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Bankies AGM 24th February 2010

Well, the Clydebank Sub Aqua Club AGM has come and gone. The formal Minutes cannot be released until they have been ratified…………….at the AGM next year and by then it will be too late for some of the points raised, so the following is my informal summary of events.

The Meeting

Ten members attended the meeting: Tom, Ian, Michelle, Brian, Joe, Keith, Adam, Gordon Downie, Graeme and John McGregor.

Apologies from Jack, Gordon Anderson, John Morgan, Brenda, Catherine, Craig, Gerry, David Hewitt. I hope I have not missed anyone. L Let me know and I will add your name. J

Tom, Ian, Michelle, Brian & Joe gave brief reports on their portfolio’s (that sounds posh doesn’t it) To summarise, they all stated that 2009 had not been a very productive diving year due, in part to dreadful summer/autumn/winter weather plus, to some extent, personal, business and other commitments. Brian expressed confidence that 2010 will be better and hopes to organise a number of dives further a field and use the boat more often. The one exception of course, was the superb diving holiday to Bonaire organised by Tom (more later).

Michelle explained that our Income from membership, air fills, boat fees etc was down in 2009 but so were our outgoings, all due to the reduced amount of diving. Overall the Club is “in the black” to the tune of around £130. However, we also have a healthy reserve account as a “safety net” if it is ever required. The only significant increase in costs was the Pool Fees payable to the Playdrome.

Joe indicated that the Club owned gear was in good order with nothing outstanding to report. The boat is also in good condition.

The Minutes from last year were slightly amended, agreed and everyone stood down.

As last year, I took over as interim Chairman and asked for nominations for Chairman. The room suddenly went deathly quiet. You could have heard a pin drop! You could have heard a mouse f*~t! You get the picture?

So, after some discussion it was agreed that we could move on to the rest of the Committee. To cut to the chase, the following were appointed:

Treasurer-Michelle, Secretary/Webmaster-Keith, Diving Officer-Brian, Equipment Officer-Joe, Ordinary members-Gordon Anderson & David Hewitt.

After further deliberations, it was decided to approach Gordon Anderson overnight to ask if he would be Chairman. He has since accepted, proposed by Michelle and seconded my me (unless someone else wishes the honour?)

The Future

We are hoping for a better diving year. Brian was delighted to announce that we had several new members towards the end of 2009 and they are progressing well with training and should be in Open water very soon.

He would like to encourage more use of the boat and diving on the east coast as well as visiting our favourite haunts. Instructors have a Rescue assessment to do before October 2010. (SSAC NDC requirement) Divers are encouraged to suggest new or infrequently dived sites. Run the dive yourself or Brian will do it or Joe or Keith or Ian.

Michelle suggested a few more Social Evenings at the Club premises: Curry/Chinese/Pizza night with photo shows from Jack and Keith if you wish it!!

So, if you don’t like Curry, we’ll try something else. Perhaps a barbeque or two as well, at a suitable dive site.

On that note of Social Events. Next year, 2011, will be the 50^th Anniversary of Clydebank Sub Aqua Club. How would you like to mark the occasion? The Committee will think up a plan but you are invited to submit your ideas.

If YOU have any ideas about anything, please let the Committee know. If you have anything at all for YOUR website, let me know!!??

Finally, you will be glad, the best bit until last. Michelle made the following recommendations which were adopted:

Single Branch Levy remains at £100 and is due as soon as possible J

Joint Branch Levy remains at £150 and is due as soon as possible please J

Air fills from the Club Compressor remain at £2.00 per fill J

Please give generously, your Club needs the money to survive!

And really finally, The Tam Sneddon Award:

Ian Kennedy stepped up to the podium, dressed in a figure hugging, gold silk dress with a revealing deep V cut in the back. He wore matching gold high heel shoes and carried a gold silk clutch bag. (The hairy chest did not help the ensemble).

After a short speech he opened the envelope and announced.

"And the winner is ...............................

 Thomas Burke      *@+~* !!"

Tom has been the Branch Chairman during 2009 and he put himself through the pain and agony of organising a very enjoyable and successful holiday for Branch members to Bonaire in the Caribbean. Congratulations to Tom. 
There are photos on the Website.

PS. Tom, don’t try to put the helmet on! There is no way ........!


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  A Word of Warning about very Deep Diving!
First, please go to this link to read the story of the Deepest Dive in Aqaba, Jordanian Red Sea   http://www.diveaqaba.com/tec/140m.html

A great story, but that is only half of it. I was on that boat and watched the whole story unfold. It looks like a triumph of Technical Diving and a great achievement. In my opinion it was a pointless, ego building, selfish exercise by a woman who did not really know what she was doing, which nearly ended in the death of Rod Abbotson.

