We're off to the tropical island of Bali for a diving expedition next year!

This year's Christmas dinner will be held at the High Corner Pub, Llanharan on Friday 6th December at 7.30pm.

To see the menu and price:

CLICK HERE

This year's Red Sea trip will visit the Southern Red Sea reefs of Fury Shoal and St. johns Reefs.

There are 18 of us (mostly club members) travelling to Egypt on 21st November for an 8 day trip.

We will fly to Marsa Alam then transfer to stay on the MV Emperor Asmaa liveaboard for the duration of the trip.

The club has now purchased a new towing vehicle to launch the boats.

The new vehicle is a Land Rover Freelander pictured below.

The vehicle was collected form Wrexham and driven back to South Wales the day after Boxing Day.

The Freelander 4WD 2.0 deisel is 2002 registered with just over 200,000 miles on the clock. It has an MOT until August 2019.

The Pajero is dead; long live the Freelander!

This year's Christmas dinner was held at the High Corner Pub, Llanharan on Friday 14th December at 7.30pm.

The evening was a success with over 30 guests showing up. The food was good and the drink flowed so everone had a wonderful time.

The raffle raised £228.35

To see the full menu: CLICK HERE

A new website has just opened offering free art. They offer complimentary gallery-quality 8x10 prints, and a wide variety of wall art & decor.

The idea is to give away the 8x10 art prints free of charge (shipping/handling not included), with the hope that people may be interested in purchasing other pieces.

They currently have over 1,000,000 pieces of Ocean art!

To access the new web site follow this link:

Free Ocean Art

Seventy guests including SAA Regional Representative Ceri Jones and his lovely wife Samantha, a singer booked to entertain, a lovely buffet all prepared and good company. The perfect combination for a Welsh night of hwyl.

Llantrisant Sub-Aqua Club's annual Las Vegas Night was held recently in the entertainment suite of Taffs Well rugby club.

This is a fun event a chance for gents in their dinner suits and ladies in their finery to enjoy a flutter playing blackjack or roulette and hopefully winning enough in tokens to take part in the auction.

Entertainment was provided by Glenn Hopkins, a previous X Factor contestant who soon had guests on the dance floor with a melody of songs old and new.

The buffet prepared and enjoyed by members had healthy options including exotic salads and sushi alongside old favourites, chicken legs, pies and pasties. A tempting display of gateau and cream proved too much for even the most dedicated of weightwatchers and there wasn't much left.

There was a table full of raffle prizes and over £200 of tickets were sold. Club Diving Officer Richie Grice made the most of the draw by announcing the prize winners in his own un-mistakeable style and inviting them to choose the next number.

The highlight of the evening was the auction. A host of items, some bought, some donated all to be sold to the highest bidder on the night to raise money for the club.

Tokens won on the tables could be used to buy items and cash of course is always welcome Club President Peter Rees took charge of the microphone and used his persuasive skills to extract the maximum amount as each item was held aloft for all to see by one of our younger members Lauren Davies.

The night was a huge success and raised much needed funds to help with keeping the club boats in tip top conditions for the forthcoming dive season.

The 2017 AGM was held on Monday November 27th at 7.30pm.

The minutes of this meeting are available in the members section.

On Thursay 7th November Peter Rees will give a talk on Underwater Photography including coral reef destinations around the world to the Glamorgan Wildlife Photograhic Club.

The venue is the Tyla Garw Community Centre, Pontyclun (off A473 via Coedcae Lane). The talk will commence at 7.30pm.

The 2017 AGM will be held on Monday December 2nd at 7.30pm. At the Llantrisant Leisure Centre.

Any proposals for club committee or amendments to the constitution should be made in writing to the club secretary no later than Monday 18th November.

The 2019 SAA AGM will take place on the 6th April 2019 at the Llandudno Bay Hotel, Llandudno LL30 1BE.

The format has changed slightly in that the meeting will not commence until 13.00.

Once finished there will be a break and then a Q&A session where members can put forward their questions to the SAA Executive Committee.

There is also a change in format to the evening event. Instead of the dinner dance we will be holding a 70’s themed disco. Fancy dress is optional, but there will be a prize for the best costume.

Tickets to the disco are £20 which includes a 70’s style buffet. Tickets are going fast, so book yours at: admin@saa.org.uk or 0151 2871001

Following the huge success of this year's trip to the Philippines, there will be another similar trip in April/May of 2020.

The location is: the 5 star Atlantis Dive Resort on Sabang Beach in Puerto Galera district on the island of Mindoro, Philippines.

The trip will include an underwater photography workshop with the renowned professional photographer Alex Tattershall.

There will be ten days unlimited diving (max 5 per day) which includes free nitrox, and a day trip to an amazing dive site known as Verde Island where the visiblity is gin clear and the marine life is astounding.

Accommodation will be on a full board basis with a $100 voucher to spend in the resort; (includes the bar).

Anyone interested or for more information
- see Peter Rees

Colourful Sea Horse - Puerto Galera

August is a great time of year to visit the Red Sea as there are calm seas, healthy reefs, water temps between 28°c and 30°c, a good chance of a dolphin encounter and if you're lucky you may even get a glimpse of a shark or two!

Oonasdfivers have some great offers with prices starting from as little as £895 per person, that includes flights from Birmingham, VISA meet and greet, twin share Beach Safari Tent, transfers, full board & selected soft drinks, plus 5 days unlimited diving! Subject to availability.

With unlimited shore diving or off shore RIB diving there is something suitable for the absolute beginner to the seasoned diver, our southern dive resorts of Marsa Shagra, Marsa Nakari & Wadi Lahami truly do have something to offer to everyone.....

If you would like further details on any of these or any other destinations please don't hesitate to drop us a line at info@oonasdivers.com or even better give us a call on 01323 648924.... we love to talk!

The recent club trip to Puerto Galera in the Philippines was a resounding success.
The weather and diving conditions were superb throughout the trip and conditions were ideal for underwater photography.

Some examples of the photos taken during the trip can be seen HERE

With the introducrion of the new data protection legislation on 25th May 2018 (commonly known as: General Data Protection Regulations or GDPR), the club has adopted a new privacy statement with reference to the data that we necessarily collect and record on out membership.

All our members are encouraged to read the privacy statement at regular intervals in case of any updates or amendments.

The Privacy Statement can be found: HERE

The 2018 SAA AGM was held at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool on Saturday 21st April.

Usual crap!

This is an article by Phil Dewhurst recounting his recent trip to the Maldives and the effects of encroaching old age on his diving.

To read the full article Click Here

We are holding a Try-A-Dive night at Llantrisant Leisure Centre on:
Monday 22nd May
7-30pm to 8-30pm.

Beginners welcome.

Equipment provided, all you need bring are your bathers and a towel.

Minimum age 14 years, all under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Cost £10

To book your place or for more information contact Martin 07919052054 or Phil 07548843821.

Limited spaces. Pre-Booking essential.

When you train in our swimming pool, you’re probably familiar with the stinging sensation of chlorine hitting your nostrils when you approach the water. Except that’s not just chlorine — it’s also urine, a new study suggests.

A study into the amount of urine in swimming pools has revealed just how high the levels are - and the results are NOT pretty.

The research, from the University of Alberta, Canada, found that the average swimming pool contains 75 litres of human pee — proving true the commonly held belief that people relieve themselves underwater.

Researchers developed a test to measure the amount of urine in the water and took more than 250 samples from 31 pools in various cities.

The results showed one220,000 gallon pool, which is about the size of our pool, had 75 litres of urine.

Enjoy your training session!

Please note that anyone who hasn't paid this year's subscription fees is no longer a valid member of the club.

This means that you will not be able to use the pool facilities, the club boats or undertake any diver training as an instructor or trainee. This includes attendance at lectures.

The club depends on members' subscriptions to survive. We have recently incurred massive expenditure in replacing our towing vehicle. We are relying on the income received from members fees to keep the club afloat.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Following the recent ballot for Executive Officer the votes received are as follows:

• John Gough 21 votes

• Claire Mortimer 13 votes

As a result of the votes received John Gough will take over the role of Executive Officer after the AGM on Saturday 1st April 2017.

Our thanks go to all of the clubs that submitted their votes and also to the two candidates.

