The Eclipse

The boat
David Applin is an interesting sort of bloke; he runs Dive Eclipse out of Selsey's East Beach in West Sussex, picking up his divers just a few hundred yards from the Ocean View Diving Centre. Some years back, he was (to quote his own words) 'a hotshot businessman', but he realised that there was a better quality of life to be had elsewhere and packed everything in to follow a dream. That alone tells you a lot about the integrity of the man; a lot of us daydream about swapping lifestyles - 'downsizing', as the jargon has it - but how many of us bite the bullet and really do something about it?

After a few years of looking after dive boats for others - this was his way of 'relaxing' at the time, he claims - he decided to put flesh on an idea he'd had for some time. He wanted to combine all the ease, comfort and speed of RIB-diving with some of the luxury and sheer convenience of a hardboat. But no RIB appeared big enough to allow enough leeway for his ideas, and so he dared to think, if not the unthinkable, then certainly the unusual!

David's dream was eventually to materialise as Dive Eclipse, a custom-made 10.5m RIB which is moored off Selsey's East Beach between March and November and which stands out from the other fishing smacks and vessels due to its combination of striking looks as well as sheer size. To watch this boat coming ashore to pick up or drop off divers is to be irresistibly reminded of one of those orcas appearing out of the waves to haul unwary seal-pups from the beach. Dive Eclipse is constructed from heavy-duty black Hypalon, and when she heads for the shore her bow just seems to keep on coming out of the water and right up on shore. East Beach shelves steeply, so that the bow can be well proud of the water while the two Honda engines still enjoy a draught of some 3m.

Designed by Mr Applin himself - who 'stumbled' on the vessel's name via a long night's conversation with a certain Jack Daniels - and built by Ballistic Marine, this boat has twin counter-rotating props powered by 225bhp Honda four-stroke engines. At full throttle, she can do 52 knots, but David keeps to a maximum of 44 knots for insurance purposes. Apart from the fact that it's never going to take too long to get to a site, these engines deserve a special mention for another reason: they're almost entirely emission-free, and conform to the 2008 CARB (California Air Regulation Board) standards - the first marine engine to do so. For all practical purposes, this means that we ought no longer to have to suffer several nauseous minutes on the RIB tubes, sucking in diesel and associated fumes, while the skipper manoeuvres himself into a position in which he can shot the wreck.

This is one of the results of trying to marry the benefits of a RIB with a hardboat, and one which is well worth having for the sake of the environment, if not for the divers sitting astern. Another unexpected innovation, and probably the last thing you'd expect to see on a RIB, is the full-sized flush-toilet, which is cabin-housed in the bow.

The diving
Even the tekkiest of dive crews will find plenty of elbow room on Dive Eclipse. Twelve fully-kitted divers, each complete with twin-set and a side-slung tank, can sit in ease on a stainless-steel bench that runs the length of the boat. Her broad beam means that even space-hogging tasks such as the donning of fins can be executed in relative comfort. Dive Eclipse is licensed to carry 14 people up to 60 miles from shore in any weather, day or night, which means that David can go pretty much as far afield as your mood - and your wallet - can take you. There is a wealth of quality diving to be found in the area including inshore sites such as the Mullbery Units or the Fossil Beds in Brack Bay; midway dives including the Glenlee, Hedwig Lundstedt, the Shirala and the War Helmet; and offshore locations such as the Cambrian Princess, HMS Prince Leopold and the Highland Corrie. As David loves to remind his passengers, 'There are 700 wrecks within 20 miles of our Selsey office, but only 104 of them are diveable,' in anyone's language, that still leaves a lot of interesting stuff to see.

David goes out in his tender (cunningly named Partial Eclipse) to bring her big sister inshore. 'With newer, less-experienced divers coming through, it's only natural for us to slot in less demanding, inshore dive sites to cater for them', he says, citing the Mullbery Units as his personal favourites in this respect. Some of the slightly deeper wrecks can then be dived at low and then high tides, as confidence and buoyancy control grow. Judging by the numbers who turned up for a night dive we did on a damp Tuesday evening, it's a winning system.

Having kitted up in the free East Beach car park and lugged the gear a few yards up onto the beach, we were soon away to the Mullbery Units and took all of five minutes to arrive on site. We had a full complement of divers on board yet kitting up was easy, thanks to the length of Dive Eclipse and the height of her tubes, which have recently been modified for both comfort and ease of entry. The visibility was somewhere between 3m and 5m and a generous post-dive supply of cake, biscuits and hot coffee was pleasant way to round off a busy day.

Whatever deficiencies diving from a RIB may have, David has tried to remedy them: there's a flush toilet, bags of speed and room, and as a skipper he appears to know his area well. One way or another, you're going to get to your destination quickly and in comfort. That said, you'll always have to suit up before getting on the boat, as all divers must wade through shallow water to access the RIB's entry ladders. Also, the lack of an onboard compressor means you have to bring multiple cylinders if you are intending to do a day's diving.

That this is one fast boat is undeniable, but it doesn't make for a highly relaxing experience. Remember those lazy days on hardboats, loafing around in your undersuit between dives. That's not an option with Dive Eclipse. And, of course, while it's easy enough going down the shingle to the boat at the time of departure, scaling those same mounds of shifting stones at the end of a dip can be a task. Perhaps this is where a lifetime of Chesil Beach training comes in handy!

Length: 10.5m
Beam: 2.95m
Engines: two 225bhp four-strokes
Cruising speed: 28 knots
Electronics: Raymarine navigation system, colour sounder, colour chartplotter, radar, fluxgate compass, two DSC VHF radios, autopilot
Passenger Numbers: 12, two crew
Heads: one marine toilet
Compressor: None (Air/nitrox is available at Ocean View Diving Services, tel: 01243 601000)
Oxygen: limited onboard supply
Charges: Inshore diving - £15 pp;
Midway - £18 pp; Offshore - £20 pp
Contact: David Applin, tel: 07780 958492
website: http://www.dive-eclipse.co.uk



VERDICT
Overall comfort: 6 out of 10
Skipper: 7 out of 10
Deck space: 7 out of 10
Diving: 6 out of 10
Tea and treats: 6 out of 10