The Expeditions listed on this page are mostly regional. BSAC club organised expeditions are listed here where they have successfully applied for a BSAC grant.
Expeditions 2018
May 2018, Dorset Shipwreck project
Read Plan
The leader of this expedition is Cameron Cromwell. The aim of this expedition is to locate and identify at least one of several wrecks in the Portland Bill area. We will be following up on information obtained from the Shipwreck Project, which has identified a number of interesting but unconfirmed targets. Sadly the Shipwreck Project was closed down last year due to lack of support, so there is no longer a database in which to contribute. However, we will be comparing our information with information previously provided by the English Heritage and Wessex Archaeology.
This expedition was awarded £500 from the BEGS fund.
Expeditions 2017
July 2017, Project Highball, Survey in Loch Striven
Watch project documentary video
Read Report
Led by Mark Paisey, 12 members mainly from East Cheshire SAC located and raised two Highball practise rounds dropped in Loch Striven. These will be restored and displayed in museums. The team used their 2 RIBS and Jackstay search for small-scale item location as well as a side scan sonar and an ROV for large-scale site overview. The help of the Royal Navy (northern dive group, dive vessel Cato), of a commercial survey vessel (Aspect) and a crane (SD Moorfowl) were all key to the success of this enterprise. A diver trail was established so others can enjoy this underwater museum. Progress of this endeavour was reported in the national news. This expedition was awarded £1000 from the BEGS fund.
March 2017, Survey of pink sea fans around Plymouth
Led by Paul Ritson, 9 members surveyed the state of pink sea fans at 10 (known and new) sites around Plymouth. Following Seasearch procedures and using previous Seasearch reports they dived over 4 days to determine the state of the sea fans. The pink sea fans were found to be generally in good health. This expedition was awarded £500 from the BEGS fund.
January-May 2017, Survey of the UC42 in Cork Harbour
Led by Philip Johnston, several branches around Ireland will survey the UC42 in Cork harbour. The branches include Cork (Sovereign), Nth Down, Belfast, Lisburn, Atlantic and DUSAC. They will use their own RIBs and spread the diving over 5 weekends,100 years after her sinking. This expedition was awarded £500 from the BEGS fund.
May/June 2017, Expedition Newfoundland
June 2017, Banc du Cardonnet, Operation Neptune Wrecks Survey
Led by Martin Davies and organised by Alison Major, members of Southsea Sub-Aqua Club and other branches will return to Normandy, Banc du Cardonnet, to discover more about the WW2 wrecks of Operation Neptune. They plan to record and photograph mainly two US Tank Landing Craft and produce photogrammetry and 3D models. The team will be based in Grandcamp-Maisy and use their own boat, side-scan sonar, and portable air compressor. This expedition was awarded £1000 from the BEGS fund.
Expeditions 2016
August 2016, Dive 6 Countries in 6 Days (from one boat)
October 2016, Maerl Bed Survey in Loch Hourn
Led by Ian Dearden and Mike Holroyd, Darwen SAC returned to Loch Hourn. 10 team members surveyed the Maerl beds discovered there. They used their own RIBs, compressors, and camped on site. This was a follow-up to the previous expedition in 2014 (see reports and SCUBA mag. article). This expedition was awarded £500 from the BEGS fund.
Expeditions 2015
April 2015, Aud Survey, Ireland
The Irish Regional Coach plans to help prepare divers for the First Class Diver practical exam by surveying the wreck Aud. The most intact sections will be the main focus of the activity resulting in a wreck guide. The results may be of interest to Irish Historians as well as SCUBA divers. The group of 10 divers will use their own RIBs. This expedition was awarded £250 from the BEGS fund.
April 2015, Mull of Kintyre Wreck Expedition
Members from Lancaster, Aberdeen, Manchester and Glasgow branches plan to dive, survey and record wrecks around the Kintyre peninsula. The findings are to be published in Canmore, local media and dive magazines. The 8 members of the expedition will be led by Simon Exley; the Fyne Pioneer will be their dive platform. Accommodation will be in a bunkhouse in Campbeltown and air will be drawn from a local dive base. This expedition was awarded £250 from the BEGS fund.
July 2015, Rathlin Island Expedition
Members from SubC, Bury and Chaumont clubs dived around Rathlin Island. They surveyed wrecks, explored new sites and recorded seasearch forms. The 15 members of the expedition were based in Ballycastle in self-catering accommodation, had their own transportable compressors and used their own RIB for transport. This expedition was awarded £1000 from the BEGS fund.
