Everyone of us can make one change to reduce our impact on our oceans and its ecosystems after all 71% of our planet is water!

What do you know about the ecosystems of our oceans and the charities that are out there fighting their corners?
​
Well join us for a few hours and learn more about
1. The charity Project Aware
2. Fisheries and Sustainability
3. Coral environment and its habitats; and
4. So much more

During the course we will help you build an achievable plan to help protect something that can not protect itself!

You can find out more by clicking the button Project Aware speciality below

When Saturday 30th January
Time: 14:00
Where: Virtual

Or anytime to suit your schedules.

Our Classroom table has taken advantage of the current lockdown and had a facelift all curtesy of Digital Deadline

We are having a little clearance on certain Fourth Element Thermoclines to make way for new stock.

Once the items have gone they have gone so grab yourself a bargain whilst you can

Thermocline is lightweight, machine washable and equivalent to a 2mm neoprene wetsuit, without the wetsuit, making in perfect for those allergic to neoprene but even if not allergic these are great items to have.. 

Great for extra warmth under a wetsuit to save you having multiple wetsuits, have one and gain the additional warmth by using a thermocline.

Suitable for all water sports be that diving, swimming, SUP, sailing to name but a few.

Just ask Tracey who uses the Thermocline vest under her 3mm Fourth Element Wetsuit for summer UK shore diving and has worn in Egypt in February - really does do what it says on the tin and easy to pack.

Yes we are closed, but we are available for advise and click and collect - we have slots available this coming Saturday but we do ask you to follow all government guidelines.

So are you doing Dry January? Yes.. WHY?
Have you said yourself a goal to exercise more? Yes, WHY?

For health reasons and to feel better I guess... but what about the goals for our ecosystems that are under pressure because of us.

Want to:-

1. Gain an oversight to fishing and sustainability
2. Learn about Coral's, their environment and habitats
3. 10 tips to Protect the Ocean Planet
4. A Fantastic charity called Project Aware
5. Set yourself some goals to assist our oceans

Then join us:-
On: Saturday 30th January
Time: 14:00
For: Project Aware Speciality

Because why look after YOUR health and fitness if what we do in the rest of our lives impacts something else's health and fitness.

Anyone can join us as ANYONE can make a difference, we just have to have the knowledge and know how.

As you would not live in this now would you?

The reading of the Guardian article last week (14th January) and that Clothes washing is linked to ‘pervasive’ plastic pollution in the article. Coincided with us planning our Eco articles for this year, to highlight stuff that maybe we do not consider..

So we decided that this week we would look further into microfibres.

​Wikipedia says that microfiber is synthetic fiber finer than on denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometres.  A strand of silk is about one denier and about a fifth of the diameter of a human hair.
 
Microfibrers are in all areas of our lives – clothes, mops, cleaning clothes, basketballs, sleeping bags, thermal insulation, tablecloths, furniture and car interiors to name a few.
 
We are going to focus on the clothing as part of this article as synthetic materials account for 60% of the clothing and textile industry. Synthetic materials used in clothing and textiles such as polyester, acrylic and nylon account for this and the most common is polyester. Synthetic materials are man-made with the purpose of being durable, resistant to damage, and affordable. These properties along with the availability are highly popular and why synthetics are widely chosen by the fashion industry.

​When manufactured, washed and worn, synthetic clothes and textiles shed tiny plastic fibres that end up in the environment.  Plastic as we know that ends up in the environment does not biodegrade: they break into smaller pieces.  
 
These tiny pieces, called microfibre are smaller than 5mm and usually not visible to the naked eye and these are known as Primary microplastics.  These include microfibres from clothing, microbeads and plastic pellets (also known as nurdles)

Plastic particles washed off from products such as synthetic clothes and textiles contribute to 35% of primary microplastics polluting our oceans according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IICN).
 
EVERY time we do our washing, an average of 9 million microfibres are released into wastewater treatment plants, which cannot retrieve them and these end up in the ocean.
 
