 - Update

Channel Diver is now full for this dive. The following are booked on.
1. Ernie
2. Tracey
3. Sean
4. Gary
5. Terry
Fingers crossed for the weather now!
Ernie

Shark Dive ~ Brighton Sea Life Centre ~ Sunday 14th Dec

Unfortunately i have 2 spaces for this dive experience on the above date for reasons that can`t be helped.
The cost of this dive is £90 payable to OV but £95 if paying by card
For the price of your ticket you also recieve full admission for 2 people to watch/record your shark experience,so once your dive is finished feel free to tour the sea life centre and see there new attractions
This is a unique chance to dive with a variety of sharks plus not forgetting the stars of the show the 2 very large turtles also many different species of fish without the need to fly halfway round the world.
If you are intrested in this dive please post your comment or contact me or Ocean view

ps. if you don`t get on this dive i`m more than happy to run some more dive`s next year if i get enough intrest.

Pembrokeshire June 2009

Due to lack of support and strigent booking arrangements (i.e. we had to fill the boat) this trip has unfortunately had to be cancelled. Sorry guys and gals.
Ernie

Meridian Divers and Ocean View at Stoney cove

Highlights from the Dives at Stoney Cove on Thursday

So how was your diving this year?

Despite the weather I have managed 48 dives this year. Had my last one on Thursday and will start up again next year now, as December is sooo busy. It would be nice to see what all you MDers and OVers have achieved. This is what I did:
1 dive in Belgium, Nemo 33
25 dives in UK sea
2 dives in The Med, Corfu
5 dives in The Red Sea, Taba
9 dives in Wraysbury
2 dives in NDAC, Chepstow
2 dives in Vobster
2 dives in Stoney.
Many thanks to all my buddies and fellow divers, my best dive year by far!!!

Linda managed 1 dive in The Med and 2 in The Red Sea
Matthew, son, managed 5 dives in The Red Sea
Megan, daughter, managed 1 dive in Thailand and 2 dives in The Red Sea

And you??

Stoney Cove Adventures for Meridian and Ocean View Divers

Its been nearly 20 years since I first visited Stoney Cove and since then this iconic inland site has transformed from a rough and ready ex quarry filled with cold fresh water into a well set up and run diving facility which is visited by thousands of divers from across the UK regularly. The site in Leicestershire was probably the first of its kind in the UK and love it or hate it many people still travel hundreds of miles to train ,play or test kit in its clear dark depths.

Over the years the site has placed many in water attractions at various points and depths to keep the visiting divers interested and being an ex quarry there is still evidence of the machinery and buildings that supported the working of the quarry before it was abandoned and allowed to fill with water.

So on Thursday 4 divers from Meridian divers and Ocean View trekked the 150 miles to have a midweek adventure within the coves clear green waters.

After a very early start I met up with Simon at Three Bridges and travelled up in his car we had arranged to meet Gary and Terry from Ocean View on site so with much reluctance we stopped on the M40 to fuel up our finely honed physiques with a cooked breakfast which would help keep us warm during the coming dives.

A clear run saw us at Stoney around 10 am with Garry and Terry already there and in the water. With the car park nearly empty parking close to an entry /exit point wasn't a problem.
With a stiff cold wind blowing I felt the enthusiasm starting to drain but we forced ourselves to kit up and get down to the waters edge. The OV boys were on their way back up after completing their first dives and with a brief exchange of whats it like how cold is it etc etc We jumped in and surface swam to the buoy marking the Stanegarth.

The vis was at least 10m and with the water temp a tepid 10.c conditions were very comfortable. We whizzed down the shot and explored the Stanegarth both inside and out then followed a compass bearing back towards the bottom of the drop off and the wrecks of the VW van and the Westland Helicopter. We then ascended the quarry wall to the Nautilus mock up and swam underneath the pub. We then worked our way back across to the Viscount cockpit before watching a huge shoal of roach meander across the quarry floor.

51 minutes later we surfaced and met up the G&T for a quick chat and coffee and warm up in the refurbished changing rooms.

The 2nd Dive saw all 4 of us diving together which took us to the submerged block house and back. Having done the most the inwater attractions on the first dive Simon and I had seen all we needed to see after 30 mins and decided to call it a day leaving G&T to carry on.

Now it may seem a bit daft to travel on round trip of 300 miles just to dive an inland site but diving is diving and although diving in the sea can never be replaced Stoney is a pretty good alternative when you need a midwinter scuba fix.

With G&T deciding on whether to share a shower or spend another 20p on separate ones, we said our goodbyes and headed back down South.

Stoney Cove has been accussed of being dangerous, as with all underwater enviroments there is always an element of risk. Proper risk management ,training , correct equipment and taking in enviromental considerations when planning a dive, help reduce those risks.

In the case of Stoney Cove, the biggest risk probably comes from the very cold water in the site during the winter months and the fact that the site is used by thousands of divers each year means that there will always be incidents.

The company that runs the facilty definately puts the safety of its customers as the highest priority, its down to you to respect the rules and dive within your own limits and the limits of your training.

Thanks to Simon for driving and Gary and Terry

Video Highlights to follows shortly

Tad

Swanage~16-17th May 2009

hi all,
will be looking for payment in January for this trip £85 pp but feel free to pay early if you can spare it
list below
http://www.diversdownswanage.co.uk/
http://www.woodyhyde.co.uk/prices.html
Divers
1.matt
2.sean
3.anna
4.trez
5. chris-p
6.jimbob
7. steve l
8. tad
9.tracy
10. gary s
11. prometheus
12.george

Plymouth trip ~ 5-7th June 09

just a quick one here first to gauge who wants in on this trip.
The trip is the same one i sorted this year for the absurd deal of £135 for the whole deal with Steve details here http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/DIVE-CHARTER-PLYMOUTH-MOUNTBATTEN
12 divers in total but as promised the divers that were with me in October have first refusal so can i have those names first then i throw it open to all
1.Matt
2. Sean
3. Tracy
4. Anna
5. Steve
6. George
7. Caroline
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Kit Servicing

Now that the cold weather is upon us, many of you may be thinking of hanging up your kit for winter - or taking the opportunity to get it serviced!

Graeme at OV is upholding the arrangement MD had with Den and will give a 10 % discount on kit servicing.

As I am over there most Wednesdays, I am more than happy to take any kit over & bring it back. All I ask is that you bring your kit to me!

Ideally, we could do a job lot in January - if you bring any kit & instructions to the MD meeting at end of January, this will ensure it is all done and back with testing time before some of us head off to the warmer waters in April.

The Challenge is on! MD vs OV

The Date........ Tuesday 20th January 2009
The Venue .....Bowlplex Brighton
The Time .......TBA

Ok guys, it's time to dig out those ol' bowling shirts, girls to file their nails down and all to slip on those oh so glamourous shoes!

The time has come for MD & OV to go head to head!

For the tidy sum of £14.99 pp, you will get 2 games of bowling, a 'delicious' meal or buffet (Bowlplex description!) and a certificate for the winner (and loser!)

There is no limit on numbers and all family and friends are welcome. Ideally we would aim to have 5 or 6 to a lane & make up a couple of teams - it may even be that we have a Meridian Team, OV Team and a team for us schizophrenics that like to split ourselves between the two.

