British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) – Page 2 – The Underwater Marketing Company

Help Shape The Future Of BSAC!

Posted on February 5, 2015 by rosemarylunn

The British Sub Aqua Club would like feedback from the diving community to understand how it can use digital tools and services (website, data management, emails, social media etc) to better effect.

To that end they have commissioned an independent research study. They would like to hear from existing members and lapsed members. The survey is also for divers or snorkellers that have never been a member of BSAC. This is your opportunity to feed into the process and have your views taken on board.

As a small thank you for completing the survey, all participants will be entered in a prize draw to win one of five AP Diving Self-sealing Surface Marker Buoys worth £30 each.

The survey will be open until midnight on Thursday 12th February.

You can take the survey now via this link.

BSAC Diving Conference 2014 Winners Announced

Posted on November 17, 2014 by rosemarylunn

The 2014 BSAC Diving Conference was held on Saturday 25th October at the Birmingham NEC. Attending delegates enjoy a packed and informative programme of BSAC news, diver training updates and open forums.

During the conference BSAC announced the full list of BSAC Diving Conference 2014 award winners:

COLINS & CHAMBERS OWI AWARD
– for the most meritorious candidate on the Open Water Instructor course

Winner: Lee Evans

ANALOX AI AWARD
– for the most meritorious candidate on the Advanced Instructor course

Winner: Chucky Kane

FIRST CLASS DIVER – awarded to the successful 2014 candidates

Alan Brown
Dai Atkins
Dominic Robinson
Duncan Reed
Robert Sewell
Simon Child
John De Lara
Joli Riley

Martin Parker, AP Diving, BSAC Diving Officer Conference, Mary Tetley, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, The Underwater Marketing Company, BSAC Awards, Colins & Chambers OWI Diving Award

Simon Child (left) was presented with an AP Diving BCD by Martin Parker of AP Diving

AP DIVING AWARD
– awarded for the most admirable performance in the First Class Diver exam

Winner: Simon Child

NATIONAL INSTRUCTOR

– awarded to the successful 2014 candidates

Maria Harwood, Martin ‘Smudge’ Smith

WEEZLE AWARD
– awarded to the person who performs most meritoriously in the National Instructor exam

Winner: Martin ‘Smudge’ Smith

WILKINSON SWORD
– awarded for the most admirable performance in a BSAC nationally assessed examination

Winner: Martin ‘Smudge’ Smith

BSAC SAFETY AWARD – presented in recognition of endeavouring to save a life without involving diving techniques

Winner: Colin Hill

ALAN BROADHURST AWARD
– awarded for the use of good diving lifesaving techniques

Winners:

Malcolm Avis
Claude Carletide
Mark Edmunds
Zack Halim
Jim Hallyburton
David Horton
Natasha Scott
John Sharp
Martin Smith
Ian Stirling
Fraser Sweeny

HEINKE TROPHY 2014
– for the branch judged to have done the most infurthering the interest of BSAC and its members

Winner: Bradford SAC
Commended: London No 1 Branch

BSAC EXPEDITION TROPHY – presented to the organizer of the most significant British diving expedition of the year

Winner: Darwin SAC

COLIN MCLEOD AWARD
– to the person/s who in the opinion of the BSA Jubilee Trust has contributed to international cooperation and harmony in diving and associated activities

Winner: Dr Ian Calder

Margaret Baldwin being awarded the Scubapro Cousteau Award by BSAC National Diving Officer Jeff Reed

SCUBAPRO COUSTEAU AWARD

– for the BSAC member who goes that extra mile in the promotion of the club’s aims and objectives

Winner: Margaret Baldwin

BSAC WRECK AWARD (new for 2014)

Winner: Severnside Sub Aqua Club
– report on the SS Baygitano

Highly Commended:

Guildford Sub Aqua Club (HMT Pine)
Chester SAC (A tale of two trawlers.)
Calshot Sub Aqua Club (Sunderland Flying boat)
Richard Scarsbrook BSAC member individual entry (SS Stassa)

Commended:

Folkestone Sub Aqua Club (HMHS Anglia)
Mauritius Underwater group (HMS Sirius)

Thank you awards:

Chris Odell
Colin McCarthy
Jamie Heptonstall
Andy Botten
Steve Capes
Roy Evans
Kevin Holmes
Dave Bell
John Gibbon

More photos and news from the BSAC Diving Conference 2014 can be found here.