August 2015, 'Live Bait' Expedition
The regional coach for Europe organised a trip to dive the WW1 'Live Bait Squadron' wrecks HMS Cressy, Hogue and Aboukir, positioned 22 miles off The Hague. A team of 12 divers from various British branches and experience backgrounds including rebreathers dived off a chartered liveaboard to record the state of the wrecks by photographs and video, laid a wreath on the Cressy, and included some diver training progress. Reporting included an interview of Carol Wood by Anglia TV and BBC Radio Suffolk, as well as an article in SCUBA magazine in January 2016. This expedition was awarded £250 from the BEGS fund.
Expeditions 2014
June 2014, 'Cathcaitpark' Expedition
Tyneside branch dived known and new sites around Skerryvore, Dubh Artach and Torran Rocks. This expedition built on previous expeditions and this time found wreckage which they consider being the Cathcaitpark, although a conclusive identification still remains open. They also dived the Nyland and the Labrador. Based in self-catering cottages in SW Mull for a week, the group of 8 divers used a charted RIB and their own compressors. This expedition was awarded £500 from the BEGS fund.
September 2014, 'Isle of Skye' Expedition
ULSAC branch aims to teach the next generation of club members how to plan and manage challenging expedition diving. 10 team members explored unknown dive sites to the club, albeit regularly dived. Diving off their own RIB they were self-sufficient in terms of boats, food, accommodation and other equipment. This expedition was awarded £1000 from the BEGS fund.
September 2014, 'Bringing History Home' Expedition
A international collaboration consisting of 14 divers from Southsea SAC, 9 divers from Scuba Ninjas (France) and 3 from Kish SAC (Ireland) dived 8 of the WW2 wrecks associated with Operation Neptune (the WW2 Invasion of Normandy), diving off chartered RIBs from Asnelles. This expedition was awarded £1000 from the BEGS fund.
September 2014, "Wild Camping and Diving" Expedition
A group of 10 divers mainly from Darwen SAC explored dive sites around Loch Hourn from an isolated base camp which is only accessible by boat. During that week they were completely self-reliant, having to take all their fuel, fire wood, food, shelter, oxygen, compressors and RIBs with them. This expedition was awarded £500 from the BEGS fund.
Expeditions 2013
May 2013, 'Skerryvore' Expedition
Tyneside branch plans to dive old and new sites around Tiree, including Skerryvore. Based on Tiree for a week, a group of 8 divers will take their own RIB and compressor. They want to locate and survey wrecks (e.g. SS Labrador), wall and reef sites around Roan Bogha in Gunna Sound and Skerryvore. This expedition has been awarded £1000 from the BEGS fund.
June 2013, 'Haugeund' Expedition
Led by Ian Dearden, 12-14 members mostly from Darwen branch (but also involving 3 other branches from the Greater Manchester area), plan to explore dive sites around Haugeund, over a 2 week period. Using a side-scan sonar and a magnetometer they want to locate and survey wreck, wall and reef sites. They will be diving off their own 2 RHIBs, ferried/towed all the way there, together with their own compressors and gas-blending equipment. This expedition has been awarded £1000 from the BEGS fund.
September 2013, 'Gozo' Expedition
Members of Inverness branch plan (1) to dive the caves on the North side of the Island, (2) to carry out a Sea Search on behalf of Sharklab-Malta, and (3) to carry out Dive Leader and Advanced Diver training. 12 members will be self-catering over a 1 week period. A RIB will be used if shore diving is not possible.
REDS
The Regional Expeditionary Diving Scheme is an opportunity to extend your diving horizons outside your usual branch diving. Regions endeavour to run a REDS expeditions which seek to provide adventurous and challenging diving. Contact your regional coach or REDS coordinator for further details. A list of REDS expeditions in the latter stages of planning are listed below.
Summer 2013, "What Lies Beneath?" south coast survey
BSAC Southern Region led by Alison Mayor plans to provide training and experience of underwater surveys with the ultimate aim of inspiring members to undertake adventurous and meaningful projects in the future. This massive project provides structure and support for branches to explore known and unknown sites along the South Coast. 11 (!) branches have confirmed their participation each with their own leader in charge of a team. NAS underwater archaeology courses as well as the BSAC Wreck Appreciation SDC will be communally organised. This project has been awarded £500.