Please add a comment if you are interested - will be collecting money beginning of January

Vobster

Hi all, just to let you know, about 8 Ocean View divers will be bimbling their way over to Vobster on Sunday morning, for- yes you've guessed it another early morning start! If any of you are free then come on down we'll be the bleary eyed yet keen ones that are eager to get into the brrr and burny face water!! Hope to see you there

Stoney Cove ~ To Go or Not To Go??

Unfortunately, due to various reasons, Sean, Matt, Anna and I are no longer able to make it this Thursday (promise you all valid reasons and nothing to do with Mr Frost greeting us each morning!)

We have thought about re-arranging but I have just spoken to Tad and he and Simon are still going. As Tad is bit out on a limb where he lives, car sharing would not be easy but you could still meet up. Please either contact Tad direct or add comment to blog.

Sorry guys, will try & set something else up soon - still Tad's Soup Dragon Dive to look forward to.

Look forward to your report guys

Jack Family Xmas Raffle Donation

We have just received a donation towards the xmas raffle from T.R.Thompson relatives Norman & Mary Jack . I thought it would be an idea to put this donation to a permanent award that can be given out each year. This is only an idea but would like the thoughts of everyone else.

A big thank you to Norman & Mary for their generous donation

T R Thompson - 14th December 2008

If anyone else is interested in diving the T R Thompson on 14th December could you please post your comment so we can book the spaces while they are still available. This will probably be our last chance to dive the old girl this year.
Tracey and I are already booked.
Ernie

Meridian Divers Polo Shirts and Fleeces

If you haven't already ordered your polo shirts and fleeces can you please do so by no later than 30th November. Please check original posting for sizes and prices.
Ernie

Xmas Dinner Raffle

Mick Luff of Seazones has donated a very tasty prize for our Xmas Raffle !
Many thanks to Mick.

City of Waterford- Sunday 16th November

Well it looks like its fallen to the man of few words to write up this cracking dive. The famous five went out after lashings of ginger beer and shouts of "come diving John Sergent all is forgiven." After a nice choppy ride out to the site on seazones, accompanied by our two techy friends that insisted on shouting huey duey and louis over the side, we arrived at the wreck and were met by Channel Diver, who had dropped a shot line already saving us a job. The A-team (A.K.A Silver tongued 007 Sean, Mish Money Penny Tracey and Tres - Destroyer of all things good and holy!)dropped in and with 3-4m vis it became apparent that this was going to be a great dive and we swam over the hull, and it was at this point Sean was seen to be wrangling with a giant conger eel shouting whose your daddy now! Ok maybe not, but it was nice to see such an abundance of Marine life including bib, pollack, bream, crab and the conger eel, which sean watched respecfully from a distance, hiding behind Tracey! All to soon it was time to deploy the SMB and work our way back to Seazones. Once back on board we eagerly awaited Matt's report, knowing him to be a useful source of information for future divers only to find that he and Steve decided at 30m that the wreck had disappeared in a freak underwater storm-Matt, wrong location for the Bermuda triangle mate! Never mind he consoled himself with more lashings of ginger beer and wuvly wuvly scones - cheers Mick. As for Matt's buddy Steve, what can we say great drive from London and who knows ...next time mate-go get em tiger!
Original report written by sean as follows: " it was a great dive , went down, got wet, came back, lovely" New report edited by Anna!

Stoney Cove - 27 Novembrrrrrrrrr!

Hi all nutters

A few of us got together last night and after a number of hours deliberation, it has been decided that we will aim to meet at Stoney around 10-10.30 (dependant on traffic!)

For those who wish to drive up in convey, Matt & co are meeting me & co at the 6.45am (must be mad) at the BP garage at bottom of A23 (where it meets (A27)

It does seem that MD/OV divers will be storming in and taking over Stoney that day but what the hell - come and join us- the more the merrier!

See you there

BBC Programme ~ Oceans

I'm probably (no, I am ) very biased but I thought the BBC coverage of the TRT work was more engrossing than the BBC2 programme 'Oceans' broadcast this evening. And, even if that is a somewhat minority view, I imagine that many will think the first 'Oceans' programme to be pretty lightweight! Lots of giggly fun and I'd have been really happy to be joining-in , but, what was it actually trying to achieve? One whale gives a breath sample and it wasn't even driving! I suppose that after the major success of 'Blue Planet' and 'Coast' I have come to expect a lot! I'll be watching the reviews with interest!

I'm hoping that there will be more substance in future episodes. It's becoming quite tiresome in diving programmes to have the participants keep telling us how dangerous it all is and how worried they become when the comms fail. Comms failure? We don't even have comms to start with!

Come on MDers , get those HSE Scuba Diver quals and get out there on those expeditions!

Christmas Dinner Raffle

Don't forget to bring your raffle prizes to the meeting on the 26th. Lets make it a raffle, as well as dinner, to remember and even raise some money.

Meridian Divers ~ Back on the BBC South East!

It can't be long before we have our own dressing rooms at BBC South East! Yes, Meridian Divers were back on the telly - again!

The BBC South East programme ran the story of our success in the NAS Adopt-a-Wreck Awards and used some of the 'footage' from the 'Mr Jack ' dive!

[Expired link removed as no longer current! - Blast!]

~<>~

Oh! And our award was on the BBC radio too!

Update - 16th November Seazones

All 6 divers requesting spaces are booked on to Seazones (2 spaces available if ayone else wants to join us). The plan is to dive the City of Waterford. Meet Newhaven Marina 10:00. Ropes of 10:45. Dive 12:30ish. Back in port 15:00ish.
Weather looks good at the moment and I will check with Mick Saturday afternoon and text you all to confirm on or off.
Ernie

Dry Divers Under Pressure

7 divers, 40m dive, all get narked, and not one of us got our wet hair... How is this possible I hear you cry. Well it was all possible thanks to London Hyperbaric Medicine and their hyperbaric chamber (guess the clue was in the name!).

7 divers made the trip to Whips Cross Hospital last Sunday the 9th Nov to take part in a re-compression chamber awareness course. We arrived at the hospital around ten and met up with our host and instructor Jane and our chamber attendant Wayne. Jane and Wayne then ran us through the safety procedures for the chamber and what we could or could not take in with us. Which was very little including our cloths and to my surprise you cant take explosives in either! So I packed the semtex back into my bag and we all change into very fetching cotton scrubs so as not to be combustible when sealed into a small metal tube fill with pure O2... We were then loaded into the chamber and Wayne (our guide for the dive ) firmly closed the door and ran us through what would happen next. Which was that we descended to 40m in 10 mins ears popping all the way. The one major difference was that apart from the obvious lack of rubber and equipment the chamber became very warm 32 degrees to be precise. If you have ever felt a cylinder just after having been filled you will know what i mean. By the time we cleared thirty metres most of us were feeling the effects of narcosis helped along by the fact that all our voices sounded like we had be breathing from a helium balloon. Very funny!! once at forty Wayne got us to do some simple tasks and arithmetic to demonstrate how the narcosis had effected us. We spent 10 minutes at forty metres before being slowly brought back to surface pressure. For the last nine minuets of the dive we were all put on 100% O2 to flush out any nitrogen that we had built up (Thanks Matt for pointing out that "the pure O2 we were breathing is expensive and that we should make the most of it by taking very deep breaths"!). Of course on the way back the chamber had the reverse affect to the decent and got very cold. Fortunately Wayne had brought some jumpers but only enough for the ladies (smooth bugger!). Having all safely arrived back at the surface and packed away our DSMBs... we were unloaded from the chamber. Jane then ran us through the affects of DI and how to avoid getting one and how they treat it if you do get one, after which Wayne finished our trip by showed us how the chamber works.

