Off Gassing

I hate bureaucratic nonsense!

2011-03-02T16:44:00.004Z

I know I used to live in Hong Kong, I know I have travelled extensively in South East Asia, but I don't understand how they can have such long convoluted and bureaucratic processes. Everything we need to do requires someone to produce a written pass - it is a letter that is given from one person in one office to another - probably next door. And even then it does not necessarily mean that it works. So here we sit, in Galle harbour, not able to leave the harbour because someone had to write "a letter". Have they not heard about emails or the telephone. Rant over. We are supposed to be leaving at 6 tomorrow morning, and the plan is to ropes away and go, but I can guarantee that we will get stopped by a patrol boat as we leave - because the driver didn't get a flipping letter.

Club Night

2011-02-26T12:37:00.001Z

Next club night - 3 March at the Royal Beach Hotel. Let us know if you are coming.
Ta

Love going away, hate packing

2011-02-26T12:32:00.004Z

It is great to get away and I can't complain because I am going to Sri Lanka to dive with Blue Whales, but ...... why is nothing easy? The list of issues seems to get longer:

Hong Kong want a bond to release the camera kit .... of £100K. Are they kidding!
The Exec Producer gets told that neither he nor the sound crew can have visas ..... 3 days before we are due to go.
Sri Lanka give us a good deal on flights but then we need a second mortgage for excess baggage - I could buy a house for that

On the plus side, the new camera has arrived, I have worked out how to use it, there is enough space for my camera gear and all other problems seem to have been resolved. More news later.

The Blog is Back!

2011-02-26T08:50:00.002Z

Is it really that long since we did anything with this. When we had the old Triton Scuba website we used this blog to post news and "stuff". The new website has blog style pages incorporated throughout the whole site with different topics being covered, however, lots of you have asked for a general mutterings and ramblings blog page like we used to have. So, we have listened to what you say and given the old one the kiss of life. All of the old posts are still there so feel free to have a browse.

A Busy Club Night

2010-03-05T08:22:00.005Z

It was another busy club night last night. Around 70 turned up and we actually ran out of food and had to order some more - oops. And .... finally we managed to hold the unwanted Christmas Present raffle. As last year it was a good bit of fun. There were around 34 stunning prizes on offer, everything from bottles of booze to 2009 diaries. We also had the traditional Chinese wall calendars in Spanish (seem to remember they turned up last year) which this year was won by our only Spanish club member Jorge. Now what were the chances of that happening?

So, in spite of being a bit late it was still well supported and many many thanks to everyone who bothered to wrap and bring presents and to everyone who gave so generously to the occasion. The raffle raised £150 which we are going to donate to Sport Aid. Talking of Sport Aid, don't forget to visit our just giving page for that event, and if you do want to join us on 21 March for a mile jog/walk/stagger then please let us know.

IE Success and New Instructors

2010-03-01T05:50:00.004Z

Many congratulations to our new PADI Instuctors. All candidates passed their 2 day exam after a packed IDC on Saturday. Congratulations as well to our new Staff Instructors, Chris and Noeleen who will be working for Emperor divers in Nuweiba. The guys have now embarked on their Speciality Instructor package. More details and photos to follow when I find a keyboard that doesn't stick.!

Instructors Meeting

2010-02-15T11:35:00.008Z

We held the first of our instructor meetings during February. With so many changes going on it was important to get together and ensure that all the instructors and DMs were on the ball and up to date. The minutes of the meeting have been published and are available for those who would like a copy.

As always the meeting ended up as a bit of a social event and some of us went on afterwards to the Noble House to consume large amounts of Chinese food. This was followed by some extraordinary activities in a few other local establishments. As quite a few instructors and DMs were unable to attend then we will be running another one hopefully in April to pick up the rest.

Phil Short Presentation

2010-02-03T14:42:00.003Z

Last nights presentation by Phil Short at the club night was a great success. In spite of around 10 people who had said they would come not turning up, there were still around 90 at the event so a good turn out. It was also nice to see divers from other clubs in the area including Cockleshell Divers and RNSAC. We hope that you enjoyed the evening and we look forward to welcoming you to events in the future.

January 2010 Newsletter

2010-02-01T08:35:00.002Z

The first newsletter for 2010 is now out and published on the website. There is lots of good stuff in it .... news about charity events, courses for cold months, trip reports, new gear, dive boat schedule information, course dates and club weekends coming up. Click here to have a read.

Successful Advanced Powerboat Drivers

2010-01-31T15:41:00.003Z

No diving this weekend, but we were running an Advanced Powerboat course through our RYA training organization Triton RIBs. Although it was a bit chilly, it was dry and great fun. The full moon and a clear sky made the night navigation phase easier than it might have been, however the strong currents tested the drivers ability in slow speed manouevres. Well done to Andy, Chris and Alex. In the future Andy is hoping to be more involved in the boat side of business so you may well see him on the dive boat this season, and Chris is going to be giving a helping hand too, so look out for him.

Supporting the Royal Navy

2010-01-22T08:47:00.003Z

When a bunch of Royal Navy personnel asked us to help them get an adventurous training qualification at short notice we were only too happy to help. There were 14 lads and one girl who all work at RAF Halton on Harriers and they needed the training running during one week. Having plenty of full-time professional instructors, plenty of equipment and total flexibility in training they came to us. It was a pretty cold week as well, with snow falling at Vobster, but with a new batch of student drysuits in the centre the guys managed to stay reasonably warm during the open water phase of the training. Many of the group will now be off on further adventures diving and we wish them all the best and would like to thank them for being such fun to work with. Photos from the training are on our facebook fan page.

Phil Short Presentation Evening and Club Night - 2 February

2010-01-11T18:01:00.004Z

We get 2010 off to a great start and start the year off with a great presentation evening. We have Phil Short coming in for the first club night of the New Year. Phil is a technical and cave diving expert of considerable experience. His expeditions have included diving to extreme depths and through some of the most amazing cave systems in the World including previously unexplored caves in Siberia. This is going to be a graphically rich and extremely interesting talk and we hope that you can all come along. The evening is free to club members and just £5 to guests to cover food. It is another charity event and we hope that some if not all of you will want to make a donation towards our current charity "Water Aid" at some stage during the event. The evening is open to everyone, BSAC, PADI, SAA or indeed anyone else who wants to come along for a cracking good night. It is ticket only so please contact us if you want to go. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Club Night 7 January

2010-01-07T09:38:00.004Z

For the first time we can remember we have had to cancel the club night tonight. Road conditions are still pretty bad due to the ice and the BBC have forecast more snow this afternoon - even if it doesn't snow it is still going to be a bit tricky underfoot and while driving. So unfortunately the Cow Pie and mash,and the unwanted Christmas present raffle will have to wait until Tuesday 2 February. (Note it is on a TUESDAY). Please let us know if you are coming to that one - we will be having the raffle as well as the presentation by Phil Short and it promises to be a good night out so we hope to see you then.

