Our Dive Boat

The Story Behind the Name

Some return visitors will remember that the boat used to carry a different name — one associated with a catastrophic tidal event in Southeast Asia. When Chris Gauntlett took over Blue Water Divers in 2012 and a long-term crew member who had actually been in Thailand at the time wanted a fresh start, renaming the boat felt right. The name Modern Sinbad was not chosen at random.

It's a reference to Chris's great-grandfather, A.E. Dingle, an author of sea stories who wrote under the pen name Sinbad. Dingle is alleged to be the first person to solo sail the New York to Bermuda passage — unless you count his dog, Trixie, which is a matter of some debate.

The story goes like this: Dingle packed his family onto a steamer to Bermuda and planned to bring the boat over himself. His eyesight was poor, and his Captain's licence had been acquired from a stranger in a bar. On the crossing he encountered a hurricane, lost his rigging, and went so overdue that his family feared the worst. Rations ran dangerously low. At one point he threw his gun overboard to remove the temptation of shooting the dog, who had been drinking more than her fair share of the fresh water.

They were eventually spotted and towed in by a US patrol boat — which had initially mistaken them for a surfaced enemy submarine. When Trixie finally came ashore, she had turned bright red. The dye from the lifejackets had leached into the bilge water and soaked into her fur.

Dingle's boat was called the Gauntlet. Years later, his daughter Muriel married Ernest Gauntlett — whether by fate or an attachment to the name, no one can say.

The Gauntlett family has lived in Bermuda ever since.

We think it's a pretty good name for a dive boat.