I think we would all like to say a big thank you to Chris for organizing the trip and to say if you haven't done one yet think about going on the next trip it a great day out and a very fun dive...

PS. sorry about the photo it was take on a mobile phone so not great quality.

Soup Dragon Dive

For those of you who are young enough to remember the Clangers on TV and the friendly Soup Dragon that inhabited their small round planet, I am putting together a dive in their honour.

The dive will consist of a dip in one of the inland sites in Kent and then when your cold enough its all back to my place for Hot bowls of my home made Clanger soup and fresh crusty clanger bread and for those that like a beer or ten ,there will be some of that too.

Why? I hear you all asking and I reply why not.

I am looking at one weekend in January and all are welcome, in fact the more the merrier. If we choose a saturday then there is enough room if anyone wishes to stay over.

If you are interested in the clangers just type Clangers in Youtube and see for yourselves

Tad

Big Anchors !

Since I have been diving I have certainly come across some big anchors! Some in the water, some not! Some have left a lasting memory on me whilst others fade amongst all the lesser anchors it has been my lot to observe!

You might be forgiven for thinking that it's not worth dwelling too long upon the anchors we chance to encounter but you might be wrong! The NAS is soon to launch the :-

BIG ANCHOR PROJECT

and everyone is invited to photograph & record anchors to populate a lottery funded database. Of course being something of an anorak I will send a few photos in to their website which you can check out by clicking HERE!

May be Meridian Divers should have it's own competion for Christmas that can tie-in with this project? Perhaps a prize for identifying the biggest anchor on any of the boats we've dived from?

~ <> ~

And as this post has caught you're collective imaginations, I'll add a silly challenge. The Big Anchor below was photographed at a major port in Europe! Readers can add a comments with guesses as to country and then when that is established comments to identify the City / Port can be added. The winner is the first comment to identify the City/Port! The prize will be a drink at the next appropriate MD Meeting!

Meridian Divers ~ Xmas Dinner ~ Meal Choices

I have emailed my list of all the meal choices that I have recorded for those of you coming to the Tudor House Restuarant on the 17th December.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I HAVE ANY OF YOUR CHOICES SHOWN INCORRECTLY!

If you are attending and you don't receive the 'check list' let me know by email or add a comment!

Ocean View Christmas Party ~ 6th December

The Juice FM party nights at the fantastic Holiday Inn Brighton Seafront are very popular, but good news, Graeme hasreserved 30 places on Saturday 6th December. This will be on a 1st come 1st served basis but he will need a £10 deposit per person (or payment in full) to reserve the space. Graeme also has the option of reserving another 20 spaces if demand is high, but hurry as they will not be available for very long!

The package is priced at £29.95 inc VAT per person, and includes:

* Three course meal
* Coffee and mince pies
* Festive novelties and decoration
* Juice FM DJ and disco
* Discount hour on selected drinks from 6pm-7pm

if interested contact Graeme, Matt or the Ocean View shop direct.

Wanna 'Go Pro'?

Calling any divers who want to 'Go Pro'! One of our MDers is looking at going pro and it may be that others are also interested. In the PADI world going 'Pro' means getting your Divemaster qualification, but in practice , in terms of employment, relatively few Divemasters , even those 'at work' are actually employed or receive a wage. The same is true of many (but not all) PADI Instructors who to a considerable extent are not paid employees.

Of course, in the world of diving being a 'professional' has a much wider range of meaning. There are allsorts of professional divers who are not engaged with recreational diving instruction, such as research divers, media divers, commercial divers and police divers to name but a few. On top of that there are all kinds of different technologies beyond SCUBA involved in diving , surface supply being an eaxmple. So going 'Pro' offers huge potential beyong recreational instruction.

A starting place for professional diving is the HSE Scuba Diver qualification. This qualification allows employment in non-recreational instruction circumstances, for example taking part in a underwater media project. A different Codes of Practice and requirements applies to such work albeit it may be conducted on SCUBA. A cameraman or safety diver involved in a professional media project requires qualifications not available as part of PADI training for example.

Andark Diving offers the HSE SCUBA Diver course and an appropriate qualification would potentially open the door to wider diving experience and for employment or contracted work. If you are interested in this kind of development take a look at the following link:-

http://www.andark.co.uk/site/diver_training/hse/default.aspx

If you ever looked at underwater documentaries on television and thought 'I'd love to do that!' then may be you should be thinking about really going 'Pro'!

Next Meridian Divers Meeting ~ Wed 26th November

The next Meridian Divers Meeting will be held at the Berwick Inn, Berwick at 7.30pm on Wednesday 26th November. The Inn is under new management and judging by our last meeting ,when they were extremely accommodating and pleasant towards as a group , we should find that we are welcome to hold our meetings there!

Stop Press! Meridian Divers in the Chamber

As I write a party of Meridian Divers are in the 'pot' . No it's not that kind of party! They are all at London Hyperbaric Medicine for a recompression awareness course. I first organised divers training visits to the Chamber in 2005 and several trips since then has seen continued enthusiasm for this well regarded trip. It's also very gratifying to see that other diving groups have also appreciated the value of this training.

Full report on the visit in due course.

Update - 16th November Seazones

We have 5 places taken on this dive but need 1 more for the boat to go out. Time is running short, so if you are thinking of diving on this trip get your comment in ASAP.
Ernie

1. Ernie
2. Tracey
3. Therese
4. Steve (City of Waterford)
5. Sean
6. Matt

NAS Honours the Meridian Divers "T R Thompson" Project

Meridian Divers, Tad, Sheila & Chris were delighted to be invited to the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) 2008 Annual Conference held on Saturday 8th November at "ACTION STATIONS" in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, itself the home of HMS Victory.

The Conference, supported by PADI, BSAC, SAA, English Heritage, Historic Scotland and others, had a packed Agenda with some of the leading UK and overseas archaeologists. With such an eminent and erudite line-up of speakers one might reasonably wonder why Meridian Divers were invited.


Well the answer is simple, the NAS wished to honour Meridian Diver's for their Adopt A Wreck Project (see linked blog , link top right of this page). On behalf of the NAS, Mr Ray Sutcliffe FSA read out a glowing citation on the work of Meridian Divers and the extent to which the project had traced living relatives of the Steamship T R Thompson, sunk in 1918. The citation included a special reference to the succesful use of the broadcast media which had promoted maritime heritage.


Tad , on behalf of Meridian Divers was called to the dias and presented with a Certificate and a engraved glass wine decanter. The Certificate , for 'Runners-Up' in the 2008 Adopt a Wreck Awards was all the more meaningful to Meridian Divers as it surpassed the Certificates of Merit awarded to several other impressive projects. After the presentation several members of the NAS came forward to add their personal endorsement of the Project. It was a very proud day in the history of Meridian Divers and provides some independent and authoritative support for our work. It was particularly pleasing to know that PADI Internal was a member of the Judging Panel for this year's award. The PADI web site has previously carried reports of the projects progress.
. The engraved decanter

. The base of the engraved decanter Meridian Divers would like to thank all those who have contributed to the T R Thompson Project.

