Category: Dive Reports

With the weather looking reasonable, dive marshall Mike Dalton decided to have a crack at Wreck X last Friday. Not a bad wreck this although we don’t go as often as we might because of the distance (45km) and depth (35m). We’ve had previous trips where we’ve decided half way out that we wouldn’t reach inside two hours and we’d be better off going somewhere close. This time though the weather co-operated – it was almost flat calm and we got there quickly. Getting there we found we weren’t alone – there was a boat called Sanaf already on station with some divers from another club not too far away – the name escapes me.

This made it easy to anchor – Mike A simply carried the anchor down the shot-line and parked it in the wreck. I’ve never yet managed to get a decent dive on Wreck X. This time true to form my mask starting leaking as soon as I was underwater and no amount of fiddling would make it stay dry. After about 10 minutes groping around I gave up and aborted. We did get to see some barracuda circling around the anchor line and those who did manage a respectable dive enjoyed themselves. The wreck itself is a fishing trawler, the like of which are theoretically banned in the Gulf. How this one got where it is one can only speculate.

En route to the second dive we saw some more dolphins – it must be the right season. This time it was only a brief sighting but it was still good to see. I’m not sure what the plan was for the second dive but heading back into the Neptune / Jumbo area we spotted a group of fishing buoys on the surface and investigated, getting quite excited when a big lump showed up on the echo-sounder. So had we found a new wreck? Sadly no – further investigation revealed that we’d just arrived at Mike’s Tug but we decided that having anchored it we might as well dive it.

The wreck was one of those that turned up on the Palm Island survey. It’s not large but it has a very big prop – as you’d expect from a tug – and it’s covered in attractive soft corals. There was a big grouper swimming in one of the compartments but he couldn’t be tempted out. Excursions inside the wreck are possible but the first person inside tends to destroy the viz for anyone following. After this it was back to the club. Ramadan restrictions preclude the use of the dive table for the moment but in July the a/c in the sports bar has a lot to be said for it.

It took a bit of perseverance to get out to a wreck site at all at the weekend. The Jumbo had been pencilled in but the sea was very lumpy on the way out giving an uncomfortable ride. In these circumstances we often abort to Karen’s Dhow which is in the same direction but closer. This time though we pressed on having dived the dhow twice last weekend. We had a good turnout – 11 divers in two boats so it seemed worth making the effort.

Rough it might have been but the current wasn’t huge and the viz was good. The variety of fish seems a bit smaller at this time of year – perhaps they head off for cooler water but there were a lot of snappers and an dishevelled batfish that looked as it had just been beaten up by a gang of barracuda. The Jumbo itself is a cargo vessel about which we know very little but it’s a good dive with a couple of swim-throughs and a large prop.

During the surface interval we had a unexpected treat – a pod of dolphins that circled the boats for five or ten minutes.

For the second dive we went a couple of kilometres to the Neptune. This upturned barge is starting to collapse particularly at the front end and a nice swim-through that we used to do no longer exists but there are still ways of getting inside the wreck. After that it was back to the club for a poolside glass or two. The sea had calmed down considerably by this time and the journey home was much smoother.

The first order of the day on Friday was to have a look at some co-ordinates for the Darya-Vand XI which was on the same chart as we used last weekend to find the Moraffi. After that successful search we had some hope but this time we were out of luck – nothing but sandy bottom was down there. The problem is that some of these co-ordinates are “last known position” which can be a long way from the actual location of the wreck even if it exists. We had some co-ordinates for the Ajman Glory long before we found it about 15km away.

The main intention was to have a go at Wreck X which is in the general direction of the Neptune / Jumbo but about 12km further on. It soon became apparent that this was going to be difficult without a lot of discomfort as we were heading straight into the waves. Abandoning this plan, we first had a look for the Jamal which we haven’t dived for a while and which was close to where we were at the time. Well at least it should have been. We know it’s there somewhere but despite searching at two possible locations, nothing was found. We need to check the co-ordinates I think.

Plan C was Karen’s Dhow which was the next nearest target. Having anchored the wreck at the second time of asking, Mike A suddenly discovered that his overalls were in the car rather than on the boat. He was compelled to dive in his trunks and a rather fetching top he borrowed from Polly thus becoming possibly the first cross-dresser in 406 history.

