Aussie diving - October 2012

[Mantra]

Yeah, you guys continue to be inspirational!

Quick dive report: we got five dives in over the weekend at Stradbroke island, around flat and shag rock. The heavy 35km/hr winds on Friday dropped down to 7 or so on Saturday, and Sunday was a millpond. Water temp 19-21 degs. Comfy! Vis was generally excellent. The mantas are beginning to arrive (there are two around at present) and shark alley was spectacular - some very big boys around (15-20 in the trench on Sunday and two of them as large as you are likely to see). The nursery at flat rock on Sunday was like an aquarium. Whales and quite a few dolphins around. I didn't video anything - just wanted to be really relaxed and present. I broke my SAC record as a result, which was gratifying! Air consumption is an important metric for me, as I'm often the one limiting my buddy and my dive times, but on Sunday's final dive I had the best consumption of the group by a ways, which I'm really pleased with

 

[bfowles]

Mantra as you get more dives in your SAC will get a lot better, you learn to relax more and you develop a more natural breathing pattern (you will probably find you need less weight as well). With that you will find your buoyancy control improves a lot as well, very helpful when you are trying to video/take pictures of something .
I really envy you since my son was born I don't get to do as many dives as I used to. I hope you have some video to share with us.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Mantra.. I am totally green! Worked the weekend .. no diving Working this Sunday as well so condtions better be right on Saturday!

 

[bfowles]

Here are some pics from the weekend.


wide-body-pipefish by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr


grass-clingfish-swimming by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr


skeleton-shrimp-on-grass-5 by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr


skeleton-shrimp-on-grass-3 by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr

 

[AussiePro]

Dived HMAS Brisbane on Sunday after rescheduling because of the poor weather earlier in the week. It was my first time on that wreck and I was quite impressed. The visibility was rubbish, only a few metres, but I guess I do get a bit spoilt doing most of my diving on the GBR. Also coming from diving on the GBR, all I had was a 3mm suit and I was absolutely freezing between dives. Luckily they bring you back into the calm water and fill you up with soup and hot drinks before the second dive.

The wreck has been really well prepared for diving; it has a great mooring system and the wreck has been prepared to make penetration suitable for even inexperienced divers. Being our first dive on the wreck, we had to do the obligatory guided dives, but the guide was nice and didn't rush around like some of them tend to do. I learnt that my underwater photography skills aren't up to scratch for a combination of dark areas and low visibility. For some reason everything was coming out over exposed.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I've been wanting to do that wreck since they sunk her... one day! Unfortunately work is interfering with my diving lately

 

[bfowles]

I hope the Brisbane doesn't have as much swell as the Canberra. With all the holes in the Canberra to make it diver safe you cannot find anywhere apart from the engine room to get out of the swell!

I did another dive Saturday night I saw a lot of creatures that I have never seen before, as well as witnessed a lot of creatures eating other creatures. Unfortunately I was a bit slow with the camera and missed the shot for most of them.


pygmy-squid-eating by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr


fiddler by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr


flabellina by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr


blenny by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Nice shots I am starting to get dangerously dehydrated here.. work kept me out of the water another week

 

[bfowles]

The Underwater Festival published the top 100 photos. I got two of my photos in the top 100 Underwater Festival | Photos | Top 100 entries

 

[ferris213]

The Underwater Festival published the top 100 photos. I got two of my photos in the top 100 Underwater Festival | Photos | Top 100 entries

Mate that's awesome. Looks like there was some stiff competition. Congrats on getting two in the top 100.

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