Changes are being proposed to the schedule of cylinder testing which will affect all sports divers in the UK and worldwide.

The new standard will require all cylinders to have an ANNUAL visual inspection in addition to the hydrostatic test every five years.

The new schedule is being proposed by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) but there is no evidence that introducing this standard will imporove safety.

There will be a vote on this change and the UK will be voting "NO" but this will not affect the outcome since most countries are in favour.

Despite all the efforts of the UK dive industry, this new standard will almost certainly be introduced in the near future

.

As a diving club we need to keep certain information about our members. This information includes personal data (Name, Address, Telephone etc.) and qualification data (Diver Grade, Instructor Level etc.).

This information is stored electronically in a database and in paper files both kept at a secure location.

Since we are registered with the Data Protection Agency we have a duty to keep all this information secure and confidential. This is why the members' phone numbers/email addresses are kep in the members section which is password protected.

Further to this; all members have the right to see any information we hold on them and to withhold any information from being included on the club database or web site.

The Christmas dinner was held in the High Corner, Llanharan on Friday 9th December at 7.30pm.

The cost is 15.95 per person. Places must be booked in advance with a £5.00 deposit with Alyson or Laura.

To see the full menu: CLICK HERE

The 2016 AGM was held on Monday November 7th at 7.30pm.

Any proposals for club committee or amendments to the constitution should be made in writing to Phil Dewhurst the secretary no later than Monday 31st October.

This year’s Sub-Aqua Association’s AGM marked the fortieth anniversary for the organisation. The event was held at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool on Saturday 14th May.

Delegates from 23 clubs were present and the South Wales region was represented by Llantrisant SAC, Trident and Haven Divers.

Chairman Collin Bryan and Executive member Mark Blackstock presided over the award ceremony and again Llantrisant SAC were awarded the Golden Club Shield.

Our D.O. Peter Rees was also recognised on the night. Peter was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for his work with the club, the SAA and the sport. Peter has been a member of the SAA for more than 30 years and Diving Officer of LSAC for 20 years.

Full report and photos on the Postings page

The 2016 dive season is almost upon us.

The first event planned is a boat trial day on Sunday 27th Marchl (Easter Sunday) where both boats will be launched from Gelliswick Bay and given a good run out to test them for any problems prior to the diving getting underway.

If the weather is favourable we plan to take them out past St. Anne's head and possibly around the islands of Skomer and Skokholm.

The first Club Dive weekend is then planned for the following weekend: 2nd & 3rd April. Details of this weekend to follow.

Sadly Alison of Oonasdivers passed away on September 14th just 6 weeks after a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Alison, through her work at Oonasdivers has always been so helpful to us as a club. Most of our Red Sea diving trips have been organised through Oonasdivers of Eastbourne and they have all been well run and successful trips. She will be sadly missed and remembered with great affection.

Our deepest sympathy and condolences as a club go out to all her family and friends.

You will be sadly missed.
Bydd yn cael ei golli yn anffodus i chi.

The Ponty Big Bite took place on August 1st & 2nd. This was our 9th attendance at the event. Once again the event went well.

Members of the club were on hand throughout both days; Saturday and Sunday, to tell visitors about our sport our club and the SAA.

We also handed out leaflets and collected a list of contact details from people who may be interested in becoming divers and we will text them nearer the time with dates and times for a series of try-a-dive events we intend to run later in the season.

For a full report Click Here

The 2014 Sub Aqua Association AGM will be held on Saturday April 18th at the: Hilton Hotel, North Promenade, Blackpool.

The annual diner & dance will held in the evening.

The AGM is definitely worth attending and gives club members the opportunity to meet members of the national executive and to mingle with SAA members from other clubs.

In January the club ran a diving trip to the Philippines. We visited the resort of Puerto Galera on the island of Mindoro.

Based in the Atlantis Dive Resort on Sabang Beach the trip was a resounding success and thoroughly enjoyed by all who travelled there. The Facilities were second to none and the diving was superb.

To see a full report - CLICK HERE

At the 2014 Sub-Aqua Association AGM in Liverpool our club was nominated as "The Golden Club"

This is a fantastic honour for our club and reflects all the hard work put in by all the members during the past year to make our club one of the most successful and active diving clubs in the UK.

The award is made by the SAA Executive and carries the following engraving:

This is the second time our club has won this award and the only club in Wales has been awarded this prestigious title.

Vobster Quay, the inland diving centre at Radstock, Somerset is to stage a tenth anniversary celebration next month.

Operators Martin and Amy Stanton will hold the “big birthday bash” on 7 and 8 September.

Activities at Vobster Quay will include diving on both days and a Saturday night party with barbeque, bar, live music (covers band Big Mamma and the Misfits) and fireworks.

Access to all the activities plus a tent pitch for Saturday night costs £10 per head, excluding food and drink.

Attendees are asked to reserve their tickets at www.vobster.com/preregister.php.

The 36-acre Vobster Quay provides diving in depths ranging from 6m to 36m, with underwater attractions and dive support services.

The 2014 Sub Aqua Association AGM will be held on Saturday April 12th at the: Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool.

The annual diner & dance will held in the evening.

The AGM is definitely worth attending and gives club members the opportunity to meet members of the national executive and to mingle with SAA members from other clubs.

Why is beach cleaning so important?

Some of our best-loved marine wildlife is under threat from the waste and litter in our seas, with hundreds of species accidentally eating or becoming entangled in litter. Litter on our beaches is also hazardous to people so we all have a part to play in turning the tide on litter.

To see the survey results from the most recent Beachwatch event, visit our latest Beachwatch Results page.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution wants divers to take part in an online survey so that it can learn more about their activities and campaign more effectively to increase diving safety and reduce emergency call-outs.

Working in conjunction with the British Diving Safety Group (BDSG), the RNLI is asking “divers and dive instructors in the UK to take ten minutes to complete an online survey, which looks at their reasons for participating in diving, how often they take to the water, preferred methods and locations, experience and training, awareness of possible hazards and use of safety measures”.

The findings will be used to “help the RNLI and BDSG develop tailored and relevant safety messages for the diving community”.

The online survey was launched on Tuesday, 27 August and runs for nine weeks, until Tuesday, 29 October. In addition, the RNLI is interviewing divers directly at dive sites and at the Dive 2013 exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC on 26/27 October.

Survey participants are offered free entry into a prize draw. First prize is a DX dive computer, donated by Suunto, and second prize an Abyss 22 regulator donated by Mares.

The annual Las Vegas night took place on Friday14th February 2014 at the Taffs Well Rugby Club.

Everyone present had a great time and the whole event was a resounding success.

Many thanks to Sue and Dave Bennet for organising the event.

To see thel report - CLICK HERE

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The 2013 AGM was held on Monday 14th January 2013 at 8.00pm in the Leisure Centre.

Following the meeting the club has two new committee members and a new Vice President.

Gareth Jones standing down as Vice Chairman becomes the new Vice President and Ray Williams becaomes the new Vice Chairman taking over from Gareth.

Tony Rees is the new Marine Awareness Officer taking over from the position vacated by Conor Wilmot.

In 2014 the club plans to visit Palau in the Pacific Ocean. This should be a fantastic trip and there is even a series videos on line for members to see what an amazing place Palau is.

• Palau visitors video

• A taste of Paradise

• Diving Blue Corner - Palau

• Palau Diving

• Helecopter ride over the Rock Islands

At the 2012 SAA AGM in Daventry on April 21st the South Wales region was awarded the "Golden Region Award" for outstanding acheivement throughout 2011.

Throughout the year the region has run many regional courses and has gained several regional skill instuctors including boathandling, EDFA/O2 and Nitrox; and another Regional Instructor in Richie Grice our Training Officer.

Although the award is for the whole region, it is mainly due to the hard work of some of our own club members (especially Richie and Ceri) that the award was won.

See the SAA page

The 2012 Sub Aqua Association AGM was held at the Hellidon Lakes Golf & Spa Hotel, Daventry on Saturday 21st April 2012.

Our club was represented by Peter Rees, Richie Grice, Phil Dewhurst, Samantha Ady and Ceri Jones who was also there as the South Wales Regional Rep.

