Get Charter, Sally, Guy Middleton

Diving skippers Steve and Guy Yellow Boat

Guy Middleton and Steve Parker are both experienced divers and instructors who have been diving North Pembrokeshire for many years. Having struggled to find a local boat to take them to the more remote areas they wanted to explore, they eventually bought their own, which they now charter to help cover the costs. However, their enthusiasm for diving and boating hasn’t been eaten away by the need to make a living from it.

The boat is based at the town of Fishguard on Wales’ west coast, where there is a wide choice of accommodation, and good pubs and restaurants. As well as its appealing scenery of jagged islands set against wild sea cliffs, this stretch of coastline is protected from the prevailing southwesterlies and has plenty of great dive sites. The layout of the harbour means that you can load the boat near your cars. Parking is free and plentiful, and there are several options for gas fills.

As for the boat, Sally has a large deck, with plenty of room for equipment stowage. I took a group of divers from my local club in Lancashire, down to Fishguard late last year before the winter weather arrived. We kitted up in two waves on the large engine box. Since then Guy and Steve have had a bench fitted across the stern to allow everybody to get ready at once.

The large deck space has come at a price, the cabin is small. That said, the skippers are happy for divers to squeeze inside their wheelhouse, but even with the covered part of the deck, only seven or eight divers can find shelter from the rain. The limited space also means that there’s no toilet on board – the boat’s briefing includes a light-hearted explanation of the ‘facilities’, offering the use of a bucket and temporary occupancy of the wheelhouse!

The briefing also highlights the attention to safety on board, and covers a wide range of points, including dive conduct. There’s a healthy emphasis on surface marker buoys and sound advice on local conditions. The boat carries a locker full of spare gear for lending to forgetful or under-equipped divers, and Steve’s detailed sketches make it easy to orientate yourself on the dive sites.

Entry to the water is by a simple backward roll off the port side – clear signals are given to stop divers landing on top of each other. When it comes to getting back on board, there’s a ladder on the starboard side, with the first step at a comfortable depth. The rungs are good, but we found the pitch slightly too steep, an item that the owners have promised to fix for 2006 in order to make it easier to climb over the gunwale at the top. There is a huge variety of dive sites within the boat’s range, and both Guy and Steve will use other ports to extend the list of options. A local favourite is the wreck of the Vendome, a steamer lying in 25 to 35m in the stunning bay at Pwll Deri, where a handful or wrecks lie within half a mile of each other. Several interesting poke-about wrecks sit less than two miles from the harbour. In addition, there are several excellent wrecks in the 45 to 50m range, and some rarely dived targets at trimix depths. The dive list is by no means limited to wrecks, as there are numerous reefs and bays that are teeming with interesting life, from lobsters and dogfish to the more unusual octopus and coral. Exciting drifts, where you might speed across acres of brittlestars or fly past schools of bass, also make for an interesting alternative. There is also plenty of life at the surface – Sally’s logbook records how often dolphins and porpoises are seen, and there are sightings of sunfish and enormous rafts of seabirds. Seals are very common, and are regularly seen sunning themselves on the beaches.

As if the diving and the scenery weren’t enough, Sally provides lunch as well – and not just a clingfilmed cheese roll on the journey back. She drops anchor in a quiet bay, and you’re served real food, in a civilised setting, Mediterranean-style. Those little touches make for a great day out. We will definitely be back.

What we liked

The large deck space and the fact the that the skippers are divers. The lunch in beautiful secluded bays

What we didn’t like

There is no toilet, and limited shelter in bad weather

Boat Offshore 32
Moored Fishguard, Pembrokeshire
Engine Iveco 320hp
Cruising speed ten knots
Head none
Maximum number of passengers 12 or eight technical divers
Range 150 miles
Charter rate £350 per day
Contact 07967 682587
Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website www.divesally.co.uk