Northern Cyprus ~ Maritime Heritage

Many divers will appreciate that Cyprus is currently governed by two different states with their respective territories separated by a United Nations 'Buffer Zone'. A presentation made to the Nautical Archaeology Society at their 2008 Annual Conference by Assistant Professor Matthew Harpster emphasised how this situation created a highly peculiar legal situation in respect of Maritime Heritage & archaeology. To try to resolve this situation Prof Harpster had designed a training course for Cypriots. The political situation dictated that the course be presented in the UN "Buffer Zone" as this encouraged citizens of both parts of Cyprus to participate. The course was developed using advice provided by the Nauitical Archaeology Society. Prof Harpster showed a photograph of the students on his course, many were UK ex-patriots but there were divers from both the Greek and Turkish sides of the island.

The island of Cyprus has many maritime heritage sites and it's very encouraging to see that training is being provided to local divers. So it was good to see Ghengis, an Instructor who trained locally in East Sussex and who now operates a diving centre in Northern Cyprus standing amongst the Group! Well done Ghengis for taking part. (Ghengis is in centre of the front row, dressed all in blue denim).

Thank You Graeme!

A BIG thank you to Ocean View's new proprietor, Graeme, who has kindly donated an Ocean View gas fill card to Meridian Divers for use as a prize in the MD Christmas Dinner on 17th December. Graeme is pictured handing the prize to Sheila (MD's Hon Sec!)

Red Sea Wrecks ~ Log Book Drawings

For all those who are headed-off to the Red Sea Liveaboard in April 2009 you might like a few line drawings of wrecks we are likely to see on the 'Northern Itinerary' . At this stage we don't know the exact route (and that may be weather dependent in any case!) But here are a few small sketches to get you in the mood!

Now with Added Newhaven

The Sink One 4 Seaford project has widened it's appeal by the inclusion of 'Newhaven' in it's title which has shown as "Sink One 4 Seaford And Newhaven ".

This seems to make a lot of sense as divers wanting to dive a purposely sunk naval vessel off the coast of Seaford are likely to make use of the Port of Newhaven. There has been some concern voiced at public meetings as to quite how far the benefits any economic regeneration from the project would extend. A central issue seems to have been 'how many divers who would stay overnight in the area ?' as day-tripping divers would have less positive economic impact as they would not pay for accommodation and probably purchase less refreshments / meals etc.

Of course an increase in divers using the Port of Newhaven would benefit related businesses in or around the Port, so it does make good sense to recognise Newhaven in the project name.

With the certainty of a recession on the horizon, the owners of the Port of Newhaven and the various developers will likely have got cold feet in respect of the much discussed major developments of the Port. Certainly there were plenty of people, up to a few months ago, confidently predicting that the Port developments would go ahead with visible improvements . I don't think many would bet much on that prospect at the moment.

The future of the Port , for many many years, has been characteised by a 'stop-go-stop-go-stop' round of ideas. Some ideas have materialised , like all the new housing, whereas , other ideas have been stopped mid-way, arguably leaving a deficit. For example, how we all miss the Coral Cabin for our post-dive bacon butties!

Wherever we are on the stop-go cycle the Port & users have to work with what they are left with , constantly adapting to the prevailing circumstances however uncertain. Quite Darwinian in a sort of evolutionary way! I think we will continue new species emerging for some while yet. Evolution is fascinating but it does produce some implausible entities - the duck-billed platypus for example!

[For a critical assessment of the Port click : Here]

Meridian Divers Dive The City Of Waterford part 2

Part 2 of thw Highlights from Sundays dive on the City of Waterford

Swanage~16-17th May 2009

Hello all,
after the last meeting i`ve spoken to Divers down at Swanage and prebooked 2 days diving on there hard boat "SMOOTHHOUND".
The weekend`s diving is for 12 divers and the itinerary is as follow`s Sat 16th may ropes off 08.45am to dive the KYARRA then a 2nd dive in the area then Sun 17th ropes off 09.30am to dive the AEOLIAN SKY + 2nd dive the cost is £85 pp which is payable up front .
Accomadation and travel i will leave to you guy`s to sort out as i think there are a few different ideas about where to stay and i for one is going where it`s cheapest so i have found a campsite a mile from the seafront to stay at and i know a few of you have your own b+b recommendations.
Links to sites below
http://www.diversdownswanage.co.uk/
http://www.woodyhyde.co.uk/prices.html
Divers
1.matt
2.sean
3.anna
4.trez
5. chris-p
6.jimbob
7. steve l
8. tad
9.tracy
10. gary s
11. prometheus
12.george
Reserve list
1.
2.
3.
4.

Meridian Divers Dive The City Of Waterford part 1

Part 1 of the highlights from Sundays dive on the City of Waterford

T R Thompson - 14th December 2008

Channel Diver is scheduled to dive the T R Thompson on Sunday 14th December 2008. Ropes off at 10:00. If you are interested please post a comment.

1. Ernie
2. Tracey
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Ernie

Seazones 16th November 2008

Is anyone interested in diving from Seazones on Sunday 16th November, one dive at a cost of £20.00. We need 6 divers at least to secure the boat at this price. If you are interested post a comment and any preference of what you would like to dive.

1. Ernie
2. Tracey
3. Therese
4. Steve L (City of Waterford)
5.
6.
7.
8.

Ernie

Skive Dive Society ~ Blanefield Wreck 29th October

A freezing cold Wednesday 29th October saw two of Meridian Divers most prolific skivers (Simon and Ernie) loading their kit on Channel Diver . As she slipped out into the icy seas, much stamping of feet and muttering of brass monkeys was heard.
At the site the shot was as usual expertly placed by Steve. Simon and I then slipped beneath the waves. At 12 metres the light was failing fast and on reaching the bottom at 34 metres it was dark.
The water clarity was quite good so with torches we could see well. We made our way around the stern and back over the decks to the boilers and engines. The wreck was covered with a thick blanket of fish and large lobsters were seen.
All too soon it was time to make our ascent. On reboarding Channel Diver it soon became very obvious that it was warmer in the water than out! A few snow flurries gave us the hint, but Steve came to the rescue with a very welcome cup of soup.
The second dive was under Brighton Pier. Not much to report apart from a very startled eel.
Ernie

Stoney Cove (or should that be Stoney Cold!)

Ok all you intrepid divers, this is where we sort the boys from the men as they say! A fantastic day out at good ol' Stoney (of course it'll be fantastic - have you seen who's going!!??!!) Looking at Thursday 27th November 2008. Those that are interested, add to blog or email me and we'll finalise details in couple weeks.

Meridian Divers Polo Shirts and Fleeces

As discussed at the last meeting we are going to order Polo Shirts for the Red Sea Trip (with Meridian Divers Logo + Red Sea 2009) and Fleeces (with Meridian Divers Logo only). Choice of colour is navy or navy.

Prices will be finalised when we know how many we are going to order. The approx. price of the polo shirts is £16.00 and fleeces £25.00. Obviously the more we order the cheaper they will be.

Mens sizes are XS (34-36") S (36-38") M (38"-40") L (40"-42") XL (42-44") 2XL (44"-46") 3X (46"-48")

Ladies sizes are XS (30") S (32") M (34") L (36") XL (38") 2XL (40")

If you wish to order please post a comment with item and size.

