THE sinister face of the man-eating moray eel featured in the 1977 movie will be greeting visitors to the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) over the next two years.

The head and neck section of the fibreglass and rubber eel which peered from a wreck on the sea bottom, waiting for its next human victim, arrived back in Bermuda this week.

It now belongs to Peter Benchley, author of as well as , and he handed it over to BUEI consultant Wendy Tucker for a two-year loan.

Ms Tucker went to Boston to pick up the creature and brought it back to Bermuda, provoking some raised eyebrows from customs officials, in time for the Institute's reunion fund-raiser, which will take place on May 8.

Mr. Benchley, as well as producer Peter Yates, who also made the Steve McQueen classic thriller , plus as yet unconfirmed cast members will be attending the $175-a-ticket dinner at the BUEI, where the moray will be on show to greet diners.

"We are hopeful that Jacqueline Bissett and Lou Gossett will be able to make it," Ms Tucker said. "They want to come but because of contractual obligations, they cannot confirm yet."

Eli Wallach, who starred with Clint Eastwood in , is also expected to attend.

Diners will be able to mingle with the stars at the May 8 event, during pre-dinner drinks between 6.30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

At that time they will also be able to make written bids in an auction of prizes including unusual jewellery and remarkable experiences.

The top prize is a dive for up to six people with Teddy Tucker and Mr. Benchley on the wreck of , the model for the wreck in the film. Divers are guaranteed to find hidden treasure. Ms Tucker would reveal no more.

Ms Tucker said a special display would be made to show off the eel for the next two years.

"They used three moray eels in the film ? a real one, one with mechanical jaws and this one," Ms Tucker said.

Asked whether real moray eels reached the size of the model, Ms Tucker, daughter of the famous Bermudian diver Teddy Tucker, said: "Well, my father caught a big one about 40 years ago.

"He took it to the aquarium, but as he and a colleague were carrying across the street they dropped it and it rolled up into a tight coil."

Of the items for sale in the silent auction, perhaps the most remarkable is a pin/pendant comprising a small piece of perfectly preserved 7,290-year-old cedar wood, recovered from under the sea off Bermuda, with an 18-carat gold mount decorated with diamonds.

Another prize is a coiled moray eel pin/pendant, fashioned from 18-carat gold and bejewelled with tourmaline and diamonds. It was custom-made in Bermuda.

Bidders will also get the chance to buy a trip over Bermuda in a propellered aircraft, accompanied by Steve Blasco and Mr. Tucker, chief scientists of the Bermuda Sea Level project, who will be making scientific observations.

An oil painting of the ship by English artist Christian Huband will also be up for sale. The ship went down in Bermuda waters in the 1760s.

Two giant squid pins made from 18-carat gold by goldsmith Roger Thompson, complete with ten writhing arms and a ruby eye, add to the list of goodies.

A rare, first-edition copy of the book , which was published in 35 countries, will also be on offer in the auction. It will be signed by the author, the film director and others who took part in the production.

La Coquille's master chef Serge Botelli will prepare a five-course meal for ten people at the home of another successful bidder. The meal will be served by BUEI director and solo circumnavigator Alan Paris. story revolves around a couple vacationing in Bermuda ? played by Ms Bissett and two-time Oscar nominee Nick Nolte ? who discover both 17th-century Spanish treasure and a cache of World War Two-era morphine ampoules on a dangerous reef that has become a graveyard for countless ships over the years.

The drugs attract the interest of Haitian criminal mastermind Henri Cloche (Lou Gossett), who controls Bermuda's underworld through a combination of strong-arm tactics and Voodoo rituals designed to intimidate his adversaries.

The couple join forces with St. David's lighthouse keeper and treasure hunter Romer Treece (played by the late Robert Shaw) to confound Cloche's plans to plunder and market the heroin while salvaging the Spanish treasure trove.

q Anyone interested in attending the fund-raising dinner can book a ticket by calling the BUEI on 292-7219.