The second nitrox course within two weeks. Will anybody turn up?, Will Mickey Duke remember that he is now no longer pretending that he is an Ocean Diver. No worries. Wyn was the first to arrive and sensibly bought the DO and the Training Officer a pint. Others followed, although I have to say, not immediately with the offer of a pint. Tim, Mike, Robin, Dewi. Photograph taken and we were ready for off and David slipped effortlessly into lecturer mode.
We must have been on slide five when a rather breathless Lee joined us. Was it the clocks going forward? Was it a difficult lambing? Was he caught in the rush hour traffic on the Pencaenewydd – Y Ffor road? No. Members were naturally very sympathetic when they learnt that he had driven all the way over to Tudor Lodge, Porthmadog thinking the course was over there.
We must have been on slide 20 when Malcolm arrived but David took it all in his stride even though there was only the food and the assessment left. The food, again very generously provided by the Country Club was great and added very much to the enjoyment of the evening. Then came the assessment which may not have done. For 20 minutes the room was quiet as the candidates battled with such questions as: What is the partial pressure of oxygen in Nitrox 37 at 21m? and: What is the richest Nitrox mix that a Sports Diver (without supplementary qualifications) is trained to use? What better use of 20 minutes? Finally it was all over and several hours after walking in, members gradually dispersed and made their way home, happy in the knowledge. We hope Lee made it.
Dewi, Peter and Cathy have now completed their boat handling course. In what turned out to be a lovely sunny day the trio went through their paces in the Club RIB in Abererch Bay. They covered the deployment and recovery of anchors, shot lines and divers all in challenging conditions. There was a force 4 coming from ENE in the morning which made the necessary low speed manoeuvering quite difficult. Something we all learnt during the diver recovery is that if we had any bald members they would have no chance of being picked up unless they had handles on their heads.
The Club RIB is now in Pwllheli to get its timing belt changed. Next weeks boat handlers will pick the RIB up in Pwllheli and return it to Pendre after completion of the course.
A very enjoyable evening taken in drawing up a dive programme for the first half of the season. We also brought up Lee’s draft programme of social events which would be circulated to members by email for them to complete and returned to Lee (Social Secretary). Interest was shown in a Short Range Radio Operator’s Licence course. Mike Duke would check and see if it could be run over two evenings.
Farewells were made to Mick Griffith on what was going to be his last appearance with the Club. He was wished well and thanked for the donation of a pair of excellent binoculars for keeping watch on the Club’s RIB. Mick then set up a dive equipment stall in the corner of the room and proceeded to flog off his kit. His diving kit.
Thanks to Glyn Garth CC for the use of their meeting room and for the excellent free sandwiches which Les emphasised was a one off!
Copy of Draft Social Calendar questionnaire (Word)
A very enjoyable evening was had by all with almost all the Club present. There were some very early signs of trepidation at having to face an assessment at the end of the evening but these melted away as determination took over. The workshop taken by David (Training Officer) was aimed at the Ocean divers but it was an advantage to all qualified members not only because they learned about the use, advantages and disadvantages of Nitrox but also because the workshop is a pre-condition to higher diving qualifications.
A further benefit of the evening was the results of David’s research into the costs and practicalities of diving on Nitrox. The costs were far higher than many expected – £30/year to clean a cylinder, possible one off cost to change pillar valve £30, £7-£10/fill, cost of an oxygen analyser (e.g. £166.20. Peter James got one cheaper on eBay), and nearest official filling station Anglesey Divers at Holyhead. A possible ray of sunshine (hopefully not in USA) was news that Peter James together with Chris Green is going to produce Nitrox fills for himself and that he would be willing to offer the service to members.
