Diving - 2020 12 - Moreton Island

Diving - 2020 12 - Moreton Island. 

Day One 

I was still a little tired from the late nights and festive feasting in Melbourne when the alarm went off to wake me up Sunday morning. After a quick breakfast I went to the Club House to retrieve Diver 1. 

I was running a little late so I gave Paul the heads up before heading off. With a short pit stop for Fuel I made it to Scarborough ramp a bit after 9. Communication mix up with Paul had him on the southern ramp, but it was a quick nip over to where I was.  

We loaded and got set to head out. Paul holding the boat at the pontoon while I parked the trailer. As he was sitting there he noticed there was no telltale from the Engine. Looked like just some small junk in the outlet (insect maybe) bit a pointy knife soon sorted it and we were on our way.   

Pretty smooth run over thankfully. Taking almost an hour. Paul had some camp chairs so we setup on the beach to enjoy the day while waiting for the others to arrive.  

I ducked off to find the exact location for camp, about 400m up the beach, and we eventually moved the boat up. Perks if being early is we also had first pick of the tents. Really nice setup here at Moreton Island Wilderness Camp.   

The others got to camp just after 4 and started unloading all the gear, including 2x 200lt drums of fuel and the heavy compressor. That was fun to roll off the trailer! When all was said and done it was almost time for dinner. A great spread of food supplied. During dinner one of the locals (another guy called Scott) came up and asked if we wouldn't mind him/his daughters tagging along (in their own boat) for a few dives with us. Something we were happy to oblige. We even passed on our dive marks for him to use. Shortly after a few started disappearing for bed, or to brave a cold shower, with the last of us turning in around 10. 

Day Two 

The next morning was started with a great breakfast before getting dive gear ready for the day. I swam out to Diver 1 only to realise when I got there I had forgotten the key!  

Despite the false start it wasn't long before we were on our way to Flinders reef. It was a bit choppy on the way out with the predicted Easterly winds trending more North-Easterly.  Heading into waves and wind doesn't make for a smooth journey.  

At flinders I was in the second wave with Kristie and Justin. We dropped almost on top of the Turtle cleaning station and hung out for a bit watching the fish pick at algae. On the rest of the dive we saw a few Moray, Nudi and even an octopus.  Just as we hit the safety stop I went to take my glove off but jettisoned my cameras lanyard!! Luckily for me it floats and the guys on surface watch were paying attention. Richard valiantly jumping overboard to rescue it! Here I was thinking I had an excuse to buy a new setup! 

For the second we shifted to a northern mooring to drop somewhere different. I like the structure better at this spot. Lots of huge boulders kicking about. Parrot fish were swarming, quite a few Nudi's and moments before we had to head to the boat I found a Peacock Mantis! 

Paul took the helm for the drive back. Conditions about the same but with following seas it was a torch smoother. Still fairly tall waves though so our journey was interrupted slightly by coming down the front of waves a little too fast and spearing into the next.   

Back at camp for burgers (they feed us well!) Shortly after Jo and I (thanks Jez for being skipper) gotnreadynforntheb3rd dive of today. We dropped in at the pines and had a relatively pleasant dive. The normal scenery to be had but we also saw my 2nd Peacock Mantis Shrimp for the day. Tucked in its hole making it hard to get a shot. 

Back to camp again to receive some bad news. The compressor had stopped working and likely blew a safety valve! After much trouble shooting we pulled the filter to discover someone had left the Dust Cap on when the installed the last filter. Bugger! We got the cap out eventually thanks to some quick thinking from Paul turning an old fillet knife into a hook of sorts.  

Despite lots more time trouble shooting we couldn't get it to fill more than 50 bar and one of the stages of the compressor was dead cold (should be running hot.) Stephen was thinking of joining us for a dive on his own boat so I let him know the bad news before bed. 

