A Busy Weekend of Training

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.