Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site

First dive for 9 days due to more rotten weather. Also first dive with new Ikelite housing, went well. A bit or effort getting in and especially out and quite surgy. Viz about 10 metres at least. The bullray went past right at the start but no turtle. Saw two sea dragons, one with heaps of eggs, laid last Sunday I think. No PPHs but a nembrotha and the miamira seen. Three sea horses as normal and Mandy's small painted anglerfish is now quite orange. A bit of a rush back as the others low on air. Nice dive despite the surge. Visibility good.

Club boat dive, ended up two boats and 9 divers at two sites. I had five on board and new engines easily handled it. A larger E swell than forecast and a bit of surge even at 26 metres. Anchored off N end of the gap between the two parts. Heard whales through most of the dive and saw many on the surface. Viz at least 15 metres. Saw a tiny donut nembrotha just on way to cave. None out on the normal spot. A few bastard trumpeters and some other fish in the cave. A large school of seapike further on. No donuts at S end, not as much rock there now. Back around to gap and down S and then to anchor, another larger donut to E of anchor. Spent the rest of the time near anchor. A very good dive. Visibility very good.

Another sunny day, two in a row! Very cold again on the top but warmer 17C on bottom. Found five RIF, including one which was shedding its skin. This was near SHR. Two were at STR, two between there and the other one. One was a small orange specimen. Went around edge of the reef down to IR1 and to where it joins IR2. I turned here as only using 9 litre tank. Went to top of the reef but nothing special seen there. Two USDPF towards SHR. Lots of leatherjackets around, a couple of lionfish and moray eels. No PPH at all. When back at the shedding RIF, it was gone but the skin was there. I took it but it ended up clumped together. A really good dive despite the cold. Visibility very good.

Had to cancel club boat dive due to very strong NW winds. A bit protected here. First dive with drysuit this year and since new neck seal. However, leaked very badly from left ankle, soaked my left leg and then up to stomach and across to right leg! Also leaked on right sleeve, a new tear there! Got very cold in the 15C water so only 66 mins. Saw four RIF, three between STR and SHC and one on IR1. Also a frogfish down from cave, a spiny gurnard on IR1, a few PJs and dwarf lionfish. A nice dive except for the cold. Visibility fair.

Good weather for a few days after more winds and big swells. Flat seas so ran at 20kts all the way. No whales seen or heard. Anchored in normal spot, blue water, but very cold at 15C. Had to move the anchor at start, so used a bit of air. Went E along sand till 17 mins and then back shallower to anchor. Not much seen, a few fish and one small moray eel. Then on sand again to W and back a little shallower. Thousands of small yellowtail up high and then lots of ladder-finned pomfrets in between the boulders, but not as many as normal. Back to anchor and up. My drysuit leaked badly again despite many attempts the past few days to fix the hole (in left ankle). I was very cold again. Could see second group on the sand from safety stop. Only a reasonable dive. Visibility very good.

Well, back in the wetsuit after yesterday's flood. Flat as a tack, went S to the Wall and then back normal way. Cold 16C and then 15C above 14 metres. Only one BBSH on rocks off wall, the smaller yellow one. Saw three short-tailed ceretasoma in different spots. One frogfish on wall. No PPHs still, where have they all gone? Two USDP before SHR and then one RIF, where have the other three or four gone? Looked everywhere for them. Half a dozen PJs, a few small cuttlefish, pink okenia and a few other nudibranchs. Good dive. Visibility good.

Club boat dive, two boats and eight divers. Very overcast and soon after leaving ramp it started to rain. Poured at times and difficult to navigate. Rain eased off a bit once halfway across the bay. Flat seas and viz was at least 12 metres, but dark. Anchored on top of cave and moved anchor to bottom and then had to drag a bit to a holding spot. It even broke the rock and I had to move again at the end of the dive. Went to N and around the corner, a large wobbegong shark there. Back to main reef and big schools of yellowtail, seapike and one-spot pullers. I found two tiny pipefish, no PPH but a few nudibranchs. No blue devilfish in either cave. Went S to past the end and then back again to anchor. Then under anchor rope to the smaller deeper wall. Then up. Rain eased off totally and didn't rain again. Another nice dive. Visibility good.