Day Three  

Luckily Stephen happened to have his own personal compressor. A touch smaller than ours but enough to get the job done! He saw it as a sign and drove over to meet us. There was enough tanks still full for the morning dive to head out, where one of the Bulwer locals joined with his own boat. Conditions a bit rough bit good dives.   

With the new compressor running we did the rounds at lunch to drum up some divers to go with Stephen. It wasn't too hard as his boat is hella fancy. It was still very rough on the way out. Glad we had his boat and not Diver 1 for it. I went surface watch and relaxed on comfy leather seats while the others had a good dive. Highlight was a huge Turtle apparently.  When we got back I noticed out 27meg Antenna was missing. Would have been very hard for it to have fallen off... so the theory is someone pinched it. 

We tried to catch the sunset tonight but it was completely obscured by clouds and barely any colours in it. We did see a few dolphins, likely on return from their feed at the resort, swim past.  

Day Four 

Up early for breakfast and out for another Double Dive. Past Flinders this time (though not too far...) Cement Co was the plan. We had light rain most of the way out with it getting heavier just near flinders. I'm glad we pushed in.  

There was another boat already moored on Cement Co so we decided to push on further to Gotham. A lovely, but deep, rock dive known for huge pelagics. Current was running but not too bad.  

I was in for the second wave with Kristie and Justin. We made it to Gotham easy (thanks to some awesome anchor placement from an amazing skipper. Hint: It was me.) When down though, beside a dozen of so Trevally we didn't see much of the usual 'Big Fish sightings there.  

Still some good macro and I just enjoy the dive for the structure. Deep though so we were barely down for 17min before it was time to start heading back to the anchor chain, we had just accrued little bit of deco so we added an extra stop at 10m deep on the way up.  

Second dive was the Eastern side of flinders. On a mooring block right near a swim though. Great little White Tip Reef Shark chilling in there and plenty of Crays. Rest of the dive was Nudis, Moray, and Octopus but the critter that stole the show was probably the Decorator Crab. Getting about during the day! 

Back to shore to discover that with the dreary weather all day the divers had talked themselves out of an afternoon dive. Not bad for me it meant I could get out of the wet clothes and relax.  After another great dinner a few of us hung about for drinks and chats, with all retiring to our tents just before 10pm. Ready for more early diving tomorrow!  

Day Five  

Wind has blown up a bit so today we had decided to do two dives on the inside of the bay today. First up was an incoming drift on the Pines just before high tide. Much better vis that the earlier one (that was just after low tide.)  

Unfortunately the GPS mark we had was more of a guide to get you the right place North/South but then you find the wall and drop near it. I probably wasn't quite clear enough in that and Mitch dropped us at the mark.  It took Justin and I 18min of decent finning to reach the edge. The others got there in ~35 min. Once we made it though it was a great dive. Nudi, Peacock Mantis shrimp etc etc. We even saw a cool little Shovelnose Ray on out adventure across the sand and its sometimes nice to do something different. Like Gotham though, there didn't seem to be too much big stuff.  

Out to Curtin for the second dive and dropping in on the Melbourne. I headed off towards the New (ish) Statue but took a wrong bearing from the Tram. Still ended up being a good loop though. There was even a QLD Groper cruising around us for a bit. Still a bit young but will someday grow into a massive unit.  

At the end of the dive Justin did a few practice launches with the SMB and reel. Both went really well, especially for his first launches.   

On the way back we set a new mark for the pines to avoid this mornings adventures and then I did a Yo-Yo dive on the Camp Hosts morning block to check it out for them. All looks pretty cool condition, but the block itself was completely covered in sand.  

After lunch a few of us went for a drive around the top end. Was raining pretty heavy when we got to the lighthouse so we gave the walk there a miss and continued on to Blue Lagoon. Rain had let off so we walked the ~100m to it.  

Once we got there the kids decided they really wanted a swim now. So Jeremy went back to the car to fetch togs. They had a decent swim and then we set off to Bulwer for Ice Cream! While eating the shop owner offered us the dregs of his pallet of Ice Bags. We took three bags for the drinks esky which was probably one bags worth all together.  

