Babbacombe, Torquay

Date: Sunday 30th June 2013          Dive Number: 168
Place: Babbacombe, Torquay         Buddy: Andy P 
Time Down: 1100                           Dive Time: 01:00
Time Up: 1200                                 Max Depth: 8.0m
Visibility: 2-3m                               Water Speed: 1kn
Weather: SCT004 9999 F2             Entry: Pier Steps

You can see the remains of a crumbling house from Babbacombe Beach. It was bought for £150,000 as a holiday home. The buyers thought that was brilliant, so rushed the sale through without thinking about getting a survey or even going down to the bottom of the garden. After the price, it may have been the view that really sold it to them. How ironic. 

geograph.co.uk

It was a glorious morning. The sea was flat and the strong sunshine was breaking through the thinning stratus. Dogs were running after tennis balls on the beach, cars were shuffling into parking spaces and the first cups of tea were being purchased from the cafe in between strategic organisation of plastic furniture on the promenade, ready for a roaring day's trade. One diver came up to me and asked for his drysuit to be zipped up, which I duly did without questioning. He will appear again later, so keep reading!

The rest of our contingent arrived soon after myself, Linda gave a short brief and assigned buddy pairs. It took no time to kit up, no piece of kit had been left at the house and everything seemed to work, so we were ready in minutes. I took the decision not to wear an undersuit on this occasion, but settled for a rash vest instead. 

After buddy checks we made our way to the pier steps, stopping on the way to let the fishermen know our plan. Apparently they were more concerned about a solo diver who had gone in moments before, and not told them what he was doing, where he was going and had no surface marker buoy. Naughty. We slipped off the bottom of the steps and surface swam round pier under the fishers until we were clear of lines. I found if I swim on  my back a jet of water shoots down the back of my neck, and possibly through the armpits of my drysuit. I seems drier on my front with my arms tucked in. I reckon I could get away with a few more dives before thinking about having it repaired.

Visibility was about two or three meters initially, we saw a few wrasse and spider crabs to kick us off. At a depth of three meters and soon after I spied an edible crab, a dark shape loomed out of the silt and plankton carrying a high powered torch, illuminating all the interesting rocks and  seaweed below him. He signalled okay to us and disappeared, no buddy in sight. Andy and I exchanged glances - it was the diver who I met in car park, the one the fishers were annoyed about. Some people have no sense, even if it is only a shallow dive. We pushed on against the weak current and up to the swim-through where visibility dropped to near zero, as plankton had accumulated there over the past few weeks. The wall was like a ghostly dark shape and was the only datum that I had, I even had difficulty keeping Andy in my sights. Soon after clearing the swim-through visibility improved again and I spotted a (or 'the') cuttlefish, which help two tentacles up to me, so I reciprocated by giving him two fingers. It's probably a sort of cuttlefish gesture. 

Not much was spotted after that, I did note that the spider crabs were a lot bigger than I remember, some of them seemingly had bulging biceps! We turned round at about 130bar and swam back towards home. It was a lot nicer on the ankles as we were now swimming with the current. We saw more crabs and wrasse, and plenty more plankton. Then, out of the murk we came upon the other buddy team at an oblique angle, which lead to a brief moment of confusion and hilarity as buddy pairings got mixed. We left them to it and I followed Andy's direction to try find the end of the pier. At one point Andy stopped and searched among the seaweed, but found nothing (he later said he though he saw an octopus dashing for cover). We overshot the end of the pier and swam through the stringy seaweed for about fifteen minutes before surfacing right in the middle of the bay, almost in exactly the same place (and for the same reasons as) the dive with Steve G's last year!

Here's the log entry for this dive. No sketches I'm afraid, I got carried away with writing!

Skills Development Course Proposal

Proposal for a BSAC Meteorology Skills Development Course

from

Tony Wisson

OWI with Tiverton BSAC 527

This is a proposal which aims to encourage the creation of a new British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) Skills Development Course (SDC) in meteorology.

Business Case

The weather forecast is one of, if not the most, important element of dive planning. It is vital that divers understand and respect the effects that rapidly changing weather situation can bring. Not only is interpretation of weather forecasts important for planning dive trips, it is critical for diver safety especially when diving in the open ocean.

BSAC offer a brief element of meteorological training in Advanced Diver theory lesson 1 (AT1). Relatively few divers will ever reach Advanced Diver level, but dive planning, boat handling and dive managing can be done by Ocean Divers, Sports Divers and Dive Leaders – all of whom will have not had any meteorological training (aside from anecdotes from experienced members). This demonstrates a significant gap in knowledge, one which could have direct safety implications.

