VSAG General Meeting

Hi all,
We will be holding our May Club Meeting on Tuesday 18th May at The Clare Castle, 354 Graham St, Port Melbourne VIC 3207 and online via Zoom. As usual we will meet in the bar from 19.00 with the meeting starting at 20.00 sharp. Guests are always welcome to attend via either medium. Please book early as there is a room limit at the Clare Castle of 20 people.

Our speaker this month is Jane Bowman, PADI Course Director, EFR Instructor Trainer, CDAA Advanced Cave Instructor.

It only took a single trip to the Maldives in 1984 that commenced a love for SCUBA diving that is still as strong today as then and started what was to become not just a hobby but a career. PADI training has enabled Jane to become one of the few female Course Directors in Australia. She is also an Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer, CDAA Instructor and a Marine Safety Coxswain. A love of photography and marine biology has enabled her to appreciate not only what Victoria has to offer but better appreciate overseas destinations. Jane has traveled extensively to destinations such as Malaysia, Thailand, Fiji, New Zealand, Mexico, USA, Tonga, Chuuk (Truk Lagoon), Palau, Guam, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Marshall Islands, the Galapagos, Brunei and Niue. Technical diving has included trips to Florida, Mexico, Vanuatu and the Nullarbor to dive the caves plus countless journeys to Mt Gambier to dive in Australia’s best cave diving area.

Jane was inducted in the International Women Divers Hall of Fame in the USA in 2010. She was the second Australian (after Valerie Taylor) to be selected for this award based on her extensive training, teaching and technical diving experience especially for female divers. She was awarded OzTek’s Industry Recognition Award in 2017.

In addition to Jane’s presentation we will bring you up to date on what’s been happening around the club including local diving during March . Finally we will judge the monthly photo contest so don’t forget to get your entries in.

See you there

VSAG

Ex HMAS Canberra 10th Anniversary Dive

Hi all
On 4th October this year it will be the 10th Anniversary of the sinking as an artificial reef of the Ex HMAS Canberra. Doesn’t time fly by.

There are plans being made by VARS to mark the occasion which will involve a celebratory meal.Details will come out closer to the date.

Myself and JL have both been talking to Luke English at Redboat’s about the event and he has kindly agreed to put on a boat for us so that we can dive her on the day of the anniversary.

The 4th October is a Friday so I wanted to give you plenty of notice so that days off work can be arranged if necessary for those wishing to join us for the dive.

The boat will depart Portsea Pier at 9.00am and Queenscliff at 9.15am. This trip is now up on the Redboat’s website www.Redboats.com.au so that you can book on if you wish to. The boat capacity is 18 but we will put additional dives on if it proves necessary .

Ian

VSAG June General Meeting

Hi all
We will be holding our June General Meeting on Tuesday 18th.
Safely back from Egypt I will presenting on Diving The SS Thistlegorm – the worlds best shipwreck?
As usual we will be in the bar from 19.00 with the meeting starting sharp at 20.00.
In addition to the prezzo we will update you on what’s going on around the club and we will judge our May Photo contest.
All members, guests and prospective members welcome.
See you there
Ian

Maritime Safety Victoria

Hi all
Our February general meeting is on next Tuesday 19th at 8.00pm at The Water Rat Hotel, 256 Moray Street, South Melbourne. As usual we will be in the bar from 7.00pm for a meal and a drink beforehand.

This months guest speaker will be a representative from Maritime Safety Victoria who will deliver a presentation entitled “ Beyond Compliance”
This prezzy will be an important one for our boat owners and anyone who dives from our boats. We have been invited to bring a PFD along on the night for a practice session on how to conduct the annual inspection required for the cylinder inflated PFD type. This is something that we all need to know how to do correctly.

In addition to our guest speaker we have a backlog of photo contests to judge with our October, November, December and January comps to vote on.

Hope to see you there on the night

Ian

VSAG Fiji 2019

Hi allIf anyone is interested in joining the club trip to Fiji in June now is the time to commit and get your booking in. The trip is a two resort trip with the first leg a couple of nights at Barefoot Kuata Resort including up to 8 dives, 3 of which are the resorts key note Bull Shark feeding dives.  The second leg is 7 nights at Mantaray Island Resort including 10 dives and a great chance of seeing Manta Rays. I did this trip the year before last and can highly recommend it. It is also a great trip for non diving family members with plenty of other activities to keep them amused. If anyone books on please can you let me know so that I am aware. For more information please don’t hesitate to give me a ring on 0439 310646 or drop me an email at President@vsag.org.au.VIC SUB AQUA FIJI 2019 BOOKING FORMVIC SUB AQUA GROUP FIJI 2019 FLYER