Diving

This is a lovely little wreck, best thing I've seen around Sydney. Very dodgy dive, though. Calculated I had enough air for 15 minutes at 43m, plus stops, but that didn't take account of a respectable current. Visibility was good - there was still lots of brass to see on the wreck (valves and things), plus kitchen tiles from Aberfoyle Quarry and a 'Shanks Barrhead' loo [Barrhead is where they make Irn Bru.] Very colourful fish, including baby scalyfin and a sizeable six-spined leatherjacket (with a black and yellow spot on the side). Towards the end of the dive the fun started, as Mark called us down to look at the prop, then I noticed I had about 30 bar left. When the anchor was lifted (using a lifting bag!) the 6m bar was lifted to 2m, and Sarah's borrowed Brain was flashing 'Dec 6' at me. Plus I now had zero air. After what seemed an age the bar dropped back to 6m, whereupon the Brain said we could now go to 3m. I grabbed the spare air, only to find it didn't work, and I had to borrow air from another diver with a twinset. Eventually surfaced after 28 minutes. Never again will I do that depth for that time with that tank.

own tank (200 bar)

379

18 Dec 1988

off Port Hacking

Out on Max's boat again, with Martin, Sarah and Alex (from EUSAC). Good wall dive, with lots of sheltered ledges, nooks and crannies for the wildlife, a cave running back into a chimney, and huge boulders it was possible to swim under. Lots of sponges, scalyfin (saw one chase off another), wrasse, a couple of groper, some worried sea urchins, nudibranchs and some beautiful branching soft coral - red with white coral polyps. Lots of Devonshire cup coral too. Very colourful - good dive, good food, good company.

380

18 Dec 1988

Osborne Shoals

Liked the previous dive so much it made sense to have another one (even at $20 a throw). This site is just out from the mouth of Dolan's bay. Still good weather. Got off to a bad start when the mouthpiece broke off on my DV. Then the anchor chain bounced up because of the swell and ripped my mask off. Things improved after this, though, and we had a very relaxed plowter around in the swell. Saw bullseyes, yellowtail, trevally, a boxfish and a ray. We had a spot of bother getting Sarah off to Orange afterwards, but she's safely on the train now. She also has a car.

397

9 Sep 1989

Tuggerah

Royal National Park

Cockup with tank fill and neck rings meant that Max was swearing at me on the way out, but that apart it was a good dive. Max hooked the welding rod grapple into a 1 inch hole in the wreck and pulled the line in taut so that it was a short swim to the wreck. Clouds of nannegai as usual and half a dozen wobbegong. One was 7 foot long and looked pregnant, while another, 6 foot long, was tangled in a net at the prop. In Martin's words I scored 150 brownie points in the wobbegong world by setting it free, an interesting task involving twisting the net tightly around its head so it couldn't bite me while I cut the net open further down. Stopped at Frog Dive in Merrylands to buy twin bands ($55). Heaps of air next dive...

Cathy's 88

430

14 Oct 1990

Shiprock

Port Hacking

The curse strikes again, as 4-5m seas batter the NSW coast. This time Sarah decided to get wet anyway, but I'm afraid it wasn't the best conditions for a trainee. Zilch vis, waterborne hoons and a bit of current to make things interesting. Well, we survived, but a boat dive would certainly be nice.

436

8 Dec 1990

Bombo

Wollongong

This was another 5am wakey wakey job. Martin drove us down, and we used the boat of a couple of blokes he knows. Sea was pretty calm, but on a very strong swell, and the other group of divers had to abort their dive when one of them became sick. We dropped down the anchor line to the stern, and had a look through the engine room (full of nannegai) then swam through to the port side, up the wreck and in again at the forward swim-through. Here we surprised a lovely big cuttlefish 1.5 feet long, with frilly tentacles, orange and red. We also surprised a moray eel when my weightbelt fell off. Vis not too good, but a very enjoyable dive.

Hot

444

3 Feb 1991

Camp Cove

East of Watson's Bay

Iain Hosking, Martin Zolfel, Therese Zolfel

Last dive here was October 1989, and I don't think I expected to dive it again. Poor vis, shallow depth. The caves are still nice, though. One moray eel (small).

Wetsuit, 82, 20 lbs.

