News

Club News 03/09/18

Hello everyone, club secretary here with another of our (semi) regular news updates. A lot's been happening since the last update! Firstly, we got a brand new logo, and our BDO Craig has been sorting out merchandise so we can all show it off. There's mugs, t-shirts and hoodies available. They all look great and are a good way to support our club by buying!

Nine of our members have now been through the powerboat level 2 handling course, so there's a wealth of boat handling expertise on tap now for future dives, which should take some of the pressure off those who always ended up driving the boat.

Our newer members have still been managing to get training in during our time without access to the pool, notably Ken Yip who achieved branch diver qualification just yesterday. Well done Ken! In related news I achieved sport diver recently - well done me :)

Carl Crone very kindly hosted a Nitrox course for the club, which was very well attended and great value to boot. Thanks very much Carl!

Improvements to the boat's loadout are ongoing. Since the last update we now have a first aid kit, O2 kit (thanks chairman Billy) and some LED flares (thanks Claude). Howard Fisher who's been running PB2 courses out of Largs for us has bought us a new anchor as well, as a present. Very kind of him!

Congratulations to Adrian Wyper on his recent wedding. All the best for your future as a married man Adie!

Lastly a thanks from me to my fellow committee members for all your efforts behind the scenes, and to all of our other members for making the club what it is. We're in a good place and looking forward to the future. Hope to see some of you at the pool when our sessions restart this Wednesday 5th of September!

Club News 13/06/18

Hello all, this is the first of our new regular news updates, to give everyone a flavour of what's going on in the club. It'll be published here, and on the club's Facebook pages.

We enjoyed one of the highest (if not THE highest) turnouts for a recent weekday dive night out of Largs. The weather was excellent and with 13 members getting a dive there was a great atmosphere and a fun night had by all. Thanks to everyone involved in the organising, and in operating the boat. Some pictures from the day are below.

In related news, Alan Morland is now reactivated as an instructor, and congratulations are in order for Ken Yip who had his first dive, and to Alan Hunter for getting his Branch Diver qualification!

Even though the summer is far from over, 16 members are signed up and already looking forward to an upcoming 2019 trip to the Red Sea, spending a week diving the northern wrecks and reefs.

Finally, congratulations also to our own Claude Stewart, who got married last weekend. We wish Claude and Susan all the best for the future.

That's all for now!

March/April Club News

What exciting times for the Ayr branch of Scotsac!

On Sat 24th March, 14 members representing all levels of qualification hit the road with the club RHIB and headed north to Strachur, to dive the wonderful Stallion Rock. Joining us were 4 members of the Perth branch, who also brought their RHIB along, taking the party up to 18.

And a party we had!

Weighing anchor at 9:30am the first boat took a group across Loch Fyne to an isolated spot at Kenmore for a spot of shore diving, before returning to Strachur to pick up another group. Meanwhile the 2nd boat made its way across to Stallion Rock and started dropping off Buddy Pairs.

After everyone completed their 1st dives the group congregated back onshore at Kenmore for a BBQ and refreshments (non-alcoholic of course), braving the intermittent showers and occasional hailstones to fuel up ready for a fun-filled afternoon. Divers spotted common cuttlefish, conger eel, scorpionfish, loads of spiders crabs and some common crabs while exploring the loch.

The organiser of the trip, Ayr club chairman William Campbell said:

“A lot of pre-planning went in to making this day so successful and it was great to see everything coming together without a hitch. It was wonderful to bring the two branches together through our mutual interests, and to make new friendships. Hopefully there are many more joint ventures to come. It was also great for the trainees to experience a trip like this and show them the potential benefits of their club membership.”

As a positive footnote for the club, photos of the trip reignited the interest of some former members who have now renewed their memberships.

Later that week on Thursday night our latest trainee, Georgie Pritchard, took to the sea for her first open water dive after just 4/5 weeks of pool training. Ayr BDO Craig O’Pray, who was instructing Georgie, said:

“Georgie has shown a remarkable natural talent for the sport and has great composure and confidence in the water. The enthusiasm she has shown has been infectious!”

And finally, to round out the week, on Good Friday another of our trainees, Steven Steel, completed the last of his assessments to achieve Sport Diver status.

The Ayr branch has gone from strength to strength recently, growing from 25 to 37 members in the last year with 15 trainees working towards Branch and 4 heading for Sport. We also have a waiting list for try-dives so hope to bring many more on board soon (pardon the pun). We have many exciting plans in place for 2018 and beyond including summer nights, monthly away days, foreign warm water trips and PB2 training, all aimed at getting as many people in the water as possible.

If you’d like to find out more about our branch, organise a trip with us or come along to our pool training contact bdo.ayrdivers@gmail.com.