THE DIVING CLUB
ISSUE 112
JANUARY 2006
The Hyperbaric Times
Inside this issue:
Editor’s Message
1
4th Annual Cold Water
Weekend
2
Divestyle Training
Calendar
3
DiveStyle Experienced
Diver Programme
4
Diving Schedule 2006
5
Guidelines For Club
Dives
6
Kenya November 2005
8
The Diving Club Store
10
Membership Matters
12
A Message From The Editor
Firstly, I would like to wish you all a very happy and
prosperous New Year. I hope you all had a great
time over the festive period. Me, I’m still trying to
recover from what was a very hectic time but it was
all good fun….I think….from what I can remember!
Did anyone get any interesting diving “stuff” for
Christmas? I must admit I’m really not a winter
person, the cold, damp weather, the dark mornings
and evenings, de-icing the car on those frosty
mornings...hate it, hate it, hate it….. so, to get me
through the winter blues, I have booked myself a
holiday to Egypt in February…...just what the doctor ordered! So who’s going where this year, anyone going anywhere particularly exotic? On page 8
you will find an account of the DiveStyle trip to
Kenya in November. What a wonderful holiday that
was! For someone who has only been diving in
Wraysbury and Stoney Cove and then there was
that one orientation dive in particularly murky water
in Weymouth, it was truly amazing! DiveStyle will
shortly be announcing its plans for the forthcoming
year so watch this space… If you just want to dive,
cold water or warm, then take a look at page
2.There you will find details of the Club’s 4th Annual Cold Water Weekend at Stoney Cove. I was
going to go to this.....honest….but I will be returning
from Egypt that weekend so unfortunately it’s just
not possible...shame...maybe next year eh! I’m not
sure whether or not you’re aware of this but there is
now the facility on the Club website to pay for dives
and social events and to renew memberships. On
page 10 you will find instructions from Roger on
how to do this. The one thing we must emphasise
though is that, prior to paying for an event that has
a limited number of spaces, you must check with
the organiser to make sure that there are still
spaces available. Well, that’s me done for this
month. I’ve run out of space because of the huge
advert below for the Photo Competition (I thought
I’d point it out just in case you missed it!). Hopefully I’ll see you there.
Best wishes
Berni
Photo Competition
Copy deadline
Copy to be received by
15 February for inclusion
in the March 2006 edition
Wednesday, 18 January - The Maiden Over
3 Categories
Wreck, Sea Life & Diver
Viewing from 9pm
The views expressed in the
articles in this newsletter are
personal and should not be
taken as representative of The
Diving Club or its Committee,
unless specifically stipulated to
do so.
Prizes in each category
Photos must be taken underwater and in 2005
Entries can be in any format - Print or Digital Media (CD, memory stick, etc)
The January food night has been moved to this night
Page 2
The Hyperbaric Times
4th Annual Cold Water Weekend 25-26 February 2006
For the fourth year, club diving kicks off with a weekend at Stoney
Cove. For 2006, it will be on 25-26 February, so you have plenty of
time to brush the winter cobwebs off your kit.
There is no limit on the number of spaces available and the weekend is open to any club member no matter what level of diver. There
will be no cost other than your entry to Stoney Cove, which you will
need to pay when you get there and any accommodation.
To give us an idea of who will be coming along to the Cold Water
Weekend, please contact either Andrew Askwith
([email protected]) or Morag Ward
([email protected]) to register. Andrew will be making
sure that the newer divers have appropriate buddies, whilst I will be
doing the same for more experienced divers, so don’t worry if you
haven’t got a regular buddy… we will make sure no-one is
buddyless! There is plenty of accommodation near Stoney Cove
and we will have the usual social gathering at the Mill on the Soar
on the Saturday evening, so it will be a great social weekend as
well as a great diving weekend.
Cold Water Weekend 2005
They survived….
