On August 7, 1979, Richard Walker was in one of his melancholy moods. Married and the father of a 15 month-old daughter, he was thousands of miles away inside a saturation chamber on board a diving ship called the Wildrake in the middle of the North Sea. Lying on his bunk just before his next dive he began a note in his diary:
7 August - On location at Thistle. The boat heaves a lot. Roger says there are conger eels all over. We will find out today. Poor topside management. Two guys in here are both nuts (ungood nuts) and dear god, I want out...