SCUBA November 2021 Issue 120 | Page 37

UKDIVING
Donavan didn ’ t hide his disappointment that outside of his aquarium work he hadn ’ t encountered a living cat shark in UK waters , so Lloyd suggested we put that right .
We finished our buddy checks , waded in for the final time together , exchanged our ‘ okay ’ and ‘ down ’ signals ... then within five seconds a cat shark swam under us . Neither of our cameras caught it but there was no denying that Lloyd ’ s dreams had been fulfilled . Still , this wasn ’ t a case of game over ; over the next 53 minutes , the three of us encountered at least 15 small-spotted cat sharks . Lloyd says maybe even more . It was a fantastic dive to end on , with photos to treasure and , yes , more cream tea to celebrate . Is this a Welsh thing ? �
PHOTO : DONOVAN LEWIS
Greater spotted cat shark , Porth Ysgaden

WET People
ANDY CLARK , Joint Services Sub Aqua Diving Centre , expedition leader
ALEX DIFFLEY , Huddersfield SAC , paramedic and author of this feature
DONOVAN LEWIS , camera operator , based at Ellesmere Port
Better WET - conclusions
FELICITY FLASHMAN , underwater camera and drone pilot , from Bristol
OLLIE PUTNAM , an underwater camera operator from York
HANNAH MILANKOVIC , marine ecologist based in York
OLLIE VELASCO , camera operator from the University of Bristol Underwater Club
MIKE ROBERTS , a creative consultant from Wigan
ROSS MCLAREN , camera operator from Kilmarnock SAC
So ... Expedition WET . An idea born from lockdown ; a core group of seven , rising to 15 when you include our local experts , scientists and facilitators . And not forgetting the endless hours watching Felicity meticulously cleaning her camera housing . It all resulted in more than £ 1,000 being raised for the three conservation projects ; friends made forever ; an epic adventure and a reminder that UK diving rivals all those holiday destinations we ’ ve missed since March 2020 . Sure , there were moments of hardship along the way , be it a windswept apocalypse of a campsite in Pembrokeshire , or dragging a trolley full of camera gear across a golf course . It all demonstrated the saying : “ The more effort you put in , the more reward you get back .”
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