Early Sunday we loaded regs, BCD’s, weight belts and tanks into the boat and drove down to Seal Rocks. The sun had now risen and it promised to be a fantastic day.The boat was anchored close to shore so we almost waded out to board. We headed to Big Rock (there is also Little Rock close by) and each buddy pair was given a bag to collect any debris found, although not much rubbish was anticipated, as it is a marine sanctuary. On the way out I asked Captain John whether there were seals at Seal Rocks and was told the fishermen had shot some of them so the rest left the area.
The first thing I noticed was the clarity and warmth of the water, however this was soon forgotten by the sight of dozens of grey nurse sharks swimming leisurely around. The good visibility was more evident in the shark gutters when sharks could be seen moving up and down as if they were shopping at the mall on a Saturday morning. They surrounded us, over our heads, alongside, around every corner and even underneath. There were twelve divers in the water however it was if we were invisible as they simply ignored us. I was saddened to see some sharks with hooks in their mouths and some had gashes along their flanks. Peter was going ballistic with his video and I did make an honest effort to look for rubbish but happily I did not find any. There were of course other fish including one of my favourites, the puffer fish, plus numerous nudibranchs and morwongs, however the sheer numbers of grey nurses tended to obliterate the smaller life. My total dive time was 32 minutes with a maximum depth of 21 metres.
Back on board for morning tea and a tank change, others commented on seeing a turtle at the onset of the dive so I felt a bit miffed at missing out.
I was at the bow of the boat when one of the guys yelled to me to come to the stern. I hurried to the back deck to watch a seal with its fin up like a sail cooling itself on the surface. This was one seal that had come back home so hopefully there are others around. Some divers found some fishing line and a few hooks but overall the area was clean.
The second dive was at the other side of Big Rock and again the grey nurses were in abundance and overshadowed everything else in the water.
My total dive time was 49 minutes with a maximum depth of 18 metres.
HEATHER ARMOUR
Thursday, May 28, 2009
CLEAN UP DIVE TUNCURRY 13TH December 2008
We participated in International Cleanup Day as part of Project AWARE in September and cleaned up the Forster side of the channel. This one was simply a club event and it was planned we clean up the Tuncurry side of the channel and then have a barbecue lunch which would be our Christmas party and wrap up for the year.
The night before a thunderstorm shook our house and heavy rain pelted my newly planted vegetable patch so the next morning I telephoned prior to leaving to confirm it was still on. You may recall my buddy and I had buoyancy problems due to the shallow depth of the channel on the Forster side. I ended up lugging two rocks around with me before just snorkelling. This time I left my tank, BC and regulator at home. When we met up at the dive shop I found out the Tuncurry side is much deeper.
It was still sprinkling when we geared up and I stubbornly stuck to snorkelling whilst everyone else duck dived under the water. This meant I snorkelled alone which was not as much fun. I concentrated on the channel wall where debris accumulated particularly around the slipway. I found a fan belt and plenty of plastic while others came up with mats and even signs from road works. John came up with a few vintage bottles for his collection. Back at the dive shop the pile was photographed to record the findings.
The rain had stopped however the proposed Christmas barbecue lunch was cancelled due to the sodden ground.
HEATHER ARMOUR
The night before a thunderstorm shook our house and heavy rain pelted my newly planted vegetable patch so the next morning I telephoned prior to leaving to confirm it was still on. You may recall my buddy and I had buoyancy problems due to the shallow depth of the channel on the Forster side. I ended up lugging two rocks around with me before just snorkelling. This time I left my tank, BC and regulator at home. When we met up at the dive shop I found out the Tuncurry side is much deeper.
It was still sprinkling when we geared up and I stubbornly stuck to snorkelling whilst everyone else duck dived under the water. This meant I snorkelled alone which was not as much fun. I concentrated on the channel wall where debris accumulated particularly around the slipway. I found a fan belt and plenty of plastic while others came up with mats and even signs from road works. John came up with a few vintage bottles for his collection. Back at the dive shop the pile was photographed to record the findings.
The rain had stopped however the proposed Christmas barbecue lunch was cancelled due to the sodden ground.
HEATHER ARMOUR
INTERNATIONAL CLEAN UP DIVE -20TH September 2008
I received notice calling for volunteers to participate in International Cleanup Day as part of Project AWARE (Aquatic World Awareness, Responsibility and Education).It was decided to dive Breckenridge Channel along the break wall from the harbour entrance to just beyond the Forster Tuncurry Bridge in groups of four. Each group would enter in a different area to enable the cleanup to be widespread. The maximum time in the water would be 45 minutes and there would be a barbecue/picnic afterwards. I put down my husband Arthur’s name as a shore helper to collect the bags and to advise anyone fishing along the wall there were divers in the water.