There will be a theory evening – free of charge - on Wednesday 15th Feb when Peter Wright (of DiveStyle) will give advice
to those who have not dived in very cold water before (4 degrees C). He will cover things such as how to prevent regulators
free flowing, tips on how to make sure you have adequate thermal protection and many other vital bits of information. The
session will be from 8.30-9.15, or until you have exhausted your questions. Then it will probably continue in the pub
afterwards, all are welcome, even if you have heard this information before!
Also, those of you who were at the AGM will remember that there have
been some points raised about the new diving to qualifications recommendations. To ensure that those of you who have the
experience can continue to come along on the deeper club dives,
Peter has made an offer so that you can gain the PADI Deep Diver qualification to dive below 30m on the Cold Water Weekend at a vastly reduced
cost. This will only be available to those who have the relevant experience, and can show logged dives below 30m.
For further information about this one time only offer, please see the article on the DiveStyle events page in this HBT or contact DiveStyle directly
on 0118 926 2288.
Cold Water Weekend 2005
Come on in, the water’s lovely!
It will be a great way to start the year!
Morag Ward
Club Dive Organiser
Page 3
DiveStyle Training Calendar January—March 2006
As we head into the coldest months of the year we have made sure that there is at least one non-diving course each month so that
you can update on diving related skills without even getting wet!
So if you want to learn First Aid and CPR skills that are useful anywhere in life, not just in diving situations then come along on
Sunday 29th January. We will even teach how to use an AED (automated external defibrillation) machine; these are starting to appear in shopping centres and railway stations across the country now and will become an important part of first response in this
country in the future.
FREE
Would you like to introduce a friend to the sport you love? Well on the 10th and 11th January we are running discover scuba sessions and as a club member you can send a friend or relative free of charge on one of these evenings. Just call us and quote
TDC06 and you can have up to 2 free places worth £50!
Have a great 2006
Peter Wright
DATE
COURSE
LOCATION
Tues 10th
Discover Scuba Session
Windsor
Sat 14th & Sun 15th
Open Water Confined
Thatcham
JANUARY
Wed 11th
Tues 17th
Wed 18th
Sun 29th
Tues 31st
FEBRUARY
Discover Scuba Session
Open Water New Course
Open Water New Course
EFR
Divemaster Skills
Reading
Windsor
Reading
Reading
Windsor
Thurs 2nd
DAN Oxygen Provider
Reading
Tues 7th & Thurs 9th
Fri 10th
Equipment Specialty
Instructor Development Course
Dive Centre
Sat 11th & Sun 12th
Sat 18th & Sun 19th
Open Water Dives
Sat 18th & Sun 19th
Open Water Confined
Rescue Diver Course
Sat 4th & Sun 5th
Sat 25th & Sun 26th
Tues 28th
MARCH
Advanced Open Water
Deep Specialty (Experienced Divers Special Offer—see page 4 for details)
Open Water New Course
Stoney Cove
Reading
Wraysbury
Thatcham
Thatcham/Wraysbury
Stoney Cove
Windsor
Wed 1st
Open Water New Course
Reading
Thurs 9th
Hazardous Marine Life Injuries
Dive Centre
Sat 4th & Sun 5th
Sat 11th & Sun 12th
Sat 11th & Sun 12th
Sat 18th & Sun 19th
Wed 29th
Advanced Open Water
Open Water Dives
EFR Instructor Course
Open Water Confined
Divemaster Skills
Stoney Cove
Wraysbury
Reading
Thatcham
Reading
Page 4
The Hyperbaric Times
Divestyle Experienced Diver Programme
PADI Deep Diver Specialty
25-26 February 2006 (Club Cold Water Weekend)
Reason:
Recent legal procedures have started to rely heavily on a person’s qualifications rather than the person’s experience,
which had been the previous benchmark. This has led to the club updating its recommendations regarding diver’s
qualifications on club dives. Whilst this is necessary to protect the club’s officials, it is a little harsh on those that have
come through the University of Life, Suck-it-and-Survive specialty course, rather than a recognised training agency.
