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Ben Wade and Greg Booth were to be the first to dive – their job was to make sure the shotline was on the seabed near the wreck and to secure it. They would be followed by Brian Burnett and Paul, who would take down the trapeze transfer line and connect it to the downline and add some spare cylinders of bailout gas. Then Gary Petrie and I would dive, our job being to add some more fixed bailout cylinders.

Dressed into my CCR and full rig, with my CCR safety pre-breathe done, I finally stood up heavily from the kitting-up bench and clumped gingerly to the dive gate in the gunwale. I could hardly believe that this moment had finally arrived.

Standing there waiting for the skipper to position the boat beside the downline, the familiar feeling of apprehension and excitement that I get before a big dive like this washed over me. I had been so consumed by the planning of the expedition over the last 18 months, securing the licence, writing to the Kirkwall police to advise of what we were doing, writing to advise the Coastguard and Orkney harbours of the licensed activity, the sheer logistics of getting everyone and all their kit to Orkney, the shakedown dives, the preparation …. And here, now, it was finally a reality – I was rigged in my CCR, bailout cylinders clipped under my arms, ready to jump. An unforgettable moment.