Trip Statistics;
- Dive Locations: Curtin Artificial Reef & The Pines
- Water Temp: 19-20°C
- Avg Depths: 10m (Pines) - 28m (Lady Norman)
- Boat Trips: 8
- Total club dives: 42
- Marine Debris Collected;
- 42kg of Lead Sinkers (Which we will recycle into Dive Weights)
- 2.7kg of Fishing Line
- 1.7kg of fishing hooks and lures
- 4.6kg of mixed materials
- 15m of rope
- 1 Dive weight belt
Heading back over to Moreton Island to complete another Marine Debris Clean Up trip. At the Club house the Wed before the trip we all met to arrange tanks, compressor, the boat etc so it was ready for the weekend. I had volunteered to drive Diver 1 over so I dropped my dry bag off with Gary then got to setting the boat.
Extra anchors for overnight mooring, some water, checking safety gear and ensuring pontoons were firm, mostly your standard pre-dive checks. Come Friday morning one of our buddies on the boat came down with a fever/headache which dropped us to 3. I called Coralie and roped her into bring a 4th so we could sneak in a dive pair, while still having a Skipper and Surface Watch on the surface. I don't think I've fully transitioned to a "Resort Diver" yet, but a few years ago I would have been pretty bummed missing out on a dive opportunity but when I got the news I was more "meh that's OK, I can just catch the next one", so I think the process has started.
n.b. A resort Diver is one who strictly (or at least primarily) dives in nice warm tropical waters, with Dive guides who setup (and carry!) your gear. Not like us chumps that have to lug it up/down the beach and lift it onto the boat ourselves! A bit shaky to start with the Coast Guard Radio Hand taking a while to take our details, but then smooth sailing, near mirror surface conditions, to get over.
We threw some divers in at the Pines for a drift clean. Out going tide and running pretty hard, but easy to follow with the good conditions they came back with reports of lots of Grouper to see and quite a full bucket of rubbish.
Our turn to jump in, similar conditions, good vis, and we immediately saw a huge Grouper too. While cleaning up marine debris, mostly fishing waste, I stumbled upon a mostly buried dive belt. 6 x 3lb weights... more than I have ever intentionally dived with... short belt too (or maybe my waist is not-short...) So I awkwardly carried it for a bit before finding a way to clip it off and have it dangle. That much weight made buoyancy a bit more interesting. We also found what looked like a painters drop sheet along with the usual hooks, line and sinkers etc.
We were just setting the anchors before the rest of the crew (catching the barge over) arrived. SNR was quick to return to the beach ready for a dive as we awaited the rest of the crew to trickle down. 5 more dropped in for another drift but reports of much worse vis than the earlier dives, as the tide had changed to an incoming now. Still Grouper and Turtles about to see though.
Back on the beach in time for sunset drinks and to see a pod of dolphins cruise by. It wasn't long before a shower beckoned for me so I headed up and then met everyone around the fire. Soon it was dinner, a fantastic meal from "Castaways", then back to the fire.
Around the fire was another group who joined us. They were quite excitable and engaging... and possibly a little drunk. They were determined to kick on with most divers turning in for bed before 9ish... asking if they were allowed to burn the rest of the wood we brought for the three nights... thankfully they didn't.
A few were up at sunrise and I wasn't too far behind them to check on the boat. Still floating, good enough, so I went back to Castaways for breakfast (experts at catering for divers!!) After having our fill it was time to head to the beach. Craig collected the boat and brought it to shore for us all to load up. As I started to put on my cold, and still very wet, wetsuit I may have started to fantasise about the life of a resort diver....
We headed for Curtin Artificial reef to find a platoon of fishing boats. Luckily there was some space, near the dry dock, we could call our own. Everyone was super ready (first time ever!) when we launched so we found ourselves a bit too early waiting for the slack tide. Even when we jumped in there was a bit of current. It did turn slack towards the end of the dive though, and not long into the dive it was pretty mild anyway.
Back to swap boat loads. I was skipper for the 2nd so I ditched my gear and hopped back on the boat. A nice drift again on the Pines. Though we dropped them a bit along (to not rehash the same ground as yesterday) and at the ~40min mark the wall stopped, turning into a gentle slope of sand, so the divers came up a little early.
More amazing food for lunch and then back in for the third Dive. I wasn't meant to be on it, but a few pulled out so I took up one of the spare slots. With everyone being efficient and on time we found ourselves waiting for the slack tide before jumping in near the Rock Driller. Snapped a few pictures of the Nautilus Statue, but low tide meant the water was a little murky.
Fei and I were getting a pretty good haul in the bucket and after 20min I checked in to see his air. 150bar (for a new diver) awesome I thought, we're in for a good dive, as I went to check my own air. . . . .