DiveStyle have therefore offered to train and certify at a substantially reduced rate these divers who are effected by
the new club guidelines.
Entry Requirements:
?? PADI Advanced Open Water (or equivalent), or above
?? Must show logbook experience of at least 15 dives to at least 30 metres or more in UK
waters
?? Must be experienced in, and be diving in, a dry suit.
?? Be a paid-up member of the Diving Club
Included in costs:
Training and appraisal during the course
Certification with PADI upon attaining standards requirements
Instructor attitude
Not Included:
Any equipment hire cost
Stoney Cove entrance fees
Air fills
Bacon Cobs
Accommodation
Cost:
Normally £120.00, but if the above entry requirements are met just £50.00 per person on this weekend.
Page 5
Diving Schedule 2006
Date
Location
Details
Max Depth
Cost
Level
25/26 February
Stoney Cove
7-30 m
Entry
All
18/19 March
Poole
4th Annual Cold Water
Special
Big Dinghy*
18m
£37.00 per day
O
25/26 March
Poole
Big Dinghy*
30m
£35.00 per day
C
8/9 April
Swanage
Swanage Diver
35m
Approx £36.00 per day
C
22/23 April
Torquay
Babbacombe Bay
8m
£5.00 per day
O
7 May
East Wittering
Wittering Divers
18m
£39.00
O
17/18 June
Pembroke
Pembroke Dive Charters* 18m
£45.00 per day
O
17/18 June
Pembroke
Pembroke Dive Charters* 38m
£45.00 per day
C
1/2/3 July
Farnes
Sovereign II
30m
£155.00 (inc 3 nights B&B)
C
8/9 July
Portland
Dive Eclipse
18m
£32.00 per day
O
16 July
Poole
Big Dinghy
40m
£35.00
C
5 August
Swanage
Pier Dive
7m
£5.00 + Entry
O
5 August
Swanage
Swanage Diver
35m
Approx £36.00 per day
C
6 August
Swanage
Swanage Diver
18m
£35.00
O
12/13 August
Plymouth
Ceeking
40m
£108.00 (inc 2 nights B&B)
C
9/10 September
Swanage
Swanage Diver
18m
£35.00 + Entry per day
O
23/24 September Swanage
Swanage Diver
20-40m
Approx £36.00 per day
C
7/8 October
Big Dinghy
18m
£35.00 per day
O
Poole
*Two cylinders needed
Please read ‘Guidelines for club dives’ on the website or contact the Dive Organiser for a copy
Attendance on club dives is dependent on individual’s qualifications and experience
A supplement (approx £2.00 per dive) is added to provide a subsidised place for the Dive Marshall on Orientation Dives
Non Club members will be asked to pay a £5.00 supplement per day
For latest information on spaces please check the website
For further information please contact the Dive Organisers:
Club Dives: Morag Ward
07904 207306
Orientation Dives: Andrew Askwith 07789 900423
[email protected]
[email protected]
Page 6
The Hyperbaric Times
Guidelines for club dives
1. Responsibilities of the Diver
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Divers are responsible for ensuring that they have the appropriate qualification and experience to undertake a particular dive and that their diving experience is current, i.e. that the period since their last
dive is no greater than that recommended by their qualifying agency. Evidence of qualification may be
asked for.
It is the diver’s responsibility to check with the Dive Marshal the day before to ensure that there are no adverse
weather conditions which may prevent the dive from going ahead. The Dive Organiser will not contact divers
unless there has been a change to previously given advice.
The supply of equipment appropriate for the planned dive is the responsibility of the diver. Standard kit
includes (but is not limited to): regulators, (including primary second and alternate second stage), Submersible
Pressure Gauge, depth gauge, timing device, buoyancy compensator, cylinder(s), 'personal' kit (e.g. mask, fins
etc), emergency signal device (e.g. whistle), cutting tool, Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (mandatory on Club
Dives), appropriate exposure protection and weight system. Any diver who does not have the appropriate kit
may, in the interests of safety of the whole group, be refused entry into the water.
