Richie Kohler, one half of the Chatterton and Kohler Shadow Divers team, once told me that they might not be the world's best divers, but they are careful to get top writers to craft their books. How astute of them!
To those people who ask me why I don't write a book myself, I say I don't have the writing skills to sustain one. I appreciate what goes into structuring a story in order to keep the reader engaged throughout, and I haven't got it. I limit myself to 2000 words at a time.
Ray Mabbs, the subject of this book, has had his recollections collated in an orderly fashion by Barry Jackson, a friend of his.
With good intent, the author has set out to write a biography of the salvage diver, who without doubt has had an eventful life. It has the makings of a good book, but Ray really should have spoken to Richie Kohler first.
With the promise of an interesting story, giving an insight into the shadowy world of divers who remove armour-plating from sunken battleships and phosphor-bronze propellers, I started reading enthusiastically.
Unfortunately, this author has the same problem as me. He can't sustain the interest, despite the marvellous raw material of Ray's equally raw experiences, and back-up provided by plenty of contemporary photographs.
After a few chapters, my eyes started to glaze over. The prose became repetitive. I put it on my desk and read a bit at a time thereafter.
Throughout, it begs the question: "And then what happened?" but the inevitable answer is: "Nothing."
Unlike an Ian Fleming novel, it has no big explosions at the end, and that's despite an episode involving a fire on an oil-exploration barge in Nigeria.
It's good that Ray Mabbs' life has been documented, along with the diving contributions of a few other diving oldies who are no longer with us.
However, rather like a lot of those travel pieces in inferior diving magazines that start: "It was raining as we left Gatwick..." an interesting story is let down by a turgid treatment at the hands of a noble but novice writer.
John Bantin
Self-published
Hardback, 220pp, £15