There was a briefing at the marina before we geared up for both divers and shore helpers. I wore gloves, carried my rubbish bag and an empty plastic milk bottle for collection of sharp objects and for winding fishing line around. My buddy Isabelle had the same and also towed along a dive flag to float above us. Arthur was to walk along the break wall following the flag, collect the bags and hand over new ones. He also carried a whistle in case of an emergency to tell the divers to leave the water and I gave him my camera to record the event.
I took a giant stride off the jetty closely followed by Isabelle. We snorkelled around to the edge of the channel to duck dive down to a depth of 2.6 metres. We soon realised we were both under weighted so with two rocks in my bag I began my task. The area was surprisingly clear of debris due to the swift tidal movement out through the channel. I did however find bottle caps, a fair amount of fishing line, sinkers and a jazz CD. I imagined someone on a boat not liking the music and hurling it over the side.
We had to keep to the sides of the channel due to boats motoring overhead so oyster shells and buoyancy was always an issue. We surfaced now and again to give Arthur a report and to see how far we had travelled.
Isabelle was not managing the dive flag well with all our other stuff in the shallow water so gave the flag to Arthur and we simply snorkelled. Along the way I noticed the fish life and some areas were quite pretty with small fish, coloured rocks and sunlight filtering through. I spotted numerous fortescues, which made me remember my dives at Shiprock.
Isabelle and I met up with the next group who were on their way back and as our allotted time was up we clamoured up the edge back to the meeting point. I did not mind the walk back as I gave Arthur most of my stuff to carry. So good to have ground support! We dropped our collection on the pile and noticed a bicycle and a tyre amongst the debris. There was also a Slim Dusty CD so some boatie really had a tantrum.
At the end of the day everyone was presented with a Certificate of Recognition, “In appreciation for your contribution to the aquatic environment”.
BLACKHEAD BEACH AND REDHEAD GUTTERS - 28TH June 2008
After loading up we donned lifejackets for our trip through the bar and set off for our first dive off Blackhead Beach. I again buddied with Suzanne. The visibility was not clear but to make up for it throughout the entire dive we heard the songs of the whales. I desperately hoped that a whale would suddenly emerge into my view but had to be content listening to their songs whilst we dutifully recorded the marine life. The site was a large and prolific sponge garden teaming with sea pens, ascidians, sea stars, sponges and hard plate coral. Half way through we swapped over so I had the digital camera while Suzanne took over the slate. Our maximum depth was 21.9 metres with a total dive time of 49 minutes including a 5-minute decompression stop at 5 metres.
On deck we looked at the photos, had coffee and a biscuit and changed tanks whilst travelling to our second site, Redhead Gutters with a maximum depth of 11.7 metres. The highlight of this dive was a large ornate wobbygong plus a giant cuttlefish accompanied by a smaller cuttlefish. We also recorded male and female grouper, maori wrasse, rock cod, old wives, leatherjackets, hula fish, nudibranchs, sea stars, scads (yellowtail), mado and bullseyes. When we spotted the giant cuttlefish Suzanne indicated she wanted the camera back and took off after them at rapid knots with me trailing behind. One of the downsides of becoming absorbed in fish identification is that you easily lose track of the anchor rope resulting in a midwater 5-minute stop at 5 metres before a swim back to the boat. Our total dive time was 51 minutes.
HEATHER ARMOUR
On deck we looked at the photos, had coffee and a biscuit and changed tanks whilst travelling to our second site, Redhead Gutters with a maximum depth of 11.7 metres. The highlight of this dive was a large ornate wobbygong plus a giant cuttlefish accompanied by a smaller cuttlefish. We also recorded male and female grouper, maori wrasse, rock cod, old wives, leatherjackets, hula fish, nudibranchs, sea stars, scads (yellowtail), mado and bullseyes. When we spotted the giant cuttlefish Suzanne indicated she wanted the camera back and took off after them at rapid knots with me trailing behind. One of the downsides of becoming absorbed in fish identification is that you easily lose track of the anchor rope resulting in a midwater 5-minute stop at 5 metres before a swim back to the boat. Our total dive time was 51 minutes.
HEATHER ARMOUR
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