December Newsletter

2009-12-31T15:21:00.002Z

The last newsletter of the year is available on the website. Loads of stuff, including new drysuits, report from the Christmas Ball, online training info and lots more. Click here to get your copy. And have a Happy New Year!

Scuba Santas 2009

2009-12-20T15:27:00.004Z

The guys are back from the Scuba Santas event and apparantly around 190 turned up in total so they managed to break the record. You are all completely barking. Well done to Martin and Amy at Vobster Quay for putting on the event and to everyone who took the time to dress up and jump in in aid of the RNLI.

Moose Milk - Christmas 2009

2009-12-20T11:35:00.004Z

The Moose milk flowed and the sausage rolls and mince pies went down very well yesterday. A steady stream of friends, customers and club members popped in to share a Christmas drink with us and it was great to see so many of you. If you are wandering out and about today enjoying the December sunshine, there is plenty more food and drink available today so please feel free to drop by. If we don't see you, from everyone here at Triton Scuba we would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Congratulations to our new open water and drysuit divers

2009-12-15T14:53:00.003Z

It was a bit nippy to say the least, but well done to everyone who passed courses with us over the weekend. We had two courses running, drysuit and open water, and in spite of the chilly Northerly wind that came through everyone had a really good time. Picture shows the open water course - to tag yourself go to the facebook fan page by clicking here.

Triton Scuba TV Appearance

2009-12-09T09:16:00.005Z

Following on from the wreck sinking on the BBC Series "LIFE", we were on the telly again last night. CBBC "Inside LIFE" aired the programme that we worked on both in the UK and the Bahamas. The programme showed scenes in the Bahamas cleaning and sinking wrecks, as well as James learning to dive here at the centre, before finally going to dive the wreck that he helped to get ready for sinking. If you missed it then you can view LIFE by going here, and the CBBC Inside LIFE programme by clicking here. Enjoy.

Christmas Ball 2009

2009-12-06T17:45:00.002Z

What a geat party. It was a full house at the Royal Beach with around 120 turning up for a fantastic night of eating drinking and generally having fun. The raffle on the night raised £520 for our chosen charity "Water Aid". Pictures have been posted onto the the Triton Scuba Facebook Gallery - its on the new fan page which you can get to by clicking here. Feel free once you are a fan to comment, tag people you know and upload your own pictures.

November Newsletter

2009-11-30T17:51:00.002Z

The November newsletter has been published on the website. Go to the members area or alternatively click here. Plenty of information including holiday reports from Dahab, kit news from DEMA and the latest from PADI on training. In addition there is news about forthcoming social events. Loads going on so make sure you down load your copy.

Well that was a busy weekend ....

2009-11-30T14:49:00.004Z

Two open water courses, an advanced open water course and a rather windy RYA Level 2 - talk about busy. Well done to everyone who passed courses this weekend. Conditions with the wind and rain were not brilliant so a very special well done to all of you.

LIFE - A compilation on You Tube

2009-11-29T14:05:00.003Z

As you may remember, we were involved in the BBC LIFE Series "Creatures of the Deep" over the past couple of years. As the programme is on the telly tomorrow I thought I would put together a compilation of clips and stills that I took when i was there. Unfortunately I didn't keep everything and the video footage was only done on a Fuji compact. Not only that but I couldn't use flash when Mike Pitts was filming. However, it does give you an idea of what we got up to.

Southsea Sub-Aqua Club Presentation

2009-11-22T10:31:00.003Z

I have just had a note from Southsea SAC. They have a talk at their club house at Fort Widley at 9.00 pm on 10th December by the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal team who disposed of the bomb they found during the summer. The team will be talking about some of their other escapades and as someone who has been involved in this particular activity those escapades are numerous, so it will be well worth going. The talk is free but the club will be asking for donations to charity on the night. If you would like to go please contact Alison via email on secretary@southseasubaqua.org.uk

Back from Dahab

2009-11-19T12:19:00.004Z

We're back. Another brilliant club holiday and once again our usual November pilgrimage to Dahab. 21 of us travelled from a gloomy UK to enjoy some great diving in the Sinai. There were some good social events as well with the group getting together most evenings to have some fun. Significant events ..... there were plenty and there will be a full report in the next newsletter, but several spring to mind .... more mossie bites than you can shake a stick at, optional regulators during descents, karaoke mayhem and a wonderful love story that never quite got off the ground (in spite of some frollicking around in the pool). Intrigued? Then make sure you read the next newsletter. Photos have been posted on the facebook site and the gallery

Halloween Photos loaded onto gallery

2009-11-10T12:12:00.001Z

Sorry they are a bit late but I have finally got around to loading some photos from the Halloween party onto the website. It was a cracking night (aren't all our club nights?) with lots of people making the effort to get dressed up and with some outstanding food - thanks to Paul at the Royal beach for that. If you want to see the images from the night go to the gallery on the website or click here

Quick Update

2009-11-09T20:09:00.002Z

Just got back from DEMA and flying out to Egypt tomorrow so thought I would post a quick update. Halloween night was another scarily brilliant function. Lots of people went to a lot of effort to get dressed up. Some didn't but it really didn't matter as it was just great fun. The party went on till the early hours. Photos from the night will be posted on the website when I get back.

The dive centre is still busy even though we are now only weeks away from Christmas with courses galore.

DEMA was a little smaller than usual (still about 4 times the size of the LIDS) which is probably a reflection on the economic crisis - some of the big players like Oceanic and Scubapro had dramatically downsized their stands. It says something when my good friends Mr and Mrs Weezle have a floor space and stand bigger than Aqualung! The news from PADI at the Course Directors update was interesting, including more online training, a revised instructor manual and IDC and lots more developments. The next newsletter will have more details at the end of the month.

So tomorrow morning I am off with the group to Dahab for a week of fun and frolics and of course some excellent diving. We will tell you all about it when we get back - until then byeeee.

New Inland Dive Site

2009-10-30T17:50:00.006Z

We have found a new diver training site in the Portsmouth area – and it’s right on our doorstep! For years we have been going past Canoe Lake without realising that it was actually 7m deep (ish). We always thought that it was just an ornamental pond, but how wrong we were. The lake has a huge amount of wildlife living on and around it, not least some ducks and swans who congregate together in the evening for feeding (see picture above). Ian and Zara went for a recce of the site (see other picture below) and they reckon we can use it for a whole range of training programmes in the future including Deep (Ian took his shovel and thinks he could have a hole down to 18m by this time next year), the Wreck speciality (we know several model boats have been sunk over the years) and Fish ID (it has some crabs at the moment but we hope to throw in a few haddock and cod - without the wrapping).

