UK News
Island Divers celebrate five star IDC rating. 24-hour charity dive. Litter blight. Filming Fools Gold.
Come dive with us!
Scubapro/Uwatec has teamed up with Sport Diver and PADI to offer divers from across the UK the chance to be part of an exciting weekend celebrating diving in this country.
Two events will be held in May and June at Wittering on the south coast, and Largs on the west coast of Scotland. Come along for a unique opportunity to meet Scubapro/Uwatec staff and try some of their extensive range of equipment.
The Sport Diver team will also be there with great competitions, exclusive subscription deals and copies of the magazine.
All certified divers can participate and will only need to bring basic equipment (suit, weightbelt, mask). It is important to book your space on each event, and what equipment you’d like to try out, so contact the relevant supporting dive centre – Wittering Divers or C&C Marine Services.
Wittering Divers will be running regular RIB shuttles out to dive sites such as the Nab Tower, the Mulberry and the Mixon, and C&C Marine Services will be doing the same into the Clyde, to sites like the Wishing Well, Sleeping Cat Point and the Lady Isabella wreck.
Additionally, during the weekend of the Largs event, it is the Fife Yacht Regatta, when vintage yachts from around the world will be converging on the marina to race one another in the Clyde.
The Wittering event is being held on 17-18 May, and the second is at Largs on 21-22 June. It is important to book your space on each event, and what equipment you’d like to try out.
The range of Scubapro and Uwatec equipment includes:
o BCDs: (T-Black, T-Force, T-Sport, T-One, LadyHawk and KnightHawk)
o Regulators: (MK25AF/X650, MK25/S600, MK25/G250V, MK19/S600, MK17/600, MK11/R395, R395 octopus).
o Dive computers: (Galileo Sol with heart monitor and pressure transmitter, the all-new Galileo Terra, Aladin TEC 2G and Aladin Prime).
o Fins: (Twin Jet and Twin Jet Max).
o Masks: (Spectra, Scout, Marin and Marin2).
o Drysuits: (Everdry4).
To book your space on each event call Wittering Divers (01243 672031), and C&C Marine Services (01475 687180).
Further details will be announced here over the next month.
Island Divers celebrate five-star IDC rating
Island Divers, based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, is celebrating just having been awarded the prestigious PADI five-star IDC Centre rating.
This is a great achievement for any dive centre and reflects the growing success of Island Divers who are looking forward to their second season of diving around the island.
As well as training divers and offering dive trips, Kim Langridge IDC Staff Instuctor and his team can now train future instructors too!
Kim says: "We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic support of local divers who agree with our philosophy that diving needs to be safe but as importantly, fun.
"A great word of thanks also goes to our Course Director Alex McNellan from Rec-n-Tec, who really has been a mentor to us during our start up." Pictured with Kim is new OWSI Polly Philipson who is joining the team full time.
Divers to spend 24 hours underwater for charity
Divers attempted a 24-hour charity dive at Vobster Quay in Somerset to raise £5,000 for the Marine Conservation Society.
MCS supporters The Dive Zone and Vobster Quay hosted the sponsored dive where willing challengers from dive clubs around the area will take it in turns to dive for up to an hour at a time in chilly 7ºC waters.
There will be at least four divers in the water at all times throughout the 24 hours, and one participant is aiming to complete 24 dives in 24 hours. The diving will continue throughout the day on Saturday 19 April, into the night until the small hours of Sunday morning when the target of 24 hours of continuous diving is achieved.
Both Tim Clements from Vobster and Colin Eadie from DiveZone have pledged to shave off their hair if the fundraising target of £5,000 is reached before the diving starts on Saturday.
Colin Eadie said: "MCS is a charity which is really close to my heart – as it should be for any diver. MCS conservation projects tackle issues which directly affect us as divers – from pollution and the rubbish on our beaches, to the need for marine reserves and protection of basking sharks.
"We have had a fantastic response with many people raising money and wanting to take part in the event. The more of us who can help the better, so even if you cannot take part please sponsor one of our team for a dive!."
Vobster Quay have pledged to donate a portion of all participants' entrance fees to MCS and offer free entry to any participant with over £100 in sponsorship pledges.