445

16 Feb 1991

Galava

Terrigal

According to Tom Byron (p153) the wreck is 'almost intact'. Everything's relative, I suppose - it's just a boiler and some ribs sticking out of the sand, so a little disappointing. But lovely greeny-yellow soft coral on the boiler. Lovely clear day, calm, dozens of dolphins after the dive.

Twin 63s, BC, 28lb shot belt. Note - HOT on boat, so stripped off after the dive and got sunburnt. Remember sunscreen/shirt.

447

23 Feb 1991

Cathedral Cave

Point Perpendicular

Iain Hosking, Cathy Humphries, Martin Zolfel

Swell up a bit. Began dive with a swim into the cave - 5m up to 3m deep with waves pounding over our heads. Then down a boulder slope to an other-worldly experience with another large cuttlefish.

450

16 Mar 1991

Dee Why

Long Reef

Slept in! Should have been up at 4.30 am, at Martin's at 5.30, Long Reef by 7. Instead I slept in till 5.30, then drove hell for leather direct to Dee Why. Arrived dead on 7, had the fastest kit-up in history. Beautiful weather, short boat trip, clear water. Wreck is upright and intact, but the wooden deck has gone. Swam down to the bow/stern (it's a double-ended ship) and into the boiler room - 4 huge boilers. Fish life - yellowtail, kingfish, wrasse, mado. (Out on Herb Adams' boat 'Venturer'.)

451

31 Mar 1991

Birchgrove Park

Avalon

The 'Birchgrove Park' seems to be one of those wrecks that people speak of in hushed tones. When it came to it, it seemed too easy - Herb Adams found it with no trouble, the sun was out, the water calm, all equipment worked fine, the visibility was good. The wreck lies on its port side, and is broken up at the forward end of the boiler. The prop (ferrous) is still there, and it's possible to penetrate inside. But watch out for nets.

452

4 May 1991

Not the Foggy Shark Cave

Terrigal

Out on the BWAC boat. Terrible dive. Seasick, missed the site, current - it had the lot. Beautiful day - 1001 better ways to spend it.

Cathy's 88, unreliable shot belt (random detach feature), Arctic.

457

26 Jul 1991

Inscription Point

Kurnell

Took Martin in to try out a prospective dry suit (Avon with zip). Inconclusive due to lack of weight, but he's buying it anyway ($600). Strong swell - boulder bottom with one or two scalyfin and morwong and a heap of abalone.

475

1 Dec 1991

Bombo

Wollongong

Iain Hosking, Martin Zolfel, Mary-Ann ?

Just under one year since the last dive on this wreck. Visibility not brilliant but another hot day with a fairly calm sea. Heaps of nannegais - enough to spoil the vis! Very atmospheric inside, with other divers' torches shining through the murk. Dived with Martin and Mary-Ann (nurse from Nepean). Good dive.

476

12 Jan 1992

Midway Reef

Dee Why

Scenic dive. Sea not rough but with a strong swell that affected a couple of the divers. Reasonable vis. Plenty of fish (including catfish and a large shoal of sweep) but not much colour because the sky was overcast. (Left Faulconbridge 8.15am, arrived Dee Why 9.30am.)

477

11 Apr 1992

Gap Cave

Boat left from Watson's Bay

Scenic dive. Up at 6.30, left Martin's 7.50, arrived Watson's Bay 9am. Boat left at 10. Back at 12. Vis OK. Large cuttlefish, lots of fish, including leatherjackets and groper. Lovely weather. Slight swell. Organised through Herb Adams.

480

4 Jun 1994

off Port Hacking

Out with Max again. Up at 5am - pitch black and cold. Left wharf 8am. Good vis. Blue groper, cuttlefish (2 foot long), box fish, wrasse, old wives, stripeys, morwongs. Good gorgonians. Heaps of after-dive food.

Used Max's tank (filled to 260 bar!) and BC.

481

12 Jun 1994

Middle Ground

Out from Port Hacking

Strong winds all week, so very rough seas and poor vis. Circled the anchor line and came up, dropping the weight belt on the way. Weight belt recovered by Richard and buddy. Thanks guys.

482

30 Jul 1994

The Balcony

off Royal National Park

Remarkably good vis this time. Good wall and heaps of fish - Port Jackson shark, blue groper, old wives, yellowtails, morwong and a cuttlefish. Good feed afterwards.

