We decided on a second dive after the SETT experience, and had previously sussed out that Selsey Bill would provide just such a dive, but was time limited by tides. Sadly we would not be able to get there in time for the afternoon dive, so had to go for the evening dive. The dive can only (sensibly) be done at ebb slack, today being at 8:46pm. We drove over and found our way to Ocean View Dive shop (which has no such view!) and queued our cylinders for fills. Some considerable time later they were ready - clearly no rush here.

As it was only about 5:30pm, it made sense to drive over to the Lifeboat Station - our chosen dive location to check it out and decide on a plan. It is possible to park quite close to the beach, so transporting gear is not a major issue. The dive plan was to enter the water at the pier, follow the struts until we were under the Lifeboat House, then take an Easterly bearing to a turn at about 20 minutes. Happy with the plan, we retired for an early dinner and chat.

Soon enough we were returning to the lifeboat station and managed to park even closer, so the short walk was even shorter. As we were fussing over equipment, the crew of the lifeboat were returning from their mission. The skipper stopped for a chat and we tried to extract some local knowledge from him which resulted in a slight change of plan. We would now try and locate the Old Station - long since collapsed, which was North-East of the current station between two marker buoys. He also recommended that we leave our cars on the main road since if there was a call-out, we would be trapped until they returned - we took his advice and moved the cars, not wanting to wait all night to go home!

The dive itself was good, but the visibility was poor and we needed our torches on simply to ensure we didn't get separated. The dive went to plan, but sadly we ran out of time before we located the old station. There were plenty of crabs and lobster to irritate, Rich even tried to pick one up - but wished he hadn't as the lobster turned on him and started a fight. Rich squirmed and twisted, before the lobster was knocked off and retreated. Dudley and I watched with great interest and amusement. The limited light was fading yet further on the return and we eventually surfaced about 15m from the shore in 3m depth. We could have gone closer, but we could feel the swell and wanted to be able to see where we were - so that we could avoid hitting the pier struts.

The dive time was 35 minutes with a maximum depth of 5.5m with a visibility of 2-3metres. It always seems harder walking out than walking in and this was no exception. We made our way back to the changing area and de-kitted in the gloom and drizzle that had been threatening all evening.

On our way back, we discussed the dive, but more importantly beer and food. We formulated a plan that would allow us to get a kebab, scoff it, and then get back to the camp-site for a last beer or two.

Sadly, we failed miserably. The kebab shop was located without drama, the kebabs scoffed, although Rich and Dudley could only manage a small, whilst Mike went for a large to show the youngsters how it was done. A drunken young girl provided some entertainment, fighting off the advances of a would-be boyfriend, whilst trying to chat to us. She was fascinated by the fact that we came from Worcestershire, but had no more idea where it was than she knew the no-stop dive time to 30m on 30% Nitrox. We decided that she would have to live with her ignorance as beers were calling. Disaster! On arrival at the camp-site the bar was closed and there was nothing for it but to hit the sack. Nature had not yet finished with us. During the night, we saw and heard the most amazing storm, loud enough to drown out Rich's snoring and the activities of the young couple in the next tent! Next morning, we discovered that Duds tent leaked - in fact it leaked all over my dry-suit which I had bought in to dry off a little!