Divers are responsible for planning their individual dives within the limits of their qualifications and those set by
the appointed Dive Marshal.
Divers are required to complete the Marshalling Sheet before entry into the water.
Divers must surface no later than 3 minutes after their declared run time (run time being defined as the total
time from when the diver leaves the surface to when they are back on the surface) stated on the Marshalling
sheet. NB There is a coastguard requirement to notify them if a diver is more than 3 minutes overdue.
The diver shall respond to their name being called at any roll call. They should not respond on behalf of
another diver.
The decision of the Dive Marshal/skipper is final.
2. Booking and Payment
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Dives booked by the club will be published on a schedule which will be available on the club website, the
notice boards, and from Committee members on request. It may also be possible to obtain a copy from
DiveStyle.
Bookings for dives will be on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
When you register your interest in attending a dive with the appropriate DIVE ORGANISER whether by phone,
e-mail or face-to-face, a deposit must be paid within 2 weeks, either by post, online via the club website, or to a
Committee member on a club night.
Any diver who does not pay a deposit within two weeks of booking will forfeit their place unless they have
notified the dive organiser of the reason for the delay.
Once a deposit is paid, the diver is obliged to pay the remaining balance by the due date. If the diver is
subsequently unable to dive for any reason, they will only be released from their obligation if another diver fills
the place.
The balance of the dive and any accommodation cost is payable one month before the date of the dive. Any
balance not paid by that date will result in the diver forfeiting their place on the dive unless agreement has
been reached with the Dive Organiser
When all the spaces available on a dive are full, a reserve list of those interested will be kept. Those on the
reserve list will be approached should a space arise. If they still wish to go on the dive, they will be expected to
pay a deposit or full balance according to the guidelines.
Accommodation is the responsibility of the diver unless indicated otherwise on the dive schedule.
On Orientation Dives, an additional payment will be incorporated into the published price to provide 3
supplemented spaces for a Dive Marshal and two Assistants. Any diver accepting one of these reduced cost
spaces on an orientation dive will be expected to participate in all planned dives unless there are exceptional
circumstances (eg injury).
The Dive Marshal and Assistants will be Instructors, Divemasters or Rescue Divers (or equivalent from other
agencies) with a minimum of 30 dives, including UK sea experience.
Page 7
3. Refunds, Cancellations and Changes
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Diving is weather and tide dependant. The club or boat skipper may change boats, dive sites or departure
times according to weather and operational requirements.
If a dive is cancelled due to adverse weather or for other safety requirements, refunds will be made in
accordance with the contract the club has made with the boat skipper. Normally, this will either be a refund, or
the option of attending a rescheduled dive.
Dive bookings are accepted on the understanding that if you have booked for a specific site and the weather
does not permit diving that location, where possible, an alternative site will be sought taking into account the
previously published dive type, qualifications and prepared gas mixes.
4. Responsibilities of the Dive Organiser
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The Dive Organiser will attempt to plan the dive sites in advance of bookings being taken
Dive details will be published with the approximate depth of the deepest planned dive and a maximum planned
depth.
Orientation Dives will be published with a maximum depth of 18m. Club Dives up to a maximum of 40m.
The Dive Organiser will appoint a Dive Marshal for each dive. The Dive Marshal will agree to carry out the role
and may refer anything to either the appropriate Dive Organiser or Chairman or any other Committee member.
The Dive Marshal will be provided with:
o The list of divers expected and their relevant qualification
o Dive information, time, location, planned dives
o Appropriate paperwork, including Dive Roster, Emergency Contact List and Marshalling Sheet.
5. Responsibilities of the Dive Marshal
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The Dive Marshal will be appointed by the Dive Organiser.
The Dive Marshal may seek advice from the Dive Organiser, Chairman or President.
All diving activities will be agreed with the Dive Organiser prior to a trip.
