A deeply pressing engagement for divers in Coromandel

Heather Flint shows her colleagues the finer points of domestic science before they take it to the depths.

Why would a bunch of divers be getting an ironing lesson from the deck of a big aluminium dive boat parked on the foreshore at Tairua?

It turns out they are preparing for an attempt on the World Underwater Ironing Record to be held on December 3 as part of the Coromandel Pohutukawa Festival.

According to the Guinness Book of Records the record is held by 70 Australians who did their ironing at the bottom of a swimming pool.

But the Coromandel team want nothing to do with this sissy pool business and, if the weather's right, they'll have 80 divers ironing in 3m of water at nearby Slipper Island.

And, just to prove they've done the job properly, each participant will be required to wear their ironed item at a festival ball in the Tairua Town Hall that night.

Other dive events on in the festival include a photography competition - last year's novelty winners photographed themselves sitting underwater at a table, chairs and beach umbrella, drinking shots of vodka - a weightbelt-throwing event and a treasure hunt.

Organiser Dave Early says the object of all this is "to put fun back into diving, make it something more than just a chance to rape and pillage, and get people to enjoy themselves underwater".