One example of this is the advection of sea fog on an otherwise calm summer’s day. It is not shown on a standard pressure chart, and may not be picked up by ‘mobile phone weather widgets’ that are of growing popularity in planning. Unexpected arrival of this thick sea fog will cause a club boat to potentially lose bearings indefinitely at the same time divers may be in the water whilst the currents pick up.

On a more positive note the ability to interpret forecast charts and understand what weather occurs in certain situations can lead to an enhancement of dive trips, for example a plume of thunderstorms moving in from the near continent may render dive sites along the Kent and Sussex coasts un-diveable, but analysis of the forecast may show Hampshire and Dorset to be favourable, so dive plans can be easily adjusted in the appropriate timescale. This would save members money and improving the overall experience as well as keeping everyone safe.

The British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) run Skills Development Courses (SDCs), such as chart fixing, boat handling, rescue courses etc which are aimed at expanding practical knowledge of a subject only touched on in basic theory lessons. Meteorology is more than suitable to be run as an SDC, as it can be taught at all diver qualification levels.

The UK Met Office is a world renowned leader in weather forecasting, and the Met Office College is designed not only to instruct its own employees, but have the capability to provide courses for businesses and the public, these can be run at HQ in Exeter or there is also an option for trainers to detach out to customers. There is a wonderful opportunity for BSAC to run a SDC in Meteorology through the Met Office College – indeed an exciting prospect to gain meteorological knowledge and insight directly from the professionals!

Proposed Approach

There are two broad options:

• Option 1, as already suggested is to run the SDC through BSAC, giving the qualification a lot of weight. However, if the costs and logistics show this to be unfeasible then
• Option 2, SDCs can be run at club or regional level by BSAC instructors without any Met Office involvement (unfortunately there is currently no structure for Met Office to remotely ‘endorse’ such courses).

For option 1, BSAC would be the organising body and the Met Office the facilitators. BSAC would arrange dates, for instance twice yearly (to keep members interested and maintain good course overturn), for courses to be run by trainers either at BSAC HQ in Exeter or at a regional BSAC centre. BSAC would take the bookings and supply the course information. Classrooms have a capacity for about 30 people. Members visiting HQ will converge in reception prior to the course and be given visitors passes and escorted to the college classrooms. It would be easier to base most of the course on a structured theory lesson to keep trainer costs to BSAC members down, although practical elements would be required at the end of the day to consolidate information. The entire content of the course is tailored to requirement, so it is no problem for them to make a presentation just for us! Met Office has an in-house restaurant where midday meals can be purchased. As with all SDCs accommodation would be for to members to arrange and pay for. At the end of the course members would feed back to the trainer positive aspects and suggest content that can be expanded upon or had been omitted. This feedback process is a standard procedure.

Alternatively the trainer can physically travel to any regional centre where the SDC could also run from, bringing all materials necessary for the course. This would minimise travel for members but may be more expensive. This requires discussion between BSAC and the Met Office. There are also teleconferencing facilities at Exeter HQ; this option could be explored as well.

The Met Office College have stated that they would appreciate direct contact from BSAC branch council regarding initial discussion, subsequent negotiation and finally agreement. The initial contact can be made via phone, with following correspondence either by phone or email. Contact details are available in Appendix 1.

For option 2, the Met Office is not involved at any stage. BSAC could gather theory materials similar to or further to the meteorological theory in AT1, and this can be run by a theory instructor (or above) at club level. The advantages of this are the relative simplicity of organisation, it will be informal at the same time as being informative and costs to members will be lower. However, the SDC will not carry as much professional weight, an opportunity which would be a shame to miss – but it’s a more realistic option. Endorsement could be sought from the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) for example, which have lower overheads.

In either case, the course would last either one or two days. Suggested content and timetables are included in Appendix 2.

Pricing

For option 1: BSAC SDCs cost in the region of £20-40, and unfortunately the Met Office College does not publicly disclose pricing information – so cannot be directly considered in this proposal. The pricing is competitive, and it certainly would be feasible to run a course at the Met Office so that members would not have to pay much more than a normal SDC, but this is heavily dependant on maximum attendance. The less people on the course, the more expensive per head as costs are worked out per individual trainer.

For option 2: Costs could be considerably less, at the same time there is an opportunity for the club to profit from each SDC as courses would be run by members for members, in the same vein as any club theory lesson. Content would be easy to gather, the only real costs involved would be transport to their meeting place and the cost of tea and biscuits!

