Boat Handling     

 

Club Boat at Speed

On the 11th March 2000 The Hyndburn B S A C went on a boat handling course, quite a few of us turned up on Saturday Morning on the doorstep of the Horwich club house, there were about four different B S A C clubs all joined together for this course and it was nice to be able to talk and get different views from other members.The day was nice and quite warm, we were looking forward to the theoretical and we were not to be disappointed myself, Ann and all of whom I talked to were of the same opinion, The theoretical was very informative starting from the very basics of boats, shapes sizes on the road maintenance, pe-launch planning, Safety and Emergency procedures, Engines, in fact everything you could think of to do with boats ( and many you could not )As usual we ended up in the nearest pub for our lunch brake and I must admit We were highly glad of the heating and hot curry on offer as it was more than a bit chilly in the cellar of the Horwich club house. After lunch we were taught how to use charts and tidal information this we found very interesting and completely new to a few of us including myself. After the summary we were invited to ask any questions and clarify anything we were unsure of and the day came to a close. this part of the course was very informative and we all came out being much the wiser on aspects of boat handling.

Sunday morning we were all up early and raring to go for the second part of the course the practical side, we collected our club boat and arrived at Knott end to what seemed like a flotilla of Boats and people to match. We were extremely lucky with the weather it was a Beautiful day with sun shining and calm seas. After a short briefing and swapping about of people and boats so in theory you ended up with unfamiliar people and boats We being Myself, Ann, Ray, Martin, Peter (Assessor) and I'm very sorry to say a Guy from the Rossendale club I can't for the life of me remember his name (sorry old chap !). We ended up on Martins Boat and even to this day I'm not sure if the grimace on Martins face was relief or sheer panic? Martin explained to us all the workings of the boat and the procedure for uncoupling the boat from the trailer, We kitted up and proceeded to the jetty , after waiting a little while for the tide to come in we were soon enough in the water and raring to go. Martin was also being assessed for instructor and demonstrated each manoeuvre thoroughly making sure we understood everything to do with that particular manoeuvre before being allowed to have a go for ourselves and strut our stuff, every one of us were thoroughly enjoying ourselves and could have stayed at the wheel all day,

After one demonstration whereas we were shown how to do high speed turns in a very tight figure of eight we were left all strewn on the bottom of the boat still hanging on for grim life, WE gathered ourselves together and waited for our turn at this exciting manoeuvre, A little mutinous voice said "I'm not doing that I DON'T like anything too fast" All eyes Settled on Martin for (Captain Mayhab) would not tolerate mutiny on his boat "What do you mean your not doing that, of coarse your going to do that , No doesn't come into it, now get up of your @~#+ get up here, and get on with it" after one more attempt at voicing her refusal Ann promptly got up and throwing all caution to the wind sets off at a pace that would make the road runner dizzy and puts us into a starboard turn followed directly with a port turn lasting about 20 seconds in all, we were all sat there quit bewildered when she turns and said, without even a bat of a mascarerd eye " I've always wanted to be a bond girl, can we do that again". We nearly had to deal with a man overboard situation as Ray was laughing so hard we nearly lost him. Shortly after this little episode Martin decided it was time for our brake for lunch we moored up and everything went quiet while we all munched on our butty's (I think Martin was still in shock ), after the colour returned to our faces and Martin was able to speak again he demonstrated some of his equipment on his boat i.e. Radar and navigational systems this was very interesting but admittedly a bit over my head.

After lunch we proceeded to do reversing with and against the tide, Man overboard, transit positions, mooring plus numerous other manoeuvres gaining confidence and skills with each new task unfortunately the day came to an end and it was time to get the boats back on the trailers, de-kit and SURPRISE SURPRISE !!! " where did that Pub come from" we had to have our debriefing and drinks in there " Wasn't that a shame", after the debriefing and paying up it was time to be on our way. We all agree we had a marvellous day and great fun, We learned so much in two days the instructors were very informative, they made everything interesting and fun they had really excellent teaching skills. The course was well worth the money and I would Do it all again Just for the fun of it.

Thank you to all the instructors who gave up their time for us, I would like to also thank Martin for the use of his most cherished and beloved boat which I might add was returned upright and still seaworthy and also CONGRATULATIONS MARTIN ON PASSING YOUR INSTRUCTOR COURSE.
Thank you all again for a very memorable day and we look forward to the next course.

T T F N

TRICIA

oOo

 

The best thing about Portugal is the people

Over the last twenty years I’ve dived several times in the Atlantic. The sites were based on the West Coast of Ireland and in Brittany. In Ireland the sites were Loop Head, Kilkee and Doolin. In Brittany all my dives were off Tregistil. Off Loop Head was the first time I saw a Manta and my most frightening shark encounter, with two Blues and a Mako, was in a cave off Kilkee and Doolin has freshwater cave systems under the sea that are well worth a visit. Tregistil was where I took my son on his first lobster and crab hunting forays and holds fond memories for me.

