Autumn 2007
 

The Trainee Weekend in Schull may by now seem to be a distant memory….

Our D.O. collared me down in Schull to write something about the weekend and she
helpfully suggested I look at previous newsletters for an idea of usual submissions.
On reading some of the elaborate and witty descriptions of previous dives I soon
realised that I was going to have a bit of trouble describing any of my dives from the
weekend. Each dive in itself was memorable but as a total novice any impressive dive
locations or underwater life was lost on me as I flopped out of the boat. I found
myself with a million and one questions racing around my head the moment I hit the
water: 'Is my air on?' 'Why am I floating am I not supposed to be going down?'
'Where's my buddy?' 'Will my regulator stay in?' 'Is that water in my mask?' 'Do I
have any air left?' 'Is my mask too tight?'…. Yes I had heard talk of a nasty case of
mask squeeze from last years trainee weekend.

  
     
     
 
 
 
Many of the more seasoned divers who have seen trainee weekends come and go must be well versed in the difficulties encountered by the trainees on their maiden dives some of which include losing fins – retrieval of fins – losing mask – retrieval of someone else's mask - and that's before we leave dry land, once we hit the sea problems of exceptional buoyancy, general flaying about under the water occur - let us just say it's not graceful. I am sure my own buddies were probably more than a little freaked out by the noise of my suctioning air from my bottle in a manner that would have put even the best Darth Vader impressionists to shame. And of course there is the problem of faffing about during kitting up – a difficultly which is generally met with the following question 'Are we going for a ****-ing dive or
what?' (****Expletive optional)		                
 
 
Schull in April - honestly!!
         

I know I don't speak for all the trainees when I speak of 'the nerves' more especially
the Lithuanian contingent that appear to be half men half fish with the readiness in
which they take to the sea. It was Sunday for me before the fear gave way to nervous
excitement – and it was worth the wait – to actually be able to look around, explore a
bit and enjoy being under the water was fantastic.

The weekend in itself was a great success and we were blessed with unseasonably
warm weather and a fabulous location. Just a reminder of some of the stats: 52
attendees, 43 divers staying in 10 houses completing approximately 250 dives from 2
boats resulting in 11 newly qualified trainees. As a trainee it was great to get so many
dives completed in the one weekend and gain a degree of confidence with my gear
and in the water. Some things I know now…there is no graceful way to drag yourself
back into the boat after a dive…sunscreen is not optional, as many glowing heads on
the Sunday evening would contest to…and when as a trainee you discover your bottle
miraculously filled before your dive you should clear your calendar after the next
stick because odds on you're on compressor duty!

I know it has been said before but there is no harm in saying it again:
Many thanks to Jean and Mark Seavers for dedicating so much time to the host of
trainees this year and also to everyone who put their time in on the Sunday evenings
in the pool, giving lectures, buddying at and organising the weekend. I know there is a
huge amount of work that goes into the training and the weekends away which you
make appear seamless.


Newsletter Articles

The Los Erizos Wrecks by Colm Lowney
Gozo Trip by anon
L'Estartit by Mark Seavers
Nearly No Nudis by Gavan Byrne
Schull Easter 2007 by Maire Kirby
The Fleet at Scapa Flow*
Diver Profile: Lionel Crabb*

*sourced from the web by an enthusiastic member

 

 
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Updated – February 2007