This is a fantastic addition to the local inland dive sites available and one that some divers might enjoy. If you want to dive it please let us know.

Oh Oh - been neglecting the BLOG

2009-10-28T19:53:00.006Z

Oops - I have been neglecting the blog. Must be something to do with the loads of things that are going on. Right, so where are we ..... nearly at the end of October. Right this month there has been the normal number of courses going on including open water rescue and nitrox as well as a few specialities. And we have taught a Gas Blending course (which we have not done for a while). On the instructor training side of life I ran another IDC (3rd this year amazingly) and had 3 successful candidates.

In the middle of the month we were invited to the launch of the BBC "LIFE" series in Bristol which was great fun (see the photo with some of the team from the Bahamas). Some of the people I had not seen since we started filming years ago (and some even before the filming started!) and it was great to meet up again. The "beeb" took over a nice restaurant/bar in Bristol and after we had had a few drinks we sat and watched the first programme! Kind of a conversation stopper and everyone was trying to find out who had done what! It was not a programme we had been involved in so didn't expect to be in it.

Elsewhere ... we went to the dive show for the first time in a number of years. It was good to meet up with some old friends as well as promote the new boats for next season. Loads of interest I have to say.

Other really interesting stuff ... well Zara bought a drysuit, we became an Advanced Powerboat Training Centre and can also offer instructor courses in powerboating, oh and we published the holidays for next years and virtually filled the trip to Scapa in 4 days. As well as Scapa Flow we have trips in 2010 to Egypt, and the Philippines.

September Newsletter

2009-10-09T15:45:00.002Z

September's Newsletter is now available online. Click here to download a copy.

1 October Club Night

2009-10-02T07:13:00.003Z

It was a busy club night yesterday. Over 70 club members and guest turned up for a plate of curry and a social. So busy in fact that we ran out of chairs! It was lovely to see a few new members, welcome to Debbie's fab 4, and as well as some members who we have not seen for ages - good to see you George and Penny. The usual rafle raised another £68 for our charity and many congratulations to DJ who won a prize - told you that I would give you a mention.

Amazingly the next "normal" club night is actually in February 2010 as we have the Halloween Party at the end of this month (so no November club night) and the Christmas Ball at the beginning of December and Phil Short (adventurer and cave diver) coming along to the club night on 7 January. Now that is a busy club!

Dives Planned 3 and 4 October

2009-09-29T14:50:00.005Z

Weather permitting, and lets hope that this holds out for a while, we will be running 2 dive trips on both days over the weekend. Saturday we are doing the Highland Brigade in the morning. Around 30m, it is a big wreck with loads to see. Cost for that one will be £30. The Saturday afternoon dive will be something shallower, the Camswan, at about 18m max. cost for that will be £25.

On the Sunday we will be doing the Prince Leopold in the morning at around 30m and Tanks and Dozers (or possibly the Eldridge/Crab rocks) at less than 18m in the afternoon. Both these dives cost £30. If you want to book give us a call in the dive centre.

Change of Name - Triton RIB becomes "Rebellion"

2009-09-29T14:39:00.004Z

Even though Triton Scuba has been around now for 12 years, and even though we had a 5.5m RIB called Triton in 1998, we have decided to changed the name of the 7.5m CobraRIB. The main reason - well I have already met 2 other boats called Triton out on the Solent - one a lovely little hard boat operating out of Chichester, and the other being owned by a dive club on the IOW. So, to prevent confusion, we decided to have a name change. The problem was - to what? One idea was to call it "Wassaaaaap" but that was just to see whether QHM would go for it on radio checks and things - childish but really funny! Another idea was to call it "go for it" - for similar childish reasons so that when we asked to cross the Harbour QHM could say, "go for it, go for it". We thought about having a competition, but thought that would take ages. Eventually we settled on "Rebellion" - not sure why, but we think it kind of fits with "Renegade". Name changes always have to be done with champagne (excellent) and we will be doing that in due course - no not smashing the bottle, drinking it. Rebellion is next in line for refit and during the winter period will be fitted with a cylinder rack and ladder.

Both Boats busy in Portland over the weekend

2009-09-29T14:25:00.003Z

We picked up Renegade from refit in the Hamble and basically came down the river and turned right. About 1 hour 45 minutes later we were in Portland - straight out of refit and straight into use. There were loads of things going on over the weekend and around 25 club members and students going diving so we needed 2 boats and even had to hire in a skipper to drive one of them. Many congratulations to everyone who finished courses with us, (be it the Deep Course, Open Water, SMB or PPB) at the weekend and for all the guys who were experience diving we hope you enjoyed the weekend as much as we did and look forward to seeing you next time.

So, Renegade is now up and running and is the fastest and biggest rib operating in the Solent for dive charters. She has two bottle racks a ladder so you can get out easily and even some seats so not everyone has to sit on the tubes. She has space for around 20 cylinders with ease and with a full compliment of divers and equipment cruises comfortably at 30 knots. With dive prices starting at £20 it is a pretty cost effective way of going diving as well.

She will hopefully be out this weekend with 4 wreck dives planned for the Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting. If you want to come and try her out give us a call.

Renegade refit complete

2009-09-25T07:47:00.003Z

I am pleased to say that Renegade has had its refit and is now able to take divers and/or charter customers. The refit includes 2 x 8 tank bottle racks and a foldaway ladder. While we were at it we also had new injectors fitted, a new depth sounder to go with the whole range of Raymarine electronics that have been put on board it, and various other things donw. There are still a few weeks left this season so why not come and give her a try. This weekend she is driving straight from refit in the Hamble down to Portland where we will have both ribs running over the two day. There are still a couple of spaces on Renegade on Saturday and Sunday so if you want to come for a dive give us a call.

We will have some photos and more details about the refit in next months newsletter.

A busy weekend of diving and training

2009-09-14T16:39:00.003Z

First of all a few congratulations - well done to the new Open Water tudents who passed this weekend just gone, and also to the MSDT speciality instructor candidates who finished clocking up 6 specialities each. Well done guys. On the boat side of life we managed to get out for 4 dives - nothing exciting as it was a bit blowy, but we still had some great dives and even managed to squeeze the Ginger Dugong on the boat. Coming up next weekend - we are going to be looking at a wreck that we have not dived before - clocked it on Sunday on the old sounder so fancy having a look. It is nice and shallow (around 14m) so a good experience dive for the newly qualified divers as well. Plus next weekend we have a few other sites, so let us know if you want to come out for some fun.

