Hi everyone,

Karen Doby of Northern California Rainbow Divers has asked me to invite GLUG members to join their trip to Wakatobi in July next year.

The plan is to take over the whole resort for a week, and places are selling fast.

For those who don’t know, Wakatobi offers fantastic reef diving - Jacques Cousteau described the area as having “the best reefs in the world”. It’s a protected Marine Park, home to a wide range of unique plants and animals found only in Indonesian waters. Photographers - take your Macro Lenses!

For more information, see the trip information page on the NCRD (Northern California Rainbow Divers) website. NCRD are offering GLUG members the same 5% discount on the advertised prices that they’re offering their own members.

Places are filling up fast, so if you’re interested, register for the trip ASAP on the trip webpage, or send Karen an email.

Hi everyone,

As many of you will know, I’ve been a little preoccupied with family matters over the last couple of months, and haven’t had time to do much with the website.

However, just before I jet off to Spain for a couple of weeks, I’ve managed to put together some results from the first part of the survey. More will follow when I get back.

Best wishes,

Neil.

The list of UK dives booked for 2006 so far are now on the website. Booking forms will be available from 1st January 2006.

Hi Everyone, I guess I shouldn’t abuse the GLUG site for advertising, but I hope you’ll forgive me.

At this time of year for the last five years, I’ve been busy planning the GLUG BBQ. This year I haven”t been in a position to offer the garden or my time for this successfull social event. It usually brings together a large group of divers and their friends, but also provided an opportunity to collect money for the Food Chain. (£900+ last year)

Some of you may also re-collect that GLUG used to meet in the Konditor & Cook Cafe/Bar @ the Young Vic Theatre, until it was closed for last year.The good news is that this Friday sees the opening of a very differernt Bar/Cafe at the Curzon Soho , 99 Shaftesbury Avenue.

To celebrate the opening Konditor & Cook will donate all of the first nights takings to the Food Chain. (this should at least financially make up for the lack of a BBQ)

I hereby would like to invite all GLUG members to join me and the Konditor & Cook team this Friday (after 4.30pm) for the opening and to give support to the Food Chain in doing so.
Come along and make it a very special evening. The Curzon is screening a ‘Short Film Summer School’ this weekend and for those unfamiliar with Soho, other forms of entertainment await in the streets adjacent to the Curzon. I hope to see you all on Friday.

Gerhard

…or, if you can’t afford those, then how about the Poseidon Undersea Resort - only US$1500 per night!

The Monthly GLUG Meeting is tonight, from 7.30pm, at the Lye Torng Thai Restaurant & Bar, 33 St George’s Road, Elephant & Castle. All welcome!

Peter Hughes Diving currently have some pretty good offers:

Komodo Dancer, Bali: 7 night trip June 20th-27th, at 20% off their normal price. GLUG members get an additional 10% off - this makes the total price for their standard staterooms around US$1400.

Sun Dancer, Belize:September 10th - 17th and September 17th - 24th. First person pays US$1695, second pays US$999. Same price for all room categories. Again, GLUG members get 10% discount on these rates. Also, for the week August 20th-27th, single travellers can reserve a cabin to themselves at no surcharge.

For more details of these trips, please see the Peter Hughes Website, or contact Neil (Logged-in members can click on my name at the top of the post).

If you’re worried about who Hospital Staff would treat as your Next of Kin, read this.

Amazing the things you discover on other clubs’ forums… One of the SDRSC (San Diego Rainbow Scuba Club) divers is going on an Underwater Archaeology Trip to excavate an 18th Century Spanish Galleon off Key Largo in July & August.

The dig is being organised by ADMAT, and if you’re interested in joining it, you can find out more on their website.

Diving Leisure have raised over £3500 for tsunami relief by organising a 24-hour “Diveathon”

Don’t take too long to think about it! If you are interested in a heavily discounted trip to Belize, email me asap! There’s loads of information on the Peter Hughes website so start there and decide soon. The date is free at the moment and will be agreed by those wanting to go. I would suggest either May or September this year.

Scottish Natural Heritage are developing a new Marine Wildlife Watching code.

The Red Sea Association for Diving and Watersports have brought in new rules for liveaboard and day diving charter boats, and for divers who use them.

Among the new rules for divers on Liveaboards:

• Divers must have at least 50 logged dives
• Each diver must carry an SMB, and each buddy pair must carry a torch - even on morning dives
• Divers must possess diving accident insurance from “a reputable company”

In addition, all divers (dayboats or liveaboard) must produce medical certification of fitness to dive, issued within the last year.

You can read the full story on the Divernet Website.

The London Diving Chamber, based in St Johns Wood, is now open.

Dr John King (Medical Director) and Dr Jules Eden (from Sport Diver Magazine) will be treating divers and undertaking dive medicals.

Consultation and treatment for DCI is covered by the NHS, and is free.

This is a little off-topic for GLUG, I know, but I thought you might be interested to know about a service called Skype, which I’ve been using.

It’s a free program which allows you to use your PC as a telephone. You can call anyone else who uses Skype, for free, but you can also use it as a normal phone, to call landlines or mobiles anywhere in the world, for a fraction of BT’s rates. For example, you can call any landline in Europe, North America, Australia, or New Zealand for just €0.02 per minute

You need a PC with speakers and a microphone to use it, but according to their website, you don’t need a broadband connection (although I suspect the quality may not be as good with dial-up).

If you decide to give it a try, don’t forget to add me to your contacts list!