Wednesday World Changers: No diving here please

There is a story from Tasmania that has attracted a lot of interest this week.

Last Saturday, after Taste, a very big waterside festival in Hobart, Tasmania, 13 volunteer divers began collecting rubbish from the river floor. These divers were all members of the Tasmanian University Diver's Club which runs dives all over Tasmania. Some of these dives are training, some recreational and some as this one was combines diving with conservation.

On Saturday, in an hour, the group had retrieved 300kg (660lbs) of rubbish ranging from bottles to tyres from the river. One octopus was rescued from a bottle.

Thats when the trouble started. Security hired by the Festival removed them from the site because they were not wearing high visibility vests or closed in shoes. In organising permits to do the dive (from two government authorities), the group had not been told what they had to wear to dive.

One would think that a volunteer diving group would know what to wear to protect themselves especially as they are responsible for their safety. So we have a dirty river floor, 13 disappointed divers and no one injured.

Surely divers know what to wear under the water? They were covering their own insurances. People have said they could have cut their feet walking on the river floor. Um, divers are usually floating in the water not walking on the floor.  If they needed high visibility vests to get to and from the dive point, could security not have escorted the group of 13 to the point?


Some questions:
Wise protection or over reaction?
How many World Changers are we blocking because of bureaucracy?


Comments about the situation can be found on a facebook discussion here or you can add them here.

Marathoning in Tasmania

I have just run a half marathon in Hobart, Tasmania. One of my 2012 steps toward my fitness goal is 12 major runs of 12km (7miles) or more. Of those I aim to do six half marathons. A half marathon is 21km (almost 13 miles).
I am aiming to do a half marathon in Paris in March. Anyone want to join me?  Or for any of them?

Today's race was relatively well organised. I would have liked one more drink station, more signage along the course and better public transportation. There were very helpful officials along the way and plenty of encouraging crowds.

The morning started with rain but turned sunny with a gentle breeze. Perfect running weather through a stunning course.  I ran the first 15km (9 miles) well and was in fact five minutes ahead of my target time. The last six k was more problematic and I blew my time target. I ran the whole thing in a time that was somewhere between 2hours 15 minutes and 2 hours 20 minutes.

We were all given a sample bag at the end. As the race is sponsored by a Chocolate company it contained a big block of chocolate and a small candy bar size choc. I have eaten the smaller one but will give the bigger one to my neighbour for watching my house! This also helps me watch my weight (remember my fitness goal!)

Recovery Juice (Beetroot, Carrot, Apple, ginger and something else)