Attending the AGM gives members an excellent opportunity to meet members of the National Executive and SAA divers from other clubs and regions.

During the AGM the club was awarded the "George Arnold" trophy for conservation. The South Wales region was awarded the "Golden Region" award and Richie Grice our Training Officer was awarded with his Regional Instructor certificate.

The annual dinner & dance was held in the evening folowing the AGM where the DO won no fewer than three raffle prizes!

Two of our club's longstanding friends Dave Walker and Ella Statnik are to be married later this year.

Although they do not live in the UK, they have both been on numerous club trips including; the Red Sea, Maldives, Andaman Sea & Cocos Island.

Dave, who is currently living and working in the USA met Ella whilst working in Moscow. They are both coming on the Red Sea trip this coming September after which they will fly back to the USA where they will get married.

We wish them all the very best and every happines for the future.

The Deep Stop option has become a much-touted feature on dive computers these days.

Theoretically, incorporating deeper deco/safety stops into your ascents contribute to a safer trip back to the surface.

However, studies unveiled at the 2008 DAN Tech Diving Conference and the 2008 Decompression and the Deep Stop Workshop, including tests conducted by the Navy’s Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU), indicate that deep stops might not be a benefit after all. In fact, some experts say deep stops might actually increase rather than decrease your chance of DCS.

It is currently SAA/LSAC policy to teach the DeeP-Stop system. Whether this will continue in future remains to be seen.

The DeeP-Stop system is certainly more complicated than the safety stop system and this complexity could negate any advantage since errors are more likely.

At present there is no indication that the DeeP-Stop system will be dropped by the SAA. However, this could change if more evidence that the DeeP-Stop system is less safe than the more established safety stop system.

The debate continues.

The 2012 AGM was held on Monday 16th January 2012 at 8.00pm in the Leisure Centre.

Following the meeting the club has two new committee members and one new club officer: Conor Wilmot is the new Marine Awareness Officer and Ceri Jones will take up the new post of Committee Member without portfolio.

In addition, we also have a new club officer: Paul Gray is the new Deputy Training Officer to assist the club training officer and to deputise when the training officer is absent or unavailable.

Tidal Energy Ltd. have now received the go ahed for a tidal generator in Ramsay Sound.

It will consist of a structure incorpoating three underwater propellers which are capable of generating electricity when driven by the strong tidal stream in Ramsay Sound.

If successful this project could lead to more of these installations being constructed around the UK coastline. The environmental impact will be closely monitored but early indications are that there will be very little impact on the surrounding marine ecosystems.

For more information see the

Non Technical Summary.

The issue of diving in the area was reviewed by the UK Government's Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) prior to granting consent. The Marine Coastguard Agency considered that a safety zone is not required and that the following mitigation is sufficient:

It is proposed that when the construction of the project commences a notice to mariners will be issued and notice given again to all local dive groups, boat groups and local harbours. Once the deployment is complete Tidal Energy Ltd will make further contact with the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) to notify of the exact coordinates of the deployment for update of UKHO admiralty charts.

See the Notice to Mariners

Club Secretary Phil Dewhurst and club member Mike Rees recently took their wives on a five star all inclusive holiday to Marsa Alam in Southern Egypt.

They stayed in the Lamaya Hotel part of the Coraya Medinat group which is situated on the Red Sea coast five minutes from Marsa Alam airport and only ten minutes from Port Ghalib where many safari boats set sail from.

Right next to the hotel is the "Coraya Divers" dive centre which provided Phil and Mike with some superb diving together with club DO Peter who also joined them.

To find out how they got on read the full write up by following the link:

Steve and Ellen were on a diving holiday staying at the Shark's Bay Umbi Diving Village with Oonasdivers.

During a dive on the 3rd April, they were down at 30 metres on the glassfish pinnacle in Sharks Bay practising their photography when they spotted the first whaleshark of the season cruising at about 20m. The team and guests at Sharks Bay are looking forward to seeing many more.

Currently there are many reports from both the northern and southern red sea dive centresthat marine life is far more abundant than normal due to there being less boat traffic over the last few weeks. Now could possibly be the best time to head for Egypt and take advantage of some of the great offers currently available.

Milford Haven Coastguard is to close as part of major changes to the service across the UK.

In Wales, Milford Haven and Holyhead are to close as the number of centres across the UK is reduced from 18 to 8.

Although a consultation is to be launched, it is proposed that Milford Haven will close in 2012/13 and Holyhead a year later.

The port of Milford Haven is the biggest in Wales and the third largest in the UK and it handles 25% of the UK's petrol and diesel.

Talking about the threat to the Milford haven Coastguard centre, earlier this week, Rhys Sinnett, Plaid Cymru's Assembly Candidate in Preseli Pembrokeshire said: "Milford Haven is the 4th largest port in the UK. It is an exceptionally busy waterway with the oil refineries and LNG facilities. The idea that there is any chance of us losing our coastguard station has to be strongly opposed.

"The local knowledge of the coastguard officers based here is far more valuable that anything a more remote service could possibly offer and on top of that we absolutely cannot afford to keep losing quality jobs and services from this area. "People along the Haven are already angry that there is even the slightest suggestion of this service being threatened.

There are currently 23 Coastguard jobs at Milford Haven.

Attacks by what is believed to be a single oceanic whitetip shark have left several Red Sea snorkellers seriously injured.

From reports emanating from Egypt and international press, confusion surrounds how many people were hurt and how seriously in the incidents, near Sharm el Sheikh.

In a statement issued yesterday, Egypt’s Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS) referred to “three Russian tourists” attacked “in the last 24 hours”.

The “three separate incidents” occurred in “an area north of Naama Bay”.

One of the injured, said the CDWS, was “reported to be in a critical condition”.

However, quoting Mohammed Salem, Director of Sinai Conservation, and health officials, a number of press reports have stated that the attacks numbered four, and that all the snorkellers were gravely injured.

The nationalities reported have varied from four Russians to three Russians and a Ukrainian.

Reports state that two snorkellers were attacked together on Tuesday and two more together yesterday, in the Ras Nasrani area near Sharm. Serious injuries have been listed, but details vary.

Club members have the opportunity to buy brand new Scubapro gear at bargain prices.

The discounts range from 30% to 70%

For full details and a list of gear available go to the members section.

This is quite good.

To view it Click Here

Other interesting videos can be seen on this web site too.

On the evening of Monday September 20th Mike Burley the SAA chairman visited the club at our meeting place in the Llantrisant Leisure Centre.

Among the topics discussed were diver training and regional courses. Mike also mentioned the forthcoming DO's conference in Poole in November.

For a full write up of the evening:

Click Here

Dr Andrea Marshall the "Queen of the Mantas" will speak about her manta ray research in Mozambique at this year's dive show at the NEC in October. [video]

During her research she also visited Hani Faru lagoon in the Maldives to study the mantas there.

Hani Faru will be one of the sites visited by this club during the 2011 Maldives Trip.

Other speakers at the NEC will include; Paul Rose who made the BBC documentary series "Oceans" and Martyn Farr the world famous cave diving nutter.

Ceri Jones our marine conservation officer has been confirmed as the the new South Wales Representative of the Sub-Aqua Association.

During the 2010 SAA AGM in Harrogate on April 24th Ceri was welcomed to the National Council by SAA chairman Mike Burley.

This is the first time a member of our club has held a position on the National Council of the SAA.

Ceri will now be responsible for ensuring that national and regional courses are being run in our region. He will also liaise with WASAC and keep the SAA informed of events in South Wales.

Ceri joined our club back in 1991. Since then he has been an active member of the club. He currently holds the Dive Supervisor qualification and is an Open Water Instructor. Over the years ceri has occupied various positions on the club committee including Training Officer and WASAC rep and is currently the Marine Conservation Officer.

He has travelled and dived extensively during his career including club trips to Scotland, The Red Sea, The Maldives, Thailand and Costa Rica. He has also visited Australia's Great Barrier Reef and dived with Great Whites in South Africa.

He is currently a PADI staff instructor and has completed part III of his commercial diver ticket.

In the next few weeks Ceri will be visiting all the SAA clubs in our region to assess their various needs.

We wish him well in his new position.

