Red Dragon Divers News & Events

Training underway:  We have now started a new Ocean Diver/Sports Diver course and dive leader training is also progressing well.  There is a chance we may run another novice training course at the end of this summer.  Contact us to put your name down.

For the third successive year, last summer was less than ideal for diving.  However, we don't let that put us off and we are holding a dive planning meeting on Wednesday, 17th March 2010 so we can put our programme together for this year.  All members are welcome to come along and join in, and there will be light refreshments.  Please let Mike or Jackie know if you plan to be there.

Diving starts on Sunday, 11th April. 

To see previous years' dive plans, click on the links below.

  Dive plans for July and August 2009

    Link to dive planning notes and info

    Link to 'Night Before Check List'

  RDD Diveplan, March-June 2008:

   View previous year's diveplans: iew RDD Diveplan for April 2006

     Link to diveplan for July-September 2007

    Link to diveplan for April-June 2007

New Boat Shed for Red Dragon Divers

Long-standing members of the club will remember we had to vacate our boatshed in Fishguard because of Pembrokeshire County Council's redevelopment plans. Since then we have been trying hard to find an alternative. We now have the chance to renovate one of the old accommodation buildings on the former airfield at Dale. The deal is that if we provide materials and labour, we get the building rent-free for three years and an option to rent at a reasonable price thereafter. We have been lucky enough to get hold of some reclaimed materials at a relatively low price, thus reducing the overall cost of the project. Rich, Rod, Louis, Mike and Jackie formed a working party on Easter Saturday to clear the site and demolish unwanted walls, as Richard's photos show. Now it's just a question of putting on a roof, making good the doors and fixing the windows. Any offers of help will be gratefully accepted - give Mike or Rich a call if you can lend a hand.

Spring 2010

Newsletter

New Members We are pleased to welcome three new members to Red Dragon Divers. They are Donna Hall and Louis Brits, who started training as ocean divers following January’s Try Dive, and Kathryn James, who qualified as a dive leader with her previous club. Donna lives in Trecwn, Louis is from Pembroke Dock and Kathryn lives in Lampeter. We look forward to their company on and in the water, once we start diving again.

Training for the new ocean divers takes place at Fishguard Leisure Centre on Sunday afternoons until 28th March. Club members are welcome to come for a swim or to test kit prior to the new dive season but please ring Mike first on 01348 831862.

Publicity Event Saturday 6th March will see club members and one of the RIBS in Castle Square, Haverfordwest. The idea is to try and attract qualified divers, who don’t currently belong to a club, to join Red Dragon Divers. All members are welcome to come along – please publicise the event among your friends and workmates.

Marine Life Rescue Course Colin Larby is working with the British Divers’ Marine Life Rescue organisation to set up a mammal medic course aimed at helping distressed seals and dolphins around Pembrokeshire’s coast.  Dates and costs are still to be confirmed but if you want to know more call Colin on 01437 763710 or email him at colinlarby@aol.com .

Club Socials The committee would still like your suggestions for social activities for the coming months. Please email wordaid@btinternet.com with your ideas.

Committee Just in case you didn’t know, the current committee is Dave Underhill (chairman), Faye Underhill (secretary), Richard Hughes (diving officer), Mike Williamson (treasurer and training officer), Jackie Williamson (membership, publicity and web), Steve Goodger (social secretary), Rod Fransham (equipment officer), Peter Davies (diving co-ordinator) and Brendan O'Loughlin (new members' representative).

Talks Ian Cundy of the Malvern Archaeological Diving Unit has offered to come and give us a talk on marine archaeology.  Wales coach Alan Thomas has suggested we do a shared event with Cardigan SAC, which would make it a good sociable evening too.  Please let Jackie know if you would like us to take him up on it:  wordaid@btinternet.com

Crayfish and logbooks How carefully do you fill in your log book after each dive? Over-fishing of the UK’s crayfish population means that their numbers are seriously declining. Now, in a bid to reverse the trend, moves are afoot to include them on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which would give the species full protection. This is where your logbooks come into the picture – as divers we can help support the plan by giving details of sightings. In 2009 an online UK reporting scheme was set up at www.seasearch.org.uk (go to the recording section) to enable divers to record details of crayfish spotted on their dives. Additionally in Wales, a project to collect historical records of crayfish sightings from diver logbooks was launched in September 2009. Most divers keep logs of their dives, including date, site, dive time and depth and also a record of some of the memorable things they have seen on the dive - generally if lobsters or crayfish are seen on a dive they are recorded, as they are big and easily recognisable. For more information email Kate Lock: rumbalock@tiscali.co.uk