In cases where weather or other circumstances prevent the planned dive going ahead, any changes must not
require a qualification increase without reference to the Dive Organiser and/or Chairman
Ensure the appropriate club kit is complete and taken: O2 and First Aid, Dive Marshal File
A risk evaluation of the site will be carried out, to minimise the risk to all divers, including:
o Weather Conditions
o Water State
o Tidal Conditions
o Diving Conditions
Advice should be sought from an appropriate local source (e.g. the skipper) in the event of a change in dive
sites
The Dive Marshal will ensure all divers complete the Dive Marshal Sheet before they enter the water.
If the Dive Marshal is unsure as to the qualification level of any diver they may request sight of proof of
qualification level.
Any diver who cannot provide such proof will not be allowed entry into the water.
The Dive Marshal may, in the interests of safety, refuse a diver entry into the water
On Orientation Dives, the Dive Marshal will assist in organising buddy teams appropriate to training and experience. Individual requests will of course be taken into account. For Club diving, the Dive Marshal will, where
appropriate, assist in organising buddy pairs.
The Dive Marshal will ensure that all divers are accounted for before leaving a dive site and/or quayside by a
roll call
The Dive Marshal will advise the Dive Organiser and Chairman of any problems, or incidents as soon as possible but no later than 6 hours after the incident
The Dive Marshal will manage and co-ordinate activities in the event of a diving incident. This will be done in
full co-operation with the boat skipper and Emergency Services
The Diving Club, Reading 2005
Page 8
The Hyperbaric Times
Kenya
21-29 November 2005
There are many places in the world that I want to dive, and of those that I have been to so
far, Kenya has to be rated near the top. OK, it is a long way, and the thought of a 9 hour flight
did make me think ‘ I hope it’s worth it’!! As soon as I got there, I knew that it was.
After the long overnight flight, Mombasa airport was hot and humid. Paperwork seemed to
take ages, but eventually we arrived at Voyager Beach Resort, which was to be our home for
the next week. Buccaneer Diving is based in the complex which made it very easy for us!
As the group was quite large (14 divers), Buccaneer organised us onto two boats, Privateer
and Corsair, and throughout the week our kit magically appeared in the right place on the
right boat. Even when we made last minute changes to accommodate training, by the time
we got to the boat, kit moves had been done.
Privateer
We had planned 10 dives for the week, 2 dives a day for 5 days. Despite the long flight, we
squeezed two dives in on Tuesday afternoon, Shark Point (yes, there were sharks… white tip
reef sharks) and Kasa. Turtles, rays, sweetlips, and a whole raft of other things came out for
us. The sun was quite low down, the visibility was great and the colours on the reef were
amazing.
We arrived at the dive centre early the next morning. And prepared ourselves to go diving. One boat went to Shark Point and Kasa again, but the
boat I was on had a bit of an engine problem, so we went to a closer dive site and dived the wreck, the MV Dania, owned and sunk as an artificial
reef by Buccaneer. We had been told that there were a couple of huge grouper on there. One appeared tucked away in an open section near the
stern. He was huge. At least, I thought he was, until I described him to Sander, one of Buccaneers Instructors, afterwards and he said ‘Oh, that
sounds like one of the small ones’
Other dive sites that we dived during the week were Shelley’s Reef, Vuma Caves, The Pinnacle, Angie’s Place and another wreck, Globestar.
The night diving was limited due to the tide times and we only managed two. The first, on Globestar, was not great, as there was quite a lot of
current and surge but the second night dive was in a local spot (Angie’s Place) and it was probably the best night dive I have done. Night diving
brings out a lot of fish not normally seen in the daytime and a challenge was set for Sander to find a Leaf Fish, which he did along with a variety of
dwarf lionfish, puffer fish and many other nocturnal species.
