Portsmouth

Location/Boat:  Wight Diver

Cost:  £49 / day for two dives

Co-ordinator:  Andrew Askwith

 

Minimum Qualification Level:  Open Water 

 

Sunday: Tanks & Bulldozers-  Sitting on the sea bed these are believed to have been lost overboard on the way for use in the Normandy D-Day landings.
 

To book contact the Orientation Dive Organiser 

 

 

Sunday:  Andrew Askwith, Nigel Chapman,Rob Hilton,Sanda Petakovic, Nigel Stephenson + 1,

 

Unconfirmed:   Graham Shaw

Lochaline, Scotland 

Location/Boat:  Lochaline Boat Charters
Cost:  CONFIRMED £322 for 12 divers or £384 for 10 divers; 7 nights self catering accomm and 6 days diving (plus travel, gas, meals). Price is based on you providing all your own equipment incl. cylinders. Local hire may be available on request. Compressor on the boat.

By reserving a place you will be committing to the max price above - still less than original estimate :-)

Co-ordinator:  Nigel Stephenson
 

Minimum Qualification Level:  Most if not all dives will be within AOW range. Opportunity to dive deeper as the sea bed will be below 30m on some dives (eg. walls, wrecks on slopes). Some sea experience required.
 

Dive Details: To be determined nearer the day. See charter site for samples of dives. Mainly boat diving with options for shore diving. Scenic and wreck dives. Ideal for photography. Renowned as one of the best places to dive in Scotland with options to dive in all weathers, good viz, exceptional scenery above and below water. Possible basking sharks (over a dozen in the area as I discussed the booking same week July '11)

Booking: If you are interested in this trip please contact Nigel Stephenson in the first instance. A deposit of £100 will be required. I will hold places for 1 week without deposit. After payment of deposit you will be liable for the full cost (above) unless we can re-sell your place (normal club terms). If you are unsure of your level of experience, remember that there is plenty of time to build experience on club dives or team up and go diving with other club members before the trip - it's what we're here for!
  

Divers: Nigel Stephenson, Keith Peake, Jason Matthews, Jane Wilkinson, Kev High, Roger Selwyn, Clare Selwyn, Rob Hilton, Kim Pierpoint, Michael Scott, Jackie O'Brien, Joe Scott

Unconfirmed/awaiting deposit: 

Fuller info including accomodation info on the discussion forum/upcomming section and facebook notes page.

Malta
 

Location/Boat:  Divewise

Cost:  €160 for 6 dives over 3 days. Additional dives €27/dive.
Co-ordinator:  Tim Burge

 

Minimum Qualification Level:  Open Water

 

Details:
This long weekend trip to Malta offers the chance to get four full days of fantastic warm water diving and some quality time in the sun. By flying out late on Friday evening and returning home on Wednesday, you only need three days off work to do it.

Malta and its surrounding islands have over 100 dive sites offering reef and wreck diving for everyone from Open Water to Deep and Technical diving and in September the sea should be around 25C and the sun will be shining. Even if it’s a bit windy there are plenty of sheltered dive sites suitable for everyone, so you don’t have to miss out.

Our diving base for the weekend will be ‘Divewise’ who will be looking after us while we’re there. They are an excellent and extremely friendly dive centre run by Viv and Alan, who have looked after us very well in the past. The dive centre is located in St Julians, close to lots of hotels and restaurants and within walking distance of Paceville, famous for its lively nightlife.

Diving
We will start diving on Saturday with a check dive on the Divewise house reef to make sure everything works after the travel and to sort out any last minute kit issues. Once we’re all set, we will go for another local dive later in the afternoon.

On Sunday and Monday we plan to do two dives a day with the option of a night dive on one or both days. If you take an evening flight back on Wednesday, then you can get another two dives in on Tuesday or just take some time out to explore some of Malta’s historic sites.

There are numerous diving options available, including the Blue Hole and the inland sea on Gozo, Anchor bay, the Scott Craig, The Rozi, the P29 and the Um el Faroud to mention just a few. Something I’m really looking forward to is the option of a night dive on the Faroud. You’ll need to be AOW to do this due to the depth, but there are plenty of other night dive options for those less experienced.

The exact diving schedule will be decided closer to the time and will be dependent on the weather conditions and if there are any special requests. We also have the option of splitting into different groups for the diving if anyone wants to take it easy or do something more adventurous.   

Training
If you’re interested in expanding your skills while you’re there, perhaps your deep or wreck specialities or if you’re interested in moving up from OW to AOW, DiveWise can offer a full PADI training programme. Let me know if you’re interested and I can send you the details.  

Travel
AirMalta and Easyjet both fly direct to Malta from London (Gatwick and Heathrow) Be aware that flight costs will go up the later you leave the booking. Divewise will arrange transfers from the airport to either your hotel or the dive centre depending on when you arrive.  

Accommodation
There are lots of hotels close to the dive centre ranging from budget to luxury and you can pay anything from €30 per night for basic accommodation to €200 per night if you’d like a bit of luxury. We’ve stayed in the Alexandra Palace Hotel before. It’s very good value at around €30 per night including breakfast and is only a 5 minute walk to the dive centre.

You will need to book your own accommodation but please ask if you need any help or advice.  

Cost
The core 3 days of diving (6 dives in total) will cost €160 per person with each additional dive costing €27. That includes air, single tank and weights. (Nitrox is extra) If you need to hire equipment, full kit rental is €8 per day.

Most diving in Malta is shore based. If we go somewhere that requires a boat, it will be between €10 and €20 per day depending on where we go. If you decide to do a night dive, they are €35 per dive.  

Once we have a better idea of what diving we plan to do, we will be able to work out a more precise cost.  

Deposit
A £50 deposit is required to secure your place. This will go towards your final diving bill. The rest will need to be settled in person before you leave Malta.

Divers: 
Confirmed: Tim Burge, Nigel Stephenson, Kim Pierpoint, Rob Hilton, Andrew Askwith
Unconfirmed: Malcolm Dubber