THE MAURITIUS UNDERWATER GROUP 2004: MUG 40th Year ANNIVERSARY between now and 15th July will have th some training element. DINNER 10 JULY Once that is complete, the Advanced May newsletter Diver Course will begin. Good luck to Issue 04/05 2004. IMPORTANT both Steve Parish, Nicole Schmitt and Cassamjee Buchoo who will be For reasons of numbers and logistics undertaking this difficult course. this will now be an Indian buffet at The Then there will be a short delay until the Gymkhana Club 7.00 12.00 on Saturday National Instructor arrives in November. th 10 July and will be supported by Canal So demanding are we that he is going to CONTENTS Satellite. Invitations will be ready to go have to bring an Advanced Instructor out as soon as possible. With the benefit with him to assist at no extra cost to us of the support of Canal Satellite it has except looking after him and taking him PAGE 2 been possible to keep the cost as low as diving. So basically, 2 for the price of ARTICLES Rs350 per person. Some distinguished 1.□ members and their spouses shall be PAGE 3 guests of the club. There will be a band for entertainment and should be no MUG MEMBERS TAKING STATISTICS more than 2 short speeches THE PLUNGE PAGE 4 guaranteed! So put your party rags on, blow the dust off the other half and Last time it was Rob and Edwina DIVE REPORTS come and off-gas with friends old and Swingler: now it seems that Mug has got PAGE 5 new. For more information or to pay for wedding fever. G. Hossen Ali has given your places, contact Abdul at Mug or Mug an announcement that his wedding PHOTOS Tom Williams, Social and Entertainment with Miss K. Pelissier will be held on 13 officer, on 777 9745 or June 2004 in Victoria, Mahe, PAGE 6 [email protected]. □ Seychelles. He also suggests “future IN BRIEF club dives to be planned around Praslin MORE NEW COURSES and La Digue”. As recently as last Tuesday Chris Waters announced his USUAL APOLOGY engagement to Gwenaelle Becam. Well The Mug should be in charge generally. Too much to do, too he didn’t so much announce it as tell me It is about the only organisation that little time, so not much carries through on it’s manifesto! They about it: I told everyone I could; Blob to say in this edition. said that this would be a training year heard it, rang the bell and announced it Sorry. and so it is: to everyone at the club-house. We wish Next month: know your Dive Leader course has just begun. all of them all the best and many years scorpionfish from your Trainees are Khalil Edahtally, Joe of happiness together. [Ed: sorry about stonefish. Jokun, Ruth and Tom Williams, Justin the really bad pun] □ Robertson and Yves Menager. Almost every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday PAINTING WEEKEND before The idea of splashing a bit of idea that those who actively assist will receive a “free” paint around the club-house dive. The club waives all charges on any equipment and sprucing it up a bit is now needed, you only have to pay the boatman. So people out of the starting blocks and are needed for taking stuff down, clearing stuff up, even over the first hurdle. For sorting stuff out, putting stuff the outside, including the cannon and anchor, the MMCS back in, cleaning stuff, will take care of it. For the inside - several have come sanding down stuff, forward to say that they will lend a hand. Someone has basically…stuff. This stuff will offered to donate paint: another has said that he can happen on Sunday 4th July after provide painters as long as the surfaces are as ready for from 09:00 am onwards for as painting as can be. The committee has approved the long as it takes. □ Negativity: gets you down, man The human body is naturally buoyant. People float. and 50bar because that’s what you’ll be surfacing Well, normal healthy live people float. Add with. neoprene and they get really floaty. Divers need weight to sink. Now some of this is provided by It’s just as important not to be overweight either. your equipment. A 12l steel cylinder filled to OK you get to sink all right, but then you have to 200Bar holds about 2.8kg of air and is negatively keep air in your BCD to counteract that additional buoyant to roughly 1.6kg. Then there’s your regs, weight. Again, during the dive it’s not too much mask, computer and any other equipment most of bother – but what happens at the end? Now, as which is probable slightly negative as well. you ascend, you have to keep air in your BCD to Sometimes all this negative buoyancy alone will be keep counteracting that extra weight. For every enough to start you sinking. And that’s what we’re kilo at 6m you need an extra 1.6 litres of air. Since, really after. Because when the water pressure as we know, the pressure differentials become doubles and reduces the volume of your wet-suit more severe the shallower you are, the more extra and anything else compressible then your positive air you have at that depth the more dangerous the buoyancy will be reduced further and you’ll carry situation. on sinking. Performing a weight check isn’t rocket science But what about the end of the dive? Say you’re either and can be done as part of any ordinary coming up at 60 BAR. 140Bar of air weighs 2kg. dive. You pick a nice easy dive, with a familiar And as you are ascending, particularly in those experienced buddy. Your buddy carries at least 1 last 10m, your suit is expanding again, even if not extra kilo. You agree the plan. You dive to the same extent as before. So now you are at conservatively. At 6m you stop, preferably on a 6m, and you are now short of weight, by about 2 dSMB. You empty your BCD. You dump your air to kilos. At the start of a dive there is no danger with 50bar. Your buddy (who is of course over- being underweight except current or hitting your weighted) keeps hold of you and you hold your head on the boat as you are bobbing along in the buddy. Friendly stuff this. On your agreed signal – sea. You’re not going to suffer DCI from being on agreed in the plan of course – your buddy lets go the surface. But if underweight and shooting to the of you and you let go of your buddy. If you still surface at the end of a dive then you’ve got sink, you are over-weighted – give your buddy a serious problems. So the most important purpose kilo. If you begin to rise you are under-weighted, of your lead is to counteract the weight you lose now take that kilo. When you just hang, then you during a dive. The real aim of weighting is to be are just right.□ neutrally buoyant at 6m with no air in your BCD Brass Monkeys It’s cold. It’s official. Jumpers are on at MUG and the body to warm it. It makes a difference. Just the shivering has started on the boat. The fair- these 2 simple things can help stop a dive from weather divers will be packing their stuff away, being aborted early due to cold. But nothing while the passionate push on through. The best vis changes the wind chill effect when you’re back on I ever saw here was in the middle of winter. Under the boat. So don’t sit in it! Sit down in the boat. Put the waves it was almost as clear as above them. It an anorak on. Best of all dry off. There’s no rule was stunning. The sea is a seasonal place as well. that says you have to sit in a wet wet-suit. Take a Different times of year bring out different animals towel and a dry-shirt and an anorak and there you and bring on different behaviour. So don’t stop just are – toasty warm!! Chuck in a thermos of hot tea because it’s chilly. Get ready! Top of your winter and not only are you Mr Warm, but you’re also Mr list is a hood. Like sunscreen in the sun, if I could Popular as well.□ Of course, the best solution is make one recommendation for you for diving in better insulation. Vade Retro is getting 5mm colder water, a hood would be it. Instant neoprene in the middle of June, and I assume that improvement. A tight t-shirt under a wet-suit the Saekodive outlet in Rosehill also has 5mm provides an extra layer to trap water which allows suits.□ While we’re on the subject “Cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass When it got cold, ice would form on the monkey” is an expression often used in England to cannonballs making them liable to fall, and when it mean “Gosh, it’s really jolly cold”. The usual got really really cold the monkey would contract, explanation of its origin is that it comes like many the pile would be unstable, et voila, balls would be other odd expressions in the English language frozen off the brass monkey.