201. There and back

In popular imagination scuba divers travel pretty much everywhere by boat. Indeed, if you are out to explore wrecks and reefs, then the only practical means of getting to such places will be via some type of watercraft. An entire industry of dive boat and liveaboard operators is based on this association.

Here again bottle diving is different. The vast majority of bottles are thrown in from shore, and consequentially the typical bottle dive will be a shore dive. This means that the standard means of transport to the site will be a car.

This sport does not require a big and thirsty 4 wheel drive - leave such confections to the poseurs and wannabes who get no further than the country club or shopping mall. Remember that bottle sites tend to be close to the communities that throw the bottles in, and the roads can be expected to have prepared (or at least semi prepared) surfaces. Certainly at no point have I ever needed to go completely off-road to access a site; it has always been possible to park in a convenient spot and either walk my gear in or carry it to shore. In my experience the best kind of bottlemobile is an ordinary hatchback, or one of the new generation of fuel efficient crossovers based on small car platforms. I own a Toyota Urban Cruiser, a diesel crossover that gives me an average of 53 mpg. It has independent traction on each wheel which is nice to have when parking on muddy verges. This capability is more than sufficient for bottle diving purposes...quite frankly any Golf, Polo, Clio, Fiesta, Micra, or Corsa type car is fine.

I specifically favour hatchbacks for three reasons:

• 1. Economy. The cheaper a car is to run, the further you can go for your money. The range of the bottle diver is therefore increased. Diesel is preferred although its economic advantage over petrol has narrowed in recent years.

  2. Discretion. It is best to avoid drawing attention to a vehicle when it is left unattended.

  3. Convenience. Loading and unloading is somewhat easier with hatchbacks, and they are deep enough for gear bags to be placed on top of tanks to stop them from rolling. The boot should have a cover so that equipment cannot be seen when it is stowed.

Incidentally, I prefer to conduct a bottle dive at first light. I believe that this is qualitatively the best time of day...and it means I'll be gone before the local ASBOs are even out of bed.