11 March 1994 Hog Island
Gary and I did a “Discover Scuba” this morning in the pool and then did “an exchange of equipment whilst buddy breathing”. Gary wears contact lenses, so I offered to remove my mask and then wait without my mask until he sorted himself out with his mask. The bastard kept me waiting for about a minute without my mask while he laughed at me – I will get him back!
We then went and dived the Bianca C. Yes, I did get to see it this time – very impressive. It took us four attempts to get the anchor in the right place, mostly because Bob won’t listen to anyone else!
In the afternoon, I did a dive on the Quarantine Wreck with the “Discover Scuba” people. Two dives in one day, WOW! Glenys went to Concord Falls with Marilyn and loads of kids. Robin managed to cut her foot on the beach at Woburn and had to have three stitches. What a pair!
12 March 1994 Hog Island
A morning off – I read a novel and lounged about. I went to Bob’s house at midday as arranged but no sign of anyone. Total chaos, but I finally got to the dive centre by quarter past one. I led a small group of divers down to the Bianca C. We all went to “Wise Cat” for a communal meal and a game of “Dungeons and Dragons”.
13 March 1994 Hog Island
I did two dives in the morning with Gary and a guy doing Open Water 4 and 5. Bob gave me a lift back to Hog Island in the dive boat. I managed to get back by two o’clock just as Glenys had finished cooking the chicken at the Sunday barbeque.
At about four o’clock, I’d had enough of talking and went back to the boat for a quiet time. Glenys went on a wild goose chase with Marilyn of “Ootek” to look at some childrens toys which a lady was selling. She told them that she couldn’t sell anything because her children were there!
14 March 1994 Hog Island
I did three dives today – it’s a miracle! Glenys was back to schoolwork and odd jobs. We had sail fish steaks for dinner and then crashed out. For the last few weeks we have been in bed by nine o’clock!
15 March 1994 Hog Island
I did two dives today. Gary awarded me with my Dive Master qualification, so I went to have my picture taken at Grand Anse for my PADI application form.
The Wise family descended on us at five o’clock and we had a cup of tea and then the obligatory rum punch. Glenys had spent most of today tidying the boat and then went bonkers at the mess the kids left!
16 March 1994 Hog Island
Bob changed his mind this morning, cancelled the dive on the Bianca C and worked on his boat. I did a few jobs on our boat, retrieved “Ootek’s” dinghy anchor and then went to do a night dive. I stayed at Gary and Donna’s apartment where the main topic was “Mad Bob”. Glenys and the kids went to “Wise Cat” for dinner.
17 March 1994 Hog Island to Prickly Bay
Filled up with fuel and water at Secret Harbour and then went around to Prickly Bay. Gary and Donna came for dinner. Gareth didn’t show up as expected.
18 March 1994 Prickly Bay
Slack day. Glenys had her hair trimmed by Donna and then went to Grand Anse to do some shopping. The boys and I went to the beach. I spent a fortune on the phone talking to my mum and dad, Ceris and Carol. Gareth arrived at about seven o’clock and anchored next to us in the dark. They came for dinner.
19 March 1994 Prickly Bay
A bit of a hangover this morning! Glenys went to help Gareth and Fi tidy up their boat and I spent the afternoon on letters and tax, in response to the mail that Gareth picked up in Bequia for us. I finally got my replacement Lloyds Gold Card, thank god! We all went out to a Chinese restaurant for dinner which was really nice. The woman running the place was ever so happy to see customers. Fi nearly got into the kitchens to see how they make dishes.
20 March 1994 Prickly Bay
Gareth picked up his guests at seven o’clock in the morning and disappeared two hours later. We had a school work and admin day. I went snorkelling and speared three fish. One of them was a Spanish mackerel type and had three trilobite type parasitic creatures in its gills. They were pale, white and about 20mm long – gross!
We went to Gary and Donna’s for drinks and took some cassoulet and garlic bread for dinner. Brett has learned to start the outboard and he visibly swelled with pride when I said that he could go over to “Dabulamanzi” by himself to pick up Glenys