After a winter of storms and gales, Totnes British Sub Aqua Club is back in action. Since Easter, the club has been diving at weekends, and once the clocks changed, the club also started their Tuesday evening shore dives with fish and chips afterwards. During the stormy months, the club managed to get three of their trainees qualified, so they are ready to go into the sea over the next few weeks to enjoy the start of their diving careers. The club has also had several trips to the Eddystone Lighthouse, where the best diving and often the best underwater visibility are found.

Totnes BSAC is currently looking for new members, whether you’re looking to learn how to scuba dive or are already qualified. If you want to have a ‘Come and Try’ dive using scuba equipment underwater, the club holds sessions at Totnes Pool every six weeks.

A spokesperson for Totnes BSAC said: “If you are an experienced diver, why not come and introduce yourself at Meadowbrook Community Centre in Dartington upstairs from 8 pm on a Wednesday evening – we look forward to meeting you. We are a very active club with lots of training activities such as improving your qualifications or learning to handle our two dive boats. We welcome all different diving agencies, whether you have trained abroad or are wanting to get back to diving after a layoff.”

At the beginning of July, 24 members spent a camping weekend at Porthkerris on the Cornwall Lizard with boat diving and plenty of shore diving. One dive was in conjunction with the National Lobster Hatchery when the club released baby lobsters into the sea. The hatchery milks the pregnant females brought in after being caught in the fishermen’s nets, and once the young are born, the female is released back into the sea. The release of these young lobsters followed the club’s visit to the hatchery in Padstow last autumn, which was one of Totnes BSAC’s dry social events. Also, during the camping weekend, members enjoyed a night dive in a very calm sea.

After the winter layoff, Totnes BSAC had a Club Day at the end of April with workshops to prepare members for the coming season. The sessions included kit maintenance, rescue skills, preparing the boat for towing, and other useful instructions. In the afternoon, one of the club members, who has developed diabetes after having kidney cancer treatment, explained how to dive with him and to make sure that if he experiences a low sugar problem, members have to give him four jelly babies. The other talk was by Peter Holt from the Ship’s Project, a volunteer non-profit organisation, telling members about their research and exploration of maritime historical sites and events, both on land and underwater. One of the projects is ‘The 1000 Tyre Project,’ which is helping clear Plymouth Sound of 1000 tyres which, with other rubbish, were found during the mapping of the seabed.

In March, the club visited Devonport Naval Heritage Museum, which covers the maritime history of Plymouth going back for centuries. The museum has a model of HMS Scylla as she sits underwater in Whitsand Bay, which the club plans to dive in the coming months.

To book a taster session, visit Totnes BSAC’s website or email [email protected]