60 bar. Huh? No leaking hoses nothing I could see to cause it. Before we entered I had checked my air and I could swear it was 200... but it mustn't have been. I might have gone in with yesterday's tank which was 110ish... bugger. With apologies to Fei I guided us back to Diver 1 in the blue-ish green water, so we could do a safety stop on the way. Vis was just good enough to make out the top of the Wrecks, so at least I knew which direction to head.
Despite a quick 27 min dive (probably not my shortest in my diving career if I'm being honest...) not only did we have a decent take in the bucket, but also found some pretty hefty electrical conduit and wire... so still a successful clean up dive. I think that earned me the 'Minion Award' for the day (given out to those who do something silly like jumping in without fins...or a half empty tank...)
Post dive was a little time to sort the waste and have a nice shower before heading down the beach for sunset. Another nice orange glow as the sun set behind the glasshouse mountains.
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| Thanks Marja and Nelly for the Clean Up Shots! |
Soon the sun was gone and it had been replaced by midges and mosquito's so we retired from the beach and went to the fire. Not long there before dinner was ready so we could eat and plan the next days diving. Once dinner and planning were done it was back to sitting around the fire until it was time for bed. Another group sharing the fire pit threw in one of those colour flame packets, which made for an impressive blue.
Up for breakfast at 7 again but a bit of time to kill before a 930am launch for the first dive. A bit lumpier today on the surface, as predicted, which made loading Diver 1 a little harder. Still we got going and were off for Curtin. I jumped in with Waz, he was having a little trouble with his 2nd stage yesterday, so I leant him my spare for the dive.
We were waiting until the other divers were clear of the anchor line so we could have a calm descent. Just about ready when Fei and Anton popped back up as Fei had his tank slip, happens to most divers eventually... with them on their way again Waz and I jumped in soon after.
Good vis, maybe even 15min, (well "good for Curtin") and a nice flat sandy bottom where we could sit and chill for a bit before setting off on our dive. We went and checked out the remains of the Tram before continuing on to the Rock Driller and back to the Nautilus Statue. A pair of huge QLD Grouper were hanging about it today, by god they are massive fish...
After our slight detour for sight seeing it was back to cleaning with a bit of extra stuff along the Rock Driller wreck before finding lots of line and sinkers on the Kos II. We eventually made our way to the Hustler which had even more line and a mass of tangled rope, mostly covered in growth and not suitable for collecting though. Still plenty of hooks, line and sinkers there too.
Felt like we had barely started to make a dent in the Hustler before we needed to head back up to the surface. Plenty more there to justify a second trip. Conditions were a little worse when we got back to the boat but not too horrible so we still went ahead with the second dive. As it was a drift, in unfavourable conditions, I dropped out of diving so I could be an extra surface watch, with Louis and Pete H.
Dropping divers south of the Curtin (so they could drift north into it) it was hard to track the bubbles even from the start. We found them on and off but with the wind and surface conditions pushing us along a slow idle into the wind we barely even kept in place. Eventually we saw one SMB shortly followed by another at the same place, then soon after their respective divers.
The first SMB apparently got a snagged reel so the second popped just in case. Just as we were getting them into the boat the other group shot their SMB up so we could cover the near 300m gap and be closer to them to pick them up. For the ride back the conditions worsened and unloading was difficult so we decided to pan the afternoon dive. Today was meant to change, and get even worse, later in the afternoon.
After lunch a few checked out the beach and conditions definitely changed from the morning.... they were now near perfect! Unfortunately with the dive already cancelled a few had enjoyed a beer with lunch, so were out, and the thought if putting on wet gear was less enticing for the rest. So we all enjoyed a relaxing arvo instead.
Yet another fantastic dinner from Castaways and more time around the fire before our last night.
Before breakfast most people had already packed and it wasn't long after breakfast most of the crew were off to beat the tide and catch the barge.
The 4 of us remaining started chatting about the days plans and strolled down to the beach to see what the water was doing. A bit lumpy and we weren't really feeling the extra dive so the call was made to save the bumpy surface conditions for a dive and start the bumpy ride back instead.
After loading the boat and pulling up the anchors we were all about as wet as you would get on a dive anyway... the ride back wasn't very smooth, slow and steady going. The was a really odd calm patch mid-way across that lasted for about 5min, I thought the wind had changed direction, or we were close enough to the mainland, but soon we were in 700mm waves and going even slower.
I think Craig copped the worst of it, with most waves seeming to splash his side the whole way back. Finally we made it closer and were able to pick up the pace and get to shore. Good traffic back to the club house so we beat the others there with time enough to clean and tuck away the boat.
We could then help unload some of the other gear, like tanks and the compressor, before heading home for a late lunch.
Another great weekend made so by all the group pitching in and helping out. It really makes a trip so much easier with everyone pitching to help with the many many tasks that always need doing.
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