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An Irreverent History
Beginnings
Barton Sub-Aqua Club, was founded in March 1985, then it was losted for a
week and founded all over again. A member of a nearby club had decided that
he wanted to start out on his own, he claimed it had always been his
ambition, but we all suspect that his previous club members had been stealing
his sweeties. Barton Sub-Aqua Club was, as many clubs are, started in a Pub and we have
gone back to our roots regularly. Initially the club started off with less
than ten members, only one of whom was a certified diver, but within a year
the club had grown to over 25 members, some of whom even dived. We had
attracted several qualified instructors to swell the ranks and assist in
training new and existing members. Originally based in Barton upon Humber as the name
suggests, the Club moved to Brigg in 2007, following the closure of the Barton Pool for refurbishment.
Boats
In late 1986 the club bought it’s first boat. It was an inflatable, a
squidgy, with a modest 40hp tiller steer outboard motor. We bought it from
another dive club, NEDSAC [North East Derbyshire SAC] who were upgrading.
The boat was taken off on the first club boat trip of many to the Farne
Islands for the August bank holiday weekend, with just two of the club’s
early members [Penky and I] meeting up with the lads from NEDSAC who had
organised the trip and then sold us the boat. Well, no one ever said you had
to be clever to dive. This proved to be this boats one and only trip, as
Shergar was stolen the following spring. Later that year we bought an Avon
inflatable, large, grey and ponderous. Dumbo was the new boat for the
club. One of the club’s privately owned boats, Shytalk was a much more
successful boat than her predecessor, Plan B and with the appearance of GPS
systems in 1992, regular wreck diving off our coast started in earnest.
After a couple of years, this lead to a thought, “Why can’t we get a boat of
the same standard for the club?” A year or so of fund raising and grant
applications followed, and we bought a Tornado, named Morning Glory, and set
about fitting her out. The club still owns Morning Glory, but the other
boats have been sold on.
Trips
The first club trip was a few members [Penky, Sugar, myself & Moyna]
scooting up to Oban in the summer of 1986 for a weeks diving on the wrecks
of the Sound of Mull. The Thesis, Hispania, Rhonda, Breda, and a few shore
dives. Small beer compared to some of the clubs outings, but Oban has been a
regular pilgrimage for club members ever since. The following year saw the
first charter boat trip, the Danbrit, once again Oban based and the diving
around the Western Isles. 1988 saw the club starting to spread it’s wings,
the first trip to Scapa Flow to dive the remnants of the German High Seas
fleet scuttled at their moorings in 1919. The following year we returned to
Orkney, but went north diving around the Islands of the Orkneys, and the
club’s first Red Sea trip later that year. The following year trips to the
Western Isles, the south coast, Wales and others took place. Since those
early days the club has been to the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, back to the
Red Sea, Scapa, St Kilda, the Outer Hebrides, Malta, Ireland, Portsmouth,
Plymouth, and all points of our coast. Trips to Norway, Egypt and of course
Scotland are regular events.
Training
The club has over the years trained several hundred divers to varying levels
of certification, we have National Instructors, Regional Instructors, Open
Water, and Club Instructors within the club, giving a broad base from which
to train divers from entry level right to the highest levels of
certification awarded within the SAA. Our members have grown to hold office
within the SAA, we had several members of the National Executive, the group
responsible for running the SAA, including the National Diving Officer,
National Secretary, Treasurer and Executive Officer. Some of our members
were instrumental in writing sections of the training materials and courses
used both nationally and around the world through our links with CMAS. Our
club held the SAA Golden Club award for 1994 for services to the SAA and to
the community.
Notable Events. [Accuracy definitely not guaranteed]
26th March 1985 – Club began, first pool night
12th October 1986 – Charlie Tutty buys a round
14th July 1996 – Club takes delivery of new boat
21st February 2001 – Dave Penketh retires
15th June 2004 – Ross Paton seen smiling
Paul Johnson-Ross
Founder member