Through breaks in the rain Justin was able to make, and us sit by, a fire. A few times we shuffled back from fire to tarps, back to fire, back to tarps playing hide and go seek with the rain. As the evening dragged on a few people peeled off for bed. 

I was enjoying myself a little and Justin brought out some nice Whisky. Mentioned that I was probably at the point to switch to water but it was New Years Eve so I poured myself a cup. Almost immediately, as I set the cup down, it slipped and landed right on my lap. :(  I centred myself, poured another nip, and successfully sat down to drink.   

11:50 pm and those still standing went to the beach for midnight. We saw a few fireworks being set off down near Bulwer and then a few boat flares as well... We had some sparklers which we waves about and took some 'New Years' snaps before heading back. As soon as we got back most went to bed but I decided to chill by the fire for a little. Eventually turning in about 130am.  

Photo by Justin

Day Six  

Despite switching to water by about 11:30 I was still not exactly 100% in the morning so I bowed out of the dive for the day. I was probably alright but it's not really something I like taking the risk on. Turns out mostly everyone felt the same way about the morning drift dive so it was given a miss.  

By the time it was almost high tide though there was enough keen divers ready to get out and give it a go. Reports came back they they were in a little too early on the tide and the current was ripping through Curtin. So good thing I didn't go as I wouldn't have been keen to fight the current feeling the way I do.  

In the afternoon it was time for another drive off to the south this time to do a half loop and get some Oysters fresh from the farm. I was happy with just a swim at the beach so said my goodbyes and sent a message to Kerry that they were on their way (she had gone down earlier to meet a friend.) Everyone was really impressed by the Moreton Bay Rock Oysters and would definitely recommend, if that's your thing.  The Kids also managed to find some Hermit Crabs to keep them entertained for a while. 

Photo by Kristie

Photo by Kristie

Yet another filling dinner from Craig and Keith (camp hosts) and an opportunity to burn a little more firewood before turning in early foe the night.  

Day Seven

Last day of diving so I definitely had to get some in. It's a pity that the weather hasn't been with us this trip to allow for more runs out to the 'Outer Sites' like Cherubs/China, though the closer sites are still good. One bonus of the weather though, is that you have some friendly creachers hanging out because of the rain. This little guy even found his way inside Richards boot!

Scott (the local) joined us again. He'd been on one of the Flinders dives (I wasn't on) so this was the first time I got to see his boat in action. Should have taken photos of it... but it's a Sealegs boat with awesome hydraulic wheels so he can drive it up/down the beach and into the water! He jumped in with Justin and I as we drifted along the pines (without the sand swim!) Lots of fish swimming about today and a few Eels and Nudi's. There was also a pretty cool ball of Juvenile Catfish Eels right near the end of the dive, but I was already heading up to the safety stop and that point so couldn't go back down for a photo.  

Back for a quick change over and to head back out. Scott came with again with his daughter as a dive buddy this time. We dropped on the Estrella and headed north in a loop. When we got to the Bremer I gave Justin and Jo my torch so they could poke their heads in the area just under the storage bays and see into the deep dark depths of a wreck. It was about then that Justin's computer ran out of battery so we decided to be conservative with our dive and start heading back. Seeing some impressive Bull Rays on the way.  

With all the diving done it was time to pack up. Gear rinsed and hung to try get a little bit dry before the trip home. Trailers repacked and tents prepared for an early start tomorrow. There was still time to enjoy the island though, so another adventure to the top of the island was called for. A short walk to the lighthouse (this time rain free!) was able to be completed but the champagne pools seemed to be the winner of the afternoon.

Photo by Jeremy

Day Eight

Early start this morning, breaking camp by 7am. The others were catching the barge at 8:15am and expected a 30min journey, but it's always nice having that time up your sleeve just in case someone gets bogged and blocks the road... or you get bogged yourself!  

