Plymouth Defence Community SAC

*PDCSAC AGENDA FOR THE 2016 AGM

To be held at the Boat House Thursday 3rd November 2016 meeting at 1800 for 1830 start.

Chairman’s introduction: Dave Dyter

Apologies (from members unable to attend)

2: Reports.

Club members are reminded that officials’ reports are NOT a question and answer session, make a note of any items you wish to discuss and bring them up during AOB.

Diving Officer: Steve Cox

Training Officer: Bruce Green

Treasurer: Mel Melville-Brown

Equipment Officer: Paul Wilson

RIB s Officer: Ginge Potts

Membership Secretary: Rob Swan

Health & Safety Buildings Rep: Andy Vine

Funding’ s Officer: Don Hamer

Social Secretary: Natalie Jasper

Secretary: Vanessa Potts

3: Election of officials:

4: Presentations for the information of all members

a) The Club Constitution
b) Safeguarding
c) Website
d) Dive Equipment Cages

5: Motions (to be voted on)

Motions to be in writing and forwarded to the secretary and to be received at least 1 week before the AGM.

Items brought up during officials reports will now be discussed and voted on if necessary

6: AOB

Meeting commenced at 18.30

Chairman’s introduction: Dave Dyter

Welcome to the PDCSAC 2016 Annual General Meeting. It is pleasant to see so many members present. This AGM marks the end of our second full year as a Defence Community and, in my view, we continue to be successful as a dive club.

We ran a full programme of dives over the summer, with dives being run on Tuesdays and at weekends whenever the weather permitted. I suspect that we, as a club, do significantly more diving than any other RN related clubs.

We have also continued our training programme and have qualified a number of new Ocean Divers this year. This has not, however, been done without difficulties and Steve and Bruce will talk about their proposals for concentrating on progressing existing divers through the higher dive grades later in the meeting. This is essential if we are to provide Dive Managers into the future.

We are continuing to recruit new members, particularly from Babcock; our boats and other equipment are also in good shape and should be fit for diving for a few years yet; and our finances are healthy, although we still need to continue to build a reserve for future capital expenditure.

There is still a need to expand the areas of the Defence Community from which we recruit. We have good representation from the RN, RM and from Babcock, but we have few members from the Army, the reserves, the MoD civil service or from the military hospital unit. If we are to be truly successful then we need to aim to represent the full scope of the Defence Community in Plymouth. And that means the targeting of those areas for recruitment.

We still have to ensure that we are fully compliant with the RN rules for encroachments and we must remember that we continue to exist by the good offices of the Naval Base Commander. Largely with that in mind I have proposed a number of relatively minor changes to the Constitution that I will be asking you to vote on later in the meeting.

Finally we come to the issue of succession. It has been pointed out to us (thank you Steve) that the committee is not getting any younger. We should therefore like to expand the membership of the committee by taking on some new members and creating some ‘assistant’ roles so that we do not have a succession problem in the future.

Apologies (from members unable to attend)

Guy Balmer, Steve Brown, Sue Kelly, Ned Kelly, Don Hamer, Ken Parton, Dennis Ablard, Mark von Kanel, Eddie Neighbour, Felicity Stook, Eric McDade,

18 members attended

2: Reports.

Club members are reminded that officials’ reports are NOT a question and answer session, make a note of any items you wish to discuss and bring them up during AOB.

Diving Officer: Steve Cox

Our plan for the year was to build up the club membership by offering a good training package and getting the training completed. We had a good try dive and then started a big Ocean Divers course which was a challenge. We also started a Sports Diver course as well and we are doing some crossover training for divers with other qualifications to the BSAC.

Bruce will fall through the OD course, how it went and what lessons we learnt from it in a moment.

Although we have a number of instructors in the club the real world of work and other commitments reduced the number available at any one time. A couple of instructors covered a lot of training this year and my thanks go to them. It’s a fact of life in a branch and something we have to work with.

This year we have completed just coming up to 400 dives so far with the weather proving very helpful at this late stage of the season. Tuesday’s is now a night diving session but it is open to all qualified divers – you just need two torches – if you haven’t tried it then come along and we’ll show you how to do it. It is great fun – honest!

The usual small hard core did lots of diving but plenty of others did some. The concentration on training required a lot of training dives but lots of other dives happened as well. The best way to gain experience in diving is to go diving – take the opportunities that are there.

Thanks to Ginge and the other supervisors who planned the dives without which the whole thing doesn’t work.

We’ve had a couple of minor incidents but nothing involving the safety of a diver. The boats have had a few glitches – the bung has proved to be quite useful in preventing problems! But again thanks to the guys involved for getting stuck into the problem and sorting them often requiring hours of extra work. It is hugely appreciated. We do have two boats so it should prove possible to always get on the water depending when a problem is identified and the time available to swop over.