Yet another fantastic event - Tooni and Lucy

2009-09-14T16:03:00.011Z

There is no doubt that as a club we do have some pretty good functions so I suppose no surprise when we have another one. Our latest was the Tooni and Lucy event and it was yet another great success. With just over 100 guests it was a full house in the Royal Beach hotel last Friday. As well as members from most of the clubs in Portsmouth we also managed to attract divers and non-divers from much further away. In fact we had visitors from Cambridge, Romsey, Maidstone, Northampton and Reading. It was great to see them all and we know they all had fun. One of our visitors wrote to us this morning to say thanks and we thought we would share the comments:

Hi Guys,
I wanted to send you an email to thank you for putting on such a brilliant evening on Friday.
You have a lovely group of people at your club, many of whom came and chatted with us and all made us feel very welcome! I had such a huge grin on my face throughout the talks from both Tooni and Dr. Lucy, which I didn't notice until the end of the evening when I realised why my cheeks were aching so much -- and I do mean the ones on my face !!! :@)

Thanks again for putting on such a wonderful evening and for opening up to non-members of your club. We will definitely think of your dive centre when organising our club trips for next year.

Kind Regards
Hannah Theakston

We have to agree, we do have lovely people in the club, we do make people feel welcome and it was a wonderful evening. And not only that, but as a bonus, the event raised £250 for charity. Talk about being the best club in the area.

As a reminder the next club meeting will be in the Royal Beach Coast Bar on 1 October at 7.00pm and don't forget to put Halloween night in your diaries for the next party. We look forward to seeing you.

Muck Muck Glorious Muck - Borneo 2009

2009-09-05T11:53:00.004Z

I thought it was about time that we posted a report on the Borneo holiday to date. We've just been having so much fun that there's not been time (or read: exhausted from doing so many dives!). Anyway the holiday started with a day in KL. It was hot and sticky and having arrived early it was a great opportunity to explore. We split up into various groups with some taking the slightly less adventurous option of sleeping for much of the day, while the rest at least managed to see the Petronus Towers (very big) and have a wander around. Some of us decided to get ourselves in the mood for things to come by visiting the aquarium. I think that Becci and I managed about a 12 mile hike which included the KL Tower, watching monkeys in the surrounding jungle, snakes in the wildlife zoo, China Town, Little India, copious numbers of Mosques and various other impressive looking buildings.

We eventually all arrived in Mabul safely and the first few nights were a little stormy to say the least. however, since then the weather has been good during the day and is getting sunnier and sunnier judging by the sunburn today. We have all done one day on Sipidan so far and have seen loads of turtles, "white tips, black tips, Galapagos reef sharks" (oops sorry wrong holiday). There is plenty of life here and some amazing scenes of Baracuda shoaling and balling. The diving around Mabul is really different to what we are normally used to, with loads of little critters and strange beasties. I think we have all adopted the head down a hole, eyes less than a foot off the coral approach to diving and everyone with a camera is totally engrossed.

Our resident non diver had her first experience of sharks yesterday while snorkelling....all be it a short experience due to the speed at which she exited the water and got back in the boat all in one motion.

We're all having a fabulous time but will be back in 6 days time ready for the Oceans talk at the Royal Beach and an update on the rest of the holiday. See you all soon.

August Newsletter

2009-09-04T16:40:00.003Z

Sorry it's late. I have been a bit busy (or should I say very busy) and was in Plymouth this week. Anyway, it has been published on the website and you can download your copy by clicking here.

Course Success 30 August

2009-09-01T10:18:00.000Z

Many congratulations to everyone who passed courses with us last weekend. It was great to combine a club outing with some training and a good oportunity to socialise as well.

September Dive Boat Schedule

2009-08-26T17:25:00.002Z

The September dive boat schedule is available online. Plenty of dives going on with 2 dives a day every weekend, so why not make the most of it. Click here to go to the dive schedule.

Special Event - An evening with some of the team from the BBC series "Oceans - 11 September 2009

2009-08-24T17:52:00.005Z

We have brought you some great guests in the past including TV personality Monty Halls and underwater film cameraman, Mike Pitts. Well next month on a similar TV them were bringing you some of the personalities from the BBC series "Oceans".

Tooni Mahto and Lucy Blue (shown in the photo above taken from the BBC website) were two of the presenters on the recent BBC "Oceans" series. The programme took a year to film and went around the globe to explore the underwater world. Tooni was the marine biologist for the programme while Lucy, a lecturer from Southampton university, was the marine archaeologist. Both of them have kindly offered to give a one-off presentation on the making of the series, as Tooni put it to me "a bit of a behind the scenes look at the programme".

The event is taking place on 11 September at the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea at 7.00 pm. The cost will be just £15 (£10 to club members) and this includes a meal. All proceeds are going to go to charity. After the event there will be the opportunity to have a bit of a social with other dive clubs in the area, as well as meet the presenters. You can find out more about the presenters and the series by going to the website on http://www.bbc.co.uk/oceans

For anyone with a vague interest in diving, marine biology, marine archaeology or the marine environment in general, this is a unique opportunity, and I am sure that it will be great fun as well. If you would like to go, the tickets are available from Triton Scuba. Telephone 02392 838773. Payment by cash or cheque only please. Closing date to buy tickets is 7th September and we expect this to be a popular event so get your tickets early.

Triton Supports Southsea Fire Station

2009-08-22T15:52:00.003Z

Once again we had our pool out, this time we "teamed up" with the Southsea Fire Station to support their open day. We put the pool up during the week and even at 27,000 litres it didn't take the guys long to fill. It was then left for a couple of days with the heater on so it was a lovely and warm 28 degrees. Even though the pool was undercover we were still hoping for some good weather and we were fortunate on that one. There were some big crowds out and the pool was a great attraction. In total we did 38 try dives in the 6 hours the show was open and charging £3 a go, we raised a fantastic amount of £114 for the fire station charity fund. We think that was pretty good.

Summer Ball Raffle

2009-08-18T07:34:00.003Z

Forgot to mention in the last post that we had a very successful raffle on the night of the ball and raised £535. Top prize of the top of the range Fourth Element undersuit was won by Julie Western (in picture) - actually it was won by Paul Western but apparently Julie is having it! Second prize was an Oceanic 3-piece wetsuit, there was also a range of Estee Lauder products (well done to Luke for winning that one!), champagne and meals in local restaurants. Many thanks to everyone who donated pries and to the guests for supporting the raffle so generously.

