Castaways Sub-Aqua Club
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Castaways Sub-Aqua Club |
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A Branch (Branch No 2071) of The British Sub-Aqua Club |
The newsletter of Castaways Sub-Aqua Club
No: 4 - Summer 1997
Voice from the POT
(Editors comments)
As many of you already know, Slay has not been very well recently , I am sure that I speak for all of us in wishing him a speedy recovery. As it is I have taken on the task of preparing this issue of the newsletter.
On the 26th April the Castaways Annual General Meeting was held, in the Rising Sun, London. As well as the serious business of the meeting it was a great chance to socialise with club members. The minutes of the AGM are included with this newsletter, as are a report on the club finances for last year and a copy of the club bye-laws.
This club is run for the benefit of the members, if any of you have suggestions or ideas about what you would like the club to do, please let the committee know.
Thank you to everyone who contributed material for this newsletter. If you have anything you feel other members would be interested in please send it to the editor.
Anthony
2 June 1997
The club now owns an emergency Oxygen Kit for use on club trips.
The kit comes in its own carry case with a ‘D’ size cylinder, an external ‘E’ sized cylinder is also available.
The general outline of its conditions of use are:
The purchase of the Oxygen kit was made possible by contributions from trips last year. Many thanks goes to the people on those trips.
When you get your BSAC reminder can you reply as promptly as possible.
Anyone wanting to change their BSAC renewal month should contact the Secretary.
Current BSAC membership rates are:
CASTAWAYS membership is £12.00, due 1st January every year.
If your medical is due, let the secretary know and a medical form can be sent to you. Please allow a couple of weeks.
Enclosed with this newsletter is a form for ‘The National Diving Equipment Register’. You may photocopy this form as many times as you need.
The Annual General Meeting of the British Sub-Aqua Club was held on 31st May 1997, at the University of London Union, and was attended by Slay, Kevin and Anthony. Every member should have received the BS-AC Annual Report with their last issue of DIVER magazine, so this report will only comment on issues that are not covered in the report.
Chris Allen, BS-AC Chairman, reported on the progress made over the last year in reorganising the financial and administrative systems of the Club. In addition he was able to report that a full-time Business Director has been appointed to the staff at HQ. This post has a high level management role, with responsibility for running the day to day activities of the Club and implementing strategic decisions made by Council.
In response to a question from the floor, the Chairman confirmed that a resolution has been passed at the last general assembly of CMAS to expel BS-AC. The Chairman explained that BS-AC had not yet been officially notified by CMAS and that as soon as he is the Council will consider the options for appealing against the decision. He emphasised that there was no policy to leave CMAS and all efforts will be made to reverse the decision. In the meantime he explained that as far as BS-AC qualifications are concerned it is business as usual.
The problems have arisen mainly due to objections from some member federations to the activities of BS-AC International, the full story has evolved over the last 2-3 years. The Chairman pointed out that the BS-AC is well represented within the European Union, currently holding the Presidency of the European Underwater Federation.
(Personal Comment: Having listened to the debate over CMAS, I am no longer convinced that membership of CMAS is as much of an advantage as I first thought. Although it will be a shame if we are forced to leave, I will be keeping an open mind over the next few months. CMAS does have rules for underwater wrestling thoughJ)
The Chairman reported that, despite heavy commitments elsewhere, HRH Prince Charles has agreed to be BS-AC President until the year 2001.
The Diving Officers’ Conference has had a facelift. This year it is called "Underwater World ‘97", and will be held in Harrogate, this November.
Maureen Coulthard, Hon. Secretary, reported that membership has remained relatively stable at about 50,000 members in all categories. HQ is processing about 1,000 new members a month. There were 69 new branches formed last year (17 of those were youth branches), and there are currently 1,496 active branches.
David Roberts, Hon. Treasurer, reported on the financial aspects of the Club. There is a new accounting system in place at HQ, which has allowed the Officers and Council to manage the Club finances more effectively. The largest saving made last year was in the Club’s insurance premium. By putting this out to competitive tender, a saving of about £100,00 has been made (from £300,000 a year to £200,000). The insurance broker will soon be able to offer individual services to members, including equipment cover.
Finally, The days business was concluded with the vote on the special motion to lower the age limit for starting SCUBA training from 14 to 12 years old. As this motion required a change to the BS-AC rules a two thirds majority was needed to pass it. A majority of two to one voted for the motion, but failed to reach the required two thirds majority. Therefore, the motion failed.