There was a bit of a current running at the surface but it was calmer under water. The barracuda were unusually absent and the resident turtle seems to have found pastures new but there were plenty of other fish including a large group of sweetlips. There was also a large crab lurking in a small steel drum. As normal on this wreck, we brought up some glassware to decorate various shelves and sideboards. For the second dive we decided to stay put rather than go to the Bigprop Dhow which is not that interesting now that the bigprop in question is safely at the club rather than attached to the wreck.

For the last weekend we had the return of a familiar face – Sergey Lazarev who last dived with us in 2012 but hasn’t been seen in a boat since then (not in ours anyway). Don’t leave it so long next time, Sergey! We also had our promised guests – seven divers from the Kuwait Mantas Dive Club who were over here for a few days. Our Chairman, Mike Dalton is a former Manta (and has a T-shirt to prove it) and going back further in time, Sami Kyriakos was instrumental in giving the club its name.

All these people added up to a couple of full boats – 16 divers in total – which would have made for slightly uncomfortable conditions even if the weather had been kind. As it was we were lucky to get out at all. The forecasts varied but all agreed it would be a bit lumpy. It turned out the most pessimistic forecast was also the most accurate and progress was slow and wet. We were going to the Victoria Star again because that was the Manta’s preferred destination but we wouldn’t have got much further in any case.

Compared to recent weeks, the visibility had deteriorated but the current was reasonably slight. The barracuda were still there but reduced in numbers and mainly just off the wreck. There’s still a family of batfish and some jacks in evidence but of the rays seen recently there was no sign. Never mind – we had a good time swimming around and inside the wreck and we hope the Mantas were suitably impressed as there’s nothing closely similar in Kuwait. After the first dive, the weather had picked up still further and whitecaps were beginning to appear. At this point we decided that discretion was the better part of valour so we called it a day and headed back to shore, getting another good soaking in the process.

Back at the club, the Wanderers had laid on a barbecue and with that and a few glasses of decompression fluid (not so easy in Kuwait I gather), we could relax by the dive table. The Mantas were: Stephanie, Andreas, Brian, David, James, Oliver and Marie. We hope to see them again sometime.

It was a bit of a wreck hunting trip at the weekend. Brian (Lugg) had a couple of sets of co-ordinates that seemed worth investigating, one of which, the Moraffi, was very close to the Neptune – a wreck that we haven’t dived for a while. The sea going out looked flat calm but in fact there was a bit of a swell causing a few bumps and a slightly slower trip than it might have been but we still made reasonable time.

The co-ordinates come from a locally produced chart that isn’t ultra reliable and sure enough nothing was visible on the echo-sounder except sandy bottom. Just the same we noticed some fishing pots not too far away so we checked out that area and found a lump on the seabed that was clearly something significant. Brian and Mike A were duly dispatched over the side to investigate further.

The Moraffi it turns out, is a barge about 25m x 15m, sitting upright and about 3m from seabed to deck. The sides have rotted away on the port side particularly allowing access inside where you can squeeze around a forest of internal struts. At the stern a swim-though is possible. There are plenty of snappers of various sorts that call the wreck home and there were five or six sweetlips at the bow end. Mike and Brian had spotted a leopard ray but it had gone by the time the rest of us got down there. To be fair it’s not the most exciting wreck in the area but the fish life was scenic and it makes another target close to the Neptune which is about 500m away.

And so to the Neptune. To those unfamiliar with it, the Neptune is an upturned barge rather larger than  the Moraffi that came to grief after a collision. There are some areas to access inside although a nice swim-through that we used to do has now gone after part of the structure collapsed. It’s easy enough to do a complete circuit, checking out some holes as you go round. Again the fish life is very attractive.

We were back at the Dara last weekend but this time it was more of a working party than a sightseeing tour, the idea being to see if we could make some inroads into the nets that still cover the vessel. We were back down to one boat but six divers is a worthwhile expedition and the sea was reasonably calm as we set off.

The current was running during the first dive but the tide turned slack later on and it calmed down. Doing surface cover for the first wave, bits of net and floats were seen popping up so someone was working hard. We couldn’t bring much of the nets up but getting rid of the floats and hacking them off the wreck and on to the sea bed at least reduces the hazard to divers. When our turn came, we headed for the middle section and spent almost 45 minutes tearing into the nets before returning to the anchor line.

