Tanked up

'From a young age, I was flirting with the sea and its power.' says Ben Thompson. This is the colourful and moving story of a boy who realised at an early age that the sea was his calling and followed his dream. By the age of twenty-five, Ben Thompson was being paid to dive the world's most exquisite coral reefs. Few people have worked as dive instructors in such varied locations around the world as he has. From exploring the far reaches of South East Asia by local yacht to off-roading through sub-Saharan Africa looking for new dives, Ben sees the world through a diver's mask. Along the way, he dives one of the world's only vertical wrecks (at a top-secret location) just as it ruptures its gas tanks and causes an international incident, is held up at gunpoint by a militia group in the Philippines, rescued by pirates in Indonesia, and visits the Caicos with America's largest naked diving group. His story will fascinate divers, travellers, seafarers, and adventurers of all stripes. It's an exhilarating tale of escaping the humdrum, and also a cheering love story as his ever-patient partner and dive buddy, Vic, accompanies Ben on his escapades around the world.