Not sure what they look like? Crayfish are also known as crawfish, spiny lobster or rock lobster (Palinurus elephas). A marine crustacean, it resembles a lobster but has smaller claws and is spiny. They are also bright red/orange, unlike lobsters, which are blue.                                                    Pic from www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk

Dolphins and Diabetes

Researchers at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego have discovered that dolphins are able to turn on and off diabetes in their bodies. This could lead to a cure for the condition in humans. The researchers found that dolphins can cut or increase the production of insulin according to how much or how little food there is around, an ability that is unique in the animal kingdom. They believe it is because dolphins need to maintain high blood-sugar levels to feed their big brains: when there is little food around they cut the production of insulin and when food is abundant insulin levels return to normal. The scientists also believe that humans once had a similar ability but lost it through evolution. The research was carried out by collecting blood samples from wild dolphins, when the animals ‘volunteered’ for research by approaching the beach and putting their tales in the air to have their blood taken.

Diving We will soon be having our dive planning meeting – date & venue to follow.  If there is anywhere you specially want to dive this season, let Richard know: bexrich@btinternet.com .

This newsletter comes to you from Jackie Williamson.

If you would like to contribute to the next one please email wordaid@btinternet.com

The Wreck of the Hermina

At low water springs on Saturday, 19th September 2009 a group of club members, led by diving officer Richard Hughes, ribbed round to Needle Rock, between Fishguard Harbour and Dinas Island, to survey the wreckage of the Hermina, a three masted Dutch motor schooner that ran agound there in mountainous seas and a north westerly gale in December 1920.

It turned into Fishguard lifeboat station's most famous and heroic rescue, with all but one of the Hermina's seamen eventually being saved.  During the rescue the lifeboat's engine was flooded, leaving its crew with no other means of propulsion than oars, jib and mizzen sail, which was ripped to shreds by the wind.  In all it took the lifeboat three hours to return the two miles to harbour.  Three members of the Hermina's crew, the captain, chief officer and third mate, remained on board.  The captain and his chief officer were later rescued by the cliff rescue team but the third mate was swept away and drowned.

The lifeboat was the Charterhouse and now, ninety years after the event, she has returned to Fishguard, where she is undergoing major repairs and refurbishment.  For the full story of the Hermina rescue, read Tom Bennett's excellent booklet The Story of Fishguard Lifeboats, published by West Wales Publications.  All profits from sales will be given to the RBLI.

These photograhs, taken by Richard Hughes, show parts of the Hermina's engine and flywheel - all that can be seen of the ship above the low water line.

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In case you've forgotten . . .

. . . the current committee is

• Dave Underhill, chairman
• Faye Underhill, secretary
• Richard Hughes, diving officer
• Mike Williamson, treasurer and training officer
• Rod Fransham, equipment officer
• Peter Davies, diving co-ordinator
• Steve Goodger, social secretary
• Jackie Williamson, membership officer, website and publicity
• Brendan O'Loughlin, new members' representative

Club t-shirts

Club t-shirts with the Red Dragon Divers logo are now available in several sizes and two styles (ladies' V-neck and traditional) at £9.99 each from The Bag Shop, Riverside Market, Haverfordwest. Polo shirts are also available with the same logo at £12.99 each.  Orders may take up to a week. PPIPolo shirts are also available at £12.99u prefelub tee-shirts are now available in two styles and several sizes at £9.99 each from The Bag Shop, Riverside Market, Haverfordwest.  If you prefer polo shirts, the cost is £12.99.

Social Diary What do we do when we can't go diving?

We dive as a club on Sundays and Wednesday evenings from Easter until October each year but still find time to get together and enjoy ourselves in other ways too. These are just three of our past events: Annual awards evening and Pot Luck supper Bowling at Milford Haven A walk around Strumble Head followed by Sunday lunch at the Glendower in Goodwick For more information about these events please click on the 'Contact us' button Picture shows club members (and their dogs) at Wolfscastle.

Trained diver from another agency?

Red Dragon Divers welcomes qualified divers from other recognised dive training organisations and can provide cross-over certification, further training and skills development courses to those who join our club.  Call Mike or Jackie Williamson on 01348 831862 to find out more.