July 2010 Newsletter

Well, we're half way through the dive plan and so far there's not very much red on there ! The cancelled dives were mainly due to lack of divers, so come on, make the most of the good weather and get booking !! In a few weeks time its our annual Under the Pier Show, when we delight the crowds with our live feed of what's happening right below their feet; full details below, please try and help out with this if you can.

Besides diving, the weekly Kimmeridge BBQ is also in full swing, and this year is doubling up as an opportunity for possible future members to come along and meet us, and even have a try dive as well... see below.

Jayne

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

Start of Season Meal

As usual, we had a really good turn out for the traditional start of season meal at the Gurkha, Sandford, with 26 club members tucking into the oriental buffet. Great to see so many people there, catching up with each other's news and getting ready for the diving to begin !

Diving

The season started really well, with the usual warm up dives on Tanville and the Fleur; the Elusive Pilotman remains such... we'll find it one day, the Chairman assures us! Similarly, the search for the prop continues, well, we're still barely into the season ! June brought us some really calm seas and pretty good viz; even under the pier the viz was quite stunning, with loads going on everywhere; wrasse building nests, cuttlefish out and about. Shame that Springwatch didn't time their visit better !

There's also been quite a lot of work on the hydrophone and the pier camera, so thanks to everyone who has helped out. If you haven't yet checked out the new screens on the pier (in the shop and Divers Down) transmitting the live feed from the camera, go have a look.

Promoting IPSAC

We now have a banner promoting the club which still hasn't quite made its way onto the boat, but it will certainly be used for any club events , like UTP Show (see below). We've also invested in some magnetic signs to be displayed on member's cars while parked on the pier (you may have seen versions of these already) and some window stickers with the club logo and web URL; these will be available for sale shortly, so if you're interested, let me know.

Try Dives in the Sea

We ran our first Try Dive in the Sea evening at Kimmeridge a few weeks ago and it was a great success. Thanks to all those involved; it was a real club effort with many people helping out with loan of kit, helping the try-divers kit up, escorting them in the water, and of course all those sat watching, getting the barbies going ! We'll continue to run these as long as we have good weather, so please spread the word to anyone you might know who may be interested. All they need is a wetsuit, the club will provide the rest of the kit for a charge of £15. Further details are on the front page of the website, if you are able to print off copies of the poster to display, let me know and I will send a high-res printable version.

Up and Coming ... details of forthcoming events

Under the Pier Show 2010

This year's UTP Show will be on Sunday 22nd August and as Robin is away, Keith is stepping in to organise the day. The event has been added to the Dive Plan, so if you are able to help, please book yourself on it in the usual way. It will be great to have as much support as possible; we need people to help set up the tent and equipment, generally spread the word around the pier about what's happening, as well as divers to do the nifty camera work (you all saw Springwatch, now its our turn!). Its also a good opportunity to promote the club and with our new shiny banner this year, we should be unmissable !

What ...??!!! ?*&^%$??&^*&!!!

Our Chairman has some funny ideas sometimes; just look at the dive plan and you'll see dives with meet up times of 5am... dives in 4m of water... then there's his dubious slack calculations; should the tide really be running at 4 knots on slack ??? ;-) If you've had these thoughts, why not coordinate your own dive ? We're all grateful to Chris and the work he puts into the Dive Plan each year, but there's always scope for extra dives to be added, and our Chair would love it if a few more of you would have a go. So if there's a site you are itching to do but isn't listed, or you simply fancy a lie in and a relaxing afternoon bimble, PUT IT ON THE PLAN !!

Training

Peter Grey is our Training Officer this year and is in full swing organising courses. A Dive Leader course will be starting shortly, and Peter also has plans for short courses in 'Charts, Tides, Weather'. If you are interested in any of these, or have any suggestions of any other training requirements, please email Peter.

Kimmeridge Mondays - Parking

There's a been a couple of issues recently at our BBQ night at Kimmeridge where some cars have been parked in the boat yard and around the slip, blocking boats and trailers. Chris has since been contacted by the Kimmeridge Estate regarding this, and told that if we continue to do so, the top gate will be locked at 5.00, which would make our evenings there very difficult indeed. Chris will be writing to the Estate Manager to clarify the situation for next season, but in the meantime, can everyone please ensure that they only park at the top, by the toilet block. Fingers crossed for next year ....

Social Secretary

As announced in the last newsletter, I will be stepping down from my post as Social Secretary at the end of this year, so if you think that this is something you'd like to have a go at, please drop me an email.