Expeditions 2012
May 2012, 'Wreck Hunters' Expedition.
The purpose of this regionally organised expedition is to facilitate divers from Yorkshire in preparing for National Instructor, First Class Diver and Advanced Instructor assessments. The prep. session is based around diving in the Cumbrae area with a wreck survey theme based around the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) survey principles and a second Seasearch survey based theme. This trip has been awarded a 250 Pound grant from the BEGS Scheme.
August 2012, 'Real Reefs Project' Expedition
This investigation organised by Scarborough SAC aims to have 30 divers use the Seasearch methodology to survey 20 undived reef areas between Flamborough and Whitby as well as the two recommended Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) just to the north and south of the area from Flamborough to Whitby. Marine species and habitats data will be gathered and made freely available via the National Biodiversity Network. This project has been awarded a 500 Pound grant from the BEGS Scheme.
August 2012, Shetland Sea Plane Expedition
This week-long expedition, led by Ribble Valley SAC, aimed to locate and survey sea planes around Shetland. A team of 12 divers from 4 branches used side scan sonar and a magnetometer from a commercial hard boat to first locate promising sites and then survey and record results using the NAS WreckMap Britain procedures and forms. This expedition has been awarded a 750 Pound grant from the BEGS Scheme.
Expeditions 2011
July 2011, 'Summer Isles' Expedition
August 2011, 'North Shetland' Expedition
Summer 2011, 'SS Inkosi, Mull of Galloway' Expedition
August 2011, 'Guernsey' Expedition
October 2011, 'Cumbrae Assessments' Expedition
Expeditions 2010
June 2010, 'Dunnet & Duncansby Head' Expedition
June 2010, 'Jurassic Shark 3' Expedition
A high profile Joint Services sub-aqua diving expedition for 16 personnel to Cocos Island, Costa Rica for 2 weeks. The aim of the expedition was to electronically tag 15 scalloped hammerhead sharks whilst making a documentary film. The team was composed of civilian scientists, closed-circuit rebreather divers and other divers selected to develop their skills and experience as both divers and leaders. This expedition led by Andy Reid has been awarded a 1000 Pound grant from the BEGS Scheme.
Summer 2010, 'SS Inkosi, Mull of Galloway' Expedition
Three single-day trips are planned by the West Cumbria branch to produce a "wreck tours" - type site map of the SS Inkosi. The expeditions team made up of three FCDs, two ADs and one DL and several additional boat handlers will dive off two RIBs. This expedition led by Andrew Pritt has been awarded a 500 Pound grant from the BEGS SchemeRead Interim Report
Summer 2010, West Wales Wreck Expedition
To extend the currently limited range of dive sites, members of Cardiff branch located and publish exact locations of
August 2010, 'Sound of Jura' Expedition
Using club RHIBs members of South Queensferry explored dive sites at the north and south ends of the Sound of Jura, around Crinan and Loch Sween. A group of trainee Advanced Divers were introduced to Expedition Diving.
Expeditions 2009
April 2009, St. Kilda Expedition
May 2009, 'South-West Mull' Expedition
June 2009, 'Isles of Scilly' Expedition
August 2009, 'Scapa Flow' Expedition
August 2009, Unst, 'Shetland' Expedition
September 2009, 'Ardnamurchan, West Scotland' Expedition
Following on from last year's Cape Wrath trip, Edinburgh University club explored rarely dived sites off the western Scottish mainland as part of an ongoing longer term project to explore the extremities of the Scottish coast. The expedition team had to be self sufficient (incl. own compressors) and flexible. Diving from their own inflatables gives the team the flexibility they require. This expedition led by Paul Bullen, has been awarded a 1000 Pound grant from the BSAC BEGS Scheme. It subsequently also won Edinburgh University's "Livingstone Trophy".
September 2009, 'Gigha Island, Kintyre' Expedition
October 2009, 'Monach Isles, Outer Hebrides' Expedition
September 2009, 'South of France' Expedition
REDS
West Midlands REDS, Croatia
Expeditions 2008
May 2008, Malin Head
May 2008, Thor Survey
June 2008, 'Isles of Scilly' Expedition
June 2008, 'Benbecula' Expedition
September 2008, 'Cape Wrath' Expedition
September 2008, 'Sea Palling' Expedition