Ernie

Dive Pembrokeshire (Fishguard) 13/14th June 2009

To be able to secure the boat at this years prices, we need 12 divers @ £80.00 per person for 4 dives. So far the following have expressed an interest:

1.Steve L
2. Tracey
3. Therese
4. Tad
5. Ernie
6. Sheila
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

You will be responsible for booking your own accommodation (we have details of B & B's) and will need to pay your £80.00 as soon as the boat is full.
We would be diving with Celtic Diving and their web site is http://www.celticdiving.co.uk/ You will find plenty of information and videos to tempt you.
If you are interested please post a comment.

City Of Waterford Dive 2nd November with Channel Diver

You know when you expect the worse and then you have a pleasant surprise well Sundays dive on the City of Waterford was a great example of that.

After the appalling weather on Saturday I was expecting the trip out to the Waterford on Channel Diver on Sunday to be cancelled but a text from Uncle Ernie Saturday evening confirmed the trip was going ahead but I still didn't hold out much hope for a decent dive.

Sunday morning in Chatham dawned damp and foggy, but as I headed down to Brighton , early morning sunshine promised a much better day, although I still wasn't hopeful about conditions underwater.

Meeting up with fellow Meridian Divers Uncle Ernie Tracey and Jim plus Mac Jim's mate from up north we boarded a full Channel Diver and headed out to the Waterford Site.

The other divers aboard included divers I had met earlier on the year on dives on the Thompson and I received some good feedback on the TRT Blog and videos .

Looking at the water colour heading out I still wasn't hopeful but what the heck the weather was warm and sunny, the company was great and was at sea again.

On arriving at the site Steve dropped the shot and guess what there was promise of some visibility so with a mixed bag of twinsets rebreathers and singles with ponies it was time to kit up and enter the water I ummed and aarghed about taking the camera in and decided it was worth a try although I felt I was being a bit hopeful..

With the shot disappearing into the gloom below we started our descent with Ernie,Tracey and myself buddied together I was expecting lights out at about 10m but soon it became very apparent that this was going to be a cracker. We hit the wreck at about 31m there was plenty of ambient light and vis was between 4-5m and the wreck was stuffed full of life.

Its been 8 years since I last dived the Waterford so orientation took a little time, but we were soon heading towards the stern gently gliding over deck machinery,holds, engines and the Crab family. Being a newer wreck than most of the other wrecks off East Sussex (sunk in a collision in 1948) the Waterford is still pretty much intact with some of the superstructure still evident at the stern and some of the wooden planking still on the decks. One thing that was noticeable was the temperature on the bottom still 14.c very cosy. With Uncle Ernie and Tracey proving the lighting I attempted to capture on video the Marine Vista that lay out before us, having to fight our way through the shoals of bib meandering across the the wreck.

With all of us on Nitrox we had we a enough time to pretty much cover most of the wreck although we didn't make the bows but before long it was time to pop up the blob and return to the surface and a cup of the hot stuff.

I opted out of the second dive on the ledges due to only having a limited amount of gas on the first dive but Ernie and Jim went in and had a 30 minute bimble until they ran out of reef . Again a respectable couple of metres vis.

As I said at the beginning I had expected the worse but what I got was one of the better dives of the year. It just goes to show that you can never assume anything when it comes to diving in the UK or as Uncle Ernie says" just stick with me and you will be alright "
I cant wait to dive the Waterford again I had forgotten what a great dive it was.

Video highlights will be posted in a couple of days. Really glad I took the camera down now.

Tad

Where to go on saturday

Hey all, Imogen and I are off this saturday diving. Our only problem is we don't know where or what time or if we are shore or boat diving! I know for those of you that know us both you will be so surprised to here that we haven't got a clue when or where we are going!!! Is anyone else out this coming saturday and if so we would love to pop along and join you, pop a comment down if you are going to be splashing around! (By the way Tad how was the City of Waterford today?)

Raffle - Christmas Dinner

As discussed at the meeting we are holding a raffle at the Chrismas Dinner and we are looking for donations of prizes.

If you would like to donate a prize please put a comment on the blog and either bring it to the next meeting or at the dinner.

Many thanks in anticipation of your generosity.

Meridian Divers Christmas Dinner ~ 17th December

Thank you to all of you that have now given me your cheques , the 'admin' for the evening is almost complete. There are twenty seven guests on the list and I very nearly have all your cheques and your meal choices. I anticipate banking the cheques next week (shock horror!) . After that any late bookings may have to deal directly with the Restaurant.

Their details are available on: The Tudor House Restaurant

It should be a first class evening .

I will soon email out the full meal choice list to ensure that I have your choices recorded correctly. The evening will be a good opportunity to meet-up with all the 2009 Red Sea Liveabord Divers (but there will be plenty more opportunities!).

Recompression Chamber Visit ~ 9th November

'Joining Instructions' for all those taking part have been emailed out today. If you are on this trip and haven't received the details - add a comment or drop me an email!

Please read the instructions carefully - especially if you want the PADI Specialty Certification!

Meridian Divers Meeting ~ Wednesday 29th October

Well what a sombre quiet little gathering it was - NOT! Fourteen exuberant divers high on some sort of mixed gas or so it might have seemed. The Berwick Inn managed to cope with us very well , our custom was welcome on a cold Wednesday evening! I think we helped spread some good cheer! And what splendid progress ~ absolutely inundated with cheques for MD events! Christmas Dinner & Red Sea numbers continue to grow, Simon's signed-up for his Divemaster Course, boat dives , pool hire options and affliliation programmes were put up for discussion with a view to keeping us all active through the 'off-season'. A mid-week trip to Stoney Cove in November will soon be posted and Ernie gave a brief insight on the dark & cool dive to the Blanefield earlier today. Jims planning a Wraysbury trip this week-end (after his Sovereign Centre pool dives with Eastbourne BSAC) . Sheila will (yet again - thanks) be writing up the notes and circulating them soon. Looks like we'll all be kept busy & entertained almost makes me wish I wasn't back out to the Maldives soon , well may be not almost!

A special welcome to Parsley our newest member and clearly a well qualified and vocal GSD!

Wraysbury Saturday 1st November

Hello all.
I'm meeting a couple of people at Wraysbury on Saturday to try out some kit and generally practice breathing underwater. If anyone fancies it we will be there from 09:30
Jim

PADI/SITA Seminar Bristol

for all those that are DM or above you maybe intersted in this
Could be worth sending an MD contigent along. Maybe you planning on becoming a DM and would like to come along (Simon)

If you're planning your diary for 2009 make Monday 9th February a date to come to Bristol for this annual industry seminar.
It's an opportunity to mingle with industry colleagues, and hear presentations on topics affecting our market from other industry stakeholders.
There's also an industry dinner where you can let your hair down after a good day's networking.
Interested?

PADI

post a comment if interested

MD Christmas Dinner ~ Raffle

A raffle of prizes will take place at the Christmas Dinner , more details to follow after the next MD meeting on 29th October but for now our thanks go to OCEAN VIEW for their generous donation of prizes.

MD Pier-Diver of the Year!

A pier diving challenge was set-out early in the year, the winner will be announced at the MD Christmas Dinner.

Challengers are asked to add their names to this post or email me if they are rather shy! Simple rules again , the MDer who has dived the MOST Piers (different Piers, not numbers of Pier dives!) during the period 1st january 2008 to 10th December 2008 (inc) will be the winner! In the event of a tie , the most MDer with the most pier dives will win!

Any UK pier is eligible. Diving glory awaits!

MD Photo Competition ~ More!