485

3 Dec 1995

off Port Hacking

Iain Hosking, Martin Zolfel, Sarah McCracken, Steve Harris

Beautiful morning - warm and sunny. Left Dolan's Bay Wharf at 10am and it was a short, comfortable trip on Max's boat Sea Tamer II to the site. Kitted up quickly and dropped in. My buddy was Martin but we dived in a loose foursome with Sarah and Steve (Sarah on her first dive since June, Steve on his first since February). Reasonable vis, 30 feet or more, and warm until we hit a distinct thermocline at 22m. There was a real gin & tonic effect where the warm current from the north hit the cool southern water. Martin led us straight to the cave & chimney, where we entered in the cool water and emerged a few metres up in the warm layer. We then covered the whole site, including several swim-throughs. One contained a moray eel under a rock, which appeared to be moving in on my finger. Sarah also saw what might have been a baby wobbegong in this area. There were plenty of fish, including several varieties of leatherjacket (including one with a big yellow spot on its side), scalyfin (frequently in energetic combat), old wives, yellowtail, blue groper and an eastern blue devil with vivid blue markings. We had time to see several nudibranchs too, including the common Bennets Hypselodoris (wine-red dots), Red-lined Flabellina (purple fronds) and Variable Aphelodoris (bird poo). The cup coral were also very pretty. After a precautionary stop (because we were on the limit of decompression according to Mr Aladin) we surfaced to sun, soup, salami and cheese & bacon rolls. Delicious. Still $30, plus a $10 contribution to Martin for petrol. Home by 2pm.

Dry suit, 87, Arctic etc. Found the leak as soon as I put my head under the water - a 1-inch tear in my neck seal which meant that the dry suit functioned more as a wet suit. I followed the progress of the water throughout the dive - down my neck, then down my chest, then arms and finally, on the ascent, into my boots.

487

5 Apr 1996

off Port Hacking

Out with Max again. Clear, sunny day. Water clear, blue and not choppy, but on a 1.5 metre swell. This made it difficult to dive close to the rocks, so we chose Barron's Hut again. I was quite happy with the choice, and also with the clear water as we descended. We saw 6-spined leatherjacket straight away (with the big yellow spot on the side) then a large (2-3 foot) cuttlefish, out in the open and quite relaxed. Going through the chimney it was nice to have good visibility for a change (because only Martin was ahead of me and he took care not to kick up the silt). After this we swam over the top of the rock (covered in sponges with the occasional nudibranch and Sergeant Baker) to the slab-sided gully. We were followed here by the blue groper but though they might be used to getting a feed from others they weren't getting one from us. In fact we saw no live sea urchins on the entire dive. We found another, smaller cuttlefish in a cave and watched him go through a range of colour changes. Other life: nudibranchs, basket star, crimson biscuit star, pretty lemon-yellow/blue fish. Began our ascent on the no-decompression limit and did a 1 minute stop at 3m.

Wet suit. Warm throughout the dive.

492

25 Apr 1997

Fish Reef

off Port Hacking

ANZAC Day dive, and at 6 months between dives I won't make 500 by the year 2000. Today was overcast, and the swell was huge, but the visibility was excellent. The water was clear and blue and as we descended the bubbles of the first pair down could be seen all the way from the bottom to the surface. We swam in a clockwise direction around the reef, past shoals of pomfret under overhangs, impressive gorgonians, sponges (with plenty of nudibranchs), groper, leatherjacket, sergeant baker etc. I was just thinking that a cuttlefish would complete the dive when I turned a corner and saw one. It was about 14 inches long, and I hovered there for ages watching the colours change in waves and spots. Suddenly I saw a huge shadow out of the corner of my eye and jumped (making Martin laugh). It was a huge black stingray, 4 to 5 feet across and at least as long. It sailed past like a battleship, completely indifferent to me. It certainly made the dive worthwhile, even when after unkitting in the boat I had to jump back into the water and lost my breakfast. The seas were huge, especially from the point of view of a head floating at water level. Good food and company rounded off the dive well, and it's still only $30.

First dive following the repair. It could more accurately be described as a damp suit.

493

16 Aug 1997

off Port Hacking

8am departure from wharf. Up at 5am - cold & frosty. Only 3 on the boat - Martin and I, and Richard. Sunny, little swell. Vis OK, not great, but very pleasant to swim through the cave and chimney with no silt. Lots of Port Jacksons, a ray, leatherjacket, morwong. Saw a scalyfin chasing a Port Jackson. Mounds of grub afterwards.