An Absolute Corker

2009-08-17T10:21:00.004Z

The summer ball at the weekend was an absolute corker - probably one of the best we have had. I have to say the Queens Hotel did us proud with the food - excellent all round, and the rain stayed away which meant that the other "entertainment" could also go on and it allowed people to use the garden. We have put on some "surprise" activities as well as the usual disco - a bucking bronco and some chubby chicks suits - a bit like sumo suits but different. After the initial "you won't get me on there" comments it soon changed and was even difficult to get people off! Everyone entered nto the spirit of things. There was some collateral damage - Big Gary ripped his trousers and Woody made a mess of his dress shirt, but it was still a cracking night. Next big function is 11 September so don't forget to grab your tickets.

August Boat Schedule

2009-08-12T14:45:00.002Z

The August boat schedule is out and it includes some dives around the Solent as well as in Portland during the club weekend. Loads going on and all at discounted prices for club members. Click here to view the schedule.

Cowes Fireworks

2009-08-08T11:02:00.005Z

We had 2 full boats for this year's Cowes Fireworks display. We all met up in Old Portsmouth and then had a high speed trip over to Cowes, where we watched the Sea Vixen display. The bubbly came out and then it was a chug up the river to the Folly Inn, where we had tables booked for dinner after which we had the treat of a Red Arrows display. Finally we chugged back down river to find a lovely spot close to the spectacular fireworks before heading back to Portsmouth. Everyone agreed it was a fantastic trip out - well worth doing and something we will book in for next years programme as well.

July Newsletter

2009-07-27T17:30:00.001Z

The July Newsletter is written and available online. It is a bit shorter than normal but that is due to the fact that I am going away on holiday tomorrow and ran out of time, rather than not having loads to tell you! Still some good stuff in it including plans for the next Club weekend and a report from the Malives. Click here to go there.

New Open Water Students

2009-07-26T15:36:00.005Z

We went to Vobster for a change to complete the OW course this weekend and many congratulations to all the successful students. A special word must go out to Dumb and Dumber, the Young brothers. Gary Young (not our new instructor but the Shamu variety of "Young") who did so well on the navigation he is now known as "Garmin", and Lee cried like a baby during the mask removal. And also ..... come on Zara tell all .... we don't recommend that you put your underpants on your head during the surface practice for navigation. Luke, the human javelin, had a face fungus issue leading to a leaking mask so had some interesting facial hair designs going on. But, a great course, great fun, lots of good natured banter and we look forward to more hilarity at the next club meeting!

Try Dives for Youngsters

2009-07-21T15:12:00.002Z

We have been doing a fair bit of work with some of the youngsters in the area - the last session was at the Pyramids. We had great fun and so did the youngsters as you can see.

Club Weekend in Portland

2009-07-21T15:00:00.003Z

It was blowing a bit of a gale up in Portsmouth, but we were lucky in Portland for the club weekend. The RIB did 8 trips in total over the weekend with students and club members making the most of it. With around 30 people in total making the trip we filled the bunk house so it was a good job that some made their own arrangements for accommodation.

There were some course successes at the weekend as well with Advanced and Open Water being finished. Well done to all of you - not quite sure what the photo was all about, but I'm sure I will find out in due course.

Hearty Congratulations!

2009-07-13T16:36:00.002Z

Yes hearty congratulations (a nautical sort of word that should be said with gusto methinks) to our newly qualified Deep Divers. Well done to Mark, Blain and Dave and glad you enjoyed the programme.

June Newsletter

2009-07-10T06:56:00.003Z

The June Newsletter is available on line by clicking here. There is loads of stuff and features inside including, our new 9m RIB, bringing fast, convenient diving to the Solent area , details about the summer ball, a change in our powerboat business (lots of opportunities), reports from Daf and Bev as they travel around the World, and lots more.

Navigation? What's that all about?

2009-07-06T17:23:00.000Z

Many congratulations to our Deep Diver speciality students who passed the course last weekend. Barnes Wallis was running the course assisted by Stu and it was good to have Eric along from Gloucestershire. The navigation objectives of the course were .... well challenging to some of the students, but extremely beneficial and great fun. See if you can work out who found it a bit of a challenge from the photo !!!!!!

A Good Club Night - Next club night in September

2009-07-04T13:37:00.003Z

With quite a lot of club members away on holiday the numbers were down at bit at the July Club night last Thursday. However, still a healthy 40 or so were there for a lovely evening and BBQ. Just to remind you, the next "normal" club meeting will be on 3 September as the Summer Ball is in August. Tickets for that event are selling fast so let us know if you want to come. More details on the next newsletter which will be out in a couple of days.

Course Success

2009-07-01T13:33:00.000Z

Just a quick "well done" to our successful Rescue Diver course candidates last weekend. We know you all loved the training. Hope to see you soon on the DM programme.

Successful Instructors Exam and IE Party

2009-06-21T12:45:00.004Z

All candidates sucessfully finished off the IDC here in Dahab and went on to complete the IE. With a lot of high 4s and 5s scored everyone did brilliantly.
The IE finishing party and BBQ at the Furry Cup was fantastic resulting in a few sore heads this morning. We know it was meant to be fancy dress but the excitement of passing the IE did go to some people's heads!......well if you've got the balls.........

IDC Going Well - 8 New Assistant Instructors

2009-06-16T09:37:00.002Z

The IDC I am running in Egypt is going well. 8 candidates in total (not all in the piture) and they have all successfully passed the frst part and ar celebrating achieving AI status. 4 more days to go and then it is fingers crossed for the IE. I will let you know how they all get on when I get back after the Master Scuba Diver Trainer Programme.

Cow Pie and Mash

2009-06-05T17:15:00.000Z

Another good club nght last night, 50 people turned up and it was great to see some more new members. The cow pie and mash was excellent as usual. Don't forget that the next club night is 2nd July and will be a BBQ. Please let us know if you are coming so that we can make sure that there is enough food. Also if you have any prizes for the raffle please bring them to the shop.

Newsletter for May Available Online

2009-05-29T17:47:00.002Z

May's newsletter has been published onto the website. This month it includes trip reports from Portland and Egypt, drysuit and regulator deals and other stuff, including a full report about diving with the rare "Ginger" Dugong of Um el Russ. Click here to go to the newsletter page on the website.

A Glorious Bank Holiday Weekend

2009-05-26T07:26:00.002Z

The May weather is always unpredicatable and the Dive Fest weekend in Cornwall was the first event to fall victim with gale force winds, rain. £35 for a ticket to sit huddled in a tent - no thank you. We kept our fingers crossed that 23-25 May would not go the same way and it turned out to be a different kettle of fish altogether. Glorious sunshine, calm seas, great vis and fantastic diving. Around 16 club members took advantage of the conditions and dives were completed on some of the inner harbour wrecks as well as a few offshore wrecks. We also did the first Fleet Flying dive - well it did not exactly fly as we were about 30 minutes early due to a tidal miscalculation, but with huge flounders, seahorses and bass to look at who cared. Definitely a dive to do again. Full report on the weekend in this months newsletter.

