Successful Instructors Exam and IE Party

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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.