There wasn't much point Paul and I hanging around camp by ourselves, so we left around the same time. It was actually a really good day weather wise so we had a really smooth time back and were at Scarborough <50min later! Got the boat back on the trailer and set off to return it to the club house.  

Got to the club not long after and got to cleaning etc. Just as I had finished (actually locked the gate) I was a message from kristie that they had unloaded off the barge and were minutes away. Before I even had a chance to unlock the gate again they were here. I helped with unloading the compressor and then left them to sort out the lighter stuff. 

Finally home and able to have a nice hot shower and wash the salt and sand off! Thanks again for organising another great trip Kristie and everyone from URGQ that put in the effort to make it possible!

Diving - 2019 07 - Straddie

Coralie had organised an awesome weekend away at Straddie as part of our clean up efforts to help reduce marine debris. 

Friday was an early start for me, up before the sun to pick up the club boat. Luckily the sign guys that have a workshop near the club house were in and shuffled cars making my egress easier. I then met a few passengers at the Ferry carpark to transfer gear into my car and hop in.   

Nelly arrived and as we started to load gear she clicked to open her boot. No clack. Clicked her key fob again, still no clack. Boot was stuck shut! We fiddled for a while with the boot lid, then turned out efforts to lowering her back seats, without much luck. We turned to the manual and Lynn found the instructions which were wrong! There was an extra and wrong steps but eventually I figured out and we were able to retrieve her dry suit.  

Still plenty of time for the barge and the weather is near perfect so it was a smooth easy ride over.  

After the barge we headed straight to Amity to meet the rest of the crew, many who were on an earlier barge. I was surface watch for the first dive and watched as the others geared up and got ready to start collecting underwater rubbish. Unfortunately more bad luck for Nelly, a split along her wrist seal in the dry suit. There must have been a heap along the wall as it wasn't 20min before divers were back on the surface with full buckets and heading down for more. 

There was a heap of rubbish along the wall, definitely warrants a few return trips. When all said and done we had to empty out the Anchor box to fit more in! Back on shore Nelly waddled up the beach, about half her suit full of water :( A cold dive for her so she made the wise decision to sit out the next. 

The rest of us got set and headed off to Cherubs Cave, through the north channel of the South Passage Bar. Great conditions today and barely a bar to speak of. It was even so good that it glassed out on the way back in. The same couldn't be said for underwater though, barely 5m vis. Still it was a good dive on Cherubs and despite a few fishers in the area not much rubish at all. Which I guess is a good thing. 

With the smooth run back we got to Kens mid afternoon and begun the clean up of the massive haul from the Amity wall. So much line, sinkers, squid jogs and even two (yes, TWO!) oven elements. Finding places to sleep at Kens place is always a balancing act, where are the snorers sleeping..... where are the people with heavy boots.... or early risers... or late partiers.... 

Anton and Al D cooked up some amazing Spag Bog... but we forgot to pack the past last wednesday... wooops. Al ducked off to the shops to grab some and we all had a good dinner. Bed wasn't too long after. 

The next morning we had a fairly leisurely start, at least so far as diving mornings go. Not leaving Kens until 8. By the time we made it out to Flat Rock there was already 2 boats at the shark gutters so we swung around to Turtle cave and dropped in there. Surpsing vis compared to the pea soup that was yesterday, almost a good 10 meters. There was also a bit of rubbish to collect making it a worthwile location to dive. Sadly I overshot the moring on the way back getting to the surface quite a ways away from the boat. Nothing like a good surface swim to work off that dinner from last night!

