Diving

Iain Hosking, Derek Borthwick

Dived with Derek Borthwick. Used Susan's valve after problems with club one. Water temp warm. Saw masses of sea urchins, starfish, crabs, squat lobsters & other smaller invertebrates.

Draeger (45 cu ft), Susan's Sportsways valve, & weight belt

6 Aug 1980

Islay

Port Ellen

Islay

Iain Hosking, Malcolm Gauld

Fantastic dive. Swam around ship, which consists of ribs & boilers & assorted bits. Also giant sunstars, fish of all shapes & sizes, and two crabs making out. Giant lobster. White sandy bottom. Very good vis (40 ft). Warm (no gloves). Also went for a snorkel. Ship is a MacBrayne's paddlesteamer, 187 tons net, which sank in 1902 en route from Glasgow to Port Ellen.

Steel 69 cu ft, ABLJ 5, own dv, ~22lbs weight

106

13 Jun 1982

Easdale

Seil Island

Iain Hosking, Eric Franz, Susan Playfair

Dived cliffs again. Fantastic vis: 60-100 feet. Incredible variety of life - squat lobsters, brightly-coloured sea anemones, plumose anemones, sea squirts, feather duster worms, dead men's fingers, cup coral, sun stars, starfish, sponges, nudibranchs, dogfish, wrasse, sea urchins, hydras, jellyfish, oysters and a cowrie which I found on my tank after the dive. Tremendous scenic dive.

own

113

2 Aug 1982

Dresden

Scapa Flow

Iain Hosking, Eric Franz

Wreck lies on its port side. Oriented ourselves first then swam to stern, past 2 gun turrets. Back to bows, in between decks once or twice, past bridge and forward turret mounting. Bows (at last!) - very spectacular knife-edge. Back to line and stops. Blew air rings. Vis 40 feet or so.

own, twin 60s.

114

2 Aug 1982

König

Scapa Flow

Iain Hosking, Eric Franz

König is a 25,000 ton battleship, lying more or less upside-down. We went down the buoy line, which is on the port side, and swam towards the bows. Saw very little that was recognisable - chief impression was of immense size. Vis not so good.

own, twin 60s

115

3 Aug 1982

Markgraf

Scapa Flow

Iain Hosking, Susan Playfair

Perfect day - bright sunshine & flat calm. Down buoy line to a perfect landing on the bottom. Turned left for bows which were very impressive towering above us. Hawse pipes visible. Swam aft to where deck level comes above the seabed. Swam right underneath - wooden deck intact. Porthole with glass in it, still moveable. Also what might have been one of the side guns. Much purging of one another's demand valves, turning off air and flooding of masks on the stops.

own, twin 60s

138

5 Jul 1983

Karlsruhe

Scapa Flow

Iain Hosking, Geoff Hide, Grace Franz, Rosanne Padua

First part of dive with Geoff. Checked knots holding battle bridge door open then Geoff clambered inside, found the telegraph was loose and heaved it out. Tied it to shotline and surfaced. Second half of dive, somewhat later [48 minutes], taking Rosanne and Grace down. Grace cut the ropes holding the door open, and it shut with a resounding boom!

Twin 60s, + 6lbs weight

140

6 Jul 1983

Köln

Scapa Flow

Iain Hosking, Eric Franz

Flat calm and boiling hot. Good look inside battlebridge. Saw telegraph and other bits and pieces. Through bridge and past anti-aircraft guns to aft superstructure. Two stern turrets still intact. Excellent vis - 50-60 feet at least.

