Swanage May 2010

I'm organising a weekend's diving beneath and around Swanage Pier on the Sat/Sun just before the Whitsun bank holiday at the end of May. This is an ideal opportunity for trainee and newly qualified Ocean Divers to gain their first sea dive experience in the relative safety of Swanage Bay, and a great venue for you to hone your underwater photography skills.

There may be a chance to do specific training (consult with Pete & Clive first), dependent upon availability of instructors. This is a good opportunity for trainee Sports Divers to gain their first Dive Marshall experience. If there are sufficient Dive Leaders for Ocean Diver trainees, more experienced dive buddies may wish to use the shuttle to dive, for example, the wreck of the S.S. Kyarra (22m-30m) or the Betsy Anna (20m-24m).

Dive Site:

The pier is some 195m long, is in sheltered water and can be dived at any state of the tide. Swanage has a very low tidal range (2m max) and gentle tidal currents (even with spring tides). Diving is shallow, safe and gently slopes to a typical maximum depth of 5m at the end of the pier. Visibility is usually between 3m to 5m.

Marine Life:

In the Summer months, the pier legs are completely covered with invertebrate life and the marine animals are varied and prolific including:- sea squirts, sponges, hydroids, Tom Pot blennies, gobies, wrasse, sea bass, john dories, grey mullet, lobsters, squat lobsters, cuttle fish, squid, shoals of pollack, hundreds of spider and edible crabs, anemones with their tentacles wafting in the current and snails and hermit crabs.

Dates:                    Sat 29th and Sun 30th May 2010

Places:                   No limit

Costs:                     Travel (~300 miles return from mid-Hertfordshire), food & accommodation
                              - plus the Pier Trust charges £2 per day for each diver and £6 for parking

Deposit:                  None required
                              - just need firm commitments by early May (to do the risk assessment)

Minimum Quals:       Trainee Ocean Diver (nearing end of training)
                              - requires a minimum of prior training (needs approval from DO)

Minimum Gear:         Strongly recommend drysuit (sea temperature is around 12 degC in May)
                               - plus extra 2kg or 3kg of weights (as this is a salt water dive)

Contact:                  Steve Begg

For more information please refer to information pack. Click here.

Steve Begg