Quick Update before I head off to Portland

2009-05-22T11:11:00.004Z

Many congratulations to Rod Harris who completed his nitrox course last weekend, and indeed, everyone else who completed training with us since my last post. The Liveaboard trip to the Southern Red Sea got back last night, having been delayed in Marsa Alam for 48 hours - we all feel very sorry for them having to spend an extra day and night in a 5 star all inclusive hotel, well maybe not. Apparently they did a good job of making the most of the "all inclusive" bit of the hotel.

A full report will be published in the next newsletter which will include details of Lamby's missing passport, the hammerheads and sharks (see picture), the tragic end of Rick Astleys modelling career and the first ever sighting and pictures of the famous Marsa Alam Ginger Dugong. Bet that's got you thinking!

April Newsletter - Sorry it's Late!

2009-05-12T07:17:00.002Z

Oops, sorry for the delay. Its been a bit busy in the dive centre. Anyway it has now been published and can be read here. Loads of stuff inside, Spinnaker Tower report, Special Underwater Photography weekend, Summer Ball details, new torches and titanium knives and diving with Dugongs!.

Course Success

2009-05-11T08:05:00.002Z

Another busy weekend of training in the dive centre. Well done to all the students who passed courses and a special well done to young Josh who passed his junior advanced course.

A Cracking Club Night

2009-05-08T08:16:00.004Z

Not sure whether it was the thought of the first barbecue of the year or just because it was the first "normal" club night of the diving season, but it was a pretty full house at the Coast Bar last night. Around 70 club members and guests were there and as well as the regulars it was great to see some new faces as the club continues to grow. Also seen on the night was the mystery lady. We have not seen here around for a while as she has other engagements on a Thursday so it was a real treat .... and I managed to get another photograph for the collection.

The raffle raised £80 for charity and thank you to everyone for supporting that. Next club night is going to be on the 4th June - Cow Pie will be on the menu. Don't forget to let us know if you are coming.

Newly Qualified Students

2009-05-04T13:47:00.003Z

It was another busy weekend in the dive centre - so much so that I even forgot to put out the newsletter. Don't worry, it is on its way, just a bit late. There was plenty going on this weekend as everyone made the most of the good weather. This included the first PADI Twinset Diver distinctive speciality for the first time in a while. If anyone else is interested in going down the twinset route give us a call. Many congratulations to everyone who passed courses at the weekend.

A Busy Weekend of Training

2009-04-27T09:15:00.010Z

It was a really busy weekend. Unfortunately the weather meant that it was one of those rare occasions when we could not get the boat out in Portland. So instead we went to Vobster which was not too bad. Still a bit chilly at around 6 - 7 degrees but the viz was really good and everyone had a great time. Many congratulations to all the students who completed courses with us this weekend and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

As well as that we want to say well done to the elusive Owen Flowers who recently passed his DM course. It is a course that takes effort and determination so very well done. Owen celebrated in the usual style which included a couple of beers in the local - and as the image shows, the careful application of dive stamps? I have no idea before you ask.

Happy Birthday Rick

2009-04-24T09:25:00.003Z

Just wanted to say, very happy birthday to Rick Astley, also known as Ian Brown, last week. We somehow forgot to publish a blog, but that might have had something to do with the fact that the celebrations on the day were held in Portland. Last night we held a surprise party for him in Sopranos (recommend it if you have never been) and thanks to everyone who came along to help him get over the shock of being 40. To find out more about how Ian has coped at this time of midlife crisis, why not join the facebook group, "How to help Ian Brown come to terms with turning 40". Any comments you wish to add feel free. Never gonna give you up, never gonna say good bye ......

Spinnaker Tower Function a Soaring Success

2009-04-12T10:24:00.005Z

Excuse the random use of "height" metaphors, but it really was something quite special. The maximum number that the tower could accommodate was 120 and that is how many enjoyed a great evening of entertainment in this iconic venue. It started with champange in the reception area where a slide show of some of the funniest and most memorable moments over the past 12 months or more was projected on to the wall. Up the lift to the view decks there was a bar, canapes and a casino which went on through the evening. As the guests were treated to a clear evening and lovely sunset, the cameras were out in force. Sue had a lesson in gambling off the croupier - after placing equal bets on both red and black on the roulette table. And as the lights came on the view got even better. Downstairs in the cafe bar, there was plenty of food and the disco went on until 1.00 in the morning. Quite a few good photos from the event, including some "before and after" shots of Ian! Click here to go to the gallery.

Gazza Gets Cow and Lamby Gets Wet

2009-04-11T08:45:00.018Z

DM and June IDC Candidate Gary has been on an interesting diet recently. He is getting himself fit and ready for instructor training and we support him completely. However last night at Ian's little BBQ he allowed himself a special treat with a HUGE T-bone steak. Oh and a couple of cans of diet Grolsch. We didn't know that you could buy that - reckon the brewers could be on to a winner!

The other special events of the evening were some hearty congratulations to Lamby and Megan on qualifying as Divemasters. Lamby was very excited by the whole thing and could hardly contain himself - as the photograph clearly shows. mmm nice! But he does get quite emotional. Remember when he fainted after a nasty paper cut on his finger.

Easter gets underway

2009-04-06T09:41:00.002Z

Plenty of you are obviously planning on going diving over the Easter break as the dive centre was "chokka". We have just about got through the backlog of servicing we had so are back up to a 5 day turn around now for regulator and BCD servicing if you want to bring it in. Well done to all the students who completed courses with us at the weekend (picture shows the Drysuit Course)

SMB and PPB Courses, and BIG WEEKEND filling up fast

2009-03-30T12:09:00.003Z

Since we published the newsletter at the end of last week we have taken quite a few bookings for the SMB and PPB courses we are running later in the year. So, if you want to go on either of those courses, get your names down sooner rather than later. And, we are already starting to book up dives and accommodation for the bog weekend on 23/24/25 May. I cannot stress enough, this is a Bank holiday weekend so is likely to be busy. If you want to join in with the fun, let us know as soon as possible.

Successful Students

2009-03-30T12:06:00.002Z

Well done to all our successful students this weekend just gone. They were blessed with calm water and sunshine. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

March Newsletter

2009-03-27T09:59:00.003Z

The March Newsletter is finished - I know, it's a few days early this month .... well I try. Loads of great stuff in it including details on the Spinnaker Tower event. We also have a great trip lined up - THE big club weekend in May. There are more discount offers on dive gear and some great courses that you might like to book onto this season. As well, there reports on a club trip by Sue G-P, a St Lucia trip by Nick Ayling and a report from Ian and I on a trip to France for this years Top Oceanic Dealer Awards. Click here for more.

