Scuba divers come from all walks of life and bring with them many skills and talents. However, one of the most prized aptitudes is the ability to engage in teamwork alongside your fellow divers.
Whether that teamwork involves just a diver and his buddy or, a larger group of club members coming together to facilitate a more multifaceted diving event. For example, on a warm sunny Sunday morning our team enjoyed an excellent boat dive on the wreck of the ‘Harvester.’ The success of the dive of course was all down to teamwork which began long before the boat entered the sea. All the divers pitched in to prepare the boat for launch by carrying out several checks to ensure all seagoing equipment was at hand and working to ensure the boat was seaworthy, before launching it from South Gare Marina slipway. (photo 1)
Once on the dive site there is no time to lose in getting the divers into the sea. For as they say, tide and time wait for no man. Divers enter the sea in pairs, and it is no easy task with six divers and six lots of diving kit on a small rib boat for a diver to kit themselves up unaided. Tactical teamwork comes into play here with each pair of divers being helped to kit up before taking the plunge. (photo 2) Teamwork however does not stop once the divers are in the sea. A watchful eye needs to be kept for the signal, a ‘delayed surface marker buoy,’ (DSMB) that alerts the skipper that there are divers surfacing, and the boat needs to prepare to pick them up. (photo 3)
Once all divers are back on board then it’s back to shore after all dive kit is stowed safely. Recovering the boat from the sea requires well managed teamwork as each individual member of the team uses their own skill or talent to support the recovery process. For example, the boat needs to align with its trailer, then be attached to the towing tractor before being guided onto its trailer. Steadying hands aim to keep the boat in position as one of the stronger members of the team reels in the tow rope bringing the boat back to dry land. Before dry berthing the boat team members busy themselves with storing boat equipment, servicing the outboard motor and cleaning the boat, in readiness for its next outing.
Cleveland Divers are a social bunch and their willingness to work together is what serves to make diving events such as these and others a resounding success. BSAC’S motto is ‘Dive with friends,’ and coming together during teamwork is an excellent way to make friends. Cleveland divers can be contacted via ‘Facebook.’ ‘The Diving Club-Cleveland,’ or via our recently launched web site https://www.clevelanddivers.org.uk/ or [email protected]
