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!]

Kimmeridge, April 2012

On the 14th and 15th of April, we had our first warm up diving weekend of the season. We picked Swanage for one day and Kimmeridge for the next day, due to the easy launching and sheltered slipways with array of different diving sites in nice sheltered waters..

We picked accommodation at Helston Touring Park in Swanage with a Farm House that turned out to be a Palace! The first morning on Saturday was diving out of Swanage with a forecast of NW winds which makes it perfect in Swanage Bay. We picked the Fleur De Lys which is a small wooden vessel that caught fire and sunk, in 12m of water. This made a nice easy dive for our newly qualified divers as well as a warm up dive for our experienced divers. Its a haven for marine life with cuttle fish, lobster, and an array of other life living on her. Viz was around 2-3m due to the unsettled weather we had before hand. We used two Ribs for the trip making shuttle trips to the dive site.

After the early morning dives, some of the experienced divers took a RIB out to the Kyarra as slack was around 11am. She is a old steamer that was sunk by a German U-Boat at a depth of 30m. As usual a small current was running on the shot and being a popular wreck two other hard boats were also deploying divers on this wreck. As me and Cheryl B descended down, the lights went out and we arrived at the bottom. I haven't dived her before in the dark so found it challenging finding my way around, but I did find a large edible crab at the beginning of the dive to say 'Welcome to the Kyarra'!

The weather was cold at around 10 degrees air temperature which made some of us only have one dive.. but James and Steve W had a dive on the Tanville ledges in the Bay which make a good second dive at around 6-9m. This is a rocky reef that runs out from the shore line in the bay with an array of different marine life. At the end of the day, we retrieved the boats and headed back to our warm palace to get cleaned up for the evening drink and dinner at the bar at the touring Park.

On the Sunday we took the RIBs to Kimmeridge! The sun was out and the sea was nice and calm. I always find this a magical place with fantastic launching and fantastic scenery. As for the diving; we have the Blackhawk at 16-18m which was a liberty ship that had been sunk by a another German U-boat in the War- well broken up but like a fish tank. I found it the best dive on her yet, 4-5m viz and a Ballam Wrasse that took a liking to me and for a good few minutes interacted with me as we were swimming together! Also James and Ian found Squid on her!

The Second dive was the Barge and Nature trail, this was a great way to finish the day. The Viz was around 4-5m with yet again lots of marine life, and a Boiler where a Conger has made it's home and greeted James.

It was a Fantastic weekend with fantastic members! They made the trip. I had a very enjoyable dive with two of our newly qualified divers - Tom and Joanna, who both did really well. A very Big thanks to Kerry for towing and Cox'n, Alex T for assisting with the boat launching and retrieving and equipment repairs on site, Lesley for assisting the Cox and boat handling, Keep up the good work! James, Steve and Paula for their big input with the diving and pairing.

Simon.

Wraysbury, March 2012

It was a fine and quite a sunny day down in Wraysbury when suddenly a group of divers from Bushey and Borehamwood decided to stand up to the cold and have a great days diving. Lead by captain/leader of the group Caz they were all set to go diving.

First divers in were: Wayne and Phil, with Wayne determined to make the most of the reported good viz so he took along his wide angled lens to see what his camera may find. . Captain Caz was diving alongside her partner in crime Joanna for a fun dive they both seemed to have come out rather pleased after the dive. Jennifer, Ian and Tony with Ian in a brand new dry suit for the first time Jennifer was obviously quite mad, being in a semi-dry suit in what would be considered cold water again, even though she had been in the water earlier in the year and it was also cold. Ben Fraser was diving with Simon and his many cylinders. Ben C, Jenny Walker and Parish were in completing a number of ocean diver skills. With Paula, Katie and Cheryl L completing the first if the dives.  The first dives they were all spoilt as it was so clear, some even looked up from where they were diving and could see the surface and the sun beams shining through

After about half an hour and lots of divers coming in and out the group were on the surface except for Ben C, Jenny Walker and Parish who had probably gotten a bit lost on their way back to the surface. There were some cold faces and a number of cheeseburgers being brought by the divers as part of their ‘I’m so cold I need to warm up phase’. Not long after this they decided to jump back in to the cold and merky water again. This time most of the divers had switched partners and Dougal even joined Simon and Phil for a dive. Paula, Jennifer and Ian seemed to have a laugh as they were doing a number of gymnastic moves, which are positively Jennifer’s favourite thing to do whilst diving in open water. Thanks to Paula’s navigational skills and the fact that the visibility had gone they had all gotten quite a bit lost and ended up in the middle of the lake.  Caz and Ben had a short but sweet dive but still had fun.

Some of the group were rather cold after two dives and decided to call it a day so they got changed, however there were what would be called some keen divers who wanted to get their money’s worth and went in for a third dive aka (Wayne camera at the ready, Not so good at navigating Paula,). Wayne seemed too had taken quite a number of fantastic photos using his lense that allows him to see even the smallest pieces of dirt.  Hmmm dirt isn’t there one hundred and one types of mud in Wraysbury J

About half an hour later all of the group were out and were all in warmer clothing at last after the coldest days diving to some of them, most of the divers were munching on a lot of food because they were cold.

A huge thank you must go to Martin who was superman on the surface, Tony, Ben C and Paula for taking in the trainees, Simon for coming along for a good days diving and of course to Ben F, Katie, Cheryl L, Ian, Phil, Parish, Joanna for diving during the day. But the biggest thank you must go to Captain Caz and her Camera mad husband Wayne for all their hard work planning the dives and the day.  Oh and who says 7 degrees is cold.

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.

1st dive of the year - Stoney Cove

Wayne, Caz, Paula and Alex E decided to brave the winter cold and venture up to Stoney Cove for the first dive of 2011.




First divers in were Wayne and Alex E, loaded up with video and still cameras and hoping to catch a glimpse of Nessie and the mysteries of the deep-or whatever was still swimming around in the 6° C water. Viz was good, but the water was quiet apart from a single solitary perch.

Next up were Paula and Caz, Paula only just managing to dive as she had managed to forget her regs! But Alex E loaned his and all was well. Both divers reappeared after about 25 min grinning from ear to ear. They had found Nessie and Paula had decided to try riding him-not a good idea with a semi-extinct sea monster. Still she came back so Nessie must have been in a good mood.

The surface interval passed quickly, all divers availing themselves of the excellent cuisine at Stoney Cove (burger and chips tea and hot chocolate), as well as the excellent facilities at the Stoney Cove shop.

First dive of the afternoon was Wayne and Paula, Wayne sporting a brand-new pair of 5 mm gloves, with a plot in off the bus stop, a quick whizz around the Viscount, a bimbo over to the Nautilus, and then the find of the day Nessie was hiding from the cold in the arches under the pub.

Caz and Alex E finished off the diving day visiting the Viscount and the Nautilus.

An excellent day was had by all. Winter diving is not as cold as you think, and with excellent viz (10M) and plent of space to park, it was a great day.