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Next year we may consider booking a Hardboat for this end of season event !!
11th - 18th September
2011 - Red Sea "Get Wrecked" 7 Day Live Aboard
What more can anyone write about diving in the Red Sea?
| Mistral & Whirlwind |
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This trip enjoyed by 11 members of Croy-Tech proved
to be superb, amazing, magical, exciting, tiring, enjoyable etc. etc. I could go on and on, but the collection of surface
and underwater photographs will give a flavour of our holiday.
The photograph above is of 2 of the Liveaboard boats
in the Tornado Fleet, Mistral on the left and her sister boat Whirlwind on the right.
We were aboard "Mistral"
this was an extremely comfortable boat, and the whole crew including Captain Hamad, could not do enough for us. The boat
was maintained to a very high standard, the chef was brilliant and the guides both experienced and very knowledgable. All
of this made for a fabulous holiday.
Surface Photographs
The usual dive sites were on the itinerary, but for
a very detailed account of our safari, please read John Kean's blog, follow the link below. Go to the entry dated Friday
23rd September.
John was onboard as a guest guide, he is an expert on The Thistlegorm and the author of "SS
Thistlegotm". this is "The True Story of The Red Sea's Greatest Ship Wreck".
5th September
2011 - Photographic Talk by Maria Munn
The Gremlins seemed to be at work this evening, first of all
the electrics in our club lecture room appeared to have been on the blink!, then dear Maria got caught in major traffic
on the M25. Her journey from Yorkshire took her some 9 1/2 hours.
Approximately 1 hour late, it was all systems
go, and we all enjoyed her talk and her splendid pictures and how they were achieved. Please visit her website, for further
information, follow the link on our News Flash page, You will be amazed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A collection box was handed
round for donations to the RNLI, and a Raffle also took place, a percentage of the receipts will also be donated to the RNLI..
21st August 2011 - Pentyrch & Drift Dive
Our most recently qualified
Ocean Diver took to the waters with a very experienced member, and a dry Cox. Two dives took place, on what was a very pleasant
Sunday. The visability was good, and the conditions ideal for the inexperienced member.
14th August 2011 - The Pentyrch & Drift
Dive
With many members currently on holiday, and some with ear infections,
only 2 Divers and a Dry Cox left Brighton on Croy-Tech 11 on a beautiful sunny and calm Sunday.
A rare event
this summer!
Both of the Divers enjoyed a very relaxing environment with only 3 in Croy-Tech 11, a luxury
indeed.
Dive details as follows:-
The Pentyrch -
Dive time of 41 minutes, Maximum Depth 19.9
metres. The visability was good.
Drift Dive -
Dive time of 30 minutes, Maximum Depth 12.4 metres.
31st July 2011 - Steam Trawler
5
Divers left Brighton Marina for The Steam Trawler. One pair of divers had a dive of 45 minutes and maximum depth of 24 metres,
and the other divers (a threesome) achieved dives of 36 minutes with maximum depths of 24 metres. The visability was very
good, some 5-6 metres. The sea temperature was 15 degrees.
23rd
July 2011 - Steam Trawler & Brighton Reef
4 Divers
plus Dry Cox left Brighton for a dive on the Steam Trawler. Only 3 decided to dive. They achieved 20 metres for
30 minutes, the visability was fairly good at about 3 metres, considering the previous weeks weather. It was one
members first dive from the Rib, and he was supervised by a very experienced diver from the club, who also explained the tasks
required to make the boat ready for the voyage, and all associated aspects of diving from a Rib.
The 2nd dive of the
day was made on Brighton Reef. maximum depth 12 metres, dive time 52 minutes, visability not so good 1 to 3 metres. Everyone
enjoyed the day, the weather was good, very calm seas.