Twin 60s, + 6lbs

147

5 Aug 1983

Golden Gift

Oban Bay

Iain Hosking, John Llambias

Brilliant night dive - best yet. Sparks so brilliant and numerous that we could see our hands silhouetted against them, and one's buddy's position was marked by a column of luminescence from the bubbles. Nightlife was interesting - lots of blue-tipped blennies and some large crabs. Very good vis. Low tide.

own

150

7 Aug 1983

Belnahua

Iain Hosking, Geoff Hide

Launched from Cuan Ferry in a thick fog and island-hopped out to Belnahua. Flat calm but formidable tide race. Echo-sounded to find interesting site, then adjourned to shore to work out slack. Back at 4,30 pm in blazing sunshine. Down shotline onto hull-shaped rock formation and drifted slowly with current. Vis 60-80 feet at least. Afterwards looked for 'Benghazi' and did a lightning tour of the Garvellachs and Easdale. The 5 star rating is really for the whole day rather than just the dive.

own

156

2 Oct 1983

Kintyre

Wemyss Bay

Clyde

Iain Hosking, Geoff Hide

Conditions marginal for this one. Current 1.5 knots on the surface, wind force 5, sea state 5. Geoff and I followed the sewage pipe out from the shore for about 200 yards without it dipping any deeper than 10m. At last it plunged into the depths, and stopped at 30m. We turned right and swam through the murk (vis 10-12 ft and dark) till we bashed into the ship. Swam down to bridge and back up to bows. Ship intact but wooden deck rotted. Hellish snorkel back. [Rates 5 stars for being memorable and for the sense of achievement we felt.]

own

178

6 May 1984

Belnahua

Iain Hosking, Geoff Hide

Down grapple line to bows, swam aft to bridge section via holds, mast and winches. Explored bridge, back along deck at 50m, down to seabed at 55m and came up. Total ascent time 30 minutes. Warm, sunny day, no current, good vis. Not noticeably narked.

own, except Rollo's twin 55s. 4lbs less weight. Decompressed using 82 cu ft cylinder on line, and Snark.

193

8 Jul 1984

Belnahua

Iain Hosking, John Llambias

Dived before calculated slack. Followed shotline down to the wreck at 55m. Shot was in hold behind bridge. Finned forwards past davits, remains of funnel, crockery etc to bridge. Binnacles etc still there. Swam aft again over holds, past mast (broken) and winches, over stern and down to prop. No blades visible [probably broken off when the ship hit the reef]. Rudder intact. Forward again and into hold, along prop shaft tube to engine room bulkhead. Cyalume lightstick showed up clearly.

own, Rollo's twin 55s, -4lbs. Used 150 ats on dive, 50 on stops. Air consumption 0.75 cfm.

194

15 Jul 1984

Kintyre

Wemyss Bay

Clyde

Iain Hosking, Keith Chidwick, Stuart Vance

Warm, sunny day, wind NW 3. Dived at 3pm, 1 hour after HW Greenock. Threesome with Keith and Stuart. Down line to starboard side opposite winch and swam all round superstructure. Very clear - 30ft at least. Found a large conger and a porthole with glass and clamp screw. Female cuckoo wrasse and pollack. Ace dive. Ridley's transits are not exact.

own, twin 55s, 24lbs. 100 ats used.

195

22 Jul 1984

Belnahua

Iain Hosking, Derek Borthwick, Dougie McEwan

Threesome with Dougie and Derek. Usual good weather, flat calm, slack, good vis (30 feet). Dropped shot onto stern, port side, and went into free-fall onto the wreck. Derek followed Dougie, I followed Derek. We swam around the crew's accommodation, steering gear, companionway and had a look at the rudder before going forward to the officers' accommodation, into the holds and back to the shot.

own, twin Luxfer 72s, -4lbs (should have left it on). 100 ats left before stops.

