There were a few members who made the trip over earlier on Friday mostly spending the day on the beach or exploring – visiting the gelato shop – before meeting in the pub to discuss the weekend ahead and previous diving trips. Those who have read previous reports will be well aware that Russell’s tent was a major talking point! The evening concluded with the rest of the crew arriving in Ken’s troopie a little cramped but eager to begin the weekend.
A relatively late launch time allowed people to sleep in and take time kitting up and loading the boat before heading out; this was planned to make launching the boat a little easier! Whilst the launch proved difficult it was an experience that helped bond everyone on the trip. Though the visibility was down on usual everybody still had reports of both exciting and enjoyable dives with sitings of; Mantas, Guitar, Leopard, and Cat Sharks, and Turtles – among other favourites. After returning and unloading the boat there was time for Mark and Jessie to make brownies before the crew took Bentley for a walk to the Gelato shop! Mark also prepared his famous pasta with help from all before getting kit ready for the next day!
A later start proved fruitless although everyone enjoyed splashing around in the sea and trying out body surfing before abandoning the boat to return after lunch. The post lunch launch proved uneventful with the dives giving a similarly great array of marine life – after yesterday’s dives a few of us went on a successful hunt for Spanish Dancers. Returning a little later than planned everyone pitched in to prepare an Australia Day BBQ feast after enjoying cheese on the beach at sunset.
After the previous launches an early start was agreed upon along with a visit to shag rock. There were large shoals of Pomfrets, a huge Bull Ray, and even talks of a sea snake. The abundance and variety of sealife here is a great showcase to the diving available close to Brisbane. Sadly that bought an end to the weekend and with Ken's troopie overflowing Greta kindly offered lifts to a couple of stragglers. The last glimpses of straddie off the ferry always leave you wishing for the next club trip back to this scuba diving garden of eden.
Thanks must go to Mark and Greta for their immense patience and perseverance in organising such an enjoyable trip; to Hannah, Laura, and Mark for training others in their leisure time; to Greta and Kev for providing lifts; to Ken for hosting us; and to everyone else for pitching in and making this a brilliant trip and a fantastic club full of people with unique interests and knowledge.
Ross Greenwood