It is not only in washing clothing that the problem exists. By wearing synthetic clothes, plastic fibres are constantly released into the air and becoming part of the atmosphere.  Recent research has proven that we are eating and drinking plastic and that plastic fibres are even raining down from the sky.  We are breathing in at least 13,000 to 68,000 plastic microfibers from our clothing and other items around each year.

​So our oceans are being polluted with microfibres.  They have been found in a a lot of our marine life from mussels upward. Remember back to secondary school when we learned about bioaccumulation? If the bottom of the food chain has small amounts, it is amplified as we move up the food chain, if our food contains plastic, then we will too.
 
The long-term effect is not known on human health but although microfibres have been found in human lung samples and initial studies on mussels do suggest that prolonged exposure to microfibres could negatively impact the biofiltration and there are a number of studies currently ongoing.

Think when purchasing clothes

Be conscious and aware of polyester when buying your next set of clothes… make it part of your purchasing decision – move away from fast fashion to a longer term strategy around your clothing and better still reduce the amount of polyester in your clothing that you do purchase.
 
Look for natural materials that have been sustainably sourced items as found by clicking Natural Materials below

When Washing Clothes

Fill your washing machine to the max washing a full load results in less friction between the clothes meaning fewer fibres are released
Use washing liquid instead of powder the scrubbing function of the grains of the powder results in loosening the fibres of clothes more than liquid
Use a fabric softener some ingredients in fabric softeners reduce friction between fibres so the release decreases
Wash at a low temperature when clothes are washed at a high temperature some fabrics are damaged, leading to the release of fibres
Use a microfiber ‘catcher’ in each wash

Attending a Project Aware course will take you through some of the great work that underpins Project Aware after all here at Dive Rutland we are signed up and are a 100% Project Aware dive centre. It is a dry course so now is a great time to complete

As part of this course we will work with you to set your very own goals and objectives - maybe join one of our Dive Against Debris's (you can do the speciality or just join the dives) its normally great fun, with great camaraderie, bacon butties occasionally to.

Guardian article https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/12/clothes-washing-linked-to-pervasive-plastic-pollution-in-the-arctic?fbclid=IwAR189Ns5iK5x0TAMvXVhMgEMG_k5mhGnFneo26o9XnAcrqIQY0xwHXFO6AQ
 
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IICN) Report https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334841742_Distribution_and_impacts_of_microplastic_incorporation_within_sea_ice
 
Effects of long-term exposure to microfibers on ecosystem services provided by coastal mussels
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749120325069

We are pleased to announce that Suunto have launched a long awaited software update to the EON Steel!

There are two software updates available: A FREE upgrade to the RGBM Fused 2 algorithm, which is already featured on the EON Core and D5,

This can be downloaded either via the Suunto link cable or via DM5. The new fused 2 algorithm offers less conservatism on deeper and repetitive dives. It also allows you to run a stepped decompression profile instead of a continuous one.

The full update notification can be found on the Suunto website, click the button below

The other option is much more exciting, which is the option to add the Buhlmann ZHL16 algorithm to the EON Steel. Mainly a feature for technical divers, this allows an EON steel user to match the algorithm of the computer to their team mates if those divers are using other units like Shearwaters (and yes we know there are a number of recreational users who use this computer!)

The Buhlmann update also offers the following:

• Fully customisable gradient factors.
• The ability to run a stepped decompression profile in traditional 3m increments instead of the continuous decompression ceiling.
• No lockouts meaning the computer won’t go into an error mode as a consequence of a missed deco stop.

Once the computer has been upgraded the user is still able to select between the two algorithms depending on the style of diving they're doing.

To get the Buhlmann upgrade all units need to be sent back to Suunto which you can do directly or we are happy to do on your behalf.

​There is a cost though.... If your unit is less than 2 years old the upgrade is free. For older units the cost is £80.