222

12 May 1985

Linn of Dee

Somewhere west of Balmoral

Scottish Highlands

Iain Hosking, George Runcie

Blazing sunshine, calm, incredibly clear water. Masses of fish [salmon]. Definitely recommended. Dived with George Runcie (his 4th dive).

own + Fenzy X2

233

7 Jul 1985

Meall Thailm

North-east of Tongue Bay

Iain Hosking, Sarah McCracken

Hit the right site this time - a tunnel which goes right through the island (Boats can be taken through). An out of this world dive - as Ridley says, vertical walls and huge boulders (Barratt house sized, maybe) on the bottom. A seal made itself scarce as we approached. Anemones very colourful and also several crabs and lobsters. Looking up we could see waves breaking and the tunnel roof over our heads.

own

234

8 Jul 1985

Meall Thailm

North-east of Tongue Bay

Iain Hosking, Adrian Roddam, Malcolm Gauld, Sarah McCracken

Too good a site not to have a full dive on, so we hit it again, in a loose foursome with Malcolm and Adrian. Found three lobsters - one was huge, with one claw guarding a dead dogfish. Saw crabs sitting in holes in the rock wall, also shoals of small fish, the usual anemones and sponges etc.

own

235

9 Jul 1985

An Dubh-sgeir

Sango Bay

Iain Hosking, Adrian Roddam

Launched at Rispond (wettest, windiest campsite in the world). Dived into a narrow crevice between two rock formations which became a tunnel. Nearly collided with a seal in the tunnel. Came up on the other side of the island and swam back over a lurking seal on the way. Another one stayed just ahead of us all the way. Turned right and followed the gullies and underwater arches. Good vis. Fantastic dive.

own

236

9 Jul 1985

An Dubh-sgeir

Sango Bay

Iain Hosking, Adrian Roddam

15 minute interval from previous dive (Adrian had to pee). Followed the island round clockwise to shallow inlet and followed a crevice into a 30m long dead-end tunnel. Turned round to find we'd been followed in by a seal. Swam back towards the other tunnel over strange rock formations and cornered another seal in a cave. Finished the day by coming face to face with a seal pup in a rock pool, lifting a Seagull outboard and finding two cannon.

own

267

23 Nov 1985

Falls of Lora

Loch Etive

Iain Hosking, Graham Russell, Sarah McCracken

Sarah's idea. Another Mythological Site. HW 'slack' 3.30pm. We dived then and hit a current immediately. We were just beginning to feel smug about keeping together when we were split up and whirled along by an estimated 5 knot gale. Ended with a gentle plowter in a large diameter whirlpool. Brilliant.

own. USD Deepstar DV

270

15 Feb 1986

Falls of Lora

Loch Etive

Iain Hosking, Mark Inall

The definitive gnash. Barrelled under bridge doing Superman impersonations, through gullies into a quiet section with masses of sponges. Then picked up by Mk II current and taken down to a sandy bottom at 26m. Dark but good vis.

own (as 269) 27lbs.

288

7 Jul 1986

Belnahua

Iain Hosking, Mark Inall

First pair onto the wreck. Recce trip, with Mark. Eyes pressed against mask as we noticed far more artefacts than I've seen before - binnacle, pedestal, portholes etc. We got up to the bows - very impressive with starboard anchor chain curving away to the seabed. Sea life - dead men's fingers, cup coral, wrasse.

Twin 55s

289

8 Jul 1986

Belnahua

Iain Hosking, Ian Kyle

Checked line, headed forward to examine line of portholes at front of officers' mess. Pedestal now gone. Going back to the line, found and recovered a binnacle. Very nice. Very wet on stops.

Twin 55s

291

10 Jul 1986

Belnahua

Iain Hosking, Graham Russell

Mega dive. Last chance to save the day, and Malcolm's steering pedestal, reckoned to be more than 150kg. In fact it slowly and gratifyingly rose off the bottom when Graham filled the lifting bag. For the rest of the dive we disentangled another pedestal and swam under the bridge into the boiler room.

Twin 55s

307

28 Sep 1986

Beagle

North of Great Cumbrae

Clyde

Iain Hosking, Malcolm Gauld

What a fantastic dive! Down line expecting it to get dark, and it didn't. Could see the whole wreck laid out below us from well above it. No torch necessary. Apart from the good vis and interesting artefacts we were also the subject of examination by a shoal of fish. Didn't want to come up.

