Underwater relay challenge in memory of BSAC diver raises £1,700

UK Divers from Ribble Valley SAC have raised money in memory of one of their club members by swimming more than five miles beneath the surface of Coniston Water in Cumbria.

After months of training, 16 members of the club spent eight hours covering the entire length of the lake underwater to remember Duncan Priestley, of Accrington, who passed away, aged just 59, in August 2013 from cancer.

Eight buddy pairs of divers from across Lancashire used a relay system to travel the five and a half mile Lake District site last Sunday (July 13) with the aim of hauling in at least £1,000 for lifeboat charity the RNLI.

But, according to the club’s Training Officer Fiona Imlach, who was part of the challenge team, things went so well that they’re hoping to end up with double that amount.

Fiona, 50, said: “Before we even started about £1,200 had been donated online, we had £500 in sponsorship pledges and we made another £200 on the day from our members making a collection around people watching us from the shore, sitting in local cafes and walking around Coniston village.

“Things went very smoothly with the challenge. The first divers went in at 6am and the last one came out at 2pm, which was much less time than we thought it was going to take. We started from the end of the lake furthest away from Coniston and gradually worked our way northwards towards the village.”

Each member of the team did two 30-minute dives at 5 ½ metres with a break of four hours in between.

“Each buddy pair used a compass and trailed a surface marker buoy so the safety crew on the surface could see exactly where they were. We had two RIBS with the second one ferrying the next pair of divers with 15 people in them.

“Visibility wasn’t too bad in the water and the buddy pairs could see one another quite clearly. For Coniston, which can be very cold, the water was surprisingly warm. It was 17C while the air temperature was just over 20C.”

Fiona added: “We attracted quite a lot of attention from people around the lake and the great thing was that Duncan’s widow Joan and their grandson Joseph, who is 11, were both there to watch the challenge.

“They thought that what we were doing in Duncan’s name was amazing and I think they were overwhelmed by the effort we put into it.

“From our point of view it was certainly a fantastic day and a great club activity. I’m proud of the way all the members helped each other.”

Last year the club raised more than £2,200 for Pendleside Hospice in Duncan’s memory after taking on what Fiona describes as a few silly underwater challenges.

She explained: “Duncan Priestley was one of the club’s most active members and was a hugely popular guy who was always up for a laugh. That’s why, last year, we decided to do ‘silly’ things underwater to raise money for Pendleside Hospice where he spent his last days.

“The hospice was fantastic and even arranged for him to marry his partner, Joan, which was very kind of them. Duncan was born in Rawtensall and lived in both Nelson and Accrington. He had two children from his first marriage but had a long term relationship with Joan who he met at Accrington and Rossendale College where they both worked.

“Last year we did all sorts of sponsored silly things such as holding an underwater gym session, played underwater draughts, one diver wrote 100 lines, one ate as many different fruits as possible and one munched his way through a pile of sausages!

“We are thrilled with the amount of money we have raised so far and we’ve decided, as a club, to continue fundraising and make it an annual event in Duncan’s memory with a different charity benefiting each year.”

For more information on Ribble Valley Sub Aqua Club, click here.