Caithness Diving Club gets back on the water
Diving club members in Caithness can look forward to many more years of adventuring after wind farm funds provided the necessary cash for repairs to their dedicated vessel.
Caithness Diving Club's dive boat, a 6.5m RIB, 'Hagar', was purchased in 1997 with assistance from the National Lottery and Sport for All.
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The boat allowed the club to explore many dive sites around the Caithness coast, and further afield, which are not accessible from the shore.
Unfortunately, while supporting an archaeological survey by the Nautical Archaeology Society in the Cromarty Firth in August 2022, the boat's engine suffered a major mechanical breakdown and seized.
Because the engine was quite old and beyond economical repair, the club had to look at obtaining a replacement.
Beyond the financial capacity of the club itself, funding assistance was sought from three local windfarm community funds - Baillie, Halsary and Stroupster - for the purchase and installation of a new, modern engine which meets current emission standards and replacement of the boat's radio and GPS which were also not up to modern standards.
The engine was installed by Buccaneer Ltd in Macduff.
After some further refurbishment carried out by a club member a first sea trial flagged up issues with steering but the second last weekend, followed by a dive off Holborn Head north of the lighthouse, was successful.