The dive preparations were fine and Rod & Dorit dropped down to do their dive. In the meantime the rest of the paying guests, me included, were mucked around waiting for the deep diver support team to get us organised for the water. I was just in the water when Rod hit the surface very early, screaming that he could not breath and that he was bent and need 80% Nitrox immediately. It took about 5 minutes for Rod to be supplied by other Dive Aqaba staff and accompanied down to 12metres depth with his 80% Nitrox mix. 2 other "clients" and myself went down to see what was happening and to see if we could be of assistance. Rod, Dorit and 2 Dive Aqaba staff were dealing with the situation which, to cut a long story short, eventually resolved successfully.

To my surprise we did eventually get a dive. I thought that under the circumstances all diving for the day would be cancelled. But no, we divers and the snorkellers went in the water!!??

The next day I asked Rod what had happened. Basically he ran out of diluent gas (Nitrogen/Helium) at 80 metres (on his way back from 144 metres) and his Rebreather was trying to give him pure oxygen - a fatal situation at that depth. So Rod had to share with Dorit to 18metres. At 18metres the 80% Nitrox bottle dump was not where he expected, so Rod had to surface or both divers would have run out of gas with probably fatal or severe decompression implications.

Rod effectively gave himself "in water decompression therapy". Fortunately he is extremely knowledgeable on Technical Diving. It was Rod who planned the dive, worked out decompression, worked out correct gas mixes and conducted the operation. As for Dorit! Well she just did as she was told because she did not have the knowledge or expertise to organise the dive. In my opinion it was her "rapture of the depth gauge", her ego and her desire to "beat the male divers in Israel" that nearly killed Rod. And we had our day messed up as well. As someone pointed out "We were customers as well".

Branch Fees-what are they for?
Each year, around the time of our AGM in March, the Branch Treasurer makes a recommendation for the Branch Fee for the next year. Currently this fee is £100 for ordinary Full members. It is a great deal of money, so what does it cover?

1   The bulk of the Fee pays for your entry to the pool each week. The Playdrome is a business, not a charity, it charges us for the use of the pool. Whether we are there or not, the pool is booked out to us.

2   The Fee also covers the cost of maintaining the Branch owned equipment, namely:-  Drysuits, BCD's, Demand Valves, Cylinders, the Compressor, the upkeep and insurance for the Club Boat.

3   The rental for the Club premises in which to keep all this gear.

4   The costs of equipment used by you and the air for your cylinder during your basic Scuba Diving Pool Training and the 10 Open Water dives you make to becoming a "Sports Diver". 
(Air and equipment for activities outwith Basic Training should be paid for) 

5   The Annual Fee for this website.

Branch Committee members, and others, give their services without charge. 
If you have any questions about the Branch Fee and what it covers, please ask your friendly Treasurer or any other Committee member.

Access to the Club Equipment Room 

The procedure outlined below may not be perfect. If you have a better solution please let the Committee know and we will happily discuss it. We want what is best for everyone.

The Club Equipment Room is open on most Wednesday evenings and Friday evenings from around 7.30pm and also on Sunday mornings at 8am for Diving but please check by phoning a Key Holder.

Key Holders are listed in order of closeness to the Club Equipment Rooms so it is recommended that you start at the top of the list. Thanks.

Gordon Anderson                                   0141 952 1929  07801 989 895 

Michelle Morgan                                To be confirmed      07800 751 349

Keith Waugh                                            0141 942 8819  07790 978 123 

Brian Tierney                                           0141 772 6479  07778 859 501 

Joe McInally                                             01360 660 802  07729 154 138 

In an Emergency only, contact all of us via Scubatext

And for midweek daytime access for dives

Jack Morrison                                               0141 952 2809  07795 802 723 

Gordon Downie                                            0141 942 3680  07946 539 375
 

Hopefully this will prove to be a convenient method of handling access to the premises. Please let the Committee know if there are problems. We will revue this plan   next February at the 2009 AGM   unless there are problems in the meantime.

Group Mobile Phone Contact using "Scubatext"

Join Clydebank Branch SSAC SCUBATEXT

All you have to do is text           join bankie       to         07797801661                  

Your phone number will be verified by the Service Provider and that’s it!

You can also send FREE texts to everyone in Clydebank Branch who is on the system.

