Marine Conservation Society (MCS) supporters The Dive Zone (Melksham) and Vobster Quay (Mells) hosted a special 24-hour sponsored dive on April 19th, and so far have raised over £4,000 for MCS, with funds still flooding in. There were at least four divers in the water at all times throughout the 24 hours, and one participant completed 25 dives in 24 hours!

Over the space of 24 hours, 50 willing challengers from dive clubs around the area took it in turns to spend up to an hour at a time under water. The diving continued throughout the day on Saturday 19th April, into the night until the target of 24 hours of continuous diving was achieved at 9am on the Sunday morning!
 
Through this tough challenge, the divers aimed to raise vital funds for the work of the Marine Conservation Society, which is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year. Thomas Bell, from the Marine Conservation Society, who took part in the dive, said afterwards:

“I went in at lunchtime, and getting in was a heart stopper - Vobster's 7 degrees C on the surface at the moment, colder as you go down! All of the divers were brilliant - they signed up to MCS' Marine Reserves Now campaign, they raised a tonne of money for us, and we're hoping to do other dives with them later in the Summer.” 

Colin Eadie from Dive Zone said:

“I’m very passionate about marine conservation myself, and I was moved by the dedication everyone has shown in support of this charity event, despite the terrible weather conditions! Thanks to everyone who took part and huge congratulations have to go to the maybe not so right of mind, the 24 dives in 24 hours team: John Simick, Matthew Cookson, Andrew Giles and Kevin Radcliffe. I have to be honest, I never thought this would be physically possible but they all proved me wrong. Well done boys!”

This impressive dive challenge was part of the MCS Coastal Challenge, and each metre in depth will help towards the target of covering the distance around our UK coastline (18,470km or 11,477 miles). Challenges have included group beach cleans, marathons, triathlons, swimming and sailing around islands. With the help of people who care about the future of our seas, shores and wildlife MCS hopes to hit the target this year, having got very close last year with 15,984 km or 9932 miles covered. If you’d like to help them, please request your free fundraising pack from fundraising@mcsuk.org

By taking the Coastal Challenge, Colin and everyone at Divezone and local scuba clubs are helping MCS combat the following threats to marine life from the tiniest plankton to the largest whale:-

· Up to 75% of our fisheries are being fished up to and beyond safe sustainable limits;

· Less than 0.002% of our UK seas are totally protected from all forms of extractive activities (e.g. fishing, dredging, dumping). Scientists recommend at least 20% should be totally protected;

· Over 1,900 items of litter are collected on an average kilometre of UK beaches, posing a threat to wildlife and to people.

Call or email today and request your fundraising pack from MCS on 01989 566017 (or fundraising@mcsuk.org). Every supporter who raises £100 through their Coastal Challenge gets a fantastic free ‘MCS Champion’ t-shirt – visit our website www.mcsuk.org  for more information and updates on other Coastal Challengers.

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