We have a Branch Diving Safety Management System which dictates how we are to conduct our diving. This is a critical document as any problems we have will be judged against that system.

It is reviewed annually at the end of the year and I will be starting the process in the next few weeks. Have a look and let me know if you have anything that you think needs to be included, amended or perhaps needs changing. Once the review is complete I will publish the DSMS on the website.

The website (and thanks to Bruce for setting it up) is a tool we need to develop and use much more to support our activities.

The club diving equipment has worked well over the year – sadly the missing regulators never re-appeared which is a big financial hit to replace. We’ve got a slight concern over security – for example a number of shot lines put together last winter seem to have disappeared. Lots of people have access to the Boathouse who are not part of the club – be sensible about securing your kit. Rob can speak about the reallocation of cages shortly.

Charges for the use of club kit are quite low but we need the income to pay for the annual servicing of the kit (around £40 for each set of regulators for example).

Turning to our training plans for the year – having brought in a large group of ODs this year the plan is to consolidate skills next year. To that end we will finish off any outstanding OD training from this year but not run an OD course for new members. We will concentrate on running a Sports Diver course for all our Sports Divers, we will run a Dive Leader course for those qualified and concentrate on some specialist courses such as Boat Handling, Diver Cox’n, ADP/Twin-set and some boat linked SDCs. A copy of the programme will be on the website shortly and there’s a paper copy available. Instructions on how to sign up for the courses will be going out shortly.

We hoped to organize an expedition this year but between training and other things it didn’t happen. It is something that we need to do and we’ll be looking at getting it sorted.

These are plans and ideas but you can all feed in what you want to do and what the club can do for you – just speak to one of the committee members and we’ll see what we can do.

There will be some winter tasks – at the start of the year Cal did a great job on the wall, the slip is in better condition and we cleared out some junk. There’s still a bit of junk to go though!

So overall a good year with new members and lots of training and diving going on.

I’d like to finish with a reminder on our responsibilities under the BSAC Safeguarding policy. This relates to how we treat or act around young or vulnerable people – people often think this refers to children but the definition is much wider. There are things we need to think about – for example, no adult should be alone in a boat with anyone under the age of 18; a vulnerable person could be an adult who is very apprehensive about taking part in a dive. We need to think about appropriate language and comments- what might be OK on the flight deck of a ship is not OK in a dive boat in a mixed group. Finally we need to treat each other with respect – errors or misunderstandings are not resolved by shouting or stamping your feet. That just drives members away from the club which is not acceptable.

And finally – we’ve had a good year but for next year we intend to build on this and move onwards and upwards. Above all I would like to see the younger members of the club (anyone under 60!) start to step forward and start to take a more active role in the organization and structure of their club and let some of the more geriatric step back a bit.

Training Officer: Bruce Green

The Club conducted 2 try-dives, 26^th Jan & 2^nd Feb, which generated 12 new members to be split between 2 OD courses commencing 9^th Feb. We lost 1 student for medical reasons, and another was unable to commence open water training but has now been medically cleared. Although the students were split into 2 Ocean Diver courses, for the lecture and pool elements, both courses attended the same Tuesday evening and the intention was to commence open water training 19^th April with students attending alternate weeks. In addition to Tuesday training nights, 2 weekend training opportunities were also run. Of a potential 11, we have now qualified 7 OD divers, 1 only requires to pass the theory exam and 3 still require open water lessons. Reasons for training dragging on so long range from medical issues, to students not attending and a delay in starting due to not having purchased the necessary kit which all students were briefed on at the start of the course. Tuesday OD training for the open water is no longer practical due to the evening light failing and I am trying to get 2 of the students to join a weekend dive, the last 2 students are not responding to any communication.

A Sports Diver course has also been run for 4 divers (2 PADI crossovers and 2 OD’s) which has now qualified 2 SD’s. Annual refresher training for all club members was conducted in April prior to open water diving, encompassing basic life support, oxygen administration, boat and compressor usage/considerations.

Following 2 successful years of recruiting OD students, the Club has been limited, on occasion, to sites suitable for the newly qualified OD’s. If we were to run more OD courses in 2017, the number of OD’s would further limit the dive sites suitable for non training diving. A proposal to concentrate on raising as many OD’s to SD as possible, as well as Boat Handler/Diver Cox’n, CPF and ADP/Twin-set courses has been made by the DO. Annual refresher training will be conducted early in the new year and an instructor refresher will be conducted – detailed plan to follow.

As always, if you have any training requirements/interests, let the TO/DO know – we have the ability within the Club to conduct a vast amount of training.