One of the things Carl had said we would probably see was whale sharks. They are fairly
common in the area, but sometimes need a bit of looking for. Bruce Phillips, the dive centre
owner and East Africa’s only Course Director, pulled out all the stops to make sure we found
some. On Friday, we took a trip to Vuma Caves where they are known to feed. Although we
searched for the hour and a half it took us to get to Vuma, we didn’t see anything, except
about a dozen turtles, (although it might have been the same turtle a dozen times!). We did a
fantastic first dive along a wall seeing humphead wrasse, giant reef rays and a manta lurked
as we did our safety stop. There were a couple of swim throughs which brought us to the top
of a beautiful reef covered in soft corals and teeming with fish. After elevenses - Bruce had
brought pastries, which were delicious - the search for the whale sharks began in earnest.
Bruce enlisted the help of a pilot in a plane and courtesy of Safaricom, Kenya’s mobile
phone network, we were guided towards some who could be easily spotted from the air. As
we motored towards them, it was on with mask, snorkel and fins and cameras at the ready.
We got in the water as quietly as we could and finned the last few meters. Suddenly, the
huge fish appeared almost out of nowhere moving gracefully through the water. It stayed
long enough for us all to get a good look and a few photos before diving deep. In the chat
after it was clear that all of us had found the whale shark the most thrilling sight. To go diving
after that seemed a bit of an anticlimax, but we forced ourselves into it and had yet another
superb dive.
Whale Shark
Photo: Matt Cook
On the final day of diving we all went to the MV Dania. There was a bit more current running than the first time we had dived it, but the visibility was
good, and the inhabitants didn’t much mind 14 divers invading their territory. The very last dive was on a reef called Brain. Drifting along, admiring
the scenery, I wanted to stay down for ever. As divers got to 50bar, they surfaced, and got on to the boats. When the last of us surfaced, I regretted that I had made my air last as long as I had…. We were greeted on the surface by 10 voices…’WE SAW WHALE SHARKS!!’ Another had
come close enough for them to get in and have another swim. What a brilliant end to 5 days diving in warm blue waters.
Page 9
The holiday wasn’t over then though. We had been given the option of an overnight safari in Tsavo National Park and all but one had gone for it.
Having spent several years working and living in a game park, Nico decided that diving was a better option.
The remaining 14 gathered overnight bags and got up at the crack of dawn the next morning and were taken to Tsavo. Between the gate and the
campsite we were shown buffalo, elephants, giraffe, ostrich, zebra, impala and several other groups of wild animals. We had been assigned ‘tents’
at the site. The tents were a far cry from the last one I had slept in. These were semi fixed structures, with proper beds, electric lighting, an en-suite
bathroom with a flushing toilet, two showers, and various other mod-cons. We were given instructions that we mustn’t walk around the camp after
dark unescorted and to wave the torch and someone would collect us and walk us to the bar or restaurant or back to the tent. I wondered if that
was a bit of overkill until I saw the notice about 10 feet from the balcony which read ‘Danger’. The site is designed to blend in with the surroundings. There are no fences so the local inhabitants are free to wander in, round, through and out at their will.
We went on a second game drive that afternoon, hoping to see the rest of the Big Five. We
saw similar animals to those we had seen in the morning, as well as baboons and antelopes, dik-dik and a few local birds. Returning to the camp dusty, grubby and quite excited,
we decided to have a quick drink before showering for dinner. The food was excellent, with
several choices on the self-service buffet menu and as ever it got washed down with obligatory beers. We gathered outside afterwards, and sat round the campfire chatting in the warm
air. I don’t know if it was the beer, the heat, or what, but one thing led to another and the
campfire songs started. So much for other residents getting an early night, but hey… it might
have felt late, but it was only 10pm!
Elephants
Photo: Morag Ward
Still, we needed to be up early the next day for a dawn game drive. The early morning call
consists of a member of staff knocking on the balcony until someone in the tent responds. As
we made our way for a coffee before departure, we were joined by a troop of baboons using
the campsite as a shortcut to wherever it was they were going. We were treated to cheetah
on the early drive. Although they were in the distance, they still manage to have a commanding presence. No lions though. Apparently, during the time of year we were there they tend to
hide themselves away to do whatever lions like to have a bit of privacy for!