Second dive was around at Shag Rock. A few fishers on the surface and 1 very enquisitive dolphin that swam within 3 meters of the boat. Underwater there was a bit of waste to collect, including a dive slate. Alex and Iwent through the swim through and around the Eastern half of the Rock. Few turtles and heaps of fish. Usually see a Frog fish in that location but didn't seem to find any this time. On the return Alex was getting a little low on air so we popped up, I was dead on target this time, but still ~30m short making another (albiet smaller) surface swim to the boat :o  Sadly in the last 5min of the dive the bucket I had snapped off to my D-ring must have bumped into my tank and broke lose sending it flying :/ Had a few sinkers in it, so it should sink but I didn't see it fly off but we've made a net positive this trip and we can get it next time. 

Back to Kens again for sorting the rubbish and making sure it is recorded properly. In the afternoon most people headed up to Pt Lookout, some just for the Ice Cream, others to do the Gorge walk. I took a short walk down the beach but mostly chilled back at Kens and got a jump start on setting my gear up for Sunday. Some of the locals hopped by to help. 





Another great dinner, thanks to Jez for cooking the meat and Coralie and Marja for the Salads. A more lively night tonight with ome very good scotch by Al, and some Port that was donated. It's great going on dive trips like this where you can wittle the night away sharing trip stories, or planning the next ones! We had decided to beat the other boast in the morning so the night didn't drag on too long. 

Up and out of Kens by 7 for another smooth beach launch, conditions are great on the surface this trip. Looked like outher boats were already on their way out but we were at the rock with plenty of time to spare (they arrived after we were well and truely down) and were able to get the prime moring, right at the Shark Gutter. At least a dozen or more Grey Nurse Sharks in the gutter and a few in the side gutter. 50+ Mobula Kuhlii Rays schooling too, plus 2 Devil Rays near them. On the dive Kristie also found a Dive torch, looked likt it had been down a little while, but not too long. Battery was flat, but we chucked in one of mine to test it and it was a bright little package. Good find. 

On the surface we were treated with a few shows from the migrating Hump Backs, the closest just a little under 50m away. Kristie got her mask and Fins on and hopped in trying to see them underwater but unfortunately with the vis that was all but impossible. My buddy decided the sun and whales was enough for him so I joined Kristie and Jez on the second. Soon after out descent was a Cow Tailed Ray and then back to the many many Sharks.

Not too much to sort out after todays dives, and clean up was pretty quick. Some awesome Bacon wraps made for returning divers and then a quick sweep of the houses. We had plenty of time to go before needing to be on the barge so it was off for another IceCream, so I went this time too. Great view from the Point Lookout Knoll. Dolphin Pods and Whales off in the distance. We hung around for a bit, but then it was time to get to the barge and start heading home. 

Another smooth ride back and a quick transfer of Yanir and Lintons gear back to their respective cars and I was off to return the boat to the Club house. Good traffic the whole drive back and was long before I could Gerni off the boat and tuck it in the shed. Off home myself and dive gear away (washed it at Kens) and eat some Grub. 

Another awesome URGQ weekend away. 

Diving - 2018 11 - Moreton Island

Personal Trip Stats;

Dives: 5

Water Temp: 24°c

Max depth: 29m

Group Stats;

Dives (total): 70

Dive Sites visited: 10 

Rubbish Collected;

Fishing line: 12.83 kg

Rope (<1m length): 1.3 meters

Rope (>1m length): 253.5 meters

Sinkers: 557 (totalling 64.51 kg of lead)

Anchors: 19

Anchor Chain: 85 meters

Hooks: 2.59 kg

Lures/Misc Tackle: 2.04 kg

Fishing Rods: 4.5

Fishing/Diving Knives: 5

Sun Glasses: 1

Rubber: 4 pieces

Random Metal: 1.27 kg

Large Plastics: 2

Trawling Trace Wire: 4 meters

Burley Boxes: 2

Cloth: 0.7kg

Tin Cans: 1

Aerial: 0.5

Bottle Cap: 1

Thermos: 1

House Key: 1

Dive Weight: 1

Glass bottles: 3

URGQ had organised another Clean up Dive over at Moreton. We head over for the weekend and spend our time on the dives collecting marine debris/rubbish. Lots of fishing line, hooks, sinkers, anchors and a few rods and a few other misc item. Most of us got together om Wednesday night and loaded up the few vehicles we were taking over with gear, fuel, dive tanks and the compressor. As well as loading up Diver 1 with a few sets of gear too. A few people headed over Thursday to get pre-setup. 

