This year (2004) marked the 30th anniversary for Kirklees Subaqua Club, and what an eventful 30 years it has been. From its humble beginnings as a vision of Terry and Margaret Saunders, it has blossomed into a very active and friendly dive club that boasts a healthy membership, including Instructors and Advanced Instructors many of whom have been with the club since the start of their diving career.

The past 30 years has seen many changes, both within the club and the development of diving equipment. Buy Terry a pint or two and he'll be happy to talk to you about the days when he used the inner tube of a tractor tyre as a buoyancy device !, or made his own dry-suit using two large sheets of rubber glued together?. "In my day, we never had any of this fancy shmansy kit you guys have"..he'd say.. "you can keep your Cressi Big-Eye masks and auto-dump valves? give me my hard-hat and lead boots any time !"?

Of the 7 years that I have been with Kirklees Subaqua Club, I have yet to meet anyone who has been diving as long as Terry and Margaret have and yet despite their vast experience and the many hundreds (if not thousands) of dives, their love and enthusiasm for scuba diving still remains steadfast. But they are by no means selfish in their love and enthusiasm, as any new (and old) member of the club will tell you.

They are more than happy to spend time with the 'less experienced' divers, both before and during the dive. If they've seen something that you've missed, they will make it a point to direct your attention to it. They never tire of answering your questions and are always there to help if you need it. The success of this club is a testament to their hard work and love for diving, and they in turn are a much loved and valued asset to the club.

To celebrate 30 fantastic years of Kirklees Subaqua Club, we decided that the entire club (more or less) would plan a trip to the Red Sea this year, and so during the Easter break in 2005, 40+ members of our club descended on Sharm El Sheikh for what was to be a very memorable holiday.

Margaret did a great job of organising tickets and hotel accommodation for all of us and once we'd got all the techi guys with their re-breathers through the airport checkout, everything else went pretty smoothly.

The diving as usual was fantastic, It was a bit early in the year for sharks but there was plenty of other sea life to keep you busy. Shark Reef and Yolanda were spectacular and the soft coral gardens were out of this world.

Some of our party took a day off from diving and tried their hand at quad-bikes and even a horse ride into the desert. And judging by the fact that they were all humming the tune to Bonanza (very badly I might add !), one can only assume that a good time was had by all.

The social gatherings every night were just as fun and memorable. The beach front in Sharm is a mosaic of restaurants and cafes providing a variety of foods to suit every pallet. Most evenings were spent eating on the beach under a moon-lit sky, discussing the days events as well as pondering the answer to Life, The Universe and almost everything !, good food and great company, one could not have asked for anything more..

The week went by without any major incidents, although we did have a close shave when some of our divers decided to go for an after-lunch snorkel sesh?just as someone from a nearby boat flushed the (digested) remnants of his lunch down the marine toilet? I've never seen someone swim so fast !..

To Kirklees SAC.....Keep blowing those bubbles !

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