When a friend told me he was moving out to Portugal I offered to do the removal and carry him out there. I was looking forward to doing some diving off the Algarve because it was the Atlantic. I looked up diving on the net and discovered that there was a PADI Dive Centre near to where he was staying so the scene was set.

After experiencing logistical problems caused by Spanish fuel, I went to Atlantic Diving at Pria do Aveiros near to Albuferia. They were just starting the season. An English man owned the company, and he employed a Belgian man and a lady and a Portuguese gentleman as instructor/guides. I arranged to dive two days after and they told me to ring first to check up the state of the dives. When I turned up there was a heavy swell but the Belgian lady said she’d been in and it was OK. It was the Portuguese gentleman who would be my buddy at a cost of about twenty pounds. They all dived in wet suits and I felt that it was more appropriate than my dry suit. The deepest we went to was 8.6 metres and the swell could be felt at that depth making the diving uncomfortable. The bottom was typical of the Algarve being sand with large boulders. After surfacing three times because my buddy kept losing me, I decided to call it a day after only 25 mins in the water. I only saw small fish but had previously seen large shoals of mullet with a mask whilst swimming. They go out in the boat for greater depth, 20-30 metres but they said there was no difference in the bottom scenery. There are protected historical wrecks but no dive company is allowed to take people out to them. On the western edge of the Algarve at a town called Sagres will be found drop offs and gullies so I would suggest contacting a business trading there for good diving.

I was told that most of the scenic diving is in the North of Portugal with the most famous site being a U-boat but even that is mostly buried under the sand. Pictures of it can be viewed at the Scuba Portugal Web site. I can’t say that I was impressed by the diving potential of Portugal and would not recommend people to go there for that sort of experience. I suspect it is a good place to learn basic diving under the PADI Format. If anyone would like to see maps and guides don’t hesitate to ask but I can’t say I’d choose to go there for a diving holiday. However it is definitely a good place to party and it is incredibly cheap to live there and the people are very friendly. There were nights when they would not let me pay for any wine or beer.

Tony Makin.

oOo

DIVERS MY KIND OF PEOPLE

 

All in all 1999 was an interesting year filled with joy, much laughter and the odd tear but I can honestly say the best day of the week is on Wednesday evening when our dive club meets.

 

There’s Martin OUR LEADER never a dive does he miss
An expert diver ever going deeper into the abyss
also "I might add" an expert at super sonic fining
When invited to dinner by killer Whales "Grinning"

There’s Tony our buddy simply known as big T
What he says has two meanings sometimes even three
Rock bands, American Football and Diving With 50 Bar
When it comes to having Fun He’s truly a star.

There’s Graham our quiet, caring, listening Friend
Giving help, advice and experience that mends
a great sense of humor, when it comes to money
being treasurer "ask him for a new rib" suddenly its funny.

Then there’s Andy. The funniest person since sliced bread
He puts up with everything from Rescuing to playing dead
patience is a virtue, especially with the tasks he gets set
Nearly drowned by his rescuers, "He asks" are we having fun yet?.

Ann is our favourite lady, always aiming to please
This year she is planning a trip with her friends to the Red Sea
I do hope she can keep her mind on the coral that she seeks
And not run away with the nearest Oil Bearing Sheik

There’s two fairly new lads Steve and Paul
Always having fun and generally having a ball
Steve who flies through the air with the greatest of ease
and Paul who has to buddy breath after one little sneeze

David's a really super kind of a guy
who likes to be the first to surface, to look at the sky! 
not that there's much wrong with his buoyancy I think its just so so
I don’t see the problem "It is a nice name YO YO ".

There’s poor long suffering Ann, always left on the boat
Endlessly hauling up treasure way too heavy to float
And Grumpy shouting "Keep hold of it, don’t you dare let it go"
"Bloody things too heavy, The Titanic We'll have to tow".

Willie and Tony (M) always off diving somewhere
Charging around the country quite without a care
There was a story about a pub, bicycle a broken arm and a Woman
There are still rumors flying around, but as yet there's nothing proven

Now there is Roy, who will tell you all about phones
"I don't suppose he'll let us have one on loan"!!!
He's yet to find one that works under water
although finding the thing in a dry suit would be simply torture.

Ray's now got Dive Leader his latest qualification
There’s no stopping him now he's off without hesitation
It's on with the twin cylinders and double quick to the shore
Thinking to himself on the way "Can I carry two more"?

Brian and Eddie Are our Two latest Recruits
All the enthusiasm in the world but alas no suits
The trainings going swimmingly nearly all set
But Wait, There's one more item on the list a crash helmet yet!

And not forgetting our very charming Peter Basset
Who is our total expert on the internet
Without his time and work I'm sure you'll all agree
All our ideas and information you would not be able to see.

And last of all there's just little old me
Getting dafter by the years, Growing old disgracefully
I hope my friends this club forever goes on and on
Cause I simply must say "I’ve never had so much Fun".

Tricia...