Next Steps

1. BSAC Branch Council to vote on carrying forward the proposal
2. Assuming positive vote, an appropriate delegate from BSAC branch council will need to contact Met Office College directly to estimate viability of BSAC training through the Met Office.
3. If the Met Office route is found to be an ineffective or too costly, investigate methods of implementing BSAC run SDCs.

  

Supporting Statements

These statements have been collated from the eponymous topic on the BSAC forum on LinkedIn.com – this is the link http://tinyurl.com/on7gold

“I've often thought about the importance of being able to read the weather and adjusting dive plans on the day. I remember a time when it was the most glorious clear day, and we decided to head out on the ribs to a more remote dive site than we originally planned, and then all of a sudden, practically out of nowhere, we were in the thickest fog, and couldn't see where we were or where we were going. It was a worrying period of time while we waited for the fog to clear in the middle of the vast sea”

–      Eszter Horvath-Papp, April 2013

“I have just started preparing for First Class Diver and I think there are probably a number of FCD candidates who would welcome a course such as this. It seems to be a common thread that weather is something that few of us understand really well.”
            - Neil Barker, April 2013

“Personally I think Met should be part of both the BSAC and PADI core instructor courses - not for teaching but for safety and information so instructors (like myself) know how to address conditions on Open Water with novice Student Classes... At present one has to rely on experience and that can bring unexpected surprises!”

- Simon Stickley, April 2013

“I would love to do the course, but traveling from the Netherlands, booking a B&B and also a course would be a bit expencive. If the course would take place on the continent, I'm the first to sign up”.

- Nico Alken, April 2013

“For a good-quality course, I'd be prepared to travel from Manchester, although if there were a potential of a closer session, that would be much preferred!”

-          Adam Rhodes, April 2013

“I've been saying that there was a distinct lack of Weather info on the Advanced Diver course for a number of years and fully support this initiative. Indeed, when it came to my own Advanced Diver lectures, the mantle was passed to me to deliver said lecture as I hold the RYA Yachtmaster certificate and this covers weather forecasting to a decent degree. It's an invaluable skill to have, to be able to predict the weather, especially for those out of the way expeditions an Advanced Diver would be carrying out. It also serves us very well in our boat trip planning too”

- Darryl Mayer, April 2013

General Equiries

moc.enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk

Tel. 01392 885680

Met Office College

Website: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/training/industry/marine

College Prospectus: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/q/2/College-prospectus-print.pdf

Overview of the MOC: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/5/9/training-at-the-met-office.pdf

Address: Met Office College, Met Office, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, Devon. EX1 3PB.

  

Sample 1 Day Course:

0900-1030: Theory: UK Climatology – Looking at air masses and fronts, how to tell the weather regime by looking at the clouds (bread-and-butter met)

1030-1045: Break

1045-1230: Theory: Winds and waves – and a look at the charts and the “Inshore Waters Forecast”

1230-1330: Lunch

1330-1500: Theory: Weather hazards for diver cox’ns – what, when, where… how to avoid? Covering: Strong winds, thunderstorms (lightning and water spouts!), sea fog, sunburn (based on personal experience of divers getting heatstroke!)

1500-1515: Break

1515-1700 Practical: Chart interpretation (dummy dive planning using standard Met Office surface pressure charts).

Sample 2 Day Course (more comprehensive)

Day 1

0900-1030: Theory: UK Climatology – Looking at airmasses and fronts, how to tell the weather regime by looking at the clouds (bread-and-butter met)

1030-1045: Break

1045-1230: Theory: Winds and waves – and a look at the charts and the “Inshore Waters Forecast”

1230-1330: Lunch

1330-1500: Theory: Microclimates, how dive sites differ in the same weather patterns. Looking at sheltered bays, wind funneling, sea breezes.

1500-1515: Break

1515-1700: Workshop/Theory: Weather hazards for diver cox’ns – what, when, where… how to avoid? Covering: Strong winds, thunderstorms (lightning and water spouts!), sea fog, sunburn (based on personal experience of divers getting heatstroke!)

Day 2

0900-1030: Theory/discussion Sources of forecast information – what to use and how to use it (probability forecasts, deterministic forecasts etc)

1030-1045: Break

1045-1230: Theory: Mediterranean and Red Sea Meteorology – applying what we know to our favourite overseas destinations

1230-1330: Lunch

1330-1500: Practical: Chart interpretation (dummy dive planning using standard Met Office surface pressure charts). 