One or two of us accidentally brought up some tiny gobies with our dive gear. The first one was spotted happily swimming around in a puddle in the middle of the boat. These were all returned to the sea. During the surface interval, Chris gave us the benefit of his sage advice on how to survive a shark attack: “Just stab your buddy”. I can see that getting a bit tricky if the buddy has the same idea!

For the second dive, we tackled some nets at the top of the cathedral section. After some minutes of cutting, we found we had some friends: a lot of fish including a couple of large batfish were enjoying a meal from all the sediment we were stirring up. It’s clearly going to take more than just a couple of dives to clear the wreck completely but if we do a bit each time we go… Mike D and Brian took some time out from the cutting and spotted a large leopard ray. All in all an enjoyable day – we really felt we’d earned the beers that evening.

A few weeks ago, former members Peter and Alison Blanchflower came to the club for a drink with us before heading off into retirement. Rather than fly home, they’re driving back, initially across Iran. 

Attached is the Dive Club piece in the latest Time-Out Sharjah. Featured on the page is Peter Jackson and inset is Sergey Lazerov. The words came from a telephone interview three weeks ago. I don’t remember claiming 1000 dives (though it can’t be that far short now) but the facts otherwise seem more or less accurate. All we need is for some people to read it and make contact.

After last week’s adventures in foreign parts we were back in more familiar territory at the weekend – a trip to the Dara. This was largely dictated by the fact that we had 17 (count ‘em) divers sign up for the trip and the only feasible way of doing this is to make it a beach dive from Hamriyah. In fact a few drop-outs reduced the numbers to the point where we could all fit on two boats but unfortunately the change of plan didn’t reach everyone leading to all round confusion at the start. Apologies to those inconvenienced.
For the day we welcomed three members of Kuwait Mantas Dive Club (BSAC 1045) who were over here for the long weekend. Mike, Sharon and Line all enjoyed themselves – there’s nothing quite like the Dara in Kuwait so it was something of a change for them. We hope to see them again.
The trip out was made on a reasonably flat sea but having got to the wreck we found we had company. Not only was there a dive boat on station but a coast guard vessel was prowling around. After a quick discussion it turned out that the divers were suspected of spear-fishing. Sure enough, eventually a diver surfaced and was strangely reluctant to get back into his boat. He couldn’t float there forever and when it became clear the coast guard wasn’t going away he climbed back on board having first handed up the offending weapon. I think that’s what you call “bang to rights”.
The miscreants were soon returning to port “under escort” and with the place to ourselves SP312 hooked into the wreck at the first time of asking and SP125 tied on behind. It’s now officially overalls weather and the wetsuits can be retired for the summer unless you seriously feel the cold. That said there were some strange thermoclines down there with the water temperature varying a lot in different parts of the wreck.
The viz wasn’t wonderful but neither was it that bad and the fishing nets that still cover the wreck could be easily seen and avoided. There was a bit of a current – not huge but noticeable at the stern. There were some barracuda circling the anchor line on the way down and the usual multitude of other fish. Having been down so long, the vessel is growing some hard and soft corals more usually seen on the east coast and just forward of the promenade deck there is a small anemone with a very small clownfish in residence.
For the second dive we decided to stay put. Our visitors were happy to do the Dara again and the nearby Tek is not particularly exciting. Also during the morning the sea state had got up so moving further away was not appealing particularly for those in the small boat, SP125. The second dive was enjoyable anyway with a leisurely swim along the length of the vessel including a couple of trips through the cathedral. Towards the end a small leopard ray was seen although it was a bit shy and didn’t hang around once spotted. Mike A and Chris did their bit for the environment (and divers) by cutting some nets off the wreck but to remove the lot would be a major undertaking.
The trip back was a bit lumpy to say the least but it’s not a long journey and we were soon out of the water heading back to the club. In view of the numbers we got hold of a barman and got the Dive Bar open which was better than sitting outside as the temperature now seems to have cranked up for the summer.
The following day, Janette organised a trip over to the east coast with Freestyle Divers for a couple of dives including a night dive. Andy, Derek, Polly and Peter made the trip – Derek’s’ photos on the Dara and Dibba Rock below look pretty good to me.