BOLO – Be On Look Out – Boat Thieves About

Posted on July 31, 2014 by rosemarylunn

Calshot BSAC (pictured above) have had their £6,000 engine stolen off the back of their RHIB whilst it was in a locked storage facility on a New Forest farm. The incident occurred on or around Sunday 6th July 2014.

This is a Yamaha 150bhp two-stroke engine. Whoever took the engine cut through cables and pipes. (Fuel lines, pipes to the oil reservoir, throttle cables, steering lines and the echo location system).

The Police have advised that two other boat engines were stolen in the same period, and in much the same way. If you have an expensive boat engine stored with a boat, time to be extra vigilant.

New Guidelines For Divers In England

Posted on April 7, 2014 by rosemarylunn

This guidance for divers in England is issued today (Monday 7th April 2014) by the following agencies as a joint statement: BSAC, GUE, PADI, PSAI, SSI, SAA and TDI / SDI.

BSAC, acting as the National Governing Body for Scuba diving and working with SAA and PADI, has been negotiating on behalf of all divers and diver training agencies with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) with respect to the interpretation of the legal requirements for divers under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA).

After lengthy consultation, a set of guidelines for all divers diving in English waters has now been agreed. These guidelines enable divers to go about their standard normal diving and training activities without a requirement for a licence and divers can use the guidelines to ensure that they remain within the law.

Activities that do not require a licence include:

•             Deploying and recovering temporary shot lines for divers
•             Using delayed or permanently inflated SMBs
•             Using a lifting bag to recover items which have been underwater for less than 12 months
•             Conducting surveys of shipwrecks by hand
•             Using lifting bags for underwater litterpicks.

For other certain activities, the MMO still requires either prior notification or an application for a licence; the MMO can be consulted for guidance in these cases. Similar guidance will be available in due course for Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish waters.

All diver-training agencies active in England endorse these guidelines and actively encourage their instructors, members and divers to abide by them.

For further guidance please refer to the Marine Licensing: Guidance for Recreational Divers information sheet.

For all additional queries or questions regarding these new guidelines please contact the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) direct:

Telephone 0300 123 1032 or email

This update has been issued by:

British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC)
Global Underwater Explorers (GUE)
Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
Professional Scuba Association International (PSAI)
Scuba Schools International (SSI)
Sub Aqua Association (SAA)
Scuba Diving International; Technical Diving International (TDI / SDI)

BSAC Nitrox Courses at LIDS 2014

Posted on February 4, 2014 by rosemarylunn

The British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) will be running a Nitrox workshop on Saturday 15th February at The London International Dive Show. And if you are a BSAC Member, you can attend for free. (12:30 - 14:00). Further information on this can be found here.

Scuba Magazine Is Seeking Stories

Posted on September 25, 2013 by rosemarylunn

SCUBA is the official magazine of Britain's biggest diving club, the British Sub-Aqua Club.

It is published monthly and is circulated to BSAC members. SCUBA features UK and BSAC club diving, snorkelling and important developments in our sport.

One regular column is called 'Greatest Dive'. Have you had a a 'blow your socks off dive' this year? SCUBA Magazine would like to hear from you. Your greatest dive can be either in the UK or overseas. Simply email SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson with a short synopsis.

This front cover images features 'The Brown Brothers'. Jason, taken by Simon.

Statement from BSAC – Scuba diving at Trefor Pier

Posted on July 10, 2013 by rosemarylunn

We have just been sent the following email from Jim Watson at the British Sub Aqua Club.

BSAC, British Sub Aqua Club, Trefor Pier, RNLI, Anglesey, scuba diving, Martin Sampson, Anglesey Divers, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, The Underwater Marketing Company

The Holyhead Lifeboat taking part in the New Year's Day swim from Newry Beach, Holyhead

"Following the the stationing of an All Weather Lifeboat in North Wales, the RNLI have set up a refuelling station at Trefor Pier, Anglesey.

