Dacorum Sub Aqua Club

History of the Club : 1993 to present

<< 1974 - 1992

1993

Some former members of the club

A new regime for running the club begins: more emphasis on recruiting, fund raising and ensuring expensive club activities are financially self supporting.

Much of the pool equipment is replaced.  ABLJ-type buoyancy compensators give way to stab jackets.

Three members become nationally qualified instructors.

We start using Glebe Lake at Calvert, again,  for training and boat handling.

There is a hardboat trip to the Skellig islands in Ireland.

Diving the Skelligs

1994

Octopush has become an energetic, if unskillful, pastime on Thursday evenings.

A RIB owned by a club member is swamped in the Portland Race needing a helicopter and a lifeboat to rescue it.

Half a dozen members become our first nitrox qualified divers.

1995

Uriah Heep at Lundy

There is a RIB trip to Shetland. There is no sign of the oil lost in the Braemar oil spill of the previous year off Shetland. Also, there are live-aboard trips to Lundy and Alderney and Guernsey.

DS-AC 1, the club boat, is sunk when a local, professional instructor running a boat handling course for us unsuccessfully demonstrates the seaworthiness of a RIB with all three tubes deflated. Fortunately, the depth of water is 6m so the boat is recovered and repaired. DS-AC 1 is sold.

We start using the Blue Lagoon at Bletchley after an interval of 8 or 10 years.

1996

Some former members

The club receives a grant  from the Foundation for Sports and the Arts. With a lot of fund raising, we are able to buy and equip a 5.8m Humber Destroyer. The boat is named DSAC2.

Follow this link to read about the boat.

There is a RIB trip to the Scillies, a RIB trip Baltimore in Ireland and a live-aboard trip to the Normandy beaches. See some photos of a club boat trip.

1997

Some current members

Dacorum Borough Council provide us with some land, on a peppercorn rent, so that the club can build a boat shed. They also give us a grant to help with the cost of the shed.

We build a boat shed at Nash Mills which is opened in October.

The club spends the next 22 months meeting and training at Cavendish School and the Marchmont Arms while Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre is refurbished.

A group of us go over to St Albans SAC for their annual It's A Knock Out competition. We randomly create two teams from those of us there. One team wins the competition and the other team comes last in the competition.

1998

Underwater photography becoming an interest for more members. 

BSAC changes the training scheme. It introduces the Club Diver, tries to do away with the Diver Leader and tightens the rules so that all training is done by Assistant Instructors or above.

There is a RIB trip to the Hebrides.

1999

The club celebrates its 25 Anniversary.

We return to the renovated Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre and new pools after several years waiting at Cavendish School.

We have 75 members, 8 nationally qualified instructors, a good RIB and a lot of modern pool training equipment.

There are two live aboards this year to the Red Sea and a RIB trip to the Hebrides.

We organise a party at the Crystal Rooms in Tring to celebrate DSAC's 25 year anniversary.

The club's first web site is launched: http://dsac.virtualave.net.

2000

Some masked members

The club grows to around 80 members.

We run our first boat handling course using our own instructors. We're gradually getting instructors qualified in the main Advanced Divers SDCs.

An Inspiration re-breather diver joins the club. We begin to notice that more trained divers are joining the club, generally having started diving with PADI. A good proportion of these divers are attracted to our technical group.

See Phil Sturdy's photos of the trip to the Baltic and some photos of the Red Sea trip on Miss Nouran.

2001

Some current members

The club membership remains at around 80. 

We run our first nitrox course using our own instructors.

We have electric power supplied to the boat shed.

Technical and nitrox diving is taking off. We train 30 members to Advanced Nitrox level and six members have take trimix courses.

2002

We switch the social meeting from the Three Blackbirds pub then Cotterels Club and finally Apsley Village Cluband the club meeting from Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre then Cotterels Club and finally Apsley Village Club

BSAC introduces a new training scheme. Most dive grades are affected by Dive Leader and Advanced Diver will change the most.

The club considers getting rid of the RIB; it costs a lot to maintain, but decide to give it one last season to break even. The boat is very well used during the year by a variety of club members for both training and diving. 

There is a club trip to Malta.

The club launches an email group: DacorumSubAquaClub@yahoogroups.com

The club buys a laptop and projector so that theory courses can carried out by animated, colour, computer presentation software.

Five members now have Inspiration rebreathers. We have about 5 trimix and 30 nitrox divers.

2003

We run the first Ocean Diver, Sport Diver and Diver Leader courses on the new training scheme.

Regular diving venues this year are: Portland, Lyme Regis, Swanage and Lymington. We also go to the Farne islands, Scapa Flow, Oban and the Red Sea.

The RIB's trailer need a lot of work: both axles are replaced due to damaged bearings.

For a second year the RIB is very well used by a variety of club members for both training and diving. 

The club celebrates BSAC's fiftieth anniversary by doing 50 dives on the Countess of Erm in Portland Harbour.

Boats setting out for the 50 dives

Using our own instructors, we run a BSAC Boat Handling course, a Practical Rescue Management Course, a First Aid Course, a Combined Nitrox Course and a Dive Planning and Marshalling course. We begin a pool training group to support instructors in training for the OWI tests.

2004

The club membership is around 85.

The club's web site is renamed : http://www.dacorumsac.org.uk.

The club considers buying and operating a compressor for the benefit of the members.

Using our own instructors, we run a BSAC Boat Handling course, a Practical Rescue Management Course and a Combined Nitrox Course.

Red Sea live-aboard

We organise a party to celebrate DSAC's 30 year anniversary.

2005

We buy a Compressor .

The club membership is around 85.

DSAC get some publicity in a two page spread,in a hertfordshire lifestyle magazine published by the Gazette news paper, the article features our club in all its glory.

2006

The club membership is around 95.

The club meetings move to Apsley Village Club.

The club compressor is upgraded for Nitrox & Helium banks.

A NEW single engine is purchased for the club boat.

DSAC Heinke trophy entry

2007

The club membership is around 90.

A swimathon organised by Rowena, raising £450.00 for the hospice of St Frances and the Iain Rennie Hospice.

2008

The club membership is around 90.

Suzy arranged some publicity, a reporter from the Watford Observer Alex Hill came to DSAC for a Try Dive.

A great night try diving Rebreathers at the Dacorum sports centre, Thanx to the regional BSAC trainer and all those who allowed DSAC to use their Rebreathers.

Sept 2008 - MP for Hemel Hempstead Mike Penning dropped in to visit us to see how our club works. Also an article in the local press web site.

2009

The club membership is still around 90.

Herald Express reported on two divers (Jack Moon & Amy Clements) from Dacorum Sub Aqua Club Hemel Hempstead who were involved in a world record attempt at 'extreme Ironing'.

Suzy Jarman organised a days promotion at the Dacorum Sport centre to promote our club, there was great interest all throughout the day.

2010

The club membership is in the high 80s.

Image from Diver mag.
Gillian & Rob (newley married) win a pair of Sea-Doo sea scooters worth £1000'.