This year the club is running TWO trips to the Red Sea in the autumn.

Training Officer Richie is running a land based trip to Sharm el Sheikh based at the Coral Heights resort. The trip runs from October 31st to November 7th. Flights will probably be from Bristol.

Diving Officer Peter is running a liveaboard trip from Sharm el Sheikh aboard the MV Freedom 8. This trip will run from November 1st to 8th and will visit dive sites like the Thistlegorm, Abu Nuhas (wrecks), Ras Mohamed and the Straits of Tiran. Flights will be from Cardiff.

There are currently spaces available on both trips so anyoune interested should contact either Richie or Peter.

Richard Williams has produced a set of stunning posters for display in the cabinet on Level 3 in the Leisure centre.

The posters represent the different aspects of our club including Membership, History, Marine Conservation, Try-A-Dive and Forthcoming trips abroad. There will even be on displaying our 50 Years od Scuba Diving logo.

These magnificent posters are bound to have an impact on anybody visiting the Leisure Centre who sees them and they are a great way to publicise the club.

Many thanks to Richard.

To view the posters

click here

The Suunto D4 is a full-decompression dive computer that incorporates four operating modes together with dive planning and analysis functions.

It calculates the safe dive time and any necessary deep stops, to make every dive as carefree as possible.

Programmed to sample depth three times a second, Suunto D4 records highly accurate data on the true depth reached. Surface time and depth alarms help the diver make responsible decisions both in and out of the water.

In both Air and Nitrox mode, the clear, easy-to-read screen can display the current and maximum depth; current time, dive time, decompression time and temperature. Audible and visual depth and time alarms warn when it's time to start the ascent.

In Nitrox mode, the user can increase the time underwater by adjusting the oxygen content of gas between 21% and 50% and adjust the PO2 limit between 0.5 and 1.6 bar.

The Suunto D4 uses the Suunto RGBM algorithm for decompression calculations which allows the diver to choose between taking traditional safety stops or, with the Deep Stops feature activated, taking the safety stops at depth.

Before diving, the no-stop-time planner helps to prepare for the dive. By entering the planned maximum depth of the dive, the Suunto D4 will tell how long to dive before needing a decompression stop.

After diving all the data in the computer's logbook can be instantly reviewed.

The Suunto D4 is also compatible with the optional Suunto Dive manager PC software, which provides more in-depth analysis and graphical representation of the dives.

The Suunto D4 not only serves as a functional diving watch, but also as a total timepiece. With dual time, calendar date, daily alarm, and stopwatch, it doesn’t need to be taken off when the dive is over.

Constructed from lightweight, composite material, the design is contemporary and sleek and it comes with a scratch guard that helps to protect the display against scratching.

Back in November the club successfully applied for a grant to the Welsh Church Act Fund to help in the costs of replacing one of our boat engines.

The engine had suffered severe internal damage which was most likely caused by water corrosion and the cost of a full repair was estimated to be in the region of £6500.

Following a special committee meeting held to decide the best course of action it was decided that the best option was to go for a full replacement engine as the cost of this was not significantly more than the cost of repairing the old engine.

It was also decided to explore the possibility of obtaining grant aid to assist with the cost of the new engine.

In mid December we received the good news that we had secured a grant for £5,300 from the WCAF.

The new engine has now been purchased and fitted to the boat and the boat returned to the club in working condition.

The new engine, a Mercury OPtimax 150 was supplied and fitted by Quinquari Marine in St. David's, Pembrokeshire.

This is being held on the morning of Sunday 7th March 2010.
Open from 10AM

Venue:
The Car Park
South Glamorgan County Hall,
Atlantic Wharf,
CARDIFF.
Admission £3.00, accompanied children free.

Map link to venue here

The 2010 AGM took take place on Moday 25th January 2010 at 9.00pm in the Leisure Centre.

For a full report go to the members' section of this web site.

Llantrisant Sub-Aqua Club are set to reap the benefits of a cash investment. It was announced that the Sports Council for Wales Community Chest scheme is ploughing £950 into their Try-A-Dive scheme.

The club is running a series of Try-A-Dive nights where members of the public are invited to come along and have a go at scuba diving in the safe confines of a swimming pool. As many as twenty people at a time can turn up on the night and this has put a strain on club equipment particularly the air cylinders.

Phil Dewhurst club secretary said: “this grant money will be put towards the purchase of extra cylinders and hopefully give even more people the opportunity to come along and sample the delights of swimming and breathing underwater."

Community Chest, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year is a National Lottery grant managed by the Sports Council for Wales and supported locally by Rhondda Cynon Taff County Council. It is designed to encourage more people to become more physically active, more often.

Since its inception in 1999, communities across the length and breadth of Wales have been investing heavily in sports and physical activity projects.

The Sports Council for Wales has recently raised the level of grant available. Organisations keen to develop sport and physical activity in Wales can receive up to £1000 for a qualifying project over a twelve month period and Llantrisant Sub-Aqua Club is one of the latest to benefit.

In late 2009 Parliament will enact the Marine and Coastal Access Bill.

This new law will establish a new network of marine conservation zones to protect species and habitats of national importance.

On Wednesday 14th October Vicky Swales will present a lecture on marine surveys around the Welsh coast and the likely impact of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill on Wales. The the introduction of new Marine Protected Areas will also be discussed.

For more details:
visit the

Marine Conservation Page

A row over scallop-dredging in Cardigan Bay has escalated after fisheries regulators ignored a demand by the Welsh Assembly’s wildlife advisers for an immediate and total ban in areas protected by European conservation legislation.

The call by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) for all scallop-dredging authorisations to be suspended pending completion of investigations into threats to wildlife followed a formal complaint to Brussels by four conservation groups, who accused the UK and Welsh governments and fisheries regulators of defying EU law by failing to stop scalloping-boats disturbing dolphins and seals and damaging or destroying their habitats and breeding sites.

The CCW is now effectively backing that line, saying that current dredging is breaking European wildlife-protection legislation.

Written statement by the
Welsh Assembly Government - Elin Jones,
Minister for Rural Affairs

In February this year, as a result of increased concerns about scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay, I made a statement that explained that I had asked my officials to work with the Countryside Council for Wales, the Welsh Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and other fisheries managers to review the current management arrangement for the Scallop Fishery.

The Groups findings have been presented to me and officials will now be meeting stakeholders in July for informal consultation prior to the issuing of a formal consultation over the Summer on the package of measures that I hope to put in place in time for the coming season as well as consideration of the longer-term management of the scallop fishery.

My aim is that these measures will be the first stage in securing the sustainable management of the scallop fishery as part of a healthy marine ecosystem.

Save Our Seas campaign

Our Marine Conservation Officer (MCO) Ceri Jones is currently in South Africa undertaking commercial diver training. So there won't be any monthly blog until he returns later in the summer.

Every month Ceri will be informing members about events, news and all things marine that will be taking place during the diving season and throughout the rest of the year.

You will find this blog on our Marine Conservation page.

We must now be the only club in the world with a Blig and a Blog!

The Maldives trip in May was a resounding success.

The trip aboard MV Sea Queen visited the southern atolls almost as far south as the equator.

The coral reefs down south were in pristine condition and were absolutely stunning. The fish life was prolific too. There were several encounters with large numbers of grey reef sharks.

A gallery of underwater photographs from the trip has now been uploaded on to this site.

To see a full report of all the dives we did on this trip
click here

To view the Underwater Photo Gallery
click here

There was an incident involving one of our club boats and the Little Haven inshore lifeboat on Sunday 5th July.

The boat skippered by Captain Sensible and his crew of Dai Flipflop, Crabhook John & Gareth the Novice ran into trouble when Captain Sensible was unable to start the engine.

After having launched the boat through ten foot surf the boat was left bobbing up and down helplessly beyond the waves on Broad Haven beach.

Parrot Fish Pete and Phil the Post Dewhurst were left on the beach cursing and wondering what the hell was going on.

Meanwhile Captain Sensible put down the anchor (because that was a sensible thing to do) while he tried unsuccessfully to start the engine.

Eventually the Little Haven lifeboat came to their rescue and towed them to safety.

For further reports go to the "Postings" page.

