PK Survival Guide

Each year at PK (Porthkerris) we stay at a caravan site. Each caravan can house up to six people, and although basic they are quite comfortable. All are equipped with a TV, shower, and gas cooker. We try and allocate caravan spaces to achieve a balance of old and new club members in each caravan, so hopefully nobody should feel left out. You will need to bring your own sleeping bag and teddy bear, since the caravan site does not provide either! One very important point – please don’t store your wet kit in the caravans, everything will get damp, and it will make a horrible smell (okay, so you won’t notice it but the caravan owners will). Also try to keep your caravan tidy. If they are not left in the same state as when we first arrived, the occupants concerned will be charged a substantial clean-up fee.

Dive Equipment Checklist
Available to hire from the club:

• Regulators
• BCD’s
• Cylinders
• Reels/SMB’s
• Lead/Belts
• Wetsuits (very limited number on larger trips)

Essential Personal Dive Kit

• Boots
• Hood (limited number to rent)
• Gloves (limited number to rent)
• Mask
• Fins
• Dive watch, cheap options such as this ideal
• Your qualification book, to sign off dives!
• A log book or app, to keep a record of your dives

Highly Desirable Personal Kit

• Line cutter or dive knife with serrated edge
• Dive Torch
• Boat bag (to keep your bits together on the boat)
• Dive computer

Club Diving Kit

The club kit is transported by transit van and trailers, all of which will be packed on Thursday night. You are expected to be present at the stores to help pack. You will be using the kit once it arrives at Porthkerris so it is only fair that you help with its transport. You will also be expected to help with the cleaning of the kit once it returns to stores at the end of the trip.

Packing

Diving holidays (not that Porthkerris is one!) and travelling light do not mix. In order for us to be able to transport everything down to Cornwall, we will need to split your gear up. Unless you want to end up repacking everything in the car park on Thursday night, you are strongly encouraged to read this section very carefully.

Your kit should be divided up as follows:

• Personal Gear: Spare clothing, towels, sleeping bag / bedding and wash kit items. Basically anything that will be staying in the caravan. ie. Not dive gear. Make sure anything that you need on the first night/ days goes in the car with you as the vans will arrive fairly late.
• Diving Suit: If you have a wetsuit, you may be able to fit it in a bag with the rest of your dive kit. Drysuits should be kept separate. This is so that they can be packed on top of everything else in order that zips don’t get crushed!
• Personal Dive Gear: Mask, fins, snorkel etc. (Tucking your mask in the end of a fin will stop it from getting smashed).
• Weight Belt: You must keep this separate and transport it down to PK in the car that you are travelling in. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU PACK YOUR WEIGHT BELT IN YOUR DIVE BAG. Heavy bags resulting in crushed gear will not make you very popular! You are responsible for loading and unloading your own belt don’t rely on anyone else to do it because they may forget.

Food

This is all organised for you, however you will need to cook it yourselves with the members of your caravan. We’ll put into caravans based on food requirements. We will provide ingredients and recipes for each day, it is entirely up to you whether you follow them or not, but once you have used everything up we won’t be giving you any more! Some things bought in bulk may need to be collected every day. Cereals, snacks, fruit and sandwich-making materials are also allocated to each caravan. Its a good idea to bring some toilet roll for the first few days too. If you need additional things like chocolate and alcohol, these are available from a shop in St Keverne that we pass on the way to Porthkerris.

There is a burger van at PK beach, although its hours of opening have become increasingly short and erratic of late. You are best advised not to rely on it for your lunch. That said, the hot chocolate is killer and just the ticket to warm up any wetsuit diver.

Transport

Transport is generally in member’s cars, though we have hired a minivan for the weekend. Drivers should contact members of their vehicle to sort out pick ups.

The Weather

Although we have been lucky some years, we can still guarantee that for at least part of the week it is likely to be very cold and very wet. Therefore, please come prepared for the worst; waterproof jacket and leggings (if you have them) are a must. A hat and gloves are recommended. Waterproof footwear is also a very good idea. Lip balm is essential. The cold sea water will dry your lips out very quickly, so lip balm will ensure that you will still be able to talk at the end of the week! On top of all this, if you have a flask bring it along, fill it with soup and you will make lots of friends very quickly!