News

Lunesdale News

Pool Nights

From 12th May to the end of September pool nights will be every other week. Unfortunately we just do not have enough members at the moment to be able to take on the cost of hiring the pool every week (which is considerable). We are also looking at the possibility of hiring the pool for a longer session over a weekend when needed for training, as this may be a more effective mode of doing this. Dates are published on the events diary, and are also set out below -

12th May

2nd June (1 week later because of the Bank Holiday)

16th June

30th June

14th July

28th July

11th August

1st September (again delayed because of the Bank Holiday

15th September

29th September

Please let us know if this will give you any real problems. At the end of the day we are trying to maximise the benefits that we all enjoy within the constraints that reality imposes from time to time, with the ulltimate aim of doing as much worthwhile diving as possible.

Vice Chairman

Tim Nicholson has been co-opted back on to the committee in the nominal position of vice-chair. He is also hoping to help with marketing activiities and welfare.

AGM - February 2008

The new committee is Chairman - Dave Laurence, Secretary - Lewis Bambury, Treasurer - Freda Cowell, Membership Secretary & Porthole Editor - Neil Turton, Dive Officer - Barrie Cowell, Training Officer - Stewart Dickson, Boat Officer - Jim Henshaw, General Members Richard York & Colin Drew.

Disco - February 2008

A perennial problem with organising club trips with the RIB has been arranging a tow to the site. A small group of club members has pooled their resources to buy and restore a Land Rover Discovery. The aim is mainly to make it easier to organise dives with the RIB, but also a resource for other day dives and trips. It runs on LPG, which should help hold the cost down. Contact Jim Henshaw for details.

Buddy Scheme - June 2007

Calling all Dive Leaders. We are looking for volunteers to Buddy up with new members to help them find their way into the club; if you are interested in doing this please contact Barrie, the Diving Officer.

Valve Petition - June 2007

Despite warnings from the HSE the government is pressing forward with legislation that to introduce a different standard for cylinder valves for Nitrox use. There is no evidence to support this as being necessary, and the HSE has warned that it could cause confusion (and therefore accidents). It will certainly add more expense into the sport. A petition has been started to try to persuade the government to withdraw this legislation; you can sign this at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SCUBA-valves/#detail

Even if you are not Nitrox qualified now it seems likely that the direction that training is taking at the moment will push all of us in that direction in the next few years so this probably affects you even if you don't think it does.

SGM

The result of the recent SGM was that the proposals were passed. There was much positive feedback about this move and it has the potential to help us improve many of our main activities. Expect to see more on this soon.

You can find out more about the Yacht Club from their web site.

Congratulations

The latest Lunesdale baby has finally put in an appearance - Ethan Robert Matthew Wright arrived at 1am on Christmas Day weighing 10lb 2oz. Congratulations to Rob and Karen!
Karen & Rob with Ethan

Marine Bill Campaign

The Wildlife trusts are running a campaign to lobby for the establishment of Marine Reserves. Currently precious little of our marine environment has any real complete protection, this is a corner of the seas around Lundy. You can find out more about the campaign and what you can do to help at -

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=environment:marine:achieve

Also the Marine Conservation Society are running a similar campaign; you can vote to support them at -

http://www.marinereservesnow.org.uk/

And get more information at

http://www.mcsuk.org/mcsaction/marinebill/marine+bill+-+a+future+for+our+seas

On-line Fraud

There is a warning of an online fraud involving person or persons unknown trying to pass themselves off as BSAC to obtain money fraudulently. More details on the BSAC web site here.

Suunto Recall - D6 & D9 computers

Suunto are recalling models of their D6 and D9 computers because of software bug that causes them to understate dive time under certain circumstances. See their web site (and almost any of the diving news websites) for more details (eg affected serial numbers).

http://www.suuntoservice.com/safetynotice/diving/

http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=93287514106

http://www.xray-mag.com/article/186/Bug_in_Suunto_D6_and_D9

Scubapro Regulator Recall

I also note reports in the press that Scubapro have a voluntary recall of some of their X650 second stages sold in the UK between November 2004 and May 2006. More details are available on Divernet.

http://www.divernet.com/news/stories/060606recall.shtml

National Diving Committee - Life Support advice

The NDC have issued new guidelines on life support in line with the most up to date techniques. A copy of the relevant bulletin is available on the BSAC website.

Club Equipment

Club members borrowing equipment are reminded that they need to give the equipment officers sufficient notice to draw the required kit from the store. The easiest time for him to do this is Monday evening, and with other commitments it can be impossible to arrange during the week.

So if you are planning a dive trip over a weekend, and need club gear, please give them at least one week's notice. Easiest point to pick it up is at the pool.