Expedition Diving Resource Centre - Expeditions 2008
Thousands of BSAC diving expeditions take place every year all over the world. The vast majority of these are organized within BSAC branches. Details of BSAC Branch expeditions can be found by contacting the Diving Officer or Expeditions Officer of the branch organizing the expedition.
Participation will enable you to experience new horizons in diving techniques, explore new areas and gain practical skills. Each Expedition will be lead by a highly qualified Instructor and diver, chosen for their experience of the charter boat and their diving interest. Expeditions will be aimed at members of a particular level of qualification.
Places are limited and the viability of each expedition depends on it gaining sufficient support from members interested in taking part.
The Expeditions listed on this webpage are mostly Regional or National Expeditions. Branch organized expeditions are listed here where they have successfully applied for a BSAC grant.
May 2009, Malin Head Wrecks
Shane Wansik is leading an trimix expedition aiming to dive some of the most famous wreck sites off the Donegal coast such as the RMS Laurentic, HMS Audacious, RMS Justicia and the Empire Heritage. Aside some fabulous, adventurous and challenging diving this expedition is the first to build in a First Class Diver practical exam for some of the expedition members. The expedition has been awarded a £1000 grant from the BSAC BEGS Scheme.
May to June 2009, Survey of the Thor
Teresa Darbyshire is leading Cardiff branch of the BSAC on an expedition to put their newly acquired underwater archaeological skills to the test. Having completed an NAS course they have chosen to survey the wreck of the Thor which was a dutch coaster that sank in heavy seas in Milford Haven. The expedition has been awarded a £500 grant from the BSAC BEGS Scheme.
June 2009, Isles of Scilly
Severnside Sub Aqua Club reaches its 40th anniversary in 2009. It is celebrating by organising a major expedition to the Isles of Scilly. Most previous excursions there were long ago in the days of inflatable boats or in latter years using the islands hard boats. This year however they are looking back to the earlier years for inspiration and they are setting out with RHIBs with the aim of having some great diving and to accurately locate new and old dive sites on the islands. This expedition will also lend itself to developing the next generation of advanced divers and First Class divers for the branch. The expedition is being lead by Mike Shean and has been awarded a £1000 grant from the BSAC BEGS scheme.
June 2009, Benbecula and Outer Hebrides
Richard Handy from Totnes branch of the BSAC is bringing together divers from a number of clubs on an expedition to locate some new sites in the Sea of the Hebrides. They are aiming to locate and dive the wreck of the SS Treverbyn in about 60-70m of water aswell as a number of scenic pinnacles. Their dive platform is going to be the Elizabeth G, a converted Norwegian ice class rescue boat. The expedition was awarded a £1000 grant from the BSAC BEGS scheme.
September 2009, Cape Wrath
Edinburgh University club will be taking the lead in a multibranch dive to explore sites off Cape Wrath as part of an ongoing longer term project to explore the extremities of the Scottish coast. The dive locations chosen mean that the expedition team will need to be self sufficient and have a great deal of flexibility to change plans in case of bad weather. Diving from their own RHIBS and taking their own compressors gives the team the flexibility they require. The expedition leader Paul Bullen applied for and was awarded a £1000 grant from the BSAC BEGS Scheme.
September 2009, Optimist Challenge out of Sea Palling
Bedford Sub-Aqua Club is a highly active branch of the BSAC and are aiming to explore wrecks off the East Anglian coast this year. Most of the diving is relatively shallow but it is relatively undived for a number of reasons: The visibility can be quite poor, there are shifting sand banks which means that the wrecks sometimes disappear and reappear and the coast is prone to thick fog on the otherwise mos ideal time to dive. Get the timing right though and you are in for a treat. Lisa Bedard is leading the expedition which is setting out to research little dived wreck sites, survey marine life on them and produce wreck tour information for the branch. The expedition was awarded a £500 grant from the BSAC BEGS scheme.
REDS
The Regional Expeditionary Diving Scheme is an opportunity to extend your diving horizons outside your usual branch diving. It is particularly useful if you are working towards BSAC First Class Diver qualification. Each region endeavours to run a REDS expedition which seeks to provide adventurous and challenging diving. Contact your regional coach or REDS co-ordinator for further details. A list of REDS expeditions in the latter stages of planning are listed below. Other regions are also planning expeditions and details will follow as soon as these are known.
South Scotland
Max Ruffert is leading another expedition to enjoy adventurous and challenging drift dives in the Sound of Luing area and explore undived pinnacles in the area.
West Midlands
Two expeditions are planned this year. Andy Seddon led a group to explore a roman wreck site in the warm clear waters off Croatia last year and is aiming to return again this year. There are also plans for a REDS team to be formed to dive and survey in detail a well dived wreck of the Elk out of Plymouth to try archaeological survey techniques and see if there are any secrets left about the wreck to be discovered.
Wales
Alan Thomas is planning to build a REDS team to dive off the Small’s reef which lies about 20 miles off the SW tip of Wales.
South East
Dave Tresidder is planning another couple of weekends of Trimix diving off the South Coast of England, either mid-channel or out of Portland Bill.
Northern
Hubert Desgranges and Tom McCrickerd are heading up the REDS expedition dive team, possibly to explore wrecks in the Solway Firth.
Expedition Leaders are reminded the BSAC and BSA Jubilee Trust offer grants to support expeditions.
For details click on the links below:
Expedition Links
Expeditions Intro
Sources of Additional Funding
BSAC Expedition Grant Scheme (BEGS)
Jubilee Trust Grants
Expedition Diary, Reports and Awards
Current BSAC Expeditions
Recent BSAC Expeditions
The Expedition Trophy
Expedition Planning
Frequently Asked Questions
Expeditions Intro
Sources of Additional Funding
BSAC Expedition Grant Scheme (BEGS)
Jubilee Trust Grants
Expedition Diary, Reports and Awards
Current BSAC Expeditions
Recent BSAC Expeditions
The Expedition Trophy
Expedition Planning
Frequently Asked Questions
BSAC Expedition Leader GuidelinesExpedition Planning Notes
Dive Planning resource centre
Example Expedition Plan : One day Hardboat Expeditions
Example Risk Assessment: One day Hardboat Expeditions
Example Expedition Report: One Day Hardboat Expeditions
Other Expedition Guidance
Branch Officers Handbook
Contacts for Special interest Groups and Expeditions
Important information on diving wrecks
Page last modified: 11th Mar 2008 - 13:37:17