Last weekend was the long awaited Khasab trip which proved a memorable experience in more ways than one and provided some useful lessons, not least in negotiating border crossings. Some of you may remember the days when going to Dibba involved merely crossing a wadi and even the main Emirati border posts were empty patches of gravel. Those days are gone; getting through the Hatta/Wajaja border from Dubai for example, now requires crossing seven checkpoints, two before you even reach Hatta. This costs time of course but also means that all papers and cards must be in order with no unexpected complications. Several of us fell foul of the system in various ways although in the end we all made it to the destination.

Having said all that, the first problem was mainly my fault. Through sloth and inattention I had allowed the car registration to lapse which wouldn’t have been a problem since they don’t check the registration cards at the border crossings. Except now they do and needless to say an out-of–date card caused some consternation and nearly prevented us from leaving the Emirates, never mind reaching Oman. Fortunately after some fervent pleading and promising we were allowed to continue having lost only five minutes or so but it was a close run thing.

Geoff, Peter and Andy weren’t so lucky. Arriving at the border the following morning, Geoff was denied entry to Oman because of his tank of nitrox in the back which was clearly a dangerous chemical and possibly explosive. Having failed to convince the border police otherwise, Geoff rang Sami who has got us out of trouble before with his native Arabic and tongue as silver as his hair. True to form Sami was able to convince the police that Geoff was a diver and was not intent on wreaking havoc in the Sultanate or terrorising its citizens. Just the same they were not sufficiently convinced to allow the offending tank into the country.

Meanwhile Peter and Andy, travelling separately but arriving only five minutes behind became caught up in the same situation. Seeing the dive gear the police concluded correctly that they were in the same party as Geoff but incorrectly that Peter’s car would also be carrying dangerous tanks. They weren’t backing down and Peter’s car had to stay at the border despite the complete absence of diving tanks of any kind. They did allow Peter and Andy to continue having first transferred all their gear into Geoff’s car. The logic of this defeats me completely but at least everyone was into Oman albeit minus one car and some tanks and half an hour behind schedule.

Had we but known it, Sami had needed to use his persuasive skills on his own behalf the previous day. He’d flown in from Beirut on Wednesday evening and arriving at the border on Thursday afternoon, he was told the system had not registered his entry to the UAE and that therefore he didn’t exist. One would have thought that a living, breathing human being clutching a passport would be strong de facto evidence of a person’s existence in the UAE. As ever, officialdom works otherwise and Sami was unable to prove his point with an entry stamp since he’d come in through the e-gate. Instead he managed to orchestrate a phone conversation between the border police and some person at the e-gate office at Dubai airport who was able to say that Sami had indeed entered the country the previous day. His existence confirmed, Sami was able to proceed.

The serious message here is that the e-gate system seems to take 24 hours to recognise anybody as having entered the UAE and anyone wanting to cross a border less time than that after arrival would be well advised to get a stamp in their passport, even if means a long queue.

After all this the diving might seem anti-climatic but such was not the case. We were with Extra Divers which is next to the Golden Tulip hotel just outside of Khasab. Since there were eleven of us, we had a boat to ourselves along with Dive Master Kurt and two boat drivers. The first destination was “No-palm Beach” on Musandam Island which was about an hour out of Khasab. Despite the name this was not a beach dive – we dived the reef around the island which starts shallow before sloping down to 40m or deeper. The viz was not spectacular but the large table corals were very attractive. There were plenty of soft corals as well and the usual reef fishes found in the Musandam. There was also a turtle swimming around and seen by some of us. The current was gentle which was good as it can vary unpredictably in this area as we were shortly to find out.

The second dive was on Abu Rashid Island and the dive site was called Abu Rashid Drift. This really was no joke. The current varied with position and depth during the dive but in general it was one-way traffic only. Unlike the first dive the sea bed went down steeply in what was virtually a wall so care was needed not to go too deep. There were fields of very nice purple coloured soft corals which could be appreciated during those moments when not trying hard to stay on the reef. In the event Peter got blown off and had to surface after only twelve minutes or so but most of the rest of us made it round the corner into calmer conditions in shallower depths. After that we had a relaxing boat ride back to shore. Peter described the day as “one dive and a washing machine”.