This is to remind members that with the start of the new 2009 diving season, a new club rule comes into effect:

Rule 1.12: All divers must now carry some form of Surface Location Aid (SLA) such as an S.M.B., a delayed S.M.B., a Marker Flag, an Inflatable Sausage, etc. The suitability of any SLA will be determined by the Dive Marshall on the day. The use of safety strobes is to be encouraged but is not mandatory at this time.

Failure to comply with this rule could invalidate the diver's third party liability insurance.

The use of strobes is encouraged but is not mandatory at this time.

Last Monday (20th April), the club chairman Gatch, actually bought a round of drinks.

Stunned onlookers could hardly believe their eyes as Gatch bought Billy Whizz and Dai FlipFlop a drink from the bar in the Leisure Centre.

Dai FlipFlop said he normally buys the first couple of drinks because he gets a lift down to the club meeting.

Billy said that on Monday they decided to have an extra drink rather than their normal couple.

"You don't want another one?" he was heard to ask, but the others did and so he made his way muttering to the bar.

The lady serving behind the bar said it only goes to show that "wonders will never cease".

LIDS 2009 was held on the 28th & 29th March 2009 at the Excel Exhibition Centre, London.

It was an excellent event and well worth attending even it is a long way to travel.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!
an evening of
superb entertainment

On Friday Night 16th of January 2009 the club held another Las Vegas Style social event. The night was a total success and raised £480 for the club funds.

For the full story read Phil's posting page.

The full report of the recent trip to Cocos Island has now been published with the full story and photos.

Click here to see it

The 2009 AGM will be held on Monday January 19th at 9:20pm.

Any nominations for committee positions must be made in writing by a proposer and seconder to the club secretary at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

Similarly, any proposed changes to the constitution must be made in writing by a proposer and seconder to the club secretary at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

Note: in order to facilitate a change to the constitution a majority of a least 75% of members pesent and voting is required.

The charter is now full with all 18 places filled which means we will get the maximum discount on the charter price. The final payment is due at the beginning of August.

There will be a meeting held very soon to go over any final points that need covering e.g. baggage allowance, what travel vaccinations are reqiured, money issues, etc.

We will also need to discuss getting up to Heathrow Airport and back. A minibus has been arranged so we will need numbers to be able to work out costs. Not everyone is travelling back from Costa Rica on the same dates so some may not require a seat on the bus on the way up to Heathrow. We also need to determine pick up points.

For up to date information and photographs
CLICK HERE

As you can see from the above photograph, the Panorama Explorer sank on her maiden charter to the southern Red Sea. This happened last October about two weeks after travelled there aboard the Sea Flower.

We were supposed to be aboard the Panorama Explorer but she was not quite finished in time for our charter so we went aboard Sea Flower instead. At the time we were disappointed at not having the brand new boat but it turned out to be a lucky escape.

The Sea Flower may not have been a brand new boat but at least she stayed afloat.

Oonasdivers have discontinued their agency with the owners of both the Panorama Explorer and the Sea Flower and have now become the agents for the popular Blue Planer Fleet.

This year we hope to charter one of the Blue Planer fleet for a charter to Zabargad and Rocky island.

A sport diver and amateur photographer has snapped a record-breaking 50ft great white shark off the coast of Ireland.

The diver and his wife were diving off the northern coast of Ireland, between the mainland and Tory Island when he spotted the beast. The pair were on a day-long dive trip with a number of diving buddies.

“We were on our second dive of the day when we saw it. The first dive had been near the mainland’s shore and didn’t offer much other than a handful of crustaceans,” said Jester.

“I was moaning to April on the boat ride to the middle of the channel about the lack of life. I hadn’t seen visibility like that in 20 years of diving the Irish coast and I was gutted that the early dive, which is optimum photo-time, offered so little. I guess someone up there was listening. What happened next was just incredible. I still can’t believe it.”

Having ascended to approximately 5m following a successful 30m dive, he was using his safety-stop time to take a few shots of his wife hovering amid the sun’s rays.

Out of nowhere, the enormous shark appeared, breached the surface and then swam out of sight.

“I got one shot off,” said Jester. “It all happened so quickly I couldn’t get any more. The angle’s perfect though, and you can see the whole length of it. It must be about 50ft!

The BBC has announced a follow up to award-winning 2001 series The Blue Planet - Blue Planet II.

The 90 year-old, senile git, David Attenborough will be presenting the seven-part series airing on BBC1 later this year.

Blue Planet II will use massively improved technology to unveil some unbelievable new places, extraordinary new behaviours and remarkable new creatures. Showing a contemporary portrait of marine life.

Camera teams will take viewers from icy polar seas to colourful coral atolls to the black depths of the deep ocean, showing off the Gulf of Mexico's methane volcanoes and the "Boiling Sea" in the Pacific Ocean.

The teams use two manned submersibles to explore the Antarctic depths at 1000m for the first time, while "suction cams" enable viewers to "travel" on the back of whale sharks and orcas.

Viewers will meet hairy-chested Hoff crabs, snub fin dolphins that spit water through the air, and and a tool-using tusk fish never before captured on film. Then there's footage from a dive with a sperm whale mother and calf who head deep into the abyss to hunt.

The SAA AGM 2017 will take place at the Palace Hotel, Buxton on Saturday 1st April with our Annual Dinner Dance taking place in the evening.

Just a reminder of what is on offer:

This hotel was the venue for our AGM/Dinner Dance in 2009 and proved to be very popular, not only for the excellent service and hotel facilities which includes gym, indoor pool, sauna, spa, solarium and beauty rooms but also for the many attractions nearby:

From the spectacular Crescent, Pavilion Gardens, Opera House, Chatsworth & Haddon Hall – Buxton has
plenty to offer and is easily accessible by road, rail and air.

Irene has been able to negotiate excellent rates at the hotel of £85 for a double/twin room b&b for one night or £140 for 2 nights and £55 for a single room b&b for one night and £95 for 2 nights. The hotel also has triple rooms and a number of family rooms (price on request).

The cost of the tickets for the dinner dance is £36 which includes a fourcourse dinner, wine on the table and entertainment.

If you have not reserved your place, this is your last chance as Irene will be releasing any rooms not booked within the next week.

Palace Hotel, Buxton

Peter Rees has decided that after 21 years in office as Club Diving Officer he will not be standing for re-election at the 2016 club AGM.

Peter became Diving Officer in 1995 following six years as Training Officer.

During his term in office the club secured a lottery grant for £50,000 to purchase the Cobra RIBs, the club has been awarded "SAA Golden Club" three times and the membership rose to over 90 in the early 2000s.

For more details: CLICK HERE

The club's Las Vegas Night was held at the Taffs Well rugby Club on Friday evening 11th March.

The evening was a resounding success. Everybody there enjoyed themselves and the event raised over £600 for the club.

Thanks go to Alison and Laura.

Please note that anyone who hasn't paid this year's subscription fees is no longer a valid member of the club.

This means that you will not be able to use the pool facilities, the club boats or undertake any diver training as an instructor or trainee. This includes attendance at lectures.

The club depends on members' subscriptions to survive. We have recently incurred massive expenditure in replacing one of our boat engines. We are relying on the income received from members fees to keep the club afloat.

Out of a membership of over 50 membersfrom 2014 only 30 paid their fees last year which is very disappointing. If you haven't already paid your fees for this year, please do so ASAP.

Thank you for your co-operation.

The 2015 AGM was held on Monday 11th January at 8.00pm in the Leisure Centre.

This was to complete the meeting opened and adjourned last December.

We had a good turnout this year. Full report on the members page.

The SAA has drawn up a plan to affiliate with the National Governing Body of our sport. The current NGB is BSAC.

This decision will affect all clubs and their members in the future, hopefully for the better.

The chairman of the SAA (Colin Bryan) has published a letter explaining to members the reasons behind this decision.

To see a copy of the letter please go to the SAA/WASAC page in the members section by following the link:

The 2014 AGM was held on Wednesday December 3rd at 8.00pm in the Leisure Centre.

As no nominations had been received for Office. The current Officers agreed to stand for another term.

There were no ammendments to the constitution.

The annual Las Vegas night took place on Friday20th March at the Taffs Well Rugby Club.

