Bude Sub Aqua Club is inviting the community to help us continue our environmental and scuba activities , curtailed by the Covid pandemic
by Andy Squirrell in Bude, England, United Kingdom
Should we be really lucky and successful we would love to be able to purchase additional scuba equipment of smaller sizes that e will enable us to offer more activities for scout and youth groups.
We also need to carry out some repairs to Bude Divers - our club rib. Ensuring she's ready to take club members to dive locations for another 20 years.
What is Budehaven Sub Aqua Club?
We are a small, friendly scuba diving and snorkeling club that has been involved in the sport since 1975. Based in Bude, North Cornwall, we encourage members of all ages and walks of life, from both Bude and the surrounding areas, to join us to learn and participate in the sport, education and environmental sides of scuba diving.
Social location
As a club we are very aware that, where we are based, North Cornwall, is rural in it's designation and an area with low incomes and social deprivation. Within the club we work hard to break down these barriers and offer our members more than just a dive club. We regularly meet for social activity and diver training, bringing people together to talk about their shared activities, breaking the cycle of exclusion that can so easily happen when remote. The Covid lock down has seen us carry out zoom meetings and online training to ensure we don't break the contact we've worked so hard to establish across the membership.
We keep our fees and costs as low as possible to ensure we can support our members on low incomes and we work hard to source all equipment and facility use as cheaply as possible to ensure these fees remain low. All of our club trainers are volunteers providing their time and skills for free.
What are we raising funds for?
During the lock down our equipment has suffered from lack of use!
There is nothing worse than unused equipment in storage for going rusty or perishing. We urgently need to repair the trailer for our boat, allowing us to continue our environmental action, diving the local reefs & wrecks and providing safety cover at local events.
We also need to replace our junior snorkeling equipment, used in our outreach program. We have been running this program now for the last 10 years or so and we have introduced around 400 young people to the safe use of masks and snorkels.
Some go on to scuba dive with us, others go away on holiday with their families, safe in the knowledge that they can use the equipment correctly.
Why we need your help?
The pandemic curtailed our environmental work, diving education program, outreach snorkeling program and our scuba diving activities. All activity ceased mid March with our education and snorkeling program still suspended (September).
During lockdown our equipment has suffered through lack of use and loss of access to maintain. With the suspension of our normal income activities all stopped we've been unable to raise the funds, needed to complete the repairs and upgrades required.
Our plan to is rebuild our current boat trailer, enabling our club boat to be easily and safely moved - and with the boat available our environmental activities can once again increase.
We also wish to purchase modern snorkeling equipment, by replacing older equipment we can ensure the equipment we use is up to date, safe and fully ready for use.
How do we usually fund activities?
Our funds are raised in a variety of ways, throughout the year, via a variety of events and activities.
Examples of our usual income streams are;
Air fills
Boat dives
Pool sessions
Lectures
Equipment hire and sales
Come and try it
Social events (dinner and dance)
All of these have been cancelled this year.
How we support the local community and environment
As well as our diving education program we support a range of local clubs and locations with our specialist skills in additional to the local wildlife with our environmental activities.
We underwater litter pick our local beaches and bays.
Using the boat enables us to access smaller, secluded bays and beaches along the North Coast. Removing rubbish risks from areas the general public can’t access.
Our activities in the secluded areas are vital to the local sea life. The area has a large seal and sea bird population. There are numerous pictures in the press of the damage fishing line, lead weights and plastic does to these majestic animals - our activities, although small, ensure that at least locally the risk to these animals is reduced.
We've released baby lobsters for the lobster hatchery. Ensuring that the small babies are released safely into their new homes and habitats.
We regularly use our dive boat to provide safety cover for local gig rowing or charity raft race events.
We enjoy working with The National Trust to provide safe snorkeling events in their harbours;
and we've even been known to help the RNLI find their lost equipment.
What's in it for you?
Not only will you know that you are helping one of the oldest clubs in Bude survive this pandemic and be ready for another year of training and diving there are a range of rewards and offers available to those who donate. You can choose from fun try dives, merchandise, vouchers and a weekend away diving!
Sport England are offering to match funding towards our target. Therefore if we are successful with our Campaign Sport England will match fund 50% of our £3,000 target!!
So anything you donate now will go that little bit further in helping us reach our goals!
We'd also like to thank Crowdfunder for making our Campaign 100% free for our crowdfunding project during the Corona virus crisis.
This project offers rewards in return for your donation