The party split in two at this point. Peter, Geoff, Derek, Chris and Andy went off to do a night dive whilst the rest of cracked a couple of cans in the bar. The latter activity needs little elaboration but let Peter describe the night dive:

The night diving party returned to the hotel to join the rest of us for an excelent buffet meal accompanied with generous amounts of liquid refreshment. All in all it was a very good day and many thanks are due to Kurt and Sandra of Extra Divers.
In the morning we all went our separate ways, some of us to the nearest sun-loungers but others were more adventurous. Geoff picks up the story:

Many thanks to Geoff for organising the weekend. The divers were: Geoff, Derek, Ian, Cathy, Mike A, Andy, Peter, Chris, Sami, Richard and snorkeler Sharon. Some pictures are attached – many thanks to those who sent them to me.

For those interested, the club is featured in the next edition of “Time Out Sharjah” – available next week at a newsagent near you.

We are planning another Eid-al-Adha trip to Beirut to dive the Souffleur, the Vichy French submarine that went down in June 1941 as well as one or two other wrecks such as the “Alice B”. Eid this year is due around 15 October but the exact dates and duration is not known yet. More details will follow and the trip is highly recommended.

The club is open as usual tomorrow night which is a good opportunity to meet the usual crowd of terrorists, international arms dealers, traffic offenders and mugging victims. Divers are welcome provided they exist. Purchase of food and beverages will be accepted as proof of existence and the more proof the greater the certainty. In the words of the great philosopher: “I drink therefore I am”.

On a more serious and sadder note and for the benefit of those former Wanderers of recent years who remember him, I regret to report the death of Stephen Thompson (Tonk) in a car accident in Saudi Arabia. We never did manage to persuade him to come diving with us but he was a visible and charismatic presence at SWSC and will be missed very much around here.

This week’s contribution comes from Peter:
With high waves forecast for Friday, and demand for two boats, Derek rightly cancelled the planned dives to Mariam Express and Jumbo. Half the team however decided to drive across to Freestyle near Dibba, where a smooth sea was anticipated. As it turned out, strong early morning wind raised a choppy sea on the East Coast, but not sufficient to interfere with diving. In fact Freestyle was proving very popular; other divers having had the same idea as us. But we were all made welcome, though some of us hadn’t pre-booked. And the breeze made for a comfortable day.

One of the advantages of Club diving became clear when we had to wait well over an hour for the boats to arrive from the harbour. Derek, Geoff and Brian Larkin opted for dives on the two” Inchcapes”, while Peter introduced Andy Balthrop to the marine life of Dibba Rock.

For our first dive on the rock, we took advantage of high tide, to explore the shallows for possible shark sightings, but without success. Peter’s mask leaked badly, interfering with both his dive and video! Eventually he surfaced, and loosened it, which sorted the problem for the remainder of the dive. The water temperature was very comfortable at 27 degrees. A young colourful lion fish, a pipefish, a shy Moses sole (we would see a larger one on our next dive), and shoals of parrotfish provided the best entertainment. The surface of the reef was rich with newly born fish and eggs.

We returned to the beach to find Richard waiting to join us for the next dive. In the meantime one of the instructors was assisting his young teenage daughter, Cora, dress for her 100th dive – as a fairy, complete with tutu, vivid pink wig, wings and magic wand! A group of first time divers would also be joining her.

So for the second dive, we were three, and descending to the back of the rock were soon finding large puffer fish, trunk fish, larger parrot fish and wrasse, and two well concealed undulated moray eels, the largest one spotted by Andy. Clown fish, a variegated lizard fish, shoals of snappers, fusiliers and sergeant majors all contributed to a colourful dive. More colour arrived with the fleet of students, followed by our day-glow pink-haired fairy, complete with trappings. She won’t forget her 100th dive! Alone again in the colourful corals in the shallows, we spotted a shoal of fornicating cephalopods, dancing in pairs and totally pre-occupied with the meaning of life. Amazing to watch, and all caught on video; one of those dives, we won’t forget!