18th July 2011 - Photo
& Video Presentation on clubs recent trip to The Farnes
Members and Guests are welcome for this presentation
to be given by Daniel Golberg (Chair). Photographs and videos submitted by members who enjoyed this recent event. - Lecture
Room 7.45pm for 8pm
9th July 2011 - Club Annual Barbeque
This
annual event is always popular, and was supported by more than 24 members and their famlies. The food was excellent,
and our thanks to Ashley and Ann for hosting the BBQ, and also Paul Hawkins Chief Chef. The weather stayed bright and
sunny into the evening, and most enjoyed a game or two of "Black Jack", the overall winner was Ron Mason, one of
our remote members.
The usual Raffle, will take place over the next few weeks, there are several prizes to be won!
26th June
-30th June 2011 - Farne Islands Dive Holiday
A group of 15 members and partners enjoyed a great time in
this very popular location. The weather was very kind to us as the pictures will show.
Dive details see below.
Visability on all days was on average 4 metres, but sometimes much more.
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Date
27th am
27th pm
28th am
28th pm
29th
am
29th pm
30th am
30th pm
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Dive Site
Crumstone
The Hopper
Sth Longstone
The Hopper
Far
Longstone
The Pinnacles
The Britannia
The Hopper
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Conditions
Sunny/Calm
Sunny/Calm
Sunny/Calm
Sunny/Calm
Sunny/Calm
Sunny/Calm
Sunny/Calm
Sunny/Calm
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Sea Temp
11 deg.
11 deg.
11 deg.
11 deg.
11
degs.
11 degs.
11 degs.
11 degs.
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Dive Time
33-56 mins
26-39 mins
43-49 mins
40-43 mins
36-52
mins
40-50 mins
40-54 mins
50-60 mins
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Maximum Depth
21 -
24.8 Metres
14 - 23 Metres
18.-20.7 Metres
14-
23 Metres
21.9 - 27 Metres
22 - 24.7 Metres
26 - 27.2 Metres
14 - 23 Metres
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   11th June 2011 - Holborough Lake
9 club members including a trainee took the plunge in Holborough. The weather was overcast and calm. Water
temperature 16 degrees. Visability 1-3 metres.
The club training officer Denis Quigley was Marshal and Paul Hawkins
deputy. There were 4 sets of divers on the first dive, and 3 sets on the second dive. Dive depths ranged from 8.5 metres
to 10.6 metres, and dive times 24 to 46 minutes. The diver qualifications ranged from Trainee to Dive Leader.
Richard Hoyle the trainee sucessfully completed his first Open Water Dive and experienced a few bouyancy problems. Due to
the numbers of divers in the water, the visability became quite poor, and at times they were completely blind, and had to
pull themselves to clearer water with the use of ropes. Richard was said to have shown great calm and admitted that it had
not been what he had expected. Richard returned to the water for his second dive with Denis (Training Officer) and executed
some skills and also had improved buoyancy.
29th May 2011- Training Officers Report:
So far this season:
· We’re running a program
to encourage completion of the Dive Leaders Course for our more experienced Sports Divers.
The full Lecture series has been delivered and we are now working to complete Open Water requirements. A very successful session
on casualty rescue was run on the 15th of May. One diver has now completed all requirements for Dive Leader and
five others are expected to complete over the next few months. This raises the capability of the club to provide a wider range
of dives and to provide support for new divers.
· We ran a Nitrox workshop
with six persons being certified. This training is part of our commitment to safe diving and ensuring that all divers are
being kept up to date with the best techniques.
· We have just completed an
Ocean Diver lecture series for five new divers who will shortly begin their Open Water Training.
·
We have six further Ocean Diver trainees who completed their Pool training last season and are now looking to begin
their Open Water training, three of whom had their first Open Water experience at Holborough
on Saturday the 28th of May, and one who had his first open water experience at Bucklands on Monday the 23rd
of May.
· We have one diver in training for Sports Diver qualification.
·
We will be running a
Sports Diver course, the follow on to Ocean Diver, later this summer and currently have three candidates.
| Training Officer! |
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28th May 2011 - Holborough Lake
Colin Brown acted as Dive
Manager for the day with Neil Hucks sharing the Dive Marshalling responsibilities. Initially there were 4 diving ,but this
had increased to 8 on the day. A fairly new trainee came along to spectate, and by his own admission learnt a lot just watching.
