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Welcome All,
Last weekend being Eid Al Adha, there was plenty of scope for some diving and we took advantage. Allen describes the first day of Eid. Thursday Given the weekend that was in it (Eid al Adha) and the relative inability to head out of the country we decided to get as much diving in as possible for the long weekend of 4 days off. First up Thursday. We had a motley crew of shock-horror Paul (who would dive 8 days a week), Rod, myself and 2 more newcomers in the shapes of Alex and Saman who had been former DSDC members many moons ago. The plan was to dive Jumbo followed by Nasteran. After checking boats, GPS and gear we set off from Al Khan which we made in good time with relatively nice seas. When we got to the wreck site and switched to echo sounder we were shocked to find that it was not working – it seems to be becoming a thing now for these reports. Instead we put the boat over the coordinates and threw over anchor and buoy. First down the line were Alex, Saman and I where we found the anchor just a couple of metres off the main wreck. After a quick secure of the line we enjoyed lovely viz of 5-7 metres, nice swim throughs, and the usual shoals of fish and life. There was a little bit of a current but nothing too heart stopping. Alas it was one of the few times not to catch a glimpse of a ray or two. Once up the line and into the boat Paul and Rod were swiftly down the line. They did however cut their dive short as Rod was feeling a little under the weather. It is that time of year where it’s nice to have flat seas when underway but incredibly hot and uncomfortable when stopped. As Nick points out, at this temperature you don’t wait for the thirst, you drink to stave it off. After successfully getting both back on board we headed in the direction of the Nasteran and discussed options with Rod. We all agreed that the seas nor wrecks were going anywhere and continued past Nasteran and headed for home. We got back in good time with thanks to Paul and headed for the club. I think we were all happy to have some cooling beverages & AC and knowing Rod was all good. ------------------------------- Friday Day 2 of Eid saw us back in the water and welcoming back our treasurer, Peter, who was making his first dive following a long lay-off. How we’ve missed those dreadful puns and the fines for the slightest misdemeanor and…OK but nice to see him anyway. Actually, I couldn’t complain about the fine I incurred before I even got in the water. Loading up the boat in the yard, I helped out loading everybody’s dive bag into the boat. Everybody’s that is apart from… yup – you guessed. My tanks went on board so it wasn’t a big disaster but thanks to Angela (fins) and Allen (BCD, reg and mask) for saving my day. The first target was the Mariam Express, a cargo ship that went down in 2005. The echo sounder was still non-operational but the coordinates are pretty good so we sent the anchor down on a buoy at the zero point and Allen, Cara and Angela went down to look for the wreck. This they did fairly swiftly and Paul and Saleem followed them down. Getting on to the buoy was easier said than done as there was a strong surface current but we all managed to get there in the end with varying amounts of finning. Peter and I were last in the water. Peter clearly showed that his diving skills were intact despite his long absence from the water. Intact, that is, once he’d remembered to put on his weight belt. Ten dirhams, sir. Actually, it was a pretty good dive, around the wreck, through the hold and back to the stern where a friendly turtle came out to see us. The second dive was a short distance away on Karen’s Dhow. This is the remains of a wooden dhow, not extensive by any means but very scenic in good visibility and full of glassware. The viz was fair rather than brilliant but we came back with a few plates to the despair of those who share flats and villas with us. After that it was back to the club for a few refreshments. Thanks to Angela for the pictures. ---------------------------------------- On Sunday, Brian, Paul, Jim, Pravin and Vincent took a trip to the Nasteran. This is an upturned landing craft which has been breaking up for some time now. Some of the old swim throughs have been squashed flat but some new ones are opening up. Brian described the dives as “awesome”, but I don’t have any more details. In summary, a very productive Eid weekend and a very warm welcome to Alex, Saman and Pravin who were making their first dives with us. Many more to follow we hope. --------------------------------------- The virtual club night will be moving to a monthly schedule with the next one due on Sunday at 5pm UAE time (2pm UK). If you want to participate, contact Robin. ----------------------------------------- On Saturday, a few 406 Exiles met up for a drink or two in Wapping. A good time was had by all accounts. ---------------------------------- 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). ---------------------------------- BSAC general website: https://www.bsac.com/home/ Remember also: DAN insurance website: https://www.daneurope.org/home ---------------------------------- The Dive Club meets every Tuesday night in the Dive Bar. See you there.
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Authors-Ian Hussey and Dive Member Contributions. Archives
March 2023
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