All you do is text             bankie + your message           and send it to 07797801661

The “catch” with this FREE Account is that you will be sent an advert with the text message. However, the ad is diving related.

I hope you will be interested in subscribing to this new facility. We can then keep each other informed about where & when we are Diving, when Committee Meetings are happening etc.

Set it up today and keep the number Scubatext   07797801661 on your Mobile.

Please Note:- Just to be sure that your Mobile Phone Service Provider does not charge you, check what is on your Account before you first send any messages.

We have a total of 1000 free text messages per calendar month. What does this mean?

If we have 20 bankie group members and a text is sent to the bankie group, 20 messages comes off the total of 1000, and so on.

For more information, visit their Website at         http://www.firetext.co.uk/scubatext/faqs.php

Fund Raising

The Club is in pretty good Financial condition, considering the state of the Country, but we should not be complacent. We've tried Horse Racing Nights, we've tried Car Washes and they were very successful. If anyone has a brilliant, legal, moral idea for Fund Raising then let your Committee know. We can then all Benefit.

The Club Boat

Just a little reminder about the use of the Club Boat. You will be aware that the Boat, Engine and Trailer represent a large financial outlay but they are also a huge asset, allowing us to have much greater diving opportunities. It is our boat, your boat and the Committee would like to think that everyone is happy to help when it comes to preparing the boat for a trip. Things such as helping to get the boat out of the Club Hut, adjusting the ramps, taking a turn on the winch, ensuring that all the boat kit is on board etc. At the launch site help is required to un-lash the boat and prepare it for launching, similarly the recovery operation is also an "all hands on deck" scenario. It is all part of the "day out" and it is a great way to learn about another aspect of diving which you should find useful and enjoyable.

Boat Safety

Boats are great fun but they are also potentially dangerous. For this reason only a few Branch members, who have been suitably trained, are permitted to drive the boat. However, if you are interested in learning about the boat then training is readily available. In the meantime you can still help regarding safety. The Helmsman is responsible for the safety of everyone whilst you are in the boat or in the water near the boat. If you are in the water, at or near the surface, always be aware of the engine propellor. Keep well away from it. If you are swimming to the boat, make contact with the boat near the bow or amidships. Never near the stern. When you enter the water from the boat swim away a soon as you can, so that the helsman can operate the engine if necessary.

When on board the boat you should ensure that your diving gear is stowed as neatly as possible, and all in one place. Whilst the boat is moving always hang on to something firm in the boat. You never know when the helsman may have to move suddenly! Try to be aware of what is going on regarding boat operations.

It can be quite easy to end up "over board" from an inflatable boat so, if you are wearing ordinary clothes always where a buoyancy  aid, (your unmounted BCD would do or an ordinary life jacket). Alternatively, and more likely, put some air in to your Dry Suit and close the vent valve. Finally, NEVER be on board the boat with an unzipped Dry Suit.

Boat Costs  

As I mentioned earlier, the boat is an expensive piece of kit and has to be kept in top condition if it is to operate safely and keep you safe. The operating costs have to be covered by the divers who use the boat. So below is a summary of how the Branch charges divers for the boat:

Every diver using the Boat will pay £5 per dive. If you have 2 dives per day, that equals £10.

If, when the money is collected the total from every diver covers the boat fuel costs and perhaps there is a profit, then that profit goes to the Treasurer.

However, if, when the money is collected there is still a short-fall for the cost of the fuel, then that shortfall is divided by the number of divers and the additional money collected to ensure the boat fuel "breaks even".

Please note that the person who tows the boat to the launch site does not have to pay for his/her dives but does contribute to the total fuel costs if extra money is required to "break even".

Iain Kennedy writes: I've found a small slip giving access to Loch Long and Loch Goil. It is situated to the south of Ardpeaton and to the north of Cove on the east shore of Loch Long on the Roseneath Peninsula. It's position by my GPS is 056° 01' 32N; 004° 51'57W. It is farther to the north than the sailing club slip and gives good access to the entrance to Loch Goil.

The slip is not substantial and there is a fairly big pothole in it. I took my car down it and onto the beach which is flat and hard with medium pebbles. Access from the road is easy provided a car spotter is deployed to the north. The slip is not as close to Loch Goil as the one at Glen Mallon, but it is in my view an easier launch. Parking will have to be on the beach so neap tides only until we have used it a few times. For launching I recommend approaching from the south and just driving down the slip before turning the car around on the beach. The Coulport Base is between the slip and Loch Goil so keep well clear and consider contacting the patrol boats on VHF channel 13.