Day 0 – The gathering

As usual everyone piled over to Straddie on Friday night. It was a chance to catch up with several members of Sydney BSAC who had flown north in search of warmer water and mantas.

Day 1 – Training day

A rather bouncy day to introduce our Ocean Diver trainees to the joys of RIB diving. Although there was some seasickness at the first dive site (Manta Bommie) a strategic retreat to Shag Rock for the second dive led to much better conditions and both trainees successfully completing their tasks. Well done!

Day 2 – Manta manta manta!

What a difference a day makes. Manta Bommie was a complete contrast with calm seas, minimal current and several mantas hanging around. There were also a large number of octopus, a friendly turtle who tried to steal my dive buddy, a huge Spanish dancer on the bommie, and numerous guitar and leopard sharks out on the sand. The evening was topped off with cheese and wine on the beach whilst watching the sunset followed by a dinner back at the houses. A big thank you to Mark S and his assistants for producing fantastic meals all weekend.

Day 3 – A return to lively seas

An overnight weather change meant a rather crazy boat launch but we eventually got going. Manta Bommie was a washout so we headed to Flat Rock and dived in great conditions at the Nursery. Some of us even managed to spot a small white tip reef shark as it cruised through. Our second dive was again at Shag Rock but this time on the western side. There were a few small thing hiding in the boulders and a large field of fan worms that were strangely hypnotic to watch.

Laura Bellis
(Photographs by Laura Bellis)

Beaten-up manta named 'Unicorne'

Getting friendly with the locals