This year has been a challenge due to the number of students, and none of this is possible without a lot of support from our instructors and enablers (pool cover, bodies for drills etc) and all instructors are urged to support training whenever possible – thank you to everyone involved.

Treasurer: Mel Melville-Brown

We brought forward just under £6800 from 2015 and have increased our total cash holdings by £1600 over the year to £8368.68.

During the year we have had income from membership subs of £3000 and other income from the Try Dives and Diver Training fees. The £900 income is offset by a cost of £559.40 meaning a net gain to the club of about £340 – this equates appropriately to the £25 course charge for each person on Ocean Diver training.

Expenditure over the year was much the same as it was in 2015 with some variations on purchases (£1040 this year compared to £816 last year) but a reduced equipment maintenance cost this year (£392 in 2016 against £583 in 2015).

Overall our income and expenditure levels are pretty static year on year meaning we are able to continue to build a capital reserve to enable large ticket item purchases in the future (boat and or engines) which is in line with the current policy.

It is proposed to remove the Accrued liability from the Income and Expenditure statement in future as we are now unlikely to see an invoice for the engines.

PLYMOUTH COMMAND SUB AQUA CLUB

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE STATEMENT – 2016 (to date 3 Nov 16)

Balance BF (2015) 6767.56

INCOME

Club Subscriptions 3000:00

Try Dive 180:00

Diver Training 900:00

Cash to Bank 1:43

4081:43 10848.99

EXPENDITURE TO DATE ACCRUED

BSAC Diver Packs 559.40

Boat Insurance 276.08

Equipment Maintenance 275.84

Equipment purchase 1040.10

Equipment Insurance 212.19 (due 12 Nov 16)

Radio Repair 116.70

Engine Purchase 3000:00

2480.31 5480:31

Balance (to date) £8368.68

Balance after Accruals £5368.68

Equipment Officer: Paul Wilson

Hi all just a short report this year, it’s that time of the year to recall all equipment for checking and testing ready for the new year and it’s new sports divers course . So a word warning to this years ocean divers if you are still using club equipment it will be used for next years sports divers course for their use first ,if there is any gear left over then you can have it but the sports divers come first .So I need all club kit returned out of the lockers. That’s all for now all the best Tug

RIB’s Officer: Ginge Potts

Last years job list was to fix the leaks on the fuel tanks. This seems to have fixed the Aft tank, which was the worst, but we still may have a problem with the For ‘d tank

The hull on the cobra does need draining so if you take the bung out keep hold of it until you replace it. We have messed up twice this season. The first time we got away with it with no loss of diving. This last time the problem has caused 2 dives to be cancelled. Last weekend was saved by returning and switching boats. This in itself brought up another problem in that the battery on the Tornado was defective. Replaced today.

The Tornado also needs draining after each use. The last time it was taken out it was found to be totally full of water on its return. Although this will not cause any problems it does mean that we are wasting fuel.

I have changed both wheel bearings on the Cobra trailer during the summer so they should be ok for a couple of years, But the Tornado bearings have not got much life left. To this end I am trying to find a 2nd hand trailer. but with little success. If anyone sees one on E-bay please send me the website address.

Just to remind dive managers .In my boat box which is in the Cobra there is a brand new set of spark plugs and plug leads. There are 3 almost new spark plugs and a spare plug lead in the Tornado’s boat box.

We have a battery operated distress signal in both boats this is to replace the flares. This was brought up last AGM but we are still carrying the flares. These need to be disposed of. A volunteer is needed for this.

At the moment the Cobra is out of action We need to empty the for’d tank for the 2nd time. which is why it is tilted up. open it up and dry it out completely and drain that side of the fuel system. and refill with clean fuel. Both separators and inline filters have been changed.

I have purchased a new battery for the Tornado which when fitted the Tornado is ready for use. I hope to get the Cobra up and running as soon as possible.

A Big thank you to all the helpers with the above problems.

My planned jobs for the winter are: To Rewire the electrical junction box. Re seal the umbilical trunk and fuel system deck plate. and have another attempt to re-glue the rubbing streak. on both tubes.

The fuel fund which is put on the club website at regular intervals is running at about £360

We have had 51 dives this year which breaks down to 388 man/woman dives

We have taken in £3200

We have spent £2418 on fuel and oil

We have spent £742 + The Battery on maintenance / spare parts and repairs which is much in line with last years expenditure.

Membership Sec: Rob Swan

Membership this year stands at 65. This is 4 more than the 61 from 2015. However, 20 members did not renew this year the majority of which were Ocean Divers. We did recruit 15 people this year. This includes the Ocean Divers Course.