Cathy's tank - too light, so damp. Add an extra 3lbs for my steel tank, 6lbs for an aluminium one.

504

12 Mar 2000

Fish Reef

off Port Hacking

Woke at 5.30am and left Faulconbridge at 6.15. After a week's rain we expected zero viz but it was OK (plus it was fairly calm). Round the rock looking at fish, nudibranchs and cup coral. Highlight was an octopus - white legs and black head. Finished 11am.

own

505

9 Apr 2000

off Port Hacking

Another 8am dive, leaving at 6.15am and arriving at Dolan's Bay Wharf at exactly 7.30. At least with daylight saving ended we had light. Dived with Andrew, Martin and Paul from across the road. Good conditions - sunny with only around 1m swell. Vis reasonably good. Swam through the cave and then north to the split. Saw two 6 foot wobbegongs and two cuttlefish, as well as stripeys, leatherjacket (brown/black with yellow circles round the eyes), groper, morwong, bullseyes, goatfish (feeding energetically in the sand) and nudibranchs, one with orange spots as well as the usual dark red-spottedone. Usual Max Western feast after the dive, plus hot cross buns. Lazy afternoon.

Dry suit, no lifejacket (left it in the car). Too heavy with both weight belts, so too much air in suit, so too warm(!)

512

9 Jun 2002

The Balcony

off Royal National Park

5.30am wakey wakey, shower, breakfast, picked up by Martin at 8am. Thin crescent moon in a night sky. First dive in over 2 years. Dry suit looking untrustworthy, but warm enough in wet suit (but very hard to put on). Blue skies, mild conditions, sea calm with a 1m swell. Dived with Martin - leisurely fin around, over and under huge boulders, surrounded by bullseyes, yellowtail, stripey, blennies, leatherjacket, sergeant bakers, rock cod, old wives and attendant blue groper which even followed us through the swimthroughs. Highlight was a big cuttlefish which went through the full repertoire of colour changes. Other divers: Andrew and Andrew, David, Cathy, Carol, Olivia and others. Good food as usual. $40.

wet suit, 82 (with 2-year old air), ~ 18lbs lead

513

21 Sep 2002

The Docks

NW of Point Perpendicular

Iain Hosking, Andrew Kennedy, Charlie Oldfield, Martin Zolfel

Beatiful sunny day. Water murky (full of long, jelly blobs). Good swimthroughs. Port Jacksons, morwong, stripey, bullseyes, hawkfish, wrasse, leatherjacket, yellowtail, boarfish, moray and last but not least, a weedy sea dragon. MV "Indulgence" owned and run by Adrian (Cornish) and Annie (a great cook!). Organised through Frogdive, $340.

Wet suit, Arctic

514

21 Sep 2002

The Docks

NW of Point Perpendicular

NE of previous spot. Started with squeezing into a cold, wet wetsuit (first time in 11 years). Swam to the point on compass bearing and Martin immediately saw another weedy sea dragon. It allowed us to get right up close to it - fascinating. Then Andrew found a numbfish, swimming free. He didn't touch it. We enjoyed the sunshine in the shallower depths, and navigated on a reciprocal bearing back to the boat. Fish: boarfish, scalyfin, wrasse, etc as this morning's dive. A pair of moray eels in the one hole, crimson-banded wrasse, senator wrasse.

Wet suit, Arctic.

515

21 Sep 2002

Propeller Gutters

Shallow plowter. Fish: Port Jackson, resting under a rock with its head on the back of a wobbie. Clown toby (Canthigaster callisterna), leatherjacket (various, including mosaic, Eubalichthys mosaicus). Also a new and unidentified fish: sketch in logbook.

Wet suit, Arctic

517

22 Sep 2002

Julie-Ann

Iain Hosking, Andrew Kennedy, Charlie Oldfield, Martin Zolfel

The "Julie-Ann" is a fishing boat which sank last week. Apparently the vis was good a couple of weeks ago in the area, but not now. Charlie reckons someone's tipped a bucket of pot noodle over it. Andrew when Adrian came up: "Did you place the charges?"

Wet suit, Arctic

519

21 Sep 2003

Middle Ground

Out from Port Hacking