I thought I had better create some system of judging now that the deadline is approaching fast and to work out some rules (may be not as comprehensive as an Approved Code of Practice :-))!!

A small prize will be awarded at the MD Christmas Dinner so it makes sense to have all those who attend the Dinners as the 'voters'!

I think the simplest way is 'first past the post' i.e. everyone at the Dinner will get one vote and the photo with the most votes wins!

ONLY photos that are directly shown in post on the Blog between 1st January 2008 and 10th December 2008 will be eligible (allows time to collate the images for voting). Photos on linked albums or others sites do not qualify. Photos must be taken by a MDer. Qualifying photos will be shown at the Dinner.

Should be a bit of fun!

Halloween Party ~ Friday 31st October

We have all been invited to join in on Ocean View`s Halloween party on the above date at the Ocean View Club at @19.00-19.30pm,entry is £2.50 or free if in fancy dress should be good fun and come and say 'Hello' !

Who`s Going Pro?

I have been reliably informed that another MD`er is starting down the going pro route, I would like to say good luck and look forward to working with you.

Meridian Divers Meeting ~ Wed 29th October

The next Meridian Divers Meeting will be held at the Berwick Inn, Berwick at 7.30pm on Wednesday 29th October 2008. An agenda will be circulated by email. Please add a comment if you do not receive a copy within three days.

The MD Christmas Dinner & Recompression Chamber Visit will be amongst the items discussed.

Scuba Industries Trade Association

The sharp eyed amongst you will have seen that our 'links' section (right side of screen) has carried a link to SITA, the Scuba Industries Trade Association.

SITA have laudable aims and these include :-

To promote, market and represent the Manufacture, Retail and Training sectors of the Scuba Diving Industry and to advise on Government and Local Authority Regulations and to work together to improve the safety standards and encompass the Conservation aspect in Scuba Diving.

I have been a associate member of SITA since 2005, they have been very helpful in providing safety information and information on European & International Standards. Their website provides plenty of good information for divers including a guide on risk assessment. Worth a look.

Red Sea Trip 2/4/08-9/4/09 - Update

I have managed to get an extension to 20th November 2008, for deposits for the Red Sea Trip. So if you are interested or want any further information please post a comment.
The following are already booked on the trip.

1. Chris
2. Terry
3. Mandy
4. Paul
5. Linda
6. Simon
7. Ernie
8. Sheila
9. Therese
10. Tracey
11. Sean
12. Gary

[Updated 9/2/09]

Meridian Divers Blog ~ Always Pleasing!

Thanks to Susan Pleydell for her comments as attached to the RIDDOR posting (below) . The blog has attracted tremendous support and , perhaps a larger and wider following and readers than even we could ever have imagined. Our blog members are at the highest level they have ever been and the number of diving & dive social opportunities we are creating together is also at an all time high. Well done MDers!

Photo comp

Can I play?, images taken in Spain about a month ago .Fuji f30 .

Recompression Chamber Visit (Latest) ~ 9th November

Here is the latest runners & riders list for the visist to London Hyperbaric Chamber on Sunday 9th November :-

1. Matt
2. Tina
3. Terry
4. Caroline
5. Sean
6. Steve
7. Nicky
8. Tony

Photo Competition Entry

MD Blogging Success

A while ago I realised that this blog passed the FIVE HUNDRED post mark, quite an achievement ! It has made me appreciate just how web logs (blogs) have contributed to the promotion of diving. I'm grateful to Matt C who introduced Meridian Divers to the concept! Our (older) sister blog , the T R Thompson blog has provided the ideal vehicle for the project work and done a great deal to promote local diving interest . I am not aware of any other comparable diving project blog (please let me know if YOU do!).

I have no idea how many emails support the MD blog work but the figure must be getting close to the size of the US Bank Bail-Out figures! I do know that my address book is mainly populated by divers and with over 1200 addresses it would be difficult to send out enough emails to keep everyone up to speed. So thank goodness for blogging as an aid to wider communication. Is it possible for any local diver NOT to have surfed our blog by now? Today I looked back over my old Scuba Updates (emailed newsletters before the blogging revolution) , no wonder I need more memory on this computer, there are 195 of them each several pages long dating back to the start of the new millenium! Not quite Samuel Pepys diaries but an archive of diving history in their own right! See West Sussex you're not the only archivists!

I have my fingers firmly crossed for Meridian Divers in the NAS Adopt-A-Wreck Awards next month. And if we are succesful may be it will be a good time to email all 1200+ and celebrate just how far the Meridian Divers network has come! Keep up the good work!

West Sussex Archive Society Talk

Really not a lot to write about here apart from the fact that Meridian Divers were offered the opportunity to talk about Diving Sussex Shipwrecks and in particular the T.R.Thompson Project.

I offered to put together a presentation and treck down to Chichester on what was one of the best weekends of diving weather we have had for a long time to give the talk along with 3 other speakers giving presentations with a Nautical or Maritime Archaeological Theme.

The other topics included Lost ships found a talk by Ian Friel , Diving into History from our old friend and N.A.S project mentor Ian Barefoot and West Sussex Settlements Lost To The Sea, a talk by John Mills West Sussex County Archaeologist For those of you that live in West Sussex there maybe some good opportunities to find the remains of some of the villages and buildings that have disappeared into the channel in the past. Could be a possible link up here if we could come up with a project plan.

I was last up but there had been some technical difficulties earlier which meant that the previous presenter overrun which cut my slot a lot shorter. I had prepared a 41 power point presentation which included some of the video footage and photographs we have captured over the past year. I also took along a selection of diving equipment (as most of the 30 strong audience were non divers )to illustrate what sort of kit we need to work on the project underwater.

Due to having to be cut short it looks like Meridian Divers will have another invite to tell the story of the TRT project again in the near future. Other offers for the group to talk about the project have been made so watch this space. Any volunteers?

Meridian Divers Christmas Dinner ~17th December

Just a few reminders:-

a). Those of you who haven't given me your meal choices please do so soon !

b). I have sent an email (15th Oct) to all those on the Christmas Dinner list asking you for your cheques!

c). If you haven't had a Christmas Dinner email from me you are not on the Dinner list, if you want to join-in let me know.

Thanks

RIDDOR and Diving

More for your safety training:-

RIDDOR - The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995, did you know that certain injuries or occurences in work situations are reportable to the Health & Safety Executive ? This is in addition to any diving agency reporting requirements.

Decompression illness is a reportable disease under the Regulations and reportable dangerous occurences (near misses) include failure or endangering of diving equipment, the trapping of a diver, an explosion near a diver, or an uncontrolled ascent.

To learn more about RIDDOR and how to make a report click HERE

Far Mulberrys ~ Saturday 18th October

Hi all just to let you know Imogen and I are off to have a gentle bimble on the Far Mulbery's on Saturday morning (be at the Mulberry Divers shop at 8.45a.m) So if anyone fancies doing it then come and say hello on Saturday morning - you'll know Imogen and I by the laughter! Maybe see you then!

Three Divers (Don't All) Suffer the Bends in Separate Incidents

Three divers were picked up on Saturday 11th October by the Lee-on-Solent based Coastguard helicopter in two separate incidents, when the divers began complaining of signs associated with decompression sickness.

Full story on the MCA website click HERE

Meridian Divers wish a speedy recovery to all those divers involved.

[Update - Good news, two of the three didn't get bent! False alarm -good intent!]

