Cremorne scuba dining fund-raiser
31 Jan 15
"SCUBA DINING 2015 – Cremorne’s “SCUBA Dining Down under” team hit the depths again to raise money for charity....and to have a hysterical time doing so
The call was made and the date locked in. The SCUBA Dining team that was assembled in 2013 and performed a 3 course dining experience complete with beverage in the waters out the front of Cremorne was again summoned to get moving with another project.
This time the plan was to extend the participants, make the menu more elaborate, try our hand at poker and go deeper. The antics of course would be captured on video to share with the world.
With an Olympic Games type theme of “faster, higher, stronger”, we adopted “deeper....clearer................hungrier”.
The charity of choice for this occasion was BeyondBlue (initiative that provides advice and support for anxiety and depression). The aim was to raise $1000 for the cause.
Saturday the 17th January saw 12 divers prepare and set off from Cremorne in two boats and head south to find some protection from the mad westerly and swell that was brewing through the day that would produce point waves the following day!
Prior to the group heading off to undertake this mission, a few hardy lads prepared the setting involving entering the waters at 6:30am at the chosen site and “setting the table” involving weighing down 2 tables to provide a 4m long table complete with chairs that also needed to be weighed down.......and a table cloth.
Once on the water around 10am and with military type precision, the boats were put on anchor and dressed in our best dining suits and SCUBA gear, we descended to the table set in 6m of water south of Cremorne.
Over the next hour the group indulged in a 3 course lunch which included a beer:
~ Menu ~
Entree – skewer of cabana, bree and pickled onion
Main – skewer of cocktail sausage with olive with dipping sauce (attempted)
Dessert – Skewer of mixed fruit including grape, strawberry and blueberry caressed with a jelly snake
Beer – Stubbies of Cascade Draught (what else!)
A poker play off was then rolled out with Julian Koning crowned underwater poker champion (could well be a worlds first!). An arm wrestling competition ensued soon after with Jezza Heath and Dean Scurrah tied for the status of arm wrestling champ. Other highlights included the visit of an octopus to the table which was soon scruffed and handed around the table and a surge that struck us after the game of cards that provided a complete silt out and knocked everyone for six!
The event finished up with friends and families back for a bbq and to have a laugh about it all.
The event could not have happened without the team who participated and helped organise including the following strapping lads:
Chris Bidgood, Adrian Beach, Dean Scurrah, Ed Moroni, Julian Koning, Rob Monty, Luke Doyle, Scott Haas, Rob Jacobs, Simon Chew, Andrew Forshaw, Jeremy Heath, Brett Stokes and Scott Edwards.
Big thanks to Simon Chew (Building Edge) and Dean Scurrah (DeanScurrah Building) for providing their boats and fuel on the day.
We were fortunate to have a variety of support and sponsorship from the following businesses:
· Dean Scurrah Building
· Building Edge
· AC Plumbing Services
· West Hobart Gourmet Meats
· Hill Street Grocer, Lauderdale
· The Republic Bar
· Go Dive, Hobart
Another successful event where as of the 30/01/2015 we have flown passed our goal of $1000 and raised $1650 towards Beyond Blue using the Everyday Hero website where we set up our charity page titled “SCUBA Dining Down Under”.
Any donations would be greatly appreciated and can be made through the following link:
http://www.everydayhero.com.au/search/heroes?terms=scuba&search_type=keywords
To provide an idea how we went about it all, check out this video that was put together by active SCUBA dining member Chris Bidgood of Cremorne which can be viewed on youtube through the following link:
Thanks again to everyone who supported this event and helped to make it happen. Cremorne hey!"
Scott Edwards – Event Organiser, Cremorne
Here are some photos of the event