Club boat out for the first time this season

2009-03-23T10:29:00.005Z

The club RIB was out this weekend for the first time this season and a number of members took advantage of some superb diving conditions down in Portland. Viz was between 5 - 10m according to some (although sue G-P reckons she might have made it worse for those that followed her). Sue has written a report for the newsletter so you can find out all about it.

Bad News for my Marathon des Sables Attempt

2009-03-16T09:40:00.003Z

You may have realized that I was due to be leaving for Morocco in 10 days time. Unfortunately I have had a bit of a disaster. Within the last 3 weeks of so, I have managed to develop a condition that will prevent me from taking part in the race. This was discovered during the final medical and ECG. All is not lost and I have been offered a place on the race next year, however, it means another 12 months of training, preparation and planning. The sponsors who have provided kit and financial support have been great and over the next 12 months (once I am fit again) I will continue to write kit reviews during training runs and competitions. If you have donated money towards this run, I hope that you will be happy to allow me to keep the money in the Run the Sahara appeal account until this time next year.
I have written a full update of what happened on my "Run the Sahara" website which you can read by clicking here. Thank you for your continued support.

Successful IDC Finishes

2009-03-16T09:24:00.002Z

This weekend saw the end of our first IDC of the year. 3 Candidates completed the training programme and by the end of it all of them were achieving some excellent scores in the evaluated areas of pool work, presentations and open water training. Sarah and Graham will be going to Gildenborough next weekend to take the Instructors Exam and Lee will be going to Bristol in a few weeks. We wish all 3 of the them every success in the exam and look forward to a celebratory drink on their return.

The next IDC we are running is in June. There are already 3 candidates on the course, but if you are an aspiring instructor who thinks that being a diving educator is the ticket for you, why not get in touch.

The Sun is Out ...

2009-03-16T09:19:00.002Z

What a cracking weekend to finish an Open Water course. The boat was out for the first time this month as we finished off an Open Water Course. The water was 8 degrees and visibility was around 4m on the Dredger, but it was a flat calm sea - the RIB cruised at 28 knots with 10 passengers on board - great fun for everyone. Many congratulations to all of the students who successfully completed the Course.

Another Top Dealer Award

2009-03-04T10:10:00.002Z

Ian and I have just come back from France having been at the Oceanic Seminar. And once again, we have won a Top Dealer award. We have won an award for about the last 6 years, so we are getting used to it, but it is always nice to be recognised for what you have achieved. Many thanks to all our customers, who made it possible by supporting us.

February Newsletter Published

2009-02-28T17:02:00.003Z

You can download the February Newsletter. Plenty of stuff in it, including reports from Cuba, new kit due out in the next few months, a shocking report on the price of beer in Egypt!, some great holiday deals to Egypt from Oonas as well as some top tips on how to check over your regulators and a plan to raise money for Comic Relief .... plus much much more. Click here to go the newsletter page

Club Night

2009-02-25T12:29:00.002Z

When: Thursday 5th March 09
Time: 7.30pm
Where:Coast Bar, The Royal Beach Hotel
Why: Cow pie and drinks

Please call; 02392 838 773
or e-mail; helpdesk@tritonscuba.co.uk

to secure your place and food!

New Scubapro Package Deals

2009-02-25T12:08:00.004Z

It's that time of year where Scubapro have put together their new product packages with massive savings up to 25% off. To make our Scubapro packages even more impressive we are going to throw in a wrist Nitrox computer absolutely FREE!

Click Here for more details

January 2009 Newsletter

2009-01-31T13:17:00.001Z

The January 2009 Newsletter has been published. for those of you who don't normally get sent a copy you can view it on the website by clicking here. Plenty of good stuff including details of our spectacular Spring club function.

Instructors Meeting and Function

2009-01-16T10:25:00.003Z

We had one of our regular 6 monthly Instructor and DM meetings last night. We decided to run it in the same way as last time, by holding the meeting at the Noble House restaurant and then having a slap up meal. 20 of our regular instructors and DMs turned up for what was a very successful evening. For those who couldn't make it minutes of the meeting will be sent out to all instructors and DMs, so you will still find out what went on.

First Club Night of 2009

2009-01-09T09:36:00.008Z

Last night saw around 60 members and guests turn up for the first club night of 2009 for what was a fun social event. As in the past, the main theme for the evening was the raffle of unwanted Christmas presents. The rules were:

You must wrap the present

You cannot pick your own (that would just be stupid)

Once you touch a present its yours (no checking to see if bottles are full or boxes of chocolates are half empty)

You must take your present away with you - or convince someone else to.

Everyone took to the event with enthusiasm and we were inundated with unwanted presents so the chances were, unless clearly you were called Neal or Helen, that you would win something. There were some cracking gifts; anger management blow up boxing gloves, chinese restaurant calenders - in Spanish (Sue was particularly fond of hers), Rude Origami and willy shaped bath salts - tasteful! The raffle raised £119 which was brilliant and all the money will be given to Water Aid, which as you know is my flavour of the moment when it comes to charities.

To everyone who brought pressies and to everyone who bought tickets - a huge thank you for making it such a fun night and helping raise the money. It was good to see you all and to get the club's year of to such a flying start. Many more club nights to come, and to remind you, the next one is going to be Thursday 5 February. Please let us know if you are coming if you can.

PS - DJ, I promise to put you in the Newsletter ok!

Last Dive of 2008

2008-12-30T17:09:00.003Z

9 courageous, or was it foolhardy, club members braved some chilly winds to log the last dive of the year from the club RIB down in Portland today. Some of the guys went last night to make the most of Ron and Dale's hospitality at Fathom & Blues. The plan had been to do a couple of shallow dives and one deep one, but with force 4 winds and some less than brilliant vis we decided to keep it safe, stay in the harbour, and make sure that everyone at least got a dive in. A recent letter in Dive magazine highlighted the potential dangers of boats putting divers in even when the vis is crap and we were not going to go down that route. As it was, vis was not brilliant on the Landing Craft, but we made the most of it. Some then braved a second dive on the Countess which was a bit better. A special word has to go out to Debs, Tom and Les who were in wetsuits, to Derek who lost his car keys and held us up for an hour and to Julie, for the best exit routine. Captions for the photo below on a postcard please.

New Open Water Divers

2008-12-07T19:46:00.003Z

Well done to our new open water divers, Hamish, Elodie, Frank and Nick who passed their course this weekend. Megan (DMT) managed to demo AAS with a bright pink snorkel, Hamish managed to prove that you can can throw through a regulator but apart that and a long day (due to pee breaks by Dale), it was great course. See you all soon.