Fortuna Foursome

It was a dark misty morning when four of Meridian divers finest dragged their weary bones to Newhaven Marina. As the sun rose Seazones was loaded with our gear in anticipation of a good days diving. On reaching the site we found Brighton Diver had already shotted the wreck. Our team of Jim, Chris, Therese and Ernie descended the shot first, leaving members of Crawley BSAC to follow.
On reaching the wreck we found the shot line had taken us directly on to the big holds with bags of cement all neatly laid out where they had been placed 90 years before.
The viz was excellent, at least 4 metres. As we drifted over the cement bags we found a very large conger and lobsters in various nooks and crannies. We swept over and around the stern finding another four congers as we went. The shoals of fish were so prolific you could not see through them. We made our way forward to reach the bows and back to the holds with the cement bags.
All too quickly our time was up and we had to start making our ascent. Back on board Seazones we were, as usual, very well looked after by the skipper Mick and indulged in his famous scones.
Jim, Therese and Ernie decided to duck out of the second dive, so new MD Chris Adams buddied with a member of Crawley BSAC.
Sorry no pictures, someone didn't bring their camera !
All in all a very good dive.
Ernie.

Fortuna & Seazones

Just a short note of thanks to the guys on Seazones today for making it a cracking dive, and you made the right choice in not doing the drift , I managed 12 mins before loosing Matt and surfacing . Hope you get as good a day tomorrow Jim.

Seaford Seal ~ BDMLR Message

Hi all,

A seal has been spotted hauling out on the beach at Seaford, East Sussex. If anyone is in the area can they keep an eye out for it and check what condition it is in please. Obviously it may move about and be found at nearby beaches too. There is probably nothing wrong with it but it would be nice to check and confirm that it is ok.

Please keep Sharon Gisby Sussex & Surrey Co-ordinator and ourselves at BDMLR HQ informed of anything you see.

Trevor Weeks
National Co-ordinator
British Divers Marine Life Rescue Reg Charity 803438
www.bdmlr.org.uk

Red Sea Trip ~ 2nd-9th April 2009 Update

Just a reminder that deposits are needed by 21st October 2008 to secure a place on the boat.

After that date Tony Backhurst will take back the spaces and fill them.

Spaces so far booked are:-
1. Chris
2. Mandy
3. Paul
4. Tracey
5. Sean
6. Linda
7. Simon
8. Steve
9. Ernie
10. Sheila
11. Anna
12. Imogen
13. Matt
14. Terry
15. Gary
16. Therese

MD Photo Competition 2008

Another reminder !! Get your entries posted on the blog , the awards will be made at the MD Christmas Dinner on 17th December. If they aren't on the blog they won't be judged! Don't hang around as voting may take place at the November MD Meeting (to be confirmed!!). If you already have an entry on the blog and it doesn't have the 'Photo Competition 2008' label attached (as per this posting) let me know!

West Sussex Archive Society Talk ~ Saturday 11th October

Meridian Divers have been asked to give a talk on The T.R.Thompson project at its annual conference this Saturday.
The conference has a Maritime theme and the day will consist of talks about

Lost ships found a talk by Ian Friel, writer and naval historian, with examples of Sussex wrecks and projects , illustrated by slides.

Diving into History a talk by Ian Barefoot, he will explore the joint initiative with The ‘Heritage Lottery Fund’ and the Nautical Archaeology Society, bringing Maritime heritage to life.
1-2pm Lunch. There are plenty of places to eat near to the office, and in the town.
The afternoon session begins at 2pm with

West Sussex Settlements Lost To The Sea, a talk by John Mills, looking at settlements and ports of West Sussex that have been inundated by the sea.

Adopt a wreck project a talk by Tad Taberer who dives with a group of divers who are passionate about shipwrecks. Tad will talk about why they dive shipwrecks and their joint project with the Nautical Archaelogical Society on the wreck of the SS T.R. Thompson. Includes video clips and photos of diving on the wreck of the Thompson.

The conference will be all day and will cost you £10 and include light refreshments

If you are interested in going as it should be an interesting day let me know asap as they need to know numbers.

The venue is

3 Orchard Street
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1DD

Photos from the Red Sea (Dahab)

I would like to take this opportunity to show off some of the photos i took last week whilst on holiday in Dahab. It was a great week of sun and sea.

I only did two dives which were the The Bells/Blue hole and The Canyon. The Canyon is a split in the sea bed which goes from about 18m down to 50m. We entered through a large hole at about 25m and dived down to about 30m before ascending through the canyon passed the hole which we entered through and up through an enclosed section to a smaller opening at about 18m. Fun dive and plenty to see.

The Bells/Blue Hole was the second dive and gets its name from the sound of divers' cylinders banging on the walls as they descend a semi-closed chimney straight down to 27/28m (the entry point for this dive) before popping out onto a wall that continues straight down to the deep dark depths. The dive then continues along the wall ascending slowly in stages, until at 7m we swam over the reef and into the Blue Hole and across the bottomless abyss (a 56m hole in the reef) to the shallow reef on the other side where we exited. Another very nice dive and for the first section, myself and my buddy were escorted by a friendly Cornet fish which must have been over a metre long. Apparently it was using our bubbles to hide from its prey along the wall.

So on with the pics, anyhow...

Rockin and Rollin in Plymouth with Ocean View & Meridian Divers

First off a big thanks and well done to Matt for putting the trip together we all know what a nightmare it is to co-ordinate something like this and it all went swimmingly well apart from the the weather yet again.

With an uneventful trip down to Plymouth I was the last to arrive having been caught up in the usual traffic hot spots heading towards the west country. On arriving at Mountbatten Guest House my boot refused to lock and alarm refused to switch off thanks to Steve L for given me a hand strip down the door and sorting out the issue I know you missed some drinking time thanks mate.

Once booked into the guest house which I must say is most luxurious B&B I have ever stayed in and a real credit to the owners Steve and Sue who also own and run the hard boat we were going to use MV Endeavour.


After meeting up at the pub around the corner we invaded the local Indian takeaway/restaurant which was interesting to say the least. A sign said it had been refurbished but I assume that this refurbishment was carried out in the 1960's. Also it had reserved signs on some of the tables but I assume that was for some of our 4 or eight legged friends. The food was ok though and no one seemed to have any nasty after effects.

The following day loomed dull and gloomy but there was a chance that we may get out so with the 2 minute drive to the boat mooring we loaded the kit onto the boat and as per the boat name endeavoured to see if we could get out to the wreck sites but it soon became apparent that it wasnt going to be so we made do with a dive on the Breakwater fort a marine Martello tower like structure. The dive itself was a pleasant bimble at around 12m deep loads of life and loads of wreckage including a cannon and a small wreck of some sort of tender. We also spotted a John Dory which after many years of diving ahs always alluded me. 59 minutes later saw as surfacing and hoisted back onto the boat by the diver lift.

Lunch on board was a choice of bread and soup or pot noodles plus teas and coffees. After a tour around Plymouth Harbour the wind still hadn't abated so the next dive saw us diving a 40m drop of known as the Barn Bowl although the vis wasn't as good as the previous dive it was still a pleasant enough bimble.

The evening saw the OV MD group meet a a local restaurant based within a MOD Garrison 10 minutes walk from the B&B with the evening entertainment being supplied by Anna & Imogen it was a lively and very funny end to a good day. The food was pretty good too apart from Matt asking the waitress what the pork was like and being told she wouldn't eat it herself mmmm great sales technique lady.