Twin 55s, 24lbs

310

11 Oct 1986

Hispania

Sound of Mull

Mull

Iain Hosking, Kenny Jack

Stunning dive. Very clear, sunlight on wreck, thousands of fish -shoals of pollack and dozens of wrasse - some very big. Line came down to the stern - we headed forward, through the engine room and into the bridge, then out through the roof and on to the bows. Saw rust 'stalactites' in the chain locker very like those on the 'Titanic'. Back through holds and round starboard side.

356

14 Jun 1987

Hispania

Sound of Mull

Mull

Iain Hosking, Malcolm Gauld

Our first boat dive on a wreck at night. Surface visibility exceptional, underwater ditto. The phosphorescence was incredible - we descended and ascended without torches, and the mast left a wake of phosphorescence behind it in the current. In between we saw most parts of the wreck, including the tunnel past the bridge (epic), the engine room and chain locker. An absolutely magic dive.

361

9 Aug 1987

Soyea Island

Lochinver, Sutherland

Iain Hosking, Cathy Humphries

Last dive in Scotland for a while. Jim Crooks looked after us well, filling our tanks for £1 and charging £5 for a dive from his very nippy little boat "Osprey" which is about the size of a mini with twin 50hp Yamaha outboards. The water was clear as crystal, and the seals were correspondingly bold - swimming right up to us before turning with a flick of the fins and disappearing behind rocks and kelp. Also interesting sponges, crabs, fish and dead men's fingers. Excellent meal in the pub - squid rings in garlic and scampi for about £1.50 each. Lovely!

377

4 Dec 1988

Catterthun

Seal Rocks

Forster

Iain Hosking, Sarah McCracken

The day got off to a bad start when Rory found his boat had been cut adrift, but once at sea all troubles were forgotten in the anticipation of an excellent dive. And so it was. From 40m we could see the wreck spread out below us like a map - it was incredibly clear and bright - maybe 150 foot vis and no need of a torch. We landed on the engine cylinders, which stand 40 feet high, and swam forward past the boilers to the bows. The wreck has largely collapsed and all sorts of interesting goodies were visible. Next time we have to do longer than 15 minutes. Stops were apparently enlivened by a shark swimming round us, which as usual I didn't see. Stops are for 20 minutes at 63m, plus an extra 5 minutes at 3m. See https://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/viewpage.php?page_id=82

own tank, filled to 260 bar, equivalent to 104 cu ft!.

391

18 Feb 1989

The Steps

Bicheno

Tasmania

Iain Hosking, Mark Inall

Still sunny, but rough - many white horses. Descended to weedy bottom at 16m, swam anticlockwise round reef to SE corner, where there's a big cave formed by house-sized boulders. Max depth here of 30m. Abundant fish - bullseyes most common, then leatherjacket, banded morwong. Saw scalyfin for the first time in Tasmania (white-ear). Other fish - blue-throated wrasse, catfish and ornate cowfish (in weed at the end of the dive). Usual masses of sponges. Basket star - a black and white starfish with branched legs. When unravelled from the sponge it looks like [illustration in logbook]. Found two cuttlefish under an overhang and witnessed their amazing colour changes. They go red when startled (ie when they first see you) and spread their tentacles wide. When relaxed their colour matches the background. It happens very quickly. With torch off it was easier to see the changes - one showed bands of light and dark moving swiftly forwards to its head (4-5 per second). Amazing. Vis was tremendous - saw the boat from the bottom at 30m. Watched the others get into the boat (and cavitation bubbles from the prop) from the 6m stops. Forgot to unplug suit inflation hose before getting into the boat, and pulled the fitting out of the suit. Very wet!

