Given that we were a group of photographers, it seemed appropriate that we should choose a dive boat with visual impact. The bright yellow Sunfish RIB certainly stood out from most dive boats, making it easy to spot when we surfaced at busy sites.
Operating out of either Brixham or Plymouth, the Sunfish is incredibly fast, with a cruising speed of 30 knots. The surprisingly quiet engine providing skipper Mike Weathersbee with easy access to stunning reefs as far afield as Eddystone as well as a wide choice of wrecks.
The most visited dive sites out of either Brixham or Plymouth are the wrecks of the Scylla and the James Eagan Layne. However, there are plenty of other dive sites within reach.
Only 15 minutes' boat journey from the marina are the wrecks of the Bretagne, lying at 28m, and the Perrone, at 32m. There is also a selection of reef dives, including the Ore Stone, a prominent rock with a swim-through, and Berry Head, where plenty of marine life can be found.
Sunfish was custom-designed in order to maximize the deck space for divers. This made it the ideal choice for our Photosub club photography splash-in weekend as there was still room to move, even with a full boat of photographers and cameras. Our annual splash-in is normally held early on in the season, in order to avoid the later plankton blooms, but this often means that the weather is somewhat unpredictable and 2006 was no exception. Fortunately, skipper Mike was a great help in selecting sheltered sites that proved to be photographically productive. An added bonus was that we were refunded for the second day's diving because of the adverse weather conditions.
Sunfish has been MCA Cat 3 coded, giving Mike an operating range of 20 miles from a safe haven, and is licensed to take a maximum of 11 passengers. All the expected navigational and safety features are on board, including a 5-litre cylinder of oxygen and plenty of drinking water. Having experienced decompression illness himself some years ago, Mike takes the safety of his charges very seriously - both the safety briefing and dive briefings were clear and comprehensive.
Mike has been diving for almost 20 years and sports a list of qualifications, including SAA club instructor, IANTD advanced EANx, SAA O2 and PADI medic first aid. He has personal experience of diving most of the sites that he visits, which accounts for his knowledgeable briefings.
Having been at the helm of various club RIBs for most of his diving career, Mike hankered for a boat of his own. Two and a half years ago he attained his RYA advanced powerboat certificate and ordered the boat. For 18 months he juggled his weekend charters with his
day job at an optician's, but in May 2006 he went full-time
on the boat. He now offers a full programme of both weekend and
midweek charters. Working in conjunction with a local bed-and-breakfast, he can also organise your accommodation - all you have to do is get there!
As well as the diving, Mike arranges a variety of wildlife-watching and speedboat trips. Sunfish was the platform for the Channel 4 crew during recent filming of Gordon Ramsay's foodie show The F Word.
The Sunfish is a RIB, so there is no head or overhead cover, but the speed of the boat more than makes up for this minor inconvenience - she was fast enough that in between dives we could head for the relative comfort of Brixham marina car park, for a toilet break and a quick trip to the café to enjoy a butty and cuppa.
What we liked
Very fast and very quiet.
What we didn't like
The skipper's inability to control the weather.
Boat: Ribcraft Offshore 7.8
Launches: Brixham or Plymouth, Devon
Engine: Suzuki DF250 four-stroke outboard
Cruising speed: 30 knots
Maximum number of passengers: 11
Optimum number of divers ten
Charter rate: one dive £17.50, two dives £30 (based on minimum of six divers)
Contact: Mike Weathersbee,
07968 262421
Email: mike@sunfish-charters.com
Website: www.sunfish-charters.com