A lesson in Delayed Surface Marker Buoy deployment
was given, and some divers took the opportunity to practice their twin-set procedures in readiness for the forthcoming Club
Diving Holiday to the Farne Islands.
Most
attendees managed to get 2 dives in.
The Dive
Manager and the non diving trainee went off to check out some new diving equipment at a local dive shop.
Paul Feakes practiced some skills required for
his forthcoming Practical Instructors Examination.
The conditions
were fair and sunny, although slightly breezy. Water temperature was 17 degrees. Visability1-3 metres. Lots of fish: small perch and the odd pike.
Training continued under the leadership of Denis
Quigley our Training Officer,3 trainees
experienced their first Open Water Dives, this followed another trainee having a first Open Water Dive on Monday
 24th April 2011 - City
of London
2 Divers and a Dry Cox visited the City of London.
The weather was calm, bright and warm. Sea state smooth, water temp. 14 degrees. They enjoyed a 33 minute dive and reached
a maximum depth of 25 metres, visability 2-3 metres.
18th April 2011 -
"7 Try Dives"
A very busy night at the pool. We had seven Try Dives to get organised. Thanks to
all those concerned, the evening was a success, 5 of the Try Dives were from the Shirley Air Cadets, the others were a local
couple. After a brief lecture in the classroom, and getting kitted up, a pool session of approximately 45 minutes followed.
All successfully completed their "Try Dives" and were duly presented with a certificate. We do hope they all enjoyed
the evening, and who knows they may wish to join us at Croy-Tech!
17th
April 2011 - The Indiana
This the second rib dive of the season, only 3 divers took part. 2 of the divers
had 2 dives, and 1 had only 1 dive.. The conditions were Good, the visability was described as "Gin" clear. The
sea state was smooth, wind NE force 2 or less.
4th April 2011 - Nitrox Course
To
satisfy various club members and a diver from outside of Croy-Tech, we asked the BSAC Area Coach to do a Nitrox Course. This
was carried out at the pool, and a few members took the test afterwards.
2nd April
2011 - Quiz Night
The Quiz Night was hosted by Daniel & Bernice, with Alec the Quizmaster aided and
abetted by Dave Lee. Our thanks go to all of these. There were 4 teams in all, 2 of 3 and 2 of 4. Everyone enjoyed the evening,
and after several rounds one team came out as clear winners, each member received a £5.00 token. During the
short break, refreshments were served lots of homemade goodies!.
20th
March 2011 - City of London
4 Divers from the club went out on this the first rib dive of the season. The
weather was good, visability fair, sea state smooth.
29th January 2011 - Seasonal Meal
A
total of 26 members and friends attended the Annual Seasonal Meal at the Coombe Lodge. A very sociable evening was had by
all. A Raffle took place (thanks to all those who donated gifts and supported the Raffle) and there were many winners including
a chap called 'Charles' who was out to celebrate his birthday with another group. He bought some tickets and won!
he was delighted.
NEW YEARS DAY - ICE BREAKERS!
1st January 2011 - Leybourne Lake - ICE BREAKING
DIVE
Six misguided members braved the freezing temperatures on New Years Day to continue the
club tradition of "Getting Wet" on the first day of the new dive season.
The air temperature was zero, so
the water temperature of 3 degrees appeared warm! I cannot give details of the dives as they were in the water less than
15 minutes. Ropes and ice picks were used, the ice in places was 1 inch thick. The local wildlife looked on in some amazement, so
to the nearby residents walking their dogs.
Our group seemed positively overdressed for the occassion, when along came three
"cold water" swimmers who stripped off down to swimsuits and jumped in for a 200 yard swim. Very impressive!
The event ended with Mince Pies, Mulled Wine and an "Ice Breaking" Certificate.
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