417

18 Jul 1990

Rubha Bhrengadal

Boreray

Iain Hosking, Cathy Humphries

An unbelievably good dive. Jumped ino a fairly rough sea, and began with a knackering snorkel to the cliff. Descended and had trouble with Cathy's fin, then torch. We swam past the entrance to the tunnel (everyone did) and turned back. The tunnel mouth was indicated by two seals swimming out of it. Vis was excellent, and we could see the far end of the tunnel from the entrance. The tunnel was narrow vertically but wide horizontally, and boulders covered the floor. A large lobster lived under one of them. At the far end we emerged next to the cliff face and turned right, over a rock fall into an enormous crevice perhaps 8-10 feet wide and a hundred feet deep. We finned slowly along this taking in the scale of the scenery, observed for most of the distance by seals. (They cock their heads on either side like a dog.) One seal made his escape past us and ran full-tilt into Snash who was following behind. The seals were light grey with dark mottling, and a silvery sheen, and they were big. Apart from the seals we met a shoal of pollack, and the squidgy life included walls of jewel anemones, dahlia anemones, sea squirts and dead men's fingers. Exciting exit (rough).

419

19 Jul 1990

Soay, East of Am Plaistir

North side of Soay

Iain Hosking, Ted Brindley

'Just a reef off Soay' according to John's initial description. He then mentioned an archway. It turned out to be a vertiginous descent through clear, blue water to a pebbly bottom at 50m. Ahead was the archway, with a little pile of bones in the middle. At the back of the arch were three exits - we chose the right one - tall and narrow - and then re-entered the arch through the left one. Back through the arch we followed the boulder slope to 14m. Some of the boulders were at least garage-sized, with swim-throughs. Shoal of pollack and a very shy seal topped off the dive. (Weather - overcast, blowy, occasional drizzle, but didn't matter.)

420

19 Jul 1990

The Sawcut

Dún

Iain Hosking, Ted Brindley

The mist drew in so far we couldn't see Village Bay, nor most of Dún. Dropped in next to the Sawcut and proceeded inwards in a westerly direction m'lud. The Sawcut was about 4 feet wide and 100 feet deep. Visibility must have been 100 feet. We sat at the far end of the cut watching the other divers below us, and their bubbles rising all the way to the surface 25m above. Eventually we drifted out and to the left, but baulked at swimming into the tunnel against the current. Instead, somersaults etc were the order of the day.

421

20 Jul 1990

Sgarbhstac Submarine Arch

Boreray

Iain Hosking, Iain Fairbrother

This is the site that gets the longest write-up in Ridley's book, and you can see why. Conditions were perfect as we dropped off the boat and descended to depth. As we dropped over the lip of the arch the whole scene came into view. The bottom was clean. grey stone and the visibility was excellent - we easily saw all the other divers silhouetted against the far opening, with the bubbles going up to the roof 20m above. We spent a few minutes on the bottom drinking in the view, then ascended slowly up the walls (covered in jewel anemones) to the apex at 30m. Then further up there was an air pocket, which allowed Iain to apologise for kicking out my DV at 50m. Stops were spent hanging onto kelp and watching the sealife.

458

7 Aug 1991

Nonnkina Bommie

Holmes Reef

Iain Hosking, Cathy Humphries

Beautiful dive after a nauseous trip out (mainly overnight). New and unfamiliar equipment meant I had to go back for more weight. Also the Mirage BC held no air. First impression was of stunningly clear water. Then we saw the bommie with a constellation of fish all around it. Most were familiar only from magazines but I was delighted to see a pair of clownfish in close attendance to their anemone, driving off passers-by. As well as the fish (which I'll identify later) we saw numerous different kinds of coral, crinoids and, on top of the bommie, a beautiful big crayfish, in a pink/lilac/white colour scheme. Surfaced to see mysterious white mounds on the horizon, which after we'd climbed into the boat turned out to be beaches on a very extensive coral reef (covers 90 degrees of our field of view). Fish positively identified: rock cod (spots), trevally (shoal), butterflyfish (long nose), longfin bannerfish, angelfish, half-and-half chromis (front black, back white), wrasse (a multitude of colours and shapes), steephead parrotfish, fire dartfish (like a blenny with a sabre-like dorsal fin), striped surgeonfish (yellow, longitudinal black stripes with blue/white stripes in centre of black stripes - poisonous blade either side of the tailfin), clown triggerfish (dots on top, white patches underneath.

