Slightly belatedly, we got 2019 up and running with a trip to the Jumbo. It was a full compliment of eight divers on SP125 and we were probably lucky there wasn’t more as SP312 is still undergoing repairs and is therefore unavailable. It’s never nice to turn people away.

It was an uneventful trip out to the site, although both air and sea temperatures have taken a turn for the cooler since late December when we last got out. Fleeces are strongly recommended above water (particularly in the morning) and 5mm wetsuits below it.
Despite the poor to middling visibility, we all had reasonable dives. There were countless snappers as usual on the Jumbo as well as the odd batfish, barracuda and a moses sole. A couple of the pairs saw a torpedo ray and Nick and I ran into a sea snake near the stern. A few pictures from Cara’s Go-Pro video are attached.

For the second dive we decided to visit Karen’s Dhow in the expectation of bringing back a bit of glassware. The only problem was that even though we landed close to the zero coordinate, the wreck couldn’t be found. This despite a reasonably thorough circular search. Polly did spot some cutlery sets, indicating we weren’t too far away but of the dhow – no sign. After some discussion we headed instead to the nearby No-prop (née Big-prop) Dhow. Same result. It could be that the winter storms have battered the timber dhows out of existence although the engine blocks should have still been there unless they were buried. It could also be that for some reason, we were in the wrong place. We won’t give up entirely and another search in better viz might relocate the wrecks. Let’s hope so.
After that it was back to the club and a generous quantity of decompression fluid.
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Ali Fikree has posted on WhatsApp, some photos of a new wreck he and some others have found off Fujeirah. Ali reports that the wreck is not recent, at least 50m long and split in two. He has been in touch with the Hydrographic Office who were unable to shed any light on its identity. We will keep an update on this as any new wreck is always a welcome find for the history Log. 

​​DAN insurance website: https://www.daneurope.org/home
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The Dive Club meets every Tuesday night in the Dive Bar.
See you there!
 

Hi all, 

2019 has got off to a bit of a slow start with the weather playing havoc with our dive planning. To fill the void last Friday, we decided a brunch was in order so we convened at around midday at the Ajman Hotel (the one that used to be the Kempinski), the unfortunate establishment we had chosen. Actually, we had a pretty good time and we also had a good view of the sea conditions that fully vindicated our decision not to take a boat out.
The brunch officially ended at 4pm but we had stockpiled enough supplies to keep us going for another couple of hours. With the advent of nightfall we adjourned to the 10-pin bowling alley.
At this point the party split into leavers and remainers (why does that phrase sound familiar?) with a majority for remain. A good few games of bowling followed by some pool took the whole thing through to 11pm at which point the party depleted further. The most dedicated remainers stayed until the backstop – sorry closing time – and I’m guessing were feeling a bit delicate in the morning.

A few words from the guilty:
“Woke up phone-less. After recovering with mandolin and yoga I went back to the hotel where they told me that they hadn’t found a phone but would call me if they did. Too hungover to point out the obvious flaw in this reasoning I drove home using the sun as a substitute for Google maps”
Is this what they call pilotage?
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“There are several reasons I gave up brunches years ago. I just remembered them all”
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At 3.00am an unknown dancer whatssapp'd to the group, ''I want to go home''
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Angela is looking into a link-up dive, possibly to the Dara with Dubai Natural History Group. Watch this space.
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DAN insurance website: https://www.daneurope.org/home
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Regards
Ian.

Welcome to 2019 where ever you are in the world. 

Before we embark on our new adventures for 2019, we'd like to share a snapshot of 2018.

Firstly thanks are due to those who kept the show on the road this year:

Before Ian's log though, on behalf of all the members / non members of the club, many thanks go to Ian Hussey. Always one to encourage members to advance with training and updating skills including the weekly log that is sent out to members all over the world ( 250 in total ), which is always a welcome read. Thanks Ian. 

Not forgetting the rest of the crew:
Brian for looking after boats, compressors and setting up the nitrox facility.
Mike for getting stuck into boats and cars whenever he isn’t retired.
Cara and Michelle for training and the try-dives.
Peter for looking after our money and for his awful puns.
Allen for sterling work on the equipment, in particular keeping the tanks full.
Nick for arts, entertainment and general contributions.
A special thank you goes to Mr SD for running the blending course. (more training in 2019 so please stay tuned in for details) The above is a general snapshot of the work that goes into the upkeep of a dive club. 

