Brighton - 5th - 6th October 2002

As I rose smoothly from the waves on the lift of the "Spartacat" I pondered character of this club. They certainly don’t rough it! We were in Brighton - Just an hour from London and now aboard this spanking new dive cat. It’s a stable, spacious boat, it has a head (for the girls) large enough to clamber out of your drysuit and last but not least it has a platform lift. Not like diving at all, really!

We were lucky. It was a sunny Saturday with blue skies and a flat sea. The first dive was the wreck of the "Pentrych", a collier torpedoed in 1918 and now lying in 25 metres. Sunk in the First World War, it still had intact parts and lots of sea-life, including a turbot, which I had only previously seen in the London Aquarium.

Dive number two was a scenic reef dive, which exceeded its billing. A lovely meandering shelf, with the largest Moray eels I have ever seen, plus wriggly prawns, loads of large crabs and lobsters. There was lots to look at and very relaxing despite the fact that I was dragging along a delayed SMB for my PADI crossover.

I had heard much from my PADI pals of BSAC people and clubs. Having qualified abroad I had little UK experience and was looking for friendly people and thorough training. Hellfins fulfils that brief: a safety-conscious club that has a lot of fun and lovely people (Okay guys, you can tell me what you think of me in the bar - after a couple of beers!). The training so far has been thorough and good.

After the day’s dives four of us stayed overnight to dive with Brighton BSAC. The intrepid three (I spent the morning sleeping and seeking out full English breakfast) ventured out early and what a drama it was! On reaching the planned wreck site, anglers that were already in situ became aggressive and one even ran straight across the diving buoy – most unpleasant. Our three declined to entangle with the fishermen and their lines and the rib motored on to a second reef dive. So they came back safely, but very late.

My goodness, I was pleased to see them reappear in the harbour. They told me all about their experience over a drink on the yacht club veranda before we all headed home.

What a shame it’s October and near the end of the season - roll on next year!

Clare Ruck