New wet suit. 20lbs weight.

463

8 Aug 1991

The Abyss

Holmes Reef

Iain Hosking, Ken Brown

This must be my reward for years of cold, dark, murky diving. I've had dives like this in my dreams... A wall dropping vertically to incredible depths (1000m on the chart) absolutely covered in life. Along the wall is a spangling of fish of all shapes and sizes; below (in places) was a coral landscape in shades of blue. Upwards the sun shone down through coral fans and caves ('labyrinths of coral caves...' - Pink Floyd). A slight current meant we covered a lot of ground at finning speeds of dead slow or stop. Notable were two families of clownfish (with juveniles), my first giant clam (only 9 inches long but beautifully coloured), unicorn fish (whitemargin and orangespine), moorish idol, parrotfish (don't ask me what kind - saw it eating), pyramid butterflyfish, white sea perch and lemon damsel.

New wet suit. 20lbs weight.

497

13 Sep 1997

Boat Harbour

East of Longnose Point, N side of the Bay

Jervis Bay

Iain Hosking, Andrew Kennedy

Boat Harbour is just NW of the Docks, on the N. side of the Bay. Four of us dropped in (the other two being Dave and Amanda) descended to sand at 17m. Followed a compass course W. to the reef and turned left. We covered a fair distance, and saw plenty that was different to the daytime: a cuttlefish, bright red with annoyance at being disturbed; a weedy sea dragon; sea anemones feeding; brittle stars; a large (6") mollusc moving along the sand with its siphon out on front; a moray eel out and about; fish tucked in every crevice, resting, and spectacular phosphorescence. Andrew and I turned our torches off for the last few minutes and just played at making waves of sparks. Surfaced to a long swim back to the boat. The Aladin says I am stuffed full of nitrogen (residual nitrogen time 16 hours; no fly time 6 hours). The last time I did 4 dives in a day was the 6th August 1980 - that was the 'Islay', 12m/45 mins, the 'Harald', 10m/12 mins, the Mull of Oa, 6m/10 mins and the 'Limelight', 8m/10 mins. This day has definitely been more provocative, decompression-wise.

Damp suit really.

508

23 Apr 2000

The Pinnacles, Forster

Forster

Iain Hosking, Andrew Kennedy

Still a strong southerly blowing so a rough boat trip out. We were first in (lucky) and descended into fairly clear water, seeing a group of grey nurse sharks immediately below us. They swam away slowly, but returned at a lower level. We watched from behind a huge boulder. There were about 12 of them, from 9 feet long down to 5 feet, swimming slowly and gracefully amongst smaller fish. A single lionfish added a touch of the ornate, and we saw the usual wrasse, butterflyfish and cup coral, but the sharks were of course the highlight.

own

523

18 Jan 2008

Fish Rock

South West Rocks

NSW North Coast

Iain Hosking, Brendan Hosking, Cameron Hosking

Shark Gutters and Aquarium. Met at Ship Rock Dive Centre at 7.30am. Others: Rickie (Scottish), Marjorie (French) plus Katherine, Ben, Patrick and Katherine's hubbie + Lochie. Bosun: Jon. Dive leaders Larry and Simon. Moored on Shark Gutters and formed a group with Rickie and Marjorie. led by Larry. Saw sharks as soon as we hit the bottom, at least 20 of them.Next highlight was a pair of clownfish defending their anemone. Colourful wrasse, stripey, bullseyes and other fish abounded. The water was blue, with vis around 20m. Ricky had to abort early (ears) and Marjorie later (low on air). Larry escorted Cameron and Brendan back to the line when their air ran low, and we then paid a quick visit to the "Aquarium", where a shark was visible behind a veil of stripey and bullseyes. Amazing.

