Mar
6
Dive Number: 567 06/03/2014 The Nursery, Bowen Island, Jervis Bay
Conditions:
Visibilty: 20m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: We were promised Grey-Nurse Sharks on this dive, and weren’t let down spotting about 5-6 all up. The conditions weren’t the best and the sharks kept their distance, but one fairly tattered looking individual gave my dome port a good eye-balling.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Mar
6
Dive Number: 566 06/03/2014 The Wall, Bowen Island, Jervis Bay
Conditions:
Visibilty: 20m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: We headed up to Jervis Bay, and Grey Nurse Sharks were the target species. We took a charter out of Huskisson with Dive Jervis Bay a nice little shop within walking distance of the harbour and a great bakery over the road. I think this is the first dive boat i’ve been on with an all female crew, skipper included….not that there’s anything wrong with that. :)
We headed out to Bowen Island over a fairly choppy bay, but the island offered protection from the wind, and conditions were really good. The dive on “The Wall” of the island was pretty good with cuttlefish, Weedy Seadragon, and wobbegong (i think i even saw an Eastern Blue Devil deep under the ledge). This trip was all about the grey nurse though, so not seeing any left me a little underwhelmed, but i was promised the next dive at “The Nursery” would provide the goods.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Mar
2
Dive Number: 560 02/03/2014 Montague Island
Conditions: Perfect
Visibilty: 25m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: The second dive at Montague Island was just as good as the first. We went a bit deeper this time to look for the Grey Nurse sharks but had no luck. We can across a big group of Port Jackson Sharks though all huddled together. On the safety stop it was great to watch the seals dart in from the rocks above through the swell zone…appearing like missiles from the white breaking water.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Mar
2
Dive Number: 559 02/03/2014 Montague Island
Conditions: Perfect
Visibilty: 25m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: We struck it lucky with the weather and headed out to Montague Island. The infamous Narooma Bar just wasn’t living up to its name today and it was smooth sailing out to the island. We geared up and into the water and into about 18m. Immediately a number of big smooth rays came to check us out, together with a few Port Jackson Sharks that were equally inquisitive. As we worked up to shallower water the seals began to join in the show coming in for close looks and a bit of a play, (if they could get much out of the tank-laden scuba divers.) The diving was action packed! So much big animal encounters, and some others saw Grey-nurse sharks in a deeper gully. Great dive! (starting to get sick of Blue-groupers now ;)
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Oct
12
Dive Number: 82 12/09/2010 13.47 Byron Bay – Julians Rocks – Cod Hole
Wind: ????
Tide: 1hr after 2.26 high tide at Ballina
Conditions: Another fine day for diving…10-15knot winds but generally a nice day.
Bottom Type: Julians rocks is a large volcanic bommie rising out of the ocean about 2km from byron bay. As it drops off into the ocean theres a number of caves and and gullies formed. The cod hole is a cave teaming with fish, and the gullies deeper down are patrolled by Grey Nurse Sharks.
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: 19c
Bottom Time: 53minutes
Max Depth: 20.4m
Air usage: 170bar/2500psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: This second dive made me realise how a good guide/group/buddy can really make or break a dive. The guide on this dive seemed to have control issues and wanted everything done his way. To make matters worse we seemed to be swimming mid-water everywhere and into the current, which was making me very tired and not enjoy the dive as much as i should of. We still had some good Grey Nurse encounters, but it all seemed a bit rushed.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , single SS200 strobe
Dive Report:
Oct
12
Dive Number: 81 12/09/2010 11.36 Byron Bay – Julians Rocks – Cod Hole
Wind: ????
Tide: 1hr before 2.26 high tide at Ballina
Conditions: Another fine day for diving…10-15knot winds but generally a nice day.
Bottom Type: Julians rocks is a large volcanic bommie rising out of the ocean about 2km from byron bay. As it drops off into the ocean theres a number of caves and and gullies formed. The cod hole is a cave teaming with fish, and the gullies deeper down are patrolled by Grey Nurse Sharks.
Visibilty: 12m
Water Temp: 19c
Bottom Time: 47minutes
Max Depth: 22.1m
Air usage: 170bar/2500psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: What an absolutely fantastic dive this was! Mark Gray was the instructor/guide on this dive, and coincidently i’d only been looking at his photography the night before. He promised me a good dive with some close grey nurse encounters if i stuck close to him and i wasn’t dissappointed. His best tip was to stay low on the sand so as not to spook them by drifting mid-water. Not only did this work, but it made for exciting diving. I’ve always thought that to be a good photographer you need to be a good hunter, and this felt like we were on safari. We were shark hunting, crawling on our bellies along confined gullies while grey nurses swam overhead. At one stage ther were 4 grey nurses all within 5 metres just exerting thier prowess in the water. This was all in about the first 10 minutes of the dive and that was enough to make it my favorite dive to date. But it didn’t end there, Mark then led us into the Cod Hole which teemed with fish and provided some fantastic photo opportunities. After leaving the codhole we started a gradual asecent up a shear wall where schools of batfish and some other massive fish cruised by. The path through this dive site just made it a magical experience, and i couldn’t help but shout out a few expletives as soon as i had the regulator out of my mouth. Local knowlegde and a patient passage through this site made it a dive to remember..so thanks a million mark!
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , single SS200 strobe
Dive Report:
