January 2010

Happy New Year !

Hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and a Happy New Year; our Christmas dinner get together went very well, and as usual, IPSAC saw the New Year in on the Pier, see below for more details!

I have various events planned for us for the next few months which I hope you will be able to join in with; please keep an eye on your emails for more information.

Jayne

Update ... what has happened in the club since the last newsletter

AGM

The AGM took place on 8th October at Durlston and was well attended by members. Thanks to everyone for their contribution to the buffet, it was a good opportunity to catch up with each others news after such an uneventful summer (diving-wise!). Thanks as well to Robin for the use of Durlston.

Skittles Evening

Our first social event of the year was a skittles night at the Clay Pipe Inn, Organford, where a select group of members got together to play skittles in between eating chicken & chips. Thanks to everyone who came along, this years Killer victor was Terry, who kindly donated his winnings to the club !

Try Dive

We had a very well attended try dive at the pool in October; most people heard about the event via members and a couple saw our poster, so thank you to you all for publicising the event so well !! Thanks also to everyone who came along on the night to organise/loan kit, and take the try-ers on their first dive. As a result of this evening, we have 3 new trainees signed up to the club !

Christmas Party

After much research and many last-minute changes to plans, the venue for the Christmas Dinner was finally chosen as Olivers in Corfe. And what a good choice, if I may say so, as on the night they served up excellent food in a lovely setting. We had a full house, will all 38 seats booked, and a jolly good night was had by all. As ever, all members were very generous with their contribution of raffle prizes and the purchasing of tickets, raising a nice sum of profits for the club. Thanks to you all who came along, have a look at the Gallery section to see some photos from the night.

Pier Camera

There is now a live feed from the pier camera direct to the pier cafe ! But you will have to wait until the spring to see what happening under there, as the camera is temporarily out of service while it undergoes some winter maintenance. Thanks to Robin and everyone who has helped with the work on the camera this season.

New Years Day Dive 2010

NYD 2010 was a gloriously sunny day but oh my it was cold !! In fact the balmy 8 degrees in the water was definitely warmer than up top, so who can blame Nick & Dom for being unable to resist the urge of donning their drysuits and continuing the great IPSAC tradition of the NYD dive under the pier. Have a look in the Gallery for pictures from the day.

A big thank you to Jon, Jo and Dutch who were in a nice & toasty Marine Villas, armed with tea, coffee & mince pies to warm us all up; that was very much appreciated ! Good to see so many people on the pier, all of us hoping that the sunny start to 2010 will bode well for a better dive season this year !

Up and Coming ... details of forthcoming events

January Monthly Meal

Allowing yourself a couple of weeks to get over the excesses of Christmas, why not come along to the Duke of Wellington in Wareham for the January monthly meal ? This will be on Wednesday 20th January; drop us an email if you would like to join us there.

Star Gazing

Last year we had a star gazing event at Durlston which was very successful, so I am hoping to arrange something similar for sometime during February. Yes, its likely to be freezing but its the best time to look at the stars ! I will email full details once finalised, but if you would like to visit the observatory at Durlston to see the stars up close, let me know.

March Monthly Meal

For this months dining get together we will be returning to an old favourite, the Cock & Bottle in Morden. Last year we had a great evening there, so please come along to enjoy the great food with us all again. Date for your diary is Thursday 25th March (NB This has moved a week later from the date originally published).

IPSAC-Wear !

Its been a couple of years since I placed an order for IPSAC branded clothing, and as I have had some requests, I think its time to do another one. So if you would like a sweatshirt/hoodie/fleece/polo shirt with an embroidered IPSAC logo on it, now is the time ! Approximate prices range from £16 for a sweatshirt to £22 for a hoodie; I will be emailing full details shortly and will bring along the colour samples with me to the next social event in case anyone would like to have a look.

Dates for Your Diary ... a summary of what is planned

20th January - Monthly Meal, Duke of Wellington, Wareham
February (TBD) - Star Gazing, Durlston
25th March - Monthly Meal, Cock & Bottle, Morden

Pool Sessions

The pool at the Purbeck Sports Centre is booked for the club on Saturday evenings from 9th January until 24th April, 8.00 - 9.00pm. Please note that we do not have the pool available on these dates due to galas: 30th Jan, 6th March, 20th March .