September

The dive last Friday 25th had to be aborted due to the tow hook falling off Ian’s car 200m from the club gates. Thanks to Sami’s hook we got the boat back to the yard but the weight of the boat almost turned his car into a two-wheeler. However, Friday’s disappointment was compensated by a good party round Cathy’s place on Saturday afternoon and evening so the weekend wasn’t wasted.

Mention should also be made of the underwater beer drinking dive marshaled by Uwe last Tuesday. Well done to those who successfully finished their drink.

Eid Barbecue

For the Eid Monday we did a one-tank trip to the Dara followed by a relaxed afternoon on Hamriyah beach. Thanks to “Materchef” Uwe for organising the Barbie and to Lutz for entertaining us with his novel technique for anchoring the boat close to shore (I think the method is known as “ever increasing circles).

Friday the 19th we got out to the Lion City and Jassim for the first time in awhile. These are both good wrecks with the Jassim being the more broken up and possibly the more interesting of the two – look out for those engine blocks! It’s a long way out which is why we don’t go often but it’s worth it if the sea conditions are favourable.

Jassim and LionCity

For the Eid holiday we were planning a trip to Jazirat Sir Bu Naair but unfortunately this time the sea didn’t co-operate. Instead we did a one-tanker on the Dara followed by a BBQ on Hamriyah beach. This proved a very acceptable alternative. Thanks to Uwe for providing the BBQ equipment and to Mike for towing the boat and untangling the knots. A special mention should go to Lutz for his inefficient but highly imaginative method for parking the boat. I’ll be adding a few photos to the web site shortly.

Don’t forget the beach clean at Al Khan (behind the aquarium) on Saturday 3 October. We need a few more signed up for this please. Be aware that we’ll be cleaning under the water not above it!

On the 12th we had a good trip to the Zainab and nice to see that Uwe has not lost his talent for treasure hunting! Another two-boat trip as well – 12 divers in total!

The Alia

What a good trip to the Alia last Friday!(the 5th). The wreck is about 2½ hours out of RAK, virtually on the Musandam border. It is a barge, deliberately sunk in about 37m of water. The viz wasn’t special but still two good dives were had (by most of us). 21 divers made the trip including a crowd from DSDC and all seemed to enjoy themselves – two excellent meals and plenty of decompression fluid after the diving included. Thanks to Mike for doing the arranging and to Jim for doing much of the on-board marshalling.

Don’t forget the beach clean at Al Khan (behind the aquarium) on Saturday 3 October. This is usually a fun day in a good cause. Be there and fly the flag for 406!