After a quick sandwich lunch (very nice with lots of Danish Pastries, Hmmm!) The afternoon session started, The Branch Officers’ Conference. The aim of the Branch Officers’ Conference is to provide a forum for issues concerned with running a BS-AC Branch. There were many useful talks covering topics from "The use of Nitrox within a Branch" to "Public Relations for the Branch". A competition was announced by Image Wizard, the BS-ACs PR company, for the Branch that raises the most publicity for itself. There is a first prize of £3,000 and a second prize of £1,000, winners will be announced at Underwater World ’97.
Salcombe
17-19 May 1997
Friday night - Anthony, Will and Kev are sat in a traffic jam on the M25 heading for sunny Devon, Neal is happily passing his cold on to Claire, Suzanne and Jake in Somerset - things can only get better! Well actually they get worse first, but that’s only because at 10:59pm the caravan park reception inform us that "the bar is still open", but omit to mention that closing time is 11:00pm!
A sunny Saturday morning dawns. After various scenic trips around Salcombe to find the quay, and a slightly worrying wait for the boat, (I’m sure he said 10:30am. Yes, it is this quay. YES, it is today and not next weekend!), six divers and one flu virus vector embark onto the Nirvana, which according to the skipper means "one step to heaven" - I just hope its not the one over the side!
First stop the Maine, one of the best wrecks in British waters - all 32m of it - and certainly one of the most frequently dived, judging by the number of dive boats circling like predatory fish. An interesting exit from the boat - one leg on the gunwale and then sort of fall and roll off, hopefully landing on your cylinder (why is this technique not taught in Novice lessons?) - and its off down the shot line. Down is not the problem, its along that is causing problems as the tide hadn’t quite turned and is still running strong. Once on the wreck everything is forgotten except the pleasure of exploring the holds, decks, companion ways and viewing the abundant sea life.
Half an hour seems like 5 minutes, but our air is down so we must go up. A quick hunt for the shot line reaffirms that my navigation hasn’t improved, so its off to the bows to launch the delayed SMB. The tide has turned and the safety stop is not too unpleasant, but as always seems to drag. Then its up the last 6m and a swift battle with the ladder into the camaraderie of "Did you see …", "What about …", "How deep …", "How long …", "I’ve found the leak in my suit", but most importantly - the cup of tea!
Seeking shelter from the drizzle, lunch is taken in a Steeple Cove. A brief exchange with the skipper - "What do you want to do this afternoon?", "I don’t know. What do you recommend.", "How about here? You’ve got 10m.", "OK - let’s go!" - results in an hour of fun with the Cantabria, snakelocks anemone, prawns, spider crabs, velvet crabs, bloody henry’s and plaice - all on spin cycle! Just to maintain the status quo after Claire has patched her leaky wrist seal, Suzanne rips a knee while having a close look at the wreckage.
The usual mad end of day dash of cylinder filling, showers and changing sees the intrepid divers ensconced in the local pub - so no major deviation there then. However, Kev "I sometimes mend boats" [FX: sniff] Lea, has still to repair Suzanne’s knee rip, so it’s back to the caravan for a spot of late night glue sniffing!
Sunday, and the sun has returned with avengeance. A 9am start sees us heading for the Persia - sans flu vector. The shot is dropped and we roll in to find the wreck. Well, 2 out of 6 isn’t bad, and at least the other 4 have dived her before. But what an alternative - conger, lobsters, sea cucumbers, 10m vis - who needs the wreck? But more air would be nice, there just isn’t enough time at 30m, so it back to the shot line as Jake can navigate underwater.
The East Rutts is our final destination. 5 miles from shore, GPS is useful. These pinnacles raise from the sea bed at 35m and come all the way up to 8m - so its pick your depth time. We like the look of 20m, and so do the cup coral and jewel anemones, whole walls of them - green, pink, blue, red - and when they got boring, nooks and crannies and a small cave just to keep it interesting! But that would be failing to mention the dog fish, edible crabs, spider crabs, dead mans fingers, etc, etc, etc!
Too soon and its all over! Back at the quay, goodbyes are said as some head for home and others for the caravan for a leisurely drive back the next day in the thunderstorm.
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