Although attendance was down on previous years everyone present had a great time and the whole event was a resounding success and the club even made a profit from the event.

Many thanks to Lyn, Alison & Phil for organising the event and for all those who helped out and especially to all those present on the night.

The annual Diving Officer's Award went to:
Martin Sanders.

If you want to be able to say you've swum in the world's deepest swimming pool, you need to book a stay at the four-star Hotel Terme Millepini in northern Italy.

It's home to the Y-40 Deep Joy pool, which as the name suggests goes down to a depth of 40 metres.

Read about this amazing pool:

CLICK HERE

The Nautical Archaeology Society has pleasure in inviting members of your dive club to a 1 or 2 day Intertidal Hulk Recording Course at Lawrenny in Pembroke over the weekend of 21st & 22nd September. The Saturday will involve the 2D surveying of part of a beached vessel and the Sunday will entail a 3D survey of the site.

For information please read the attached poster (with additional notes) for the course and it would be appreciated if you could forward a copy of this e-mail with the attachments to your club members for their information.

The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) carry out a range of activities including the running of Face-to-Face and E-learning courses in Foreshore & Underwater Archaeology, and our training programme is a great stepping stone for those interested in Maritime Archaeology.

The Introduction Course is the first step, looking at basic archaeological principles and how we might go about recording and surveying sites both underwater and on the foreshore, with an introduction to methods of surveying a site in 2D.

David Bennett

19th January 1953 –
4th December 2014

Dave: not only a husband to Susan, a father to Mathew, Chris, Melanie, Catrina and Leanne, he was also a grandfather. He was our friend.

Dave took on the role of Entertainment Manger within the club - and boy didn’t he entertain: Christmas parties, a Las Vegas night and even a barbecue on the beach.

He once set up a barbeque in blustery wind conditions and had to take shelter behind the pay office in a Martin Haven’s car park. Nothing stood in the way of doing what he loved, which was putting a smile on people’s face.

Dave was always trying to raise money for the club and thinking of different ways to shift raffle tickets. He once sellotaped a plastic duck to his head to draw in the crowds at the Ponty Big Bite. If selling raffle tickets had become an Olympic sport, then Dave would no doubt have been awarded a gold medal!

If you visited his home, you would find him still in his work clothes. Some would say he was a bit of a workaholic, always doing something for someone else; that was just Dave. It was never long before the topic of conversation veered onto getting everyone together, whether it be a dive or a social gathering.

He loved his job working on the railway and always made sure he looked after his crew. Apart from laying track to replace sleepers, they didn’t half get up to some antics. On one occasion, the crew were leaving to go home after working through the night and were greeted with wheel clamps on all the vans. Dave rubbed his chin and told them, “Don’t panic lads, I got a key that fits these.” He returned with a petrol disc cutter. He knew he would get into trouble for it, but removed the clamps and sent the crew on their way home.

Most of us have had to sit through the Health and Safety DVD’s at one time or another, but on one particular occasion Dave’s sister watched a Rail Safety DVD and the centre of attention was a fella walking on the roof of a train with no hard hat on. She turned to the person next to her and whispered, “I think that’s my brother David,” – She was right! Dave was so busy thinking about other people’s safety that he didn’t have time to think of his own.

We as a club have been blessed knowing David; he will be sadly missed by us all.

- Sleep tight old friend.

Many thanks to Andrew Hughes for the above.

Once again the event went well. Members of the club were on hand throughout all three days; Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to tell visitors about our sport our club and the SAA.

We also handed out leaflets and collected a list of contact details from people who may be interested in becoming divers and we will text them nearer the time with dates and times for a series of try-a-dive events we intend to run during October, November and December.

SAA Executive Officer Sue Midddleton visited the show and whilst we were all engaged in a duck race down the river Taff, she very kindly manned the stall for a while, handing out leaflets and giving out info to members of the public.

For a full report and photographs of the duck race:

Click Here

At the 2012 SAA AGM in Daventry on April 21st our club was awarded the "George Arnold Trophy" for services to Conservation throughout 2011.

Among the reasons for winning the award were; our membership of the Marine Conservation Society; having a section devoted to marine conservation in our club constitution; having a marine awareness officer on our club committee; being involved in various marine conservation projects such a SeaSearch and helping out with NARCS.

Richie Grice our Training Officer was awarded with his Regional Instructor certificate at the SAA AGM.

It was one of only two Regional Instructor awards made nationwide.

Richie, along with Ceri Jones and others had be instrumental in organising many regional courses in the South Wales region and played a a significant part in obtaining the "Golden Region" award for our region.

On Tuesday April 3rd our Club Chairman Lyn Eade got married to his fiancee Elaine in Castle Coch.

The reception afterwards was held at the Black Cock Inn on Caerphilly Mountain.

We wish them every happiness for the future with many long years together.

The Welsh Scallop Order was introduced to maintain a viable and sustainable scallop industry in Welsh waters, whilst safeguarding important marine species and habitats.

No scallop dredging is permitted anywhere within one mile of the Welsh coastline. The only scallop dredging around the Pembrokeshire coast is North of Fishguard to Ceredigion. There are a number of restrictions on the size of vessel and the number and configuration of dredges as detailed in the link below.

There are however a large number of vessels involved in scallop dredging in Cardigan Bay. Again, no dredging is permitted anywhere inside one mile, and there are a number of open and closed areas, as detailed in the Scallop Order. There is also a Map at the web page below which will illustrate which areas are open and closed.

The club trip to the Maldives in September/October 2011 was a resounding success with some truly superb diving and a fantastic time was had by all.

A full trip report including some stunning photos taken during the trip can be found by following the link below:

The annual Las Vegas night took place on Saturday 14th January 2012 at the Taffs Well Rugby Club.

Everyone present had a great time and the whole event was a resounding success.

Many thanks to Sam Ady for organising the event.

RESTRICTION ON FISHING FOR SCALLOPS
confirmed 4/12/97

No person shall fish for or take or otherwise remove from any part of a fishery within the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee District, scallop of the species Pecten maximus between 1st July and 31st October, both days inclusive, in each year.

In other words, the last day for taking scallops is June 30th. After this date it is illegal to take them.

This applies to the whole sea area around South and West Wales, not just the Marine Nature reserves.

Since our dive season ends in October it means that no scallops can be taken after June 30th in any dive season.

These are South Wales Fisheries regulations and must be observed by divers as well as commercial fishermen.

There are heavy penalties in place for non compliance. A fine of up to £50,000 is mentioned in the bye laws.

Be Aware: Any person caught in breach of the regulations will be named to the authorities. This will result in the persons in breach of the regulations being personally liable rather than the club. Failure to do this would render the club liable for any penalty incurred.

See also:-

• South Wales Fisheries Byelaws
• South Wales Fisheries Information Leaflet

On Saturday 10th September, Haven Diving Services hosted an evening especially for recreational divers.

The event which was held at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Milford Haven was attended by sixty people representing dive clubs from all around Wales.

For a full report on the evening: CLICK HERE

This is an important development that required our immediate attention. The deadline for any input was 31st January 2011. WASAC are actively involved in negotiations regarding this issue.

• The PCNPA consultation Document (PDF)
• The PCNPA Strategy (DOC)
• The PCNPA Response Form (DOC)

Click here to go to the Marine Conservation Page
for more information

On Sunday 26th June, a ceremony was conducted in Goultrop Roads, St. Brides Bay, Pembrokeshire according to the last wishes of our late member Phil (the flute) Marshall.

Phil had requested that following his cremation that his remains were to be scattered on the waters of St. Bride's Bay by the club Diving Officer.

It was only a very short ceremony with ten members present on the two club boats. Members of Phil's family together with three other club members observed from the cliffs above Goultrop.

The ashes were committed to the sea and flowers laid over the spot. This was followed by a few words from the Diving Officer and then a minute's silence.

The ceremony ended with both boats circling the area then heading off out to sea.

The following is an email received from Phil's son Carl:-

Peter,

On behalf of Philip Marshall's family, I would like to thank you and the Dive Club for the way that the scattering of Dad's ashes was conducted yesterday.

It was kind of you to provide Gatch as a guide, so that we could watch it from the best vantage point.