Another 9 of us hopped on the Micat barge Friday morning, as those on the island already went for their first dive. The trip over was smooth sailing, almost good enough for me to be happy water skiing on it. Anton and Paul (Ute and Boat) met us at the barge drop-off to ferry us back to the Accom back at Cowan Cowan. As soon as we got ourselves settled it was time to head out for our first dive. 

Off to Mariatta Dahl with a mild current and a bit of surge kicking us around. There wasn't actually much rubbish out here, we still found some line, hooks and sinkers as well as 3 anchors (with ~20m of rope and additional chain attached) we were only able to get one anchor safely back to the boat. Plenty of Nudibranch about here, as well as a few crabs and painted crays spectating our clean up. Back in time for lunch, nice wraps to feed the hungry horde. Compressor humming in the background refilling our tanks ready for the next dive.
 



To meet the slack high tide we were out again relatively quickly dropping in on Curtin near the Kos 1. There was plenty of line here to fill our bucket as we made our way over to the Dry Dock Barge. Visibility was really good today too we could see the outline of the Lady Norman from the back of the Dry Dock. By the time we reached there though we were already pushing Deco time so rose up a little while still collecting waste wherever we saw it. Was a pretty good haul this time, along with the 3 almost full buckets of stuff the others managed to recover 6 anchors with aid of a lift bag (and tying one off to our anchor.) Back to shore and the task of sorting, measuring and weighing seemed to go smoothly as many people lent assistance. Some nibbles a bit later and planning dives for the next day before a great dinner and most people heading to bed early.

Pretty easy morning, in order to catch the slack tide we didn't need to leave the beach until 930 am. So we had a cooked breakfast to get us ready for the dive! I was out with Kristie again and we dropped on the Estrela and made our way over the Kos 1 to the Rock Driller and the Nautilus Statue. Lots and lots of growth over it now but fairly sand free, which was nice. At the statue Kristie motioned a headache so we started heading back to the boat. By the time we got back to the line it had gotten worse so she started to go up and I watched her on her stop before continuing on with the others on the clean up. By the time we got back to the boat she was not in great shape, throwing up over the side. 

Her headache had gotten even worse and she lost all her energy, to the point she needed help up the beach. Lying down on the lush grass in the shade and still feeling unwell we hooked her up on the Oxygen and made a quick call to the DAN Helpline. The Doctor asked a few questions about our dive profile and how it came on, as well as medical history (was she subject to migraines) and then said it was most likely Sinus Barotrauma. Obviously not awesome, but nothing an afternoon of rest shouldn't fix. Though warned us that if she had trouble keeping fluid down to call again. Still feeling unwell we helped her out of her wetsuit, gave her some Vitamin-I and got her to a couch for a nap. After an hour of rest she was feeling slightly better and even good enough to have a small bite to eat. She then retired back to the house we were sleeping at for more rest. 

When this was happening the others headed off to Flinders for another clean up dive. While the majority of Flinders is a Green (No fishing) zone, there are some outer edges of it outside the 500m exclusion zone. Judging from the buckets, and their reports, it was relatively clean. Especially compared to Curtin. While they were off I was on Compressor duty. We also racked up enough hours on the filter to require a change. We use pre-packed replacements now, which is so so so so much easier than using our re-packable one. We still have it (as backup and filter material) but the plug and play of a replacement cartridge save lots of time and effort.