We returned to the camp for breakfast then we headed back to Mombasa and the Voyager
resort for the last night of our holiday. There was a bit of shopping – Kenyan Style – to do,
carvings on the beach which were great fun to buy. We had been advised that the first price they quote is about 3 times the price you can expect to
pay with a bit of clever negotiating. There were also some things we needed to get at the supermarket. The nearest one was about a half hour walk
from Voyager, but local transport is available for those brave enough to have a go. Boda-boda. I had heard the term before but never realised what
it was. Oh well, in for a penny as they say. Outside the entrance of the complex were several athletic looking men equipped with bicycles which
had a padded ‘seat’ on the back. We were whizzed down to the shop in record time and I didn’t fall off once!
We had a fantastic last night dinner which turned out to be in a secluded part of Voyager. I am still not sure if it was done to ensure all the other
hotel guests had an undisturbed meal or not! As had been the theme of the week, it was washed down with the obligatory beer while we watched
the video that had been taken during some of our dives. The staff at the complex had been great to us all week and they had a surprise lined up for
us. A specially made cake was brought to our table with great ceremony.
Early the next morning we were packed and ready to come home. However, not many of us bargained for the security measures at Mombasa
airport. Luggage was scanned before we could get into the terminal. We then had another security check before check-in, again after check-in,
before going through to the gate and again as we went through the gate. Never mind… we had a 10-hour flight to recover from that!
My thanks go to everyone who went on the trip for making it probably the best diving holiday I have ever had. Buccaneer were fantastic. They reminded me of a duck… cool and chilled on the surface, but, as we found out at the end of the week, paddling like mad to keep it all going. Great
diving, great company… oh… and WHALE SHARKS!!!!
The Group…
Carl Yates
Berni Kehoe
Adrian Sellwood
Steve Cushion
Geraldine Felix
Morag Ward
Club Dive Organiser
Morag Ward
Michelle Darby
Lisa Jacobs
Michelle Ransley
Steph Anstead
Matt Cook
Nico Van Wyk
Andy Briggs
Feizal Chukoury
Will Tabner
Page 10
The Hyperbaric Times
The Diving Club Store
A frequent request over the last few months has been the capability to pay for dives online, since it isn’t always convenient to make it to the pub to
pay a committee member. Some of you will have noticed that I have now added a store page to the website which will hopefully provide what your
have asked for. The store will be the place you go to pay for dives and social events and to renew memberships when the time comes.
The store can be reached by selecting Store from the Members menu. In order to create some logic as to how items are broken down on the store,
I have created a number of categories on the left hand side of the page. (1) These are Club Dives, Orientation Dives, Social Events and
Membership. If you hover over (rather than click on) the two dive categories, a menu will appear with each weekend of diving. You should then
click on one of the categories to populate the right hand side of the page with items to purchase. You can also click on any of the major categories
to list all items in that category.
Please note, the store is a payment mechanism only, it is not a booking system. A link is provided on every dive item (under more info), to allow
you to mail the appropriate dive organiser. Do not pay before you have a confirmed booking.
For each dive weekend I have broken it down, where appropriate, into the following items: full payment, deposit and balance (2) for each day of the
dive. So if you want to pay the deposit for a two day weekend, you will need to select two items. This is to cater for those people who only go on
one day of a weekend. Where a multi-day dive weekend can only be bought as a complete weekend, it is not broken down into several days, but
has payment, balance and deposit items for the whole weekend only.
The price for each item is shown on the right of the page (3). This also shows, in brackets, the price including the payment charges that the club
pays for credit/debit/PayPal payments. Note that the club makes no profit on dives, and therefore must pass on these charges to cover it’s costs.
