Once A 406 - Always A 406

Welcome All,
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The next virtual club night on Zoom will be 7.30pm on Tuesday. Again, Robin has organized this and if you want to join please let us no. 
This is actually a good opportunity to catch up with some of the 406 exiles as well as current divers, something I’d like to continue, even when the current problems are over. “Once a 406, always a 406” might sound a bit trite, but it does seem that a lot of people retain an interest and sense of connection to the club even long after they’ve moved on elsewhere.
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To nobody’s great surprise, the curfew rules have been extended until further notice. The government continues to maintain that this is to do with sterilizing the country and there are still photographs in the papers of cybermen walking the roads at night spraying chemicals around. I suspect it’s more to do with keeping the crowds from congregating at Al Rolla Square, Al Fahidi and other places but whatever the reason, nobody with any sense could possibly argue with it.
Since the preceding paragraph was written, the curfew in Dubai has been further extended to 24 hours for a two-week period. The rules as to who is exempt from this and how you prove it are changing on an hourly basis to all round general confusion.
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The Dara bell saga seems to have gone quiet for a while and I don’t know the final outcome, if indeed there was one. In the meantime, past Chairman Peter Blanchflower has sent the following:
With the recent ringing (in absentia) of the Dara bell and with Dara Day approaching (08apr), I happened to browse the inter-web.
A few familiar reports popped up but I had not come across this detailed initial report by the Foreign Office.
The report is logged in the UAE National Archives and provides a great deal of detail including some correspondence between senior officials around the time of the report.
This could occupy a few hours during lockdown. Read on....
https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fo/371/157049/n/102
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Peter’s reference to “Dara Day” is a reminder that 8th April 1961 was the date on which a bomb exploded on the vessel while it was riding out a storm causing the deaths of 238 people. On the same day in 2011, members of BSAC 406, DSDC and ADSAC did a 50th anniversary dive on the wreck which was widely reported in the local press. Next year marks the 60th anniversary. Perhaps something similar should be organized, circumstances permitting.
I’m guessing most of you are familiar with the Dara story but if not, there is a short account on Wikipedia under “MV Dara”. This page also has some links to other sites concerning the ship and its sinking.
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Joining BSAC:
New members to BSAC can join Sharjah Wanderers Diving Club via the website, https://www.bsac.com/membership/select-branch/ . If you enter Sharjah, the club appears. Existing BSAC members can renew by logging into MyBSAC or using this link, https://www.bsac.com/membership/rejoin-today/

Join BSAC and claim your free dive! (406 members only).
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BSAC general website: https://www.bsac.com/home/
Remember also:
DAN insurance website: https://www.daneurope.org/home
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The Dive Club meets (almost) every Tuesday night in the Dive Bar.
See you there.