Broken down as follows:

Civilian: 47

Service: 18

It is intended to increase our club levy from £50 to £60 with immediate effect. This will be voted on in AOB
There is no indication at this time, that BSAC will increase their annual fees.
Self Certifications are required to be filled out by everyone annually and are to be lodged with the Membership Records. There are copies on the wall outside the compressor room and I will email copies out to everyone in the new year. If these forms are not filled out the club is not covered by BSAC 3rd Party Insurance.
ALLOCATION OF CAGES

An email was recently sent out explaining the criteria for occupancy of our cages. An email was also sent out to all those who already have cages but have not dived with the club in over a year informing them that the cages are to be made available to more regular divers. Following the AGM those cages not emptied as requested, the kit will be emptied from the cage, labelled, bagged up and placed in a safe place for the individuals to collect at a mutually convenient time. Of course they could always come diving with us again. Members without cages are invited to request one subject to the criteria as detailed in the email

Social Sec: Natalie Jasper

We had a successful surprise social night for Dave Gibbs last year with twenty two members attending Mombay Brasserie and later in the year we had a good turn out for our annual Christmas meal at the same place !With other commitments I have not been able to organise as many social events as I would have liked but I am hoping to arrange another meal to include all new members for our Christmas meal ! Regards ,Natalie Jasper

Secretary: Vanessa Potts No Report

Election of officials:

Chairman David Dyter Proposed by Steve Cox Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Rob Swan

Diving Officer Steve Cox Proposed by Mel Melville Brown Agreed

unanimously

Seconded by Natalie Jasper

Training Officer Bruce Green Proposed by Ginge Potts Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Natalie Jasper

Treasurer Mel Brown Proposed by Dave Dyter Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Steve Cox

Equipment Officer Paul Wilson Proposed by John Wilson Rudd Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Bruce Green

Ass. Equipment Officer John Wilson Rudd Proposed by Ginge Potts Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Natalie Jasper

Ribs Officer Ginge Potts Proposed by Rob Swan Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Bruce Green

Assistant Ribs Officer Position vacant

Membership Secretary Rob Swan Proposed by Steve Coterell Agreed unanimously

Seconded by John Wilson Rudd

Ass. Membership Secretary and Recruitment Position vacant

Health and Safety & Buildings Rep. Doug Milne Proposed by Ginge Potts

Seconded by Natalie Jasper

Agreed unanimously

Ass. Health and Safety John Wilson Rudd Proposed by Mel Melville Brown

Seconded by Bruce Green Agreed unanimously

Funding Officer Don Hamer Proposed by Dave Dyter Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Steve Cox

Ass. Funding Officer Mel Melville Brown Proposed by Dave Dyter Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Rob Swan

Social Secretary Natalie Jasper Proposed by Vanessa Potts Agreed unanimously

Seconded by Bruce Green

Ass. Social Secretary Sandra Summers Proposed by John Wilson Rudd

Seconded by Bruce Green Agreed unanimously

4: Presentations for the information of all members

a) The Club Constitution

Dave Dyter has re-written and updated the club constitution. All club members were sent this by email. There were no more changes needed and it was agreed with unanimously

b) Safeguarding

Steve Cox reminded the meeting on our responsibilities under the BSAC Safeguarding policy. This relates to how we treat or act around young or vulnerable people – people often think this refers to children but the definition is much wider. There are things we need to think about – for example, no adult should be alone in a boat with anyone under the age of 18; a vulnerable person could be an adult who is very apprehensive about taking part in a dive. We need to think about appropriate language and comments- what might be OK on the flight deck of a ship is not OK in a dive boat in a mixed group. Finally we need to treat each other with respect – errors or misunderstandings are not resolved by shouting or stamping your feet. That just drives members away from the club which is not acceptable.

c) Website

The details for the club website have been put on the notice board, every current member has had an account set up using their supplied email address. Instructions on how to logon and change the password are contained in the notice on the board and any issues with this should be dealt with as per the notice. The site is still under development but there are a lot of useful features contained within the site – in the ‘Media’ section there is a brief ‘How To’ document which everyone is encouraged to read.

d) Dive Equipment Cages

ALLOCATION OF CAGES

5: Motions (to be voted on)

No motions proposed.

6: AOB

Increase in club fees. Rob Swan proposed that we should increase membership fees from £50 to £60

from 2017 Seconded by Bruce Green and agreed unanimously.

It was agreed that an adequate amount of kit be maintained in a serviced condition.

We should promote the club to qualified divers in Link magazine and link this with our web site.

It was suggested that we set up the positions of Exped Officer, Compressor Officer and First Aid Officer to be responsible for O2 updating.

Safeguarding Officer, Don was suggested.? three year position. Compliance monitoring needs to be in date with hard evidence, tick boxes for information for BSAC, HSE, Dockyard. We require XL spreadsheet, self audit. Steve Cox to action.

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