Sunday dawned and the wind had increased and the rain was still pouring and rightly so Steve the skipper canned the Dive. So plan B was put into motion we were to approach the National Aquarium by water, storm the entrance on masse, confuse the ticket staff and get in for the Kiddies price we were then going to Hi jack the ROV exhibition Steve and Sean were to take on the local 10 year old wizz kid and beat her at the ROV Assault course the plan worked the 10 year old was beaten by our 2 heroes although chivalrous to the end Steve gave up his prize of an ROV Pilot Badge to the distraught youngster. We planned to dress George up as a mermaid and get him to do 50 lengths of the main exhibition tanks whilst dodging the man eating gobies . We were then going to pretend we were all Stevie Wonder impersonators by wearing dark glasses and invading the inhouse 4D cinema. The plan worked but a mermaid suit couldn't be found that would fit George so we skipped that bit.

With the successful invasion of Plymouth's National Marine Aquarium over we retired to a nearby Sports bar for some grub and probably the worst cheese burger I have ever eaten and then wasted.

Although the weather once again got the better of us the weekend was a great laugh with some great people. Once again thanks Matt for the organising and thanks to everyone for an enjoyable if noisy and at time raucous weekend. Role on the next one.

For great value and quality I would definitely recommend the Mountbatten Guest House and /their Charter Boat service.Thanks to Steve and Sue Woodman http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/

The Rock and Rollers were

Caroline
Anna
Imogen
Tracey
George
Matt
Steve
Sean
Tad

Plymouth trip with Steve & Sue Woodman

This trip started out on Friday in what could be said a bit of a rush after myself,Anna & Sean were still training in B`ton marina at 11.30am and we had arranged to meet at Ocean view at @12-12.30 to leave for Plymouth,but with a bit of help from everyone and a really understanding boss(cheers Graeme!!)we were on the road.
We arrived at the Mountbatten guest house at @18.00pm and were greeted by Steve,Sue and Eric(there Shitzu dog) our host`s for the weekend and were shown to our rooms to sort ourselves out,well to say we were gobsmacked would be an understatement i haven`t been in show homes that well tastefully decorated or kept let alone a low priced package deal for divers accommodation,most of you would expect a bunk house for the price,Tad had stayed in hotels all week and this place kicked all of them into touch.Once we were all settled in,rooms sorted out,wet drysuits(1 inside and out!)hung up we crossed the road to become acquainted with the Royal Oak pub for a swift half then onto Lackey`s curry house for dinner all of which was very entertaining and a great way for some people to get to know everyone who were new to Meridian divers/Ocean view partnership.
Saturday morning started after a very comfortable nights sleep then down to breakfast for 08.00am now for those who know me this may be a surprise but the full English Steve & Sue served i struggled with and to be honest was one of the best i`ve had and i`m a truck driver whose had a few!that said if you didn`t want a fry up there was cereals,toast etc on offer.
We made our way down to the boat m.v Explorer which was fully kitted out with lift,toilets,lots of space and deck shelter ,which was just round the corner alongside the Mountbatten centre pontoon and loaded the dive kit and we also saw were Indeep dive centre is situated right next to the pontoon,result!
Steve informed us that the weather was a bit on and off at the moment so we would have a look to see if we could out to the Syclla which is why we came but if not had some guaranteed harbour diving if need be down to 30-40m,don`t forget this is a big harbour with some cracking dives in it,unfortunately the weather was to big to make it round the headland so we dived the Breakwater Fort ,i really enjoyed this dive it was @ 12m a good rumage plenty of life and a wreck and cannon thrown in with good vis 5-7m and no current,back onboard we had a bit of lunch and a tour of the harbour while waiting for the weather to calm down but to no avail so we dived Barn pool a drift dive spitting distance from a beach which went down to 30m+.
We got back to the pontoon and walked our cylinders to Indeep diving centre for filling for Sunday morning fingers crossed that we could dive the Scylla & J.E.Layne at this point i have to take my hat off to Indeep and especially Matt who worked there one of our divers Anna her neckseal had got a hole and he offered to put a seal on overnight for a very good price and dry off all the wet suits and cossies with no drama`s,now thats service.
The night out saw us booked into a local pub the Clevaly by Steve only 5 mins walk alongside the river(take a camera) and in the garrison,a really well priced meal with really good portions even if the waitress didn`t really like anything on the menu herself,try the pork belly really filled a hole,then back to the Royal Oak for a night cap before crashing out.
Sunday`s breakfast was every bit as good as before but we took our time because the weather had taken a turn for the worse overnight and was blowing a force 9 so with the diving canned for the day we decided to go to the National Marine Aquarium which was a short ferry ride away and have a look around before setting off for the drive back to Sussex and it was well worth it the large tanks are stunning, R.O.V racing was good fun and the 4d cinema was worth the £2 entry fee, we got a group discount when we said we were divers from £11 to £7.50 and the Scylla project was worth looking at,all in all it was a great weekend and i can thoroughly recommend Steve and Sue at the Mountbatten dive charter/guest house it was worth every penny we booked again for next year already!
Thanks to everyone who made the trip i really enjoyed the weekend and the company shame about the weather so fingers crossed for better weather in June `09.
http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/
http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/

Fortuna - 11th October 2008

Final details for dive on the Fortuna with Seazones on 11th October are as follows-
Meet 06:45 (Newhaven)
Ropes off 07:30
Max depth. approx. 34 metres.
Confirmed divers are:-
Therese
Jim
Chris A
Ernie.
Fingers crossed for good weather.
Ernie.

We're Off to Plymouth

Right oh, just spoke to Steve and his take on the weekend is this we will dive both days but sunday looks better than saturday so we will dive the Scylla & J.E.Layne on Sunday and Saturday we will see what the weather is like but there are a number of inshore marks to dive if ofshore proves difficult,with a discount in price.

At the mo it`s supposed to be force 7-8 but when i spoke to Steve he was at the harbour looking at a flat calm sea . So on the info I`ve been given were off any prob`s call me

NAS Conference 2008 ~ Meridian Divers Delegation

As per the post re the conference (below , see NAS link) . It now looks as though a Meridian Divers delegation is intent on taking part.

Those indicating an intention to attend are as follows:-
1. Chris-P
2. Sue
3. Sheila
4. Tad
5. Nikki

The intended visit will be on Saturday 8th November . There is an option to stay overnight . This presents a problem for those originally intending to visit the Recompression Chamber on Sun 9th November and this has now (almost) been resolved by the Chamber places now (almost) being taken by others!

The WWW url on the NAS link (below) provides more detail regarding the conference. If you are interested in attending the NAS Conference add a comment or let me know.

Red Sea Trip ~ 2nd April - 9th April ~ Update

As you all know by now (I hope) due to the demise of Excel we are now flying with Monarch on the 2nd April 2009 (and not the 4th). Their luggage allowance is 20 kg plus an extra 5 kg diving allowance. Additional allowance can be purchased 90 days prior to departure.

As we are now travelling 2 days earlier, and thus missing Good Friday, I tried to get a reduction in the cost but to no avail. I have managed to get an extension to 21st October for payment of deposits. So those of you that are umming and ahring you have more time to make your mind up and get your deposit paid.

If you have not already registered your interest and would like to join us or would like more information please put a comment on the blog.