First dive for 42 days, weather was rubbish for over a week after last dive and then I went to Outback NSW and Qld. Millpond seas so went from W point. Viz was about 10 metres, cold 17C. Found the two BBSHs on wall, then a blue devilfish nearby. Lots of PJs, at least a couple of dozen. One wobbegong shark. No RIF, PPH and only a few interesting nudibranchs, pink okenia and a black spotted one. A large flounder and lots of yellowtail shallow. All my rocks in the pile I had built over the past year to show exit spot are gone, must have been huge seas as lots of sand/shellgrit under bridge on rocks. Cleaned Carol's Plaque on the way out to W point. Good dive despite lack of critters. Visibility good.

Calm seas and viz of about 8 metres. Very slight incoming tide. Went very slowly, five anglerfish all up. Two orange BIA, the grey BIA, Mandy's black now orange painted anglerfish and a new tiny black painted anglerfish just before Big Rock. The two BBSHs in normal spot and the third one also in normal spot. Heaps of PPH, at least 10 I think. A couple of interesting nudibranchs etc and a few horned sharks. Only saw one sea dragon (with eggs) but more are west of the entry. Quite a good dive. Visibility fair.

A bit of swell up and was worse when we got out. Went in past Carol's Plaque. Erick in new Seatec suit, weighting was good. However, I had a BCD problem and was leaking from where the inflator hose connects to BCD shoulder. Could not stop it, so I basically crawled on the bottom or swum hard to get along. Hence air consumption was 20% higher than normal. Then later camera stop working properly (memory card was loose) and then Shearwater computer died as battery suddenly dead. Went normal way and turned before Block Rock. No RIF, PPH but a few PJs and some yellowtail. Also two tiny fine-lined tambjas, looks like they might be coming back. A small cuttlefish, a couple of other interesting nudibranchs, one upsidedown pipefish but that is all. Not a great dive. Visibility fair.

Club boat dive, two boats and seven divers, I had three on MakCat including me. We both dived here so they could watch my boat. Flat seas and no wind, clean on top but dirty on bottom, perhaps 4 m viz. Moved anchor a little to a poor holding spot, all there was. All through the dive very loud humpback whales, lots of them. Never saw one on the surface. Went up The Split and then N, all the purple ascidians are gone. No donuts as expected. The sand has been washed out by at least 1.5 metres in spots, exposing many new rocks and making existing low ones now very large. Back on outside and through the gap where the fuel tank is. Back to anchor and up. Not a great dive except for the whales singing. Visibility very poor.

Large seas past few days and as it was dirty on Wednesday, decided to not take boa tout. As it turns out, would have been good as ocean viz was 10-15 m! Anyway, flat here and little outgoing tide. Viz was about 4 m and temp 17.5C. Ron's first dive since our Bali trip. Could not find any anglerfish at all, even ATJ found only two. Not many PPHs either, just a couple. Three BBSH as normal, no sea dragons. A few interesting nudibranchs including tritonia. About a dozen tiny ones, largest only 8 mm. Quite a few PJs, mostly swimming around. A nice relaxing dive. Visibility very poor.

Club boat dive, two boats, 9 divers. First dive here for 6.5 years. It was a lot sloppier than expected and some very large 2.5 m swells at times. Water was reasonably clean but the constant surge stirred up the sand and made it not as good. Anchored on top of reef near the cave and headed E to almost 25 m. Some sand missing around the boulders. A few PJs, a water container on surface with very old rope to some chain, Kelly found two upsidedown pipefish. Came back to the cave and then up. Was much windier and apparently from SW but weather stations said W. Not the best dive. Visibility fair.

Swell was still up, the Bare Island Bommie was breaking at times, so tried here to get some protection. Wind was light but again came up strong W after we surfaced. Went W with strong current to the end of the wall and then back E past anchor (which was on reef top) to some lower boulders and then back. Very surgy on top of reef, still a lot on the sand at 20 metres. Water 18C or so. Not a great deal seen except some PJs and a spindle cowrie on fan. Visibility good.

A bit of wave action on W point but much worse after the dive. Went in past Carol's Plaque and down and back the normal way. Went anti-clockwise around IR1. No PPH or RIF, two USDP in same spot as for 6+ months, a few nudibranchs, a couple of reasonably large moray eels, an octopus and a small cuttlefish. A small school of yellowtail as we went around W end of IR1. Viz was 15 m in shallows and perhaps 10 m rest, but a bit worse on the way back despite incoming tide. Probably increased waves. Reasonable dive. Visibility good.