You kept the level of ceremonial to a minimum, which was entirely appropriate for a man as averse to ritual as he was. It was also conducted in just the right mixture of reverence and solemnity, combined of course, with the practicality befitting a prelude to one of the Club Dives that Dad loved so much.

Thank you again for all your efforts in helping to make his last wish go so well.

We hope you had a good dive.

Carl Marshall

The 2011 Sub Aqua Association AGM was held at the: Yew Tree Lodge, Kegworth, Leicestershire.

Club members Peter Rees (DO), Training Officer Richie Grice, Fund Raising Officer Sam Ady and Marine Conservation Officer (and South Wales Regional Rep) Ceri Jones were present at the meeting.

All four attended the day's meetings plus the dinner dance event in the evening.

The 2011 AGM was held on Monday 17th January 2011 at 9.00pm in the Leisure Centre.

For a full report go to the members section. Click Here

A terrified British holidaymaker yesterday told how the sea turned red with blood as a killer shark tore a swimmer to death in front of her.

Helpless Ellen Barnes struggled to get back to the beach as the beast thrashed around in the water with its victim, a 70-year-old German woman, in its mouth at Sharm el Sheik, Egypt.

The elderly tourist’s right arm was torn off and her thigh savaged while she was snorkeling. Her multilated body washed up on the shore later.

Shaken Ellen, 31, said: “I was being thrown around in the blood. The shark was thrashing and tearing at this poor woman and I could barely keep my head above water it was so choppy.

“And the swimmer was screaming, ‘Help me! Help me!’ in English.

“I have never felt pure terror like that. The water was churning like I was in a washing machine.”

Ellen, of Horsham, West Sussex, blasted Egyptian life-guards on duty at the Red Sea hot-spot, adding they were “useless and petrified”.

Doctors say the pensioner died from a “catastrophic” loss of blood. The tragedy came just days after four divers were badly injured in a spate of similar attacks.

Rolf Schmid, manager of the Sinai Diver’s Centre, said: “It is very unusual to have so many incidents in such a short time.

“The latest attack happened in a shallow area called Middle Garden north of Naama Bay, but no sharks have been reported anywhere around here for years.”

The annual Las Vegas night was held on Friday January 21st at the Taffs Well Rugby Club and it was a resounding success.

Everybody who attended had a fantastic time and the club raised over £700 in the process.

Many thanks to Sam Ady et al for organising and running the event.

2012 Club fees
are due!!

Members are reminded that their fees will becone due on January 1st.

The new annual fee will be decided at the AGM on January 17th so anyone who pays before then can pay at the 2010 rate and avoid any possible increase.

Members are also reminded that failure to pay their fees by 28th February will result in their membership being discontinued. This will result in their entitlement to use the pool at members rates, undertake training or use any club equipment including the club boats will be lost.

Any committee members who fail to pay will be automatically stood down and will need to seek re-election.

Former member Richard (Rattle) Griffiths won the big raffle prize at the dive show in the NEC recently.

The prize which is a £10,000 luxury holiday for two in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates was drawn on the day and Richard was informed of his win whilst driving home from the show.

Phil Marshall (Phil the Flute), one of our long standing members, passed away on August 17th 2010 aged 79.

Phil was a member of the club for over 35 years and during that time he was very active within the club. He will be sadly missed by all the membership.

Phil's funeral was held at the Cwmbran Crematorium on Thursday 2nd September at 4.00pm. Club members were invited for refreshments after the funeral at the Greenmeadow Golf and Country Club in Cwmbran. The club was well represented by 15 members and former members present.

Phil didn't want flowers at his funeral but requested that a donation be made to the RNLI instead.

Phil has requested that his ashes be scattered over St. Bride's Bay in Pembrokeshire by the club Diving Officer.

Phil also remembered the club in his will and has left us all his diving gear to be auctioned off and all proceeds to go to the club.

Phil's Obituary

For the third year running the club had a stand at the Ponty Big Bite.

This festival held over three days in the beautiful Ynysangharad Park Pontypridd attracted over 20,000 visitors.....

For the full story and photographs:

Click Here

At the 2010 Sub-Aqua Association AGM in Harrogate our club was nominated as "Club of the Year"

This is a fantastic honour for our club and reflects all the hard work put in by all the members during the past year to make our club one of the most successful and active diving clubs in the UK.

The award is made by the SAA Executive and carries the following engraving:

This is the first time our club has ever won this award and the first time a club in Wales has been awarded this prestigious title.

In the past year, besides being an active sub-aqua club our club has three members on the WASAC committee and one member on the National Council of the SAA.

Well done Everyone!

The 2010 Sub Aqua Association AGM was held at the: Barcelo Majestic Hotel, Harrogate on Saturday 24th April.

Club members Peter Rees (DO), Training Officer Richie Grice and Marine Conservation Officer Ceri Jones were present at the meeting.

All three considered their presence at the meeting to be very fruitful and enjoyable and attendance at this meeting is a must for our club in future.

It gives us an excellent opportunity to meet with, and discuss issues with members of the National Executive and to find out what is going on at a national level within the SAA.

It also puts our club on the map by introducing the Members of the Executive to our club members where we can inform them of our various activities and needs.

During the meeting Ceri was confirmed as the new South Wales Representative.

Ceri Jones our Marine Conservation Officer has asked that we report any sightings of crawfish (crayfish) to him.

The Skomer Marine Nature Reserve are currently undertaking a survey of crawfish numbers in and around the reserve and would like to be informed of any sightings.

The Welsh Sports Council in conjunction with WASAC are embarking on a project to make a film about the best dive sites around the Welsh coast.

The video film will be approximately 20 minutes long and feature dive sites from the Gower Peninsula in the South to Anglesey in the north.

The film will include some of our most scenic dive sites and also some of the wrecks that can be found around our coastline.

For a full report on this project:

Click Here

Planning is underway for a club trip to the Maldives in 2011.

The club has chartered two liveaboards with Maldives Scuba Tours - MV Sea Queen and MV Sea Spirit which enables us to take up to 24 divers.

We will be going out there for the Autumn Equinox which is a good time to visit as there will hopefully be a lot of reef activity with all the usual reef inhabitants in large numbers but we are hoping to have encounters with the big stuff like the Mantas and Whale Sharks.

The plan is to visit Baa Atoll to the north west of Male the capital where they have had several encounters with these huge creatures in the past.

Lisa, one of the dive guides aboard Sea Queen believes that late September in Baa Atoll is the best time and place for whaleshark encounters.

Here is a quote from Biffo Bryning the boss of Maldives Scuba Tours: "For those of you who seek the unusual, then you really should book a trip covering either the autumn or spring equinox. This is when just about everything in the world's oceans get together. They are either mating or feeding en masse on the spawning corals. We have seen groups of literally hundreds of mantas with whalesharks feeding with them".

See the article on Mantas and Whalesharks
in Baa Atoll on our Marine Conservation page.

The cost of the trip will be around £2500 based on today's prices.

There has already been considerable interest in this trip so anyone who wants to go should pay a deposit of £250 to the diving officer to secure their place.

Visit our new Maldives News Letter page to read about the amazing diving in the Maldives:

Click Here

The recent Las Vegas night at Taffs Well Rugby Club was a resounding success. Everyone who attended said that they'd had a fantastic evening.

The club raised over £300 to boost our funds. So its a big thank you to Emma and Andrew for organising such a fantasic event.

Click Here

Egyptian liveaboard, Coral Princess, capsized and sank in open water near Jackson Reef in late November 2009, with the loss of two diving guests from Spain.

The two Spanish tourists are still missing in the Red Sea after their dive boat sank off Egypt's Sinai coast.

The married couple were the only two not to make it off the boat when it sank. It is believed that their bodies are still in the boat, which now lies hundreds of metres below the surface.

The fourteen other Spanish tourists and seven Egyptian crew were all rescued.

According to survivor reports, the sad reality for Coral Princess was that the captain was the first to abandon ship.

In 2003 our club went on a week's diving safari aboard the Coral Princess. A report of this trip can be found in the expedition pages on this site.

This incident was followed in mid-December with the loss of Emperor Fraser, one of the Emperor Divers fleet, on Dunraven Reef, near Sharm El Sheikh.

