I find a book on board regarding the region we’re in and discover that the place was heavily fortified during World War II and was protected by mine fields. A few ships had gone down in the area, including a passenger liner which had been converted into a troop carrier. It had sunk after going over one of the mines.

The next morning, as soon as I stick my head out of my cabin door, Dave grabs me and says, "Are you ready? We’re going to check the wreck."

A quick brekkie and still half asleep, I’m laden up with an oxygen tank and thrown over the side of the tinnie.

Down below the wreck sits and I didn’t even realise until I was about one foot away just how big it was. I thought for a long while I was simply staring at the bottom. The boat itself is still almost fully intact. Gun shells, helmets, almost everything was left behind by the troops when they abandoned her.

Dave put on one of the helmets as we swam along the ship’s side and thought he’d cracked an incredible funny. I almost spat out the mouthpiece laughing at him.

We swam around blown out by what we were seeing. Tons of fish, all different types swim right alongside you as though you are one of them. Dave tapped me and pointed up as just above us "Boris", a 200kg groper, cruised leisurely around with a bunch of fish following. He was like a brooding "Godfather" type and the rest were his gangsters, he came and checked us out. At one stage he was about 10 - 15 feet away from me, facing me with that huge mouth sunken at the ends as though he was being stern. He then opened it wide and sucked in a heap of water. I shat myself and got out of there. He just lurked about the whole time we were diving. He was about the size of a bloody jetski!

After I don’t know how long we were running out of air and had to return to the surface. We sat at the 10 metre mark so as not to get "bent", with Boris hanging around the whole time. It was a buzz and a half. My only complaint is that it all went too quick. Just as you get your bearings in the new world under the sea you have to go to the surface. It’s almost as though there is no time down there, no feeling of night or day. I imagine there would be a similar feeling in space.