Thanks to Nick, David and Francis for setting some fun and some challenging questions for our Thursday Zoom gathering this week, liberally mixed in with a good chat. 

Troubled internet connection meant the introduction to Seasearch was akin to the two Ronnies giving the answer to the previous question, as Bryony attempted to run through what’s involved in this national project for recording seabed habitats and marine life.   Quiz planned for next week.  

Flares, mayday and pan pan were all covered in David’s lecture at the end of May – going through all the emergency procedures and kit in place on our club boats, Eagle and Cobra.  

Normally we’d be out diving at this time of year, but this is not a normal year, so we were doing the next best thing and preparing for when we can dust off our kit and our boats and get into the water  –  learning the ins and outs of planning dives.   We’ve gone through tides and slack water and were working our way into locating wrecks when Mike had to deal with a house alarm!  We reconvened the following week and finished off a really instructive session.   

Francis showed us all a range of marine life most of us recognise but don’t necessarily know by name.  A really good evening of fantastic photos and videos, reminding us what is out there in the sea off the south coast, while we sit at home look longingly at our clean and dry diving kit still stacked in its winter quarters. 

Thanks to David for a good introduction / reminder of all things navigation, from chart plotters to collision courses, and from longitude to lateral markers.  

Like everything else this year, Thursday club evenings aren’t the same, but we’re now running lectures online each week at 8.10pm, just after we’ve all been out to join our neighbours applauding the NHS.  This week, we discovered we have the technology not only to effectively deliver a lecture, but also to run a test via Zoom.  Thanks to Nick for making it another informative and enjoyable Thursday evening gathering, and well done to all the trainees who succeeded in simultaneously holding up the correct multiple choice options and passing the test with flying colours.  

said our DO, after a few of weeks of lockdown, and so in April we gathered on Zoom with our various drinks and snacks and had a good chat.  We also formulated a rough schedule for the weeks ahead to get all the theory covered for our newest members so they’ll be qualified to join in with diving out in the sea once restrictions are lifted and it is safe again. 

Back for our third pool session of 2020, continuing with training and try dives and checking out diving and camera kit. 

Feb 20th and the committee is sorting out all the schedules for the year, from the comfort of the Mill Tavern, our regular post pool session pub.