To buy an item, click on the shopping basket symbol to the right and below the price. The ‘Cart’ (4) will then appear at the top of the page showing
the total of your purchases. To go to the ‘checkout’, click on the shopping basket symbol to the right of the subtotal in the Cart. This will take you
through a number of pages which will allow you to alter the contents of the cart, and enter your details in a fairly standard online fashion.
The site asks for a few contact details which should be mostly pre-populated. You will also see that a 20p charge is added. Again this is a PayPal
charge per transaction. You must agree to the Terms of Use, before you can click the last Continue and move to the PayPal payment page.
Page 11
If you have a PayPal account, you may enter your details at the bottom of the page. If you don’t, or you wish to pay by credit or debit card,
then click on the button in the middle of the page cunningly marked ‘click here’. This will allow you to enter your credit card details, name,
address, etc. Note that credit/debit card details are not held by The Diving Club website in any form, they are held by PayPal who we use as
our payment processor.
After you have made purchases, you can look at you previous history by looking on the ‘My Orders’ page under Store in the Members menu.
Please allow a few minutes for notification of payment to come through before your order is marked as paid. You will also receive a couple of
emails including an order notification and an invoice. The appropriate event organiser will also receive notification of your payment. Again,
don’t pay for a dive unless you have booked it with the appropriate dive organiser.
If there are any problems, please contact me at [email protected].
Regards
Roger
Page 12
The Hyperbaric Times
Membership Matters!
Happy New Year
Christmas is now gone, but we have new members to say hello to. These
new members put us well on course for increasing our membership over
last year. Members who have joined since the last newsletter are: Jackie
Jarvis, Pete Johnston, Stephanie Anstead, Geraldine Felix, Andy Briggs,
Clive Dedman, Andrew & Helen Hibbitt, Michael Hughes, Ken Lovell,
Richard Goodman and Jackie Hitchcock.
If you see any of these folks in the pub or on a dive, please make them
feel welcome.
With a number of previous members re-joining, this brings us to a
current total of 140 members.
If you have not received an email notification of this newsletter, please
let either myself or Berni Kehoe (Publicity Officer) know – there may be a
mistake with your e-mail address.
If your contact details have changed in any way, don’t forget to let us
know. You can also change your email address via the website.
Please make a note – the contact information for the membership
secretary is:
Clare Selwyn
Home address:
14, The Mews
Bramley
Tadley
Hampshire
RG26 5QX
Tel:
E-mail:
Your Club Website is:
01256 882119
[email protected]
http://www.thedivingclub.co.uk
THE DIVING CLUB
We’re on the web:
www.thedivingclub.co.uk
Divestyle
Mike’s Waterfront Warehouse
Maiden Lane Shopping Centre
Lower Earley
Reading
Berks
RG6 3HD
Tel: 0118 926 2288
Fax: 0118 926 9616
Website: www.divestyle.co.uk
The Diving Club is a chapter of the PADI
Diving Society and aims to allow newly
qualified divers and existing members a
forum to meet and dive with other divers.
We are a PADI orientated group, which
accepts divers from any diver-training
agency (eg BSAC, SAA, NAUI, IANTD etc).
We have close ties with Divestyle, who
conduct all our training and offer us use
of their pool sessions for equipment testing
and practice sessions when space permits.
The Diving Club Committee Members - Contact Details
President
Peter Wright
T: 0118 926 2288
E: [email protected]
Club Dive Organiser
Morag Ward
M: 07904 207306
E: [email protected]
Chairman
Roy Stevenson
E: [email protected]
Social Secretary
Irina Wade
E: [email protected]
Treasurer
Matt Cook
E: [email protected]
Membership Secretary
Clare Selwyn
E: [email protected]
Club Secretary
Michelle Darby
E: [email protected]
Publicity Officer
Berni Kehoe
E: [email protected]
Orientation Dive Organiser
Andrew Askwith
T: 07789 900423
E: [email protected]
Webmaster
Roger Selwyn
E: [email protected]