This popular shore diving site attracts divers from all over North Wales and the North West of England. The RNLI and the local authority have asked that we alert divers who may use the site to be aware of the following.

The RNLI Lifeboat will routinely visit the pier to refuel during high water, normally on Wednesday evening and Saturday midday. Additional visits may be necessary at other times following major deployment of the Lifeboat. Refuelling of the site and other works will be conducted by a visiting barge. Works are likely to continue for the remainder of 2013.

Divers are advised to be aware of the above activity and to exercise extra care at all times, especially when diving the Pier. Please be aware of the risk of surface traffic. All divers are requested to ensure they have shore cover, who are able to advise any visiting vessels of the presence of divers. In addition, where possible, divers should display a diving flag to warn of their presence. Updates will be issued as they are received."

Marine Conservation Survey: Deadline midnight tonight…

Posted on January 5, 2013 by rosemarylunn

If you are a British diver or snorkeler, you have until midnight tonight to have your say on how our marine environment is valued, by completing the following survey.

The Angling Trust, The British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) and the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) are working with the University of Aberdeen to write a report that will be used to influence decision-making around 127 Marine Protected Zones in England, and a yet to be determined number of Marine Protected Areas in Scotland. The survey results will help ensure that the specific needs and values of divers are taken into account when decisions are made regarding these areas.

At the heart of the research project is the personal and non-monetary value of key sites around the UK. Researchers are particularly interested in the views of UK divers on the sites they visit, what it is about these sites they value the most and whether they believe these sites are worth protecting.

So please complete this survey and be specific about your diving and snorkeling activity around the British coastline. You have until midnight tonight.

BSAC 2012 Elections

Posted on January 28, 2012 by rosemarylunn

Following its successful introduction last year, BSAC will be repeating the online voting system for the forthcoming BSAC election.

This year’s election sees three council positions. In addition the positions of Honorary Secretary and National Diving Officer will also available. If you fancy standing for BSAC Council you've got until the end of the month for nominations! Contact BSAC Headquarters for more information.

For more information click here

BSAC Forums now have a firm footing as the British Sub Aqua Club launch their 21st Century IT Rollout Programme

Posted on November 9, 2005 by rosemarylunn

It’s a bit like children really. Once they’ve been born, you can’t imagine life without them, and the same is true for diver Forums. Over the past seven years, forums and their popularity have grown spectacularly, so that today they are definitely an integral part of diver communications.

“We knew that the old system was out of date and not meeting the needs of our members”, stated Keith Lawrence, Head of Information Technology. “I’m proud to say that this is all changing, thanks to the combined efforts of the IT and Forum Teams. For the last umpteen months there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes, consequently this is the first visible sign of what has been going on, and there’s more to come. I’m really excited that the contemporary Forums are now on line. What we’ve done is install a brand new web server system, using the latest and probably the most popular forum software. The result is a solution designed to provide divers with a quick, easy and fun way to communicate and find information.

We wanted something flexible, and that can grow and evolve as Member’s needs change. Our aim was to build and develop a range of dedicated forums for Branch Officers, Coaches, Instructors, BSAC Clubs, Members and others, with the key word being ‘involvement’. As all of the Forum Team dive, we were of one accord, that we wanted to empower our members. With this is mind we would really like each group to take ownership of their own forum. So we’ve ramped up our commitment to online forums accordingly, and now provide divers with a solution tailored specifically to the needs of members and BSAC, but also has something for everyone interested in diving.

This is part of the long term strategy, a realisation, that my teams and I have had to change the way BSAC is using IT. We want to improve the club and the facilities to its members, and give divers the IT solutions they deserve, want, need and desire. The new forums are not the only thing that the BSAC IT Team is doing. This is the first in a series of new and revitalised services that will integrate with our HQ systems, firmly establishing the BSAC as a 21^st Century club with on-line solutions. So why not got and check them out for yourself at www.bsacforum.co.uk”