By the time we were ready for the 3rd dive Kristie was feeling better, but still not 100%. 6 of us jumped in Diver 1 for a slack high on the Curtin again. We got out there and the current was a little strong still so we decided to give it a few min. As we were waiting we saw an impressive storm roll in just north of Brisbane with a bright lightning show. The longer we waited the closer it looked like getting. Wind started picking up and as they current was only just starting to turn we decided to play it safe and pull the pin. The wind picked up more but overall it didn't look too bad. Until just over an hour later, about the time we would have been back on the boat coming back, the lightning and thunder was crashing close. One strike felt as if it hit less than 100m away. Pity losing the dive, but definitely the right call.

A nice curry for dinner just as a second cell came over and dumped a lot of rain with heavy wind. Luckily we had a break in the raid for our walk home and most of us made it home dry thanks to Julie's sacrifice. One of the close houses has had sprinklers going on and off the entire time and it just so happens they have one out the front of their property. Julie was slightly in front of us and let out a scream. We all thought big spider, or snake, but in the dim light of our phones just managed to make out the water spray as Julie spluttered and explained what hit her. After that excitement we made it home though and it wasn't long before bed. 

The prediction was for some bad weather today and looking out over the bay during breakfast that seemed to be true. A few white caps appearing and the wind was kicking up a bit. There was meant to be 5 on the dive, but 2 weren't feeling it with the weather and Coralie still appeared to be asleep so it looked like just Gavin and I for the drift on the pines. Pete dropped us on a good spot, just south of the main wall (outgoing tide.) It was a pretty small tide change so the current was pretty slow, a very nice gentle drift. Stumbled over a cuttle fish within the first few min before seeing a bunch of Nudies and heaps of fish. We also saw a yellow spotted Moray and a pretty small Octopus too. We picked most of what we saw rubbish wise but all we came away with was a pretty large handful each. I did manage to find a pretty large hook though, with 3.5m of tracer wire on it, not sure what they were targeting but they could have taken a large shark with it... After we got back we found out Coralie did still want to dive, but slept in on accident, she said she did enjoy the relaxing morning though. 

Next dive was out to Curtin again for the Slack-low. We dropped right on the northern end of the Reef on the MDS. We mustn't have hit this area very much on any previous trip as it was absolutely covered in line, hooks and sinkers. Linton even managed to spot a Frog fish right near the anchor. With the amount of rubbish we found we were filling buckets to the brim pretty quickly and even taking back a few anchors. At the end of the dive Kristie found another octopus just under the anchor. Someone had left a few anchors on the line and not wanting to pull up all that weight I hooked up my SMB to one of them and Kristie offered her SMB for the other before we went up the line. On the surface I started pulling up the anchors and it seems our SMBs didn't do much as it was still really heavy, eventually though we saw one come up, Kristie's. Turns out someone had brought an anchor back, but not tied it off. So my SMB is still there bobbing away on an anchor (if anyone is planning a trip to the MDS on Curtin anytime soon....) When we were all aboard we also found out that another bucket, full of lead, had been shot to the surface with a lift bag, sadly when it hit the surface the jolt dislodged the handle and it sunk back down again, unlikely to be seen but hopefully it will stay together rather than release loose line again.

Back to shore for the sorting out of rubbish again, a task completed after every dive. Ash was on the compressor again filling tanks when the usual crew pitched in for the separation of trash. A pile for sinkers, pile for hooks, anchors, line, knives, lures, burley boxes and various other pieces spread out on the tarp. When that was done it was time for some of us to begin getting ready to head home. Trying to try gear, packing the rest of our stuff and taking our dive tanks etc around the back to save others having to carry them. When we were ready we hopped in the 4wd's to taxi us to the barge. About 3min into the drive I asked who had the barge tickets... so we made a quick U-turn and after a bit of searching Coralie was able to find it and we were on our way again. We had a little bit of time to wait for the barge but soon we were off, motoring back to the port of Brisbane where cars were waiting. 

Great job to everyone involved and I hope we can help keep Moreton Bay clean for many years to come! Now that the bay is cleaner I guess it's time to clean the dive gear...