Geoff now describes the deep dives:
“Inchcape 1
Having loaded up the Freestyle dive boat for a two tank trip, we had a fairly smooth trip out to Inchcape 1. The Al Boom dive boat was already on site but in the process of retrieving its’ final divers and moved off as we approached leaving the site to ourselves. However, Al Boom’s farewell  comment of “the viz is …..very poor*” proved to be an accurate assessment. Derek and I were first in, diving on 36% nitrox with 50% nitrox stage bottles, along with Brian on 32% nitrox. On descending the line through the gloom, the wreck finally came into view with viz 2m at best. We searched the wreck from bow to stern looking for the transitory sea horse but to no avail. However, Brian did spot a huge Lionfish, and a solitary Moray was also seen. At one point we drifted about 5m away from the wreck where visibility was curiously somewhat better and we could see two good sized porcupine fish circling above us, however visibility over the wreck remained limited. The highlight were large schools of catfish and monocled bream, so dense at times if felt like being inside a wreck. With the benefit of nitrox we spent about 25 minutes on the wreck at 29m before starting our ascent, swapping onto the 50% nitrox at 21m and conducting a good practice ‘deep stop’ at 15m for 1 minute to assist our decompression profile. During the obligatory three minute safety stop at 5m we were entertained by a file fish seeking shelter beneath the barrel connected to the line before finishing the dive.
 *Translated from the Anglo-Saxon terminology actually used.

Inchcape 2
Our second dive was on Inchcape 2 near Khor Fakkan harbour where we arrived just as the Al Boom boat was moving off – perfect timing! Visibility here was significantly better than the first dive and was ~8-10m at a depth of 20m. This obviously helped with orientation on the wreck and searching for marine life. The wreck was alive with morays with at least 8 separate eels sighted, moorish idols, blue-tailed trunkfish (box fish) and a variety of reef fish were also seen. On entering the wreck from the open hatches towards the stern, another moray was sighted along with what looked like a number of lizardfish. Moving forward through the wreck we were treated to several large harlequin shrimps scuttling around and some damselfish seemingly floating in mid-air . Swimming 10m off the wreck to what looked like some piping on the seabed, a well camouflaged scorpion fish was seen next to a grouper. The bottom temperature was 24 C, justifying the choice of 3mm wetsuit for the dives. On surfacing, Andy of Freestyle steered us steadily through increasingly choppy waters back to base, the journey passing quickly with the on-board banter. Sharing stories and some decompression fluid with the other 406 members back on dry land was a pleasant end to a good day out on the east coast.”

Back to Peter:
The day ended with a BSAC 406 group photo, but including of course some fairy dust!
Thanks to Freestyle, in particular Andy, Trevor and Max, for accommodating us all with virtually no notice, and to Cora for her unusual entertainment.

Look out for this week’s movie, “Last Tango in Dibba”, coming soon to a dive bar near you!

With me taking time off for good behavior last Friday, this week’s words come from our long-time boats officer, Mike Anthony:

“Six of us set sail in glassy seas from Hamriyah to the Ajman Glory. With Brian Larkin piloting for the first time we successfully snagged the wreck at the second attempt. Wendy kindly agreed to sit this one out so the five of us went over the side to see maybe 5m viz. Mike D and Robin dived as one pair and Chris and Brian as the other with Mike doing his own thing. After 32mins on the wreck – being part of the second wave down – Mike returned to the anchor to find no one. Reasoning that Chris would have eaten his air by then he assumed that Chris and Brian had already ascended, so the anchor was removed from the hatch cover and was deposited down current off the wreck. Upon surfacing Mike discovered that the others were still down! Arrh! We then watched anxiously for signs of a marker buoy as a reasonably strong current was running. A buoy duly surfaced but it shortly became apparent that the divers were on the anchor line so all ended well.  Chris’s air consumption is clearly improving although both divers discovered that diving for that long on air on what is quite a deep wreck you get hammered for deco.

Mike D then drove us swiftly to the Dara and was entirely in charge of the process of anchoring. We were definitely stationary but some 40m from the wreck. He was happy with that so off they went. Shortly however a marker buoy surfaced and drifted past us in the current. So we dropped in the anchor buoy and set off after the marker buoy waiting for the divers to surface. After some time we realised that we could not see any bubbles anywhere near the marker buoy and by this time we were several hundred metres towards RAK from the Dara. We pulled it and its reel back on board and then went back to the wreck and picked up the anchor line again. This time we dragged the anchor into the wreck stopping only when the echo sounder screen had the wreck written all over it. Mike and Robin were pleasantly surprised that they did not have a 40m swim without a guiding line to find the anchor again. Wendy and Mike A had a pleasant swim round the stern area examining the fish in 10m of viz whilst Chris and Brian reported sightings of cuttlefish and a ray.

The Land Rover passenger door now can be opened from the inside and a new set of front brake pads has been installed. We hope to be able to finally register the truck in the name of the Club during next week.”