There is a treasure hunt with donated dive-related prizes, food and a barbeque throughout the event to keep energy levels up, and they are even running a night diving specialty course for half price with all proceeds going towards their fundraising target. Representatives from MCS will also be on hand to discuss work with visitors and will be taking the plunge too.
www.mcsuk.org
www.vobsterquay.co.uk
www.thedivezone.co.uk
Litter blight on the increase
The amount of plastic littering Britain’s beaches is at its highest level since records began, according to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Beachwatch 2007 report.
The report shows plastic litter has increased by 126 per cent since the annual survey began in 1994. Plastic debris now accounts for more than 58 per cent of all litter found on UK beaches, including plastic bags and plastic drinks bottles. Plastic-based cigarette butts are also amongst the most frequently encountered litter items.
Over 170 species of marine wildlife including seabirds, turtles and whales have been recorded mistaking marine litter for food resulting in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages. In addition, plastic packaging and discarded fishing nets injure, entangle and drown some of Britain’s favourite marine wildlife, including seals and dolphins.
Emma Snowden, MCS litter projects coordinator, said: "The results are truly shocking. In the last ten years plastic drinks bottles have increased by 67 per cent, plastic bags by 54 per cent and cigarette butts by 44 per cent.
"Plastics are of particular concern as they could persist in the marine environment for centuries with fatal consequences for marine wildlife. The Marine Conservation Society’s Beachwatch volunteers remove tons of litter from beaches, and using the survey data they collect, MCS is raising awareness about this serious situation and the solutions.
"The plastic litter problem needs to be tackled at all levels, from grassroots through to Government, while industry and retail sectors must acknowledge the need to reduce plastic bag use and packaging."
The MCS Beachwatch 2007 Report is based on data collected by almost 4,000 volunteers on 354 UK beaches surveyed in mid-September 2007. Volunteers surveyed 168.5km of coast and removed over 346,000 litter items.
The full report can be downloaded at www.adoptabeach.org.uk
Filming diving's latest big screen outing
Fool's Gold is the latest film heavily featuring scuba diving to hit the big screen. But will it be any good?
Ben ‘Finn’ Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) is an affable, modern-day treasure-hunter who is obsessed with finding the legendary 18th century Queen’s Dowry – 40 chests of priceless treasure that was lost at sea in 1715. In his quest, Finn has sunk everything he has, including his marriage to Tess (Kate Hudson).
Just as Tess has begun to rebuild her life, working aboard a mega-yacht owned by billionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland), Finn discovers a vital clue to the treasure’s whereabouts.
Much to Tess’ consternation, Finn maneuvers himself aboard Nigel’s yacht and, using his roguish charm, convinces the tycoon and his celebutante daughter, Gemma (Alexis Dziena), to join him in the pursuit of the Spanish riches. Even Tess can’t resist the lure of finally uncovering the treasure that had eluded them for so long.
But they are not the only ones after the prize. Finn’s one-time mentor, Moe Fitch (Ray Winstone), and a ruthless local gangster named Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart), are intent on beating Finn to the trove. Let the treasure hunt begin…
Filming took place in Australia at Port Douglas, Lizard Island, the Whitsundays and the Gold Coast.
Of course, safety was a top priority, and the cast was always surrounded by professional divers ready to move in at the first sign of trouble – or unwelcome aquatic sightseers.
In fact, an unexpected influx of the deadly Irukandji box jellyfish, which are native to northern Australian waters, did force everyone out of the water and halted filming for a time. When the jellyfish showed no intention of leaving, the production briefly moved to real Caribbean waters to complete those scenes.
"You never know what Mother Nature is going to do when you’re out in the middle of the ocean," said McConaughey. "As beautiful as the locations are, there is also danger, whether it’s the wind or the waves or those dreaded jellyfish. But there’s nothing you can do about it, so you just have to work with it."
Nevertheless, certain underwater sequences in the film required a more-controlled environment than the open ocean could provide. Unfortunately, there was no water tank in Queensland, so the decision was made to build one – and it ended up being huge.
The sinking of Finn’s boat, the Booty Calls, was one of the first scenes to be shot in it. The crew knew the boat was 12 metres long – and that they needed six metres on each side of it to give themselves enough clearance.
The resulting dimensions of the tank were 42 metres long and 30 metres wide, with a minimum depth of 5m and a maximum depth of 6.5m. It could hold 7.2 million litres of water, making it the largest tank in the southern hemisphere and one of the largest in the world. Fools Gold is on general release 18 April.
For interviews with the cast and director, see the May issue of Sport Diver magazine, out 17 April.
www.foolsgoldmovie.co.uk
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