A Christmas Cracker

2008-12-07T14:44:00.002Z

Around 115 club members and guests partied long into the night at yet another successful Christmas Ball at the Royal Beach Hotel. With around 40 people staying in the hotel for the night, while the main function wound up at 1.00 am, the "unofficial" party carried on until the early hours - hence a few looking slightly delicate at breakfast this morning. We heard a rumour that some were still in the bar at 6 this morning! Pictures of the event have been posted onto the gallery of the website - if anyone wants copies of higher resolution images just let me know.

Marathon des Sables

2008-12-03T13:02:00.002Z

I am running the Marathon des Sables in March next year for charity. This is a 151 mile race on foot across the Sahara in 6 days. To find out more about the race, why I am doing it and how you can help, go to my Run the Sahara website by clicking here.

November Newsletter

2008-12-03T12:57:00.002Z

The November Newsletter has been posted onto the website. Plenty of stuff - Halloween report, Marathon des Sables, IDC report and more. Click here to go to the newsletter page.

Advanced Open Water Course Successes

2008-11-30T16:09:00.002Z

Congratulations to everyone that passed their PADI Advanced Open Water this weekend. It's been a fun weekend down at Portland and Vobster despite it starting to get a little chilly - it even snowed in Vobster! But the visibility was great and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the dives. Well done to you all!

Winter is here and we celebrate more course success

2008-11-23T16:57:00.004Z

Definitely got a bit chilly this weekend but the training continued over a busy couple of days. The candidates from the IE completed the Speciliaty Instructor training programme, all 6 qualifying in seven speciality disciplines. At the same time, 6 students completed their Open Water training, 5 qualifying as PADI Open Water Divers, and one as a Scuba Diver. The training on Saturday was from our RIB in Portland and once again the concensus from staff and students alike was that it was excellent to go diving in the sea and from a boat. The Sunday was blown out however, and so we drove the short way to Vobster to finish off, giving everyone the best of both worlds and far more experience than they might have got in some of the murky inland sites. Many congratulations to all the successful candidates - and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.

New Instructors

2008-11-17T10:38:00.007Z

It was another nerve racking weekend and finger nails were chewed at an alarming rate! But at the end of it, all 5 of our Instructor Candidates did extremely well at the Peterborough IE. There were a few exams nerves initially and it showed, with 3 candidates needing to swot up on the Saturday evening having narrowly missed the pass mark in one of the 5 exams. Unfortunately Nigel narrowly missed the pass mark on 2 exams (as he put it he had a "brain fart") and will be having another bash next month. However, all of them had the confidence to put that to one side and they were off to do their presentations, before heading to the pool. Scores throughout the day on the practical skills were extremly high. On day two we were up early to drive to "Gildy". The first thing was to get over the make up exams - no problem this time around - and then do rescue assessments. Chris decided that he would forget to count to 5 or 6 and decided that 25 seconds was the new interval for rescue breathing!!!! Numbnuts! However, eventually that was all finished successfully and it was time for the Open Water Assessments. All 5 candidates sailed through, with the lowest score being a 4.4 and plenty of 5.0 scores scattered around. It has been a hard slog and all the candidates have worked hard so our congratulations to all of them. It is also a big well done to Zara, who as you know works for us in the Dive Centre ...... and so still has a job!!!

Another IDC Successfully Completed

2008-11-09T11:08:00.002Z

All the students on our recent IDC have put in a tremendous amount of hard work and effort and have sucessfully completed the training. They are now looking forward (if that is the right phrase) to the exam next weekend. We wish all of them the best of luck and every success. I will post an update in about a week.

IDC Gets Underway

2008-11-04T08:48:00.003Z

Our third UK based IDC of the year has just got underway. Already the 4 candidates, Zara, Chris, Richard (aka Sharon) and Nigel are getting to grips with the PADI system. They have just gone to Portland for 2 days of open water instructor training and should finish the course on Sunday. The next step will be the weekend of 15/16 November, when they will be joined by Ian Perry who completed the course earlier in the year, for the 2 day Instructors Exam in Peterborough. We will update you as they go along.

Scary.....

2008-11-02T12:57:00.004Z

Last night's Halloween party was a huge success with around 100 club members turning up in some fantastic cotumes (Ian, I'm not referring to your sheet!). There was blood, bad makeup and even worse wigs galore not to mention some very scary dancing. Photos from last night can be found in the gallery and I'm sure some more will find their way onto facebook. Thank you to everyone that helped to decorate the venue, your efforts are very much appreciated.

The next event is the Christmas Ball on 6th December, which is very full indeed. Please remember to send your menu choices and payment to us by the 21st November.

October Newsletter

2008-10-31T17:13:00.002Z

The October newsletter has been posted on the members section of the website. Not that long this month, but articles about the John Dory, great deals on Scubapro fins for club members and details about the borneo trip next year. Click here to go to the page.

Advanced Open Water and Nitrox divers

2008-10-27T08:45:00.005Z

There were 8 successful course passes over the weekend - 4 completed their PADI Advanced Open Water Courses and there were 4 nitrox courses as well. The group started off in Portland on the the Saturday diving off the RIB, but the appalling weather on the Sunday meant that the whole group had to move to Vobster to finish it off. Many congratulations to Brett, Paul, Thomas, Rob, Pauline and Stuart on passing. Unfortunately Rob and Thomas missed the photo opportunity because they had to get to the Pompey game!

Well Done to all the Great South Runners

2008-10-26T14:01:00.004Z

There was another great turnout of club members and friends for this years Great South run. The weather was diabolical - just for a change - but it didn't dampen spirits too much as everyone ran for their chosen charity. Well done to, Rt Hon Chris, Rosey, Andi, Kim, Ruth, Lamby, the whole Lamby clan, and Terry. I know I have missed some of you out so, let me know, and I shall make sure you get a mention. Many thanks as well to everyone who helped out, supported, or gave sponsorship money, and a huge thanks to Sue, for looking after all the warm stuff so we had something nice to wear when we finished.

Newly Qualified Rescue Divers

2008-10-21T09:42:00.001Z

Last weekend saw us running a small Rescue Course. The final scenrios were conducted at Portland providing the opportunity to practice shore and boat rescues. It was good training and worked very well - something we might try again either later this year of next. Many congratulations to Jen, Brett and Kat (finally!!) on successfully passing the course.

Portland Diving

2008-10-17T09:26:00.006Z

A few of us decided to jump onto the RIB yesterday and go for a couple of dives - well the weather forecast was good so why not. We had 2 great dives on Lulworth and the Bombard unit in the harbour. Sorry it was a late notice shout offering the dives, but we just decided to go on the spur of the moment. John Dories are still about in the Harbour as you can see from the photo taken yesterday. I have posted a couple more images on the gallery. If you havent used the new RIB boat, why not come along on the next club trip. The water is still warm by the way.