£10,000 For Dingwall Youth Sub Aqua Club

Dingwall Youth Sub Aqua Club received a grant of £10,000 towards the purchase of a rescue/ dive boat from The Big Lottery Fund – Awards for All.

The boat will be used to provide safety cover for divers should they require assistance and will also make it possible to access alternative dive sites such that the students can develop their diving skills and experience.

The club is a Youth Branch of the British Sub Aqua Club and has Dingwall Academy as its parent body. Since it began in July 2000 the club has trained many students from the Academy as well as from other schools in the area.

Diving Officer Jack Murray who is also a CDT teacher at the school said:  “Currently there are 25 members in our club and we have been working for some time to acquire the funding to provide this piece of equipment.

“This grant from Awards for All will make a massive boost to our efforts to raise the funding for this project and we hope to complete the fund raising in the near future.  Currently there is a shortfall in funding of £3,000 and we are working hard to close this gap.  Included in our efforts is a sponsored swim from Stromeferry to North Strome. This swim of approximately 1Km is to be complete by a team of 6 divers on 22nd April.  Sponsors who would be willing to support the club are invited to contact a club member for details of how they can assist.”

The club currently dives from shore in areas such as Loch Carron, Achilitibuie, Loch Duich and Auchmelvich. The purchase of a boat will allow rescue cover to be supplied at the current locations and also make it possible to access a much wider ranges of sites such as the wreck of the Port Napier at Kyle of Lochalsh, Summer Isles, Loch Hourne, the Valentine tank at Burghead bay, Caple Rock at Cullen and many other locations that are not suitable for shore based diving.  All students are encouraged to take an active interest in the marine environment by getting involved with sea search activities to record the marine life and environment.

Once the boat is in use club members will also be able to learn skills in seamanship and boat handling in addition to the dive skills they already acquire through membership of the club.