And finally to all those who came diving with us (42 different divers in 2018) without whom it would all be for nothing.
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As promised then, here are a few thoughts on the year just gone:
2018 started on 12th January as it was to finish on 28th December – with a couple of dives on the Dara. This dive remains a favourite, despite the fact that the viz hasn’t been too good of late and the tendency of fishermen to drape it in nets. Clearing them entirely would be a daunting task (and probably futile) but I’m sure we’ll keep on going back. If we have such a thing as a “club wreck”, this is it.

In between we managed to dive somewhere on most weekends. There was a slight hiatus in April caused by boat registration problems, but the weather has been kinder to us than is sometimes the case, so we didn’t have to cancel very much due to strong winds and high seas. I make it 47 diving days in total, which I think is quite impressive by most standards. Wrecks visited were: Ajman Glory (2), Dara (4), Jumbo (8), Karen’s Dhow, Lion City, Ludwig, Mariam Express (6), Mike’s Tug (2), Nakheel Blocks, Nasteran (7), Neptune (3), Palm Island Tugs, Rob’s Dhow (6), Sea King 5, Suitcase Dhow (quick recce but appalling viz), Taha (4), Victoria Star (14), Wreck X (2) and Zainab (2).

We also did a trip to Ras Al Khaimah to investigate some promising looking coordinates. The numbers proved accurate, but the wrecks were small upturned barges of little interest. Polly is arranging a 'survey' dive in the rocky reef location in RAK. Please get in touch if you anyone is interested.

As well as the west coast wrecks, we also made a couple of trips over to the east coast with Divers Down at the Miramar or The Palms at Radisson Blu, diving the Inchcapes or Dibba Rock. The two most memorable trips were the longer ones.

At the beginning of October we took a trip over the border to dive the Damaniyat islands with Sea Oman at the Millennium Hotel. Before we even got to the islands, we were able to spend 30 minutes swimming with a group of whale sharks. Absolutely awesome. During the actual diving we saw rays, turtles, leopard sharks and the all-round abundance of fish life which is the reason we go there.

The stand-out trip, as it often is, was the Eid Al Adha trip in August, this year to Nungwi in Zanzibar. The service in the hotel and in some of the restaurants was of variable quality but there were no complaints about Spanish Dancer Divers, the dive operation that we went with. As well as some of the same species of fish that we normally see in the Gulf, there were octopus, crocodile fish, lizard fish, leaf fish, mantis shrimps and most bizarrely of all, some Indian Ocean Walkman, a kind of walking fish that may be a throwback to pre-historic times.
The dates of the Eid fell very kindly this year, so we were able to have a longer than usual break, including some sight-seeing in Stone Town. Zanzibar itself is a big contrast with Dubai with its lush greenery, ramshackle houses and decrepit roads. There’s clearly a big Omani influence dating from the time when Oman ruled the island.

And what else? Well, the equipment room is in the process of being revamped. We have acquired a couple of split a/c’s from the Wanderers replacing the old wall units and the window has been blocked in to help keep the temperature down. Some new steel frames have been installed thanks to the sterling efforts of Mikes Anthony and Millis with some assistance from Denis Rooney. Nice work guys.

The nitrox is back up and running and is now the default gas option in most circumstances. This has necessitated a few of us attending a blending course to gain the required skills. A number of us also gained a boat-driving license early in the year which is now a requirement for getting past the coastguard. It’s fair to say that this course wasn’t quite so thorough.
We did a couple of try-dives during the year. Both were successful, resulting in Michelle training a few more divers. This has yet to translate into new members but we’re looking at ways of improving this situation.

The Land Rover Discovery is back on the road after a major overhaul aimed at keeping it running for a few more years.

Of the more light-hearted moments, the two that stand out both concern Mike. First, his close encounter with a swan by the Wanderers swimming pool and second, the retrieval of his keys through a partially opened car window by means of a coat hanger and a radio aerial.

Once again Happy New Year to everyone! Safe diving in 2019 and we look forward to the year ahead.