Guido Cherif, former owner of Egypt’s famed Coral Queen liveaboard, has died after a long illness.

Abd El Megeed El Cherif, popularly known as Guido, was one of the true pioneers of Red Sea diving and one of the industry's most beloved faces”.

A true character who brought joy to every situation he encountered, Guido sold his successful textile business in Alexandria to pursue a belatedly found love for diving and the Red Sea.

A dedicated diving enthusiast, Guido designed and built the 24m-long Coral Queen.

In 1996 after she was built in El Tor, Llantrisant Sub-Aqua club went out on Coral Queen on her first charter. She quickly became very popular with British divers until her demise at Sha’ab Sataya in 2005.

The boat was a real landmark in Red Sea liveaboard diving with a unique atmosphere. The relatively small and unassuming boat twice won an award for "Best Liveaboard in the World", for the services in diving and hospitality provided by Cherif and his crews.

A close friend of Llantrisant Sub-Aqua Club Guido Cherif was a true Red Sea diving pioneer who will be missed by all those who knew him.

New pages have been added to this web site with reference to the byelaws governing the landing of fish and shellfish by divers.

During a recent committee meeting the subject was discussed at length and it was decided that it would be helpful if the regulations were published on the site for the benefit of the membership.

The regulations are enforced and penalties for breaching the regulations can be severe and include large fines and/or confiscation of boats.

The new links are as follows:

South Wales Fisheries Committee Byelaws

South Wales Fisheries Guidance Leaflet

EU Minimum Fish Sizes (PDF)

For the second year running Llantrisant Sub-Aqua took the opportunity to promote both the sport and the club at the Big Bite Event held in Ynysangharad Park Pontypridd over the weekend July 31st to August 2nd. We took a stand in the Well Being Zone and used materials provided by the Sub Aqua Association and club members to create an eye catching display.

Over the three days the show attracted 15000 visitors. Our stand was kept busy with enquires from both experienced divers to people with a dream of just wanting to have a go. It’s surprising how many people dive on a regular basis but don’t know there’s a dive club in the area. We had lots of divers who said they may come along one Monday night just to see how we operate.

However, it’s the non divers who have all the questions, but have they the bottle to ask? They pause by the stand to watch the dive videos that we had running on two machines throughout the day and maybe pick up a leaflet or two. It’s at this point that our club members make contact and boy, did they do a good job.

Gareth Henderson who joined the club as a result of visiting our stand at last year’s show was keen to engage people in conversation. He told visitors of his experiences ands though he’s only started open water diving this season his enthusiasm for the sport came over in his explanations. Gareth was first on the stand on Saturday morning and last to leave that evening. Richie Grice, Jeff Canning, Emma and Andrew Reece, Martin Sanders, Mark Jones, Alan and Owain Jenkins, Mike Rees and Richard Sheldon, many thanks for giving up your time and promoting our sport so well.

We have a list of almost 100 names, people who fancy having a go at a try-a-dive. Richie Grice has marked three dates on the calendar for try-a-dive nights and these are:

• 14th September
• 12th October
• 9th November

We’ll be looking for plenty of help on these nights so I hope as many of you as possible will be available to assist. Information will go out in the press, posters will be put up within the leisure centre and hopefully Richie can pull some strings to have an announcement put out on local radio.

These try-a-dive nights are really good recruiting events but beyond that the look on peoples’ faces when they’ve had a go and the buzz of excitement in the bar afterwards is reward enough in itself.

At the request of the National Park Authority and the Community of Dale the Yacht Club has taken back the lease of the Dale Slipway.

This means that the Yacht Club in consultation with the local community can ensure the slipway is maintained and managed in the most beneficial and effective way for the benefit of all users.

The Club has to give full consideration to the maintenance, insurance and management of this facility. It has already had to increase its insurance cover to include the slipway.

Therre are currently no public funds to help with this task so the club may have to give consideration to how the costs will be met in the future. As part of the management of the facility we must consider the safe use of the slipway by all users. With this in mind, there will be a few days in the in the year when events are taking place, when we will need to restrict slipway access.

Any restriction will be posted on the clubs web site and we will be happy to post the information on other web sites if requested.

PROPOSED SLIPWAY RESTRICTIONS 2009
(No Vehicle Access)

July 25th 9 am to 5 pm.
Paul Satori and Village Fun Day.

August 16th 9 am to 6 pm.
Dale Dinghy Regatta

August 29th- 3lst 9 am to 5 pm.
Cruiser Dinghy and longboat weekend.

Sept 29th The slipway will not be accessible
from 9 am to 2 pm due to road closure
for the Dale Half Marathon.

Dale Yacht Club 01646 636362
http://www.daleyc.freeuk.com/
---

The WASAC AGM
was held on Sunday 26th April
At the New Inn,
Newbridge-on-Wye, Powys.

Many topics were discussed during the meeting including access from the slip at Dale and diving in the Haven. There wll be follow up to these topics throughout the season as the situation becomes clearer.

One outcome of particular interest to our club is that we now have two representatives on the WASAC committee:

Martin (sensible) Sanders has been voted in as Vice Charman and Phil (the post) Dewhurst has been voted in as the new Secretary.

Wales Underwater

The WASAC Conference 2009

Sunday 22nd February 2009
Faraday Building,
Swansea University Campus

On Sunday 22nd February the 2009 WASAC conference will be held in Swansea. This is the first WASAC conference to be held after a long period of inactivity.

The event promises to be an excellent day out and all club members are encouraged to attend.

See below for details:

The Programme:

Chairperson (Morning Session) - Andrea Dickens

9.30 Opening Address/Introduction - WASAC Chairman.
9.40 Historical Perspective - John Stubbs
10.15 'A Confusion of Shipwrecks' - Chris Holden

10.50 Break.

11.15 Darkness Beckons - Martyn Farr
12.00 Photographing Underwater - Charles Hood

12.45 Lunch

Chairperson (Afternoon Session) - Allan Jeffery

14.15 Technical Diving - Dennis Wigg
14.50 A Deep Water Experience - Mike Rowley

15.35 Prize Draw

15.45 WASAC Initiatives - Andre Dickens, Leigh Batchelor
16.00 Open Forum
16.30 Closing Address - WASAC Chairman

Supporting Attractions:
RNLI, Police Underwater SAR Unit
Marine Conservation Society, Bristol Channel Divers
Celtic Diving Fishguard, BSAC, SAA

The Club was recently invited by Rhondda Cynon Taff, to take part in ‘The Ponty Big Bite’, a three day event held annually in Ynysangharad Park.

This Welsh Food and Agricultural extravaganza attracted over 20,000 people and was an ideal showcase for our sport, our association and our club. We had a stand within the ‘well being’ marquee which housed, amongst other activities, the RCT Leisure Team.

Prior to the event I contacted Irene at SAA headquarters and was more than pleased when she offered to not only loan us some very professional looking stands but also supplied us with lots of colourful display material, information leaflets and lots of pens, bookmarks and bottle-openers to give away. We ‘borrowed’ a mannequin which we equipped with a bcd, regs and a mask, and we ran a film showing scenes from a club trip to the Maldives.

Although I say it myself, our stand looked very attractive. Over the three days we had lots of enquires and as a result club training nights have since been crowded with new faces. At the event we advertised two try-a-dive nights and interest in these has been very encouraging.

Apart from the efforts put in by members, the cost to the club of taking part in this event was very little. The rewards however in terms of exposure and potential new membership were (are) huge. We will certainly take part again next year.

Phil Dewhurst.
Club Secretary

On Sunday July 6th a number of club members attended an Oxygen Administration Course.

The course was well presented and resulted in all those who attended gaining the qualification. For a full write up on the day go to

Phil's postings.

The Coraya Beach Hotel
Marsa Alam

For the full report
including underwater photos

CLICK HERE

We held our 2008 AGM on January 14th. A full copy of the minutes can be found in the members section.

The same committee officers that served last season will continue in office for the 2008 season.

Former club member and sex goddess Louise Ling is currently travelling the world and keeping a web blog about her adventures.

She is going under the name of "Dora the Explorer" and her blog can be found at the following address: http://www.getjealous.com/linglo.

Louise, if you read this, have a great trip and send us an email telling us how you are getting on.