Wet suit, Arctic, 82, 18lbs lead. No hood or gloves - stung by jellyfish on hands and ear.

524

18 Jan 2008

Fish Rock

South West Rocks

NSW North Coast

Iain Hosking, Brendan Hosking

Unfortunately Cameron was too seasick to join us on this dive, and Ricky had to surface again with ear problems, so Larry escorted Brendan, Marjorie and myself into the cave. The entrance was white shell sand with sharks circling (including a humpbacked one). We kept to the right into the tunnel (sharks on the left) and up to the bubble cave, where Larry asked if we were happy to go further into the cave. All were, so we continued in past the veil of bullseyes. All over the rocks were little black sea cucumbers. At the end, Larry indicated we should look further in, and dozens of golden eyes gleamed back at us: crayfish, all clumped together. Beside them were a large, black ray and a wobbegong. Turning back, Brendan was attacked by a vicious scalyfin. Also saw moray eels, adult and juvenile (black/white), clownfish and batfish. Impressive.

Wet suit, Arctic, aluminium tank, 21lbs lead. No hood or gloves.

533

7 Jun 2010

Molokini

Maui

Hawaii

USA

Iain Hosking, Bob Britton

From the red lookbook (#10): Well, here's a new site. Snorkelled Molokini yesterday with TWC crew: Matt & Erin, Dan & Lea, Brett, Tristan, plus Justin and his friend Sean. Came back this morning to do it justice. The boat dropped us off the western arm of Molokini and we drifted anticlockwise round the outside. Plenty of fish, including species endemic to Hawaii. An unusual lobster (flat paddle-like claws). Finally ended up at the shark cleaning station as the current stopped. Three white-tipped reef sharks about 9ft long swam in circles below us, occasionally with mouth agape to be cleaned. Absolutely magical. All the better that they didn't tell us about the sharks - it was a complete surprise. Bob took underwater photos. Other divers included Ray (dive leader), Jackie (2nd dive leader), Jim (who used to work at Woomera) and his son Darran and daughter Amanda, who trains dolphins for the US Navy. Originally booked with Mike Severns, but the boat had engine failure, so they were good enough to book us on Ed Robinson's boat for a 10% spotter's fee. 50 mins, 25m (estimates as my Aladin died up Mauna Kea). Beautifully clear, blue water.

3mm one-piece wetsuit, ~12lbs lead, hired tank, reg and BC. Own mask and fins, snorkel, torch, boots and computer (RIP).

557

28 Jan 2017

North Rock

Broughton Island

Nelson Bay

Iain Hosking, Dani Coombes, John Smith, John Paterson, Tim Claessen, Jaap van der Must

Dived with Let's Go Adventures out of Nelson Bay. Met up at 7am, departed at 8 and an hour's trip out to Broughton Island in postcard-perfect conditions. Large turnout - 20 paying customers plus three dive leaders and the skipper - but very well organised. I dived with 4 other experienced divers, led by Dani. Briefing covered keeping close to the edge of the gullies and travelling in single file so as not to spook the sharks, as well as signals, a turnaround at 100 bar and a 3-minute safety stop. The water was fairly clear, and on the bottom it wasn't long before I realised we had company in the shape of half a dozen or so large grey nurse sharks. We swam down the left of the gully while they patrolled up and down the centre, then we turned around and came down the other side. The GoPro videos pretty much do it justice, so I can't add much more in words. Dani was a good dive leader, chasing up and down like a sheepdog to keep her flock together, and ensuring that all signals were clear and acknowledged. Her dayglo-orange fins and yellow mask band made her easy to spot underwater. Back on the boat it was good to see everyone being signed back in and their depth and time recorded. A memorable dive, well up to expectations.

Fourth Element dry suit, Oceanic Chute 2, 12 litre tank. 29lbs

558

28 Jan 2017

Looking Glass

Broughton Island

Nelson Bay