1500-1515: Break

1515-1700 Practical continued, with a group discussion at the end.

Ideally these would be run  by the Met Office, but given relevant materials club instructors would be more than capable to deliver these to their home clubs.

Devonshire Dolphins

Our ocean diver trainees were in Bovisand last Monday on their second sheltered water training dive. However the past few weeks of wall to wall sunshine following such a cold winter has been the perfect recipe for an epic plankton bloom, causing underwater visibility to crash. Some divers report visibilities of mere inches! On this occasion though, the English Channel wanted to give our divers a treat and presented to them a new friend - a bottle nosed dolphin!

Photo: Becky Ham

Swimming with dolphins is one of most popular items on the "100 Things to do Before You Die" list (currently number 8). Most people associate dolphins with tropical waters but Common Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins are distributed, be it sparsly and unpredicrably, as far north as the Shetland Islands. 

www.eoearth.org 

So although they are found in and around British waters they don't make many appearances, and our divers are extraordinarily lucky to have gotten so close to such a friendly and intelligent marine creature so early on in their diving journey. It will certainly be one of the most memorable dives they will ever recount! 

Ocean Diver Training

Over the past eight weeks I have had the honour and privilege of introducing new club members to scuba diving.

We have three new young scuba diving members: Becky, Ollie and Elliot.All three have taken to pool sessions really well. From my memory of Ocean Diver training (only ten years ago!) the first theory and pool lessons feels like an information overload. You want to impress your instructor and appear to be a natural, especially in the pool sessions where you sometimes only have an hour to kit up, get in, complete a series of exercises, exit the pool, de-kit and debrief... Besides, everyone else is making it look easy! I remember glazing over when our pool instructor started to explain regulator stages, high pressure hoses, A-clamps, DIN valves, ponies... for a first timer this is all too much to take in. Fortunately I realise now that I was not in the wrong. The delivery of information available for a lesson is ranked in order of importance. They are as follows:

Need to Know

Should Know

Could Know   

The first time you see diving equipment is in the classroom during the theory lesson. They can be annotated diagrams, or the instructor may even bring in some for a dry practical and let you play with the valves! Setting equipment up at the poolside is another level up from this - in the back of your mind you know that the wrong configuration could slow down the lesson, annoy your instructor or even worse fail completely while underwater - and it would be all your fault! For some anxious people this may compound any reservations they have about going diving at all. 

http://www.bsac.com

I try to keep in mind the Need/Should/Could hierarchy. I have had to stop myself a few times from waffling on and going off on a technical tangent, instead of emphasising the important information relevant to the lesson. I am still quite new to instructing and find that I sometimes have to double back on things I've said because I haven't thought them through. One example is the emergency controlled buoyant lift, and explaining very carefully why the rescuer should inflate their own jacket and not the casualty's, before realising it should be the other way round. That example I felt particularly unprofessional, but my mistake was made during safely contained training session and the only person who suffered was myself from my own mild embarrassment!

You also need to understand the needs of the student and the requirements of the lesson. You can never assume anything. All throughout history lives have been lost where people assume the wrong things. Last Thursday I was asked to run Elliot through a full kit lesson. This came at very short notice, it was in fact my wife who took the phone call just as I was leaving the house. I assumed that I had to use full kit as well, as a good instructor leads by example. On arrival, Elliot was ready in his semi-dry while I kitted myself up in my drysuit. The swimming pool is warm enough without having to sweat buckets in a full body neoprene outfit. Just as we were about to get in the water, Andy our training officer leaned in and whispered, "You do realise that only the student needs to wear full kit?"

I briefly considered getting out of it, but time was getting on. So I chose instead to make progress with the lesson, even if I did look like a sweaty tomato. Sometimes I think that my learning curve as an instructor is as steep as my students!

http://www.ndiver.com

Becky, Ollie and Elliot are very patient with me and I like to think that I am patient with them. Although some exercise drills need a couple of attempts to refine the skill all three seem comfortable and confident in the water.   It is a testament to Andy and Paul and their effective delivery of the theory lessons that all three passed their theory exam with flying colours, and with their pool training drawing to a close the next step will be sheltered open water training in our very own British waters.

As instructors with the British Sub Aqua Club we volunteer our time and do not get paid. The broad smiles after a fun pool session and the feeling that you just may have started someone on their life-long love of diving makes instructing an absolute pleasure. No amount of money can buy that.