Portland Harbour Training Weekend, June 2014

We left on a Friday afternoon at about 8.00 pm and settled in for a long drive down to Portland. The three hour drive meant that we then only got there at 11.00 pm and were just in time for the dive brief for the next day. We were all sharing two caravans in the Caravan Park in Portland.

On Saturday morning, we went down to the Portland Marina where we all got our cylinders filled by Scimitar Diving. When we had all changed, the boat refused to start for ages, and eventually had to be jump-started. The diving group split into two groups on the separate ribs, ICY Diver (thanks to Imperial College Underwater Club) and the Bushey Diver.  We paired up with our buddies and got ready for our first dive, the Countess of Erne. At this point I was very excited but also nervous as this was my first ocean dive. The Countess is an old paddle steamer, used as a coal hulk in many ports. It sank in the Portland harbour on 16 September 1935. The actual dive was quite cold for me because I was in a semi-dry, but still it was an excellent dive. The visibility was pretty good and there was lots of animal wildlife like fish and crabs. On the sides of the ship were also lots of coral and shells. On the surface, the water was quite calm and the sun was beating down on us, drying us out quickly after we surfaced. 

When all the divers returned, we came back to the Marina to get lunch and refill our tanks. Our second dive that day was The Dredger, a vessel used as a sand dredger until it sunk. On the dredger, we saw lots of fish, all of which I don’t know the names for, and a few crabs, the biggest one I saw was probably bigger than a dinner plate, and was put in front of my face to scare the life out of me (thanks Ray). After we came back up from the Dredger, the sea was still quite calm and warm. Getting into the rib was just as elegant as the first time, with a lot of flapping and grunting included. We then returned to the Marina, where we again filled our tanks for a third dive. For the third dive, we dived the Countess of Erne again, going to the deck as a maximum depth (at around 6m). We then went back to the caravans where we ordered Chinese takeout and did the dive de-brief for that day. 

Sunday was our second, and last, day of diving and we woke up early in the day to pack up our clothes and wash the dishes, and in general, clean the caravans. We then rushed to the Marina to get changed as fast as possible. We wanted to fit in two dives before we left. Our first dive on Sunday was the Black Hawk, or rather, it was meant to be the Black Hawk. Unfortunately, the shot had drifted onto a sand bank away from the wreck and only one pair got to see the Black Hawk. Instead the rest of us dived some mud banks which were full of crabs and coral, and even a few fish every now and then. Again, our second (and last) dive of the day was on the wall just outside Portland harbour. Because of the high amounts of silt and chalk washing off of the cliffs, the vis was not very good with less than half a metre of visibility. When we returned from our last dive of the day, we unloaded the ribs and found a hose to wash our kit there. We packed it all onto a trolley and took it to our cars, where we packed our kit into the cars, said our goodbyes to the weather, and headed home. 

It seemed like it was only a few hours ago that I was setting off to Portland, I would be sad to see it go.

by Kye Cunningham

Dive leader training, November 2012

by Stu Bailes
Coming from a military background my diving career to date has been very disjointed. I have managed to progress through the levels quite quickly, however in the main I have not had much time to go diving. The main issue that stops me diving is the amount of time I tend to spend in the desert where there is a distinct lack of water. I have however, been lucky and dived two of the world's best wrecks, the Zenobia in Cyprus and more recently the Thistlegorm in Egyptian Red Sea; so what I lack in numbers I make up for in the quality of dives.
A few years ago I managed to get on a military run Dive Leader (DL) course, this was run in accordance with BSAC rules but both the theory and open water dives are condensed into a week long course, the only thing not covered is the organisation of a dive trip. Soon after the course finished it was off to the desert again.
Upon return I moved to Northwood and decided to resurrect my DL training and to assist me in this aim I joined BBSAC. Due to the amount of time that had passed since my original DL course I opted to go through the lessons with the other club members who were also working towards their DL qualification. So far, the lessons have been very well aught and even though I have previously done them I am still learning new things every time.
The lessons focused on Dive Management; including how to get to sites (charts and navigation) and what to do once there (shot deployment and diver management). We have also had courses on oxygen administration and, probably the best course, Practical Rescue Management (PRM). This will ensure we know what to do in the event that something goes wrong.
The main difference between DL and other courses is that you learn firstly how to be an example to other divers and secondly dive management, not only whilst divers are in the water but for the duration of a trip.
The Dive Manager is not only responsible for safety (although this is their primary role) but they will also ensure that they have organised all the dive admin right down to ensuring that divers are fed and have a bed for the night.
To ensure we were up to the required standard we were all asked to organise a number of club trips, to places including Portland, Swanage and the Sound of Mull.
So what have I learnt? Hopefully this became apparent in October, when 6 BBSAC divers set off to the Sound of Mull to carry out a week of wreck diving. It was a great trip and, I think, everyone enjoyed both the diving and the "après-dive"! If all divers had a bed for the night; were fed, the diving ran safely and everyone had a great time then hopefully I will have learnt something and take a step closer to my DL qualification.
[Ed: Stu passed the assessment and if now a qualified Dive Leader,
well done Stu!]

Wraysbury Ocean Diver Training (22/01/12)

The club’s 2012 diver training kicked off to a great start on Sunday with a trip to Wraysbury Dive Centre. Four Ocean Diver trainees (Leanne, David, Jennifer and Nick), three Instructors (James, Ben and Paula) and three keen divers (Wayne, Caz and Clive) turned up at the deserted dive centre at 9.00am with the intention of braving the cold and getting on with some Ocean Diver training.

Following a site brief and a much-needed cuppa the first wave of dives was underway. The water temperature was a crisp 7 degrees (not quite the 10 degrees reported on the Wraysbury Dive Centre web site!) but, amazingly, the underwater visibility was around 8m; for the first wave of divers this silt-free diving came as quite a shock and the trainees enjoyed 20 minutes of buoyancy exercises, mask clears and some experience of water deeper than the pool. Some important skills can be practiced in the depths at Wraysbury including buoyancy control so divers were put through their paces with hovers, fin pivots and lessons on using their lungs to fine-tune their trim in the water.

By the time the second wave went in, LSD had arrived and there were a few more divers in the water. The visibility towards the edges of the lake was a little worse (but still excellent by Wraysbury standards) so most of the groups ventured out into deeper water and better vis. for alternate source training, more mask clearing and exploring some of the wrecks and the assortment of underwater oddities (traffic lights, milk floats etc.) that Wraysbury has to offer.

Despite the face-numbing water all of the trainees had two great dives (well, they all said it was “great” at the time!) and Clive realised that 7 degrees is not THAT cold after all. I found out that a £15 set of thermal underclothes from TKMaxx is just as warm as a £150 Weezle Compact under suit and both Wayne and I wished that we’d taken our cameras! Everyone retired to the shop/café for a group de-brief and some lunch. We were all finished by 2.30 and all headed off home just after 3.00pm!

Many thanks to all who came for the diving, and who helped with the surface management and the re-vitalising cuppas between dives! We’ll be running more training trips in the near future to Wraysbury and other sites so keep  your eyes on the notice board and the www site for more details.