News
Diver & Skipper setup pop up vegan restaurant and bar on ex Royal Navy minesweeper
Canadian opera singer and diver Janet Fischer and British skipper Chris Beer have launched a vegan pop-up this summer onboard their 107ft ex-RN Ham class inshore Minesweeper MV Tongham moored on Gillingham Pier in Kent. Launched in 1957 and now on the National Historic Ships Register, Tongham is the most intact of her class and Janet & Chris will be maintaining as many of her features as possible during her refit. She will ultimately house three music teaching studios, a yoga suite, restaurant & coffee house and a microbrewery.
This summer they are running a Vegan Pop-Up restaurant and bar on her decks. “We wanted to get people involved and excited about the project, and there is no better way than to have them onboard and enjoying her” said Janet. “Gillingham and the Medway towns have a long standing relationship with the Navy through the docks at Chatham, and we are offering another way for people to engage with their marine heritage”.
Both committed to environmental sustainability, there will be no single use plastics on board – all of their tableware for the summer is home-compostable and will be used to grow next year’s vegetables on their local allotment. Chris & Janet have chosen a vegan menu because they want to offer people options that have less of an environmental impact and to demystify plant-based eating. “We are Not-Just-For-Vegans, people can come here and enjoy fresh, locally-sourced, seasonal food that tastes great, is comfortable and familiar in an interesting setting and that also happens to be Vegan. As a man who has spent his life working on the ocean I would like to see more people take small daily steps towards reducing their plastic consumption and environmental impact” Chris said. Janet added “As a diver who has seen first-hand the impact of over-fishing and poor waste management on dive sites around the world, giving people choices that they can incorporate into their daily lives that we feel passionately about, and we are excited to work with our local community to educate and inspire’.
Freyr’s Restaurant onboard MV Tongham will be open:
17-19th August
24-27th August
31st August – 2nd September
There will be more events during the winter of 2018/19 including a supper club and one off pop-ups before the vessel is fully opening in the summer of 2019.
For more information:
+44 7551 243 015
Freyr’s Restaurant
MV Tongham
Pier Approach Road,
Gillingham
ME7 1RZ
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
In an interview recorded exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman interviews Jeremy Higson from Sea to Sky about the itineraries the tour operator offers in Oman.
For more information about diving in Oman, contact Sea to Sky now:
Email: hello@mysetaosky.co.uk
WhatsApp: + 39 379 236 7138
Website: www.myseatosky.co.uk
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