Dive 168 – Point Danger, Torquay

By pfuller

Jul

5

Dive Number: 168  04/07/11  15.39,  Pt Danger Torquay

Wind:   30knot+  north-westerlies/westerly

Tide:  1hr past 1.66 high tide at heads

Conditions:   The wind had swung around to a strong westerly, but this site is slightly protected by the headland. Some small swell was developing, but it was generally flat. Dark overcast conditions with chilling, howling winds and splatterings of rain.

Visibilty:   8m

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 62minutes

Max Depth: 10m

Air usage: 140bar/2000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:     My plans were to head to Barwon Bluff and do another dive there. It was hardly inspiring weather with strong, freezing winds..but to the initiated that meant flat coastal conditions and opportunties to dive other usually swell affected sites. I drove to Barwon Bluff but the winds had moved around to the west and swell was moving sideways across the shoreline. In hindsight this shouldn’t have stopped me, since it was only surface swell that wouldn’t have affected my dive once underwater, but i thought i’d try to find a site that is sheltered from westerlies. I drove over to Black Rock and was very tempted to dive here,  since  its so unusual to see this site flat (it usually has waves smashing against the rocks violently).  I walked to the shoreline, but i couldn’t find a safe entry/exit point along the rock wall, so decided not to risk it and head around to Torquay.  Pt Danger was flat and protected from the westerly winds, however,  the swell was building, and the water and sky hardly looked inviting. I decided to take the plunge anyway, and headed out aided by a tail wind that helped me along the surface. I headed out a long way, past the visible inshore reefs, in search of the ellusive 14m terrain i’ve heard boat divers talk about.   After swimming for about 10 minutes across open sandy terrain with no reef in sight, i  eventually hit 10metres and decided to turn back.  The inshore reef ended at about 7m, so i stuck around here for a while taking some photos, but i was getting very cold and the water was very dark, so i decided to head back in. No significant marine life to mention apart from the shell of a cray, that had been a feast for some lucky fish.

Camera Details:  Tokina  10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes.

Dive Report:

Dive 145 – Pt Danger

By pfuller

Mar

16

Dive Number: 145 12/03/11  9.16, Point Danger, Torquay

Wind:   10 knot N’s

Tide:  2hours before 0.23 low tide at the heads.

Conditions:  It was close to low tide and waves were breaking over the point. They were only small, but enough to churn up the sandy bottom and make surge annoying, and also made it difficult to get out.  It was generally a fine day, but perhaps the northerlies weren’t strong enough to totally flatten  out the water. The evening before were southerlies too, so the northerlies impact were broken up.

Visibilty:4-5m

Water Temp: 18c

Bottom Time: 22minutes

Max Depth: 6.3m

Air usage: 35bar/500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:    Another bad air day god dammit. I’ve been assured by the owner it should be sorted out now. I intended to dive with Phil, Sandy, Hui and Trev for a dive here…it ended up me just flapping around on the surface  concerned about my air again. The conditions weren’t great so i didn’t miss a whole lot, but still would have loved to  explore more of this site.   Seom of Trev’s photos can be seen here:  http://trevmcmurrich.com/blog/?p=270             

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

No Photos : (

Dive 143 – Point Danger, Torquay

By pfuller

Mar

10

Dive Number: 143 08/03/11  15.20,  Point Danger, Torquay

Wind:   10knot N’s

Tide:  20mins before 1.45 high tide at the heads.

Conditions:  The day was overcast and humid, with gentle northerlies, but the prior 3 days had been blowing strong northerlies and flattened out the seas. The water didn’t look overly clean, but was near dead flat. A touch of surge but nothing too dramatic.

Visibilty: 5-6m

Water Temp: 18c

Bottom Time: 59minutes

Max Depth: 6.4m

Air usage: 105bar/1500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:    Last weekend was blowing  strong easterlies, and by sunday/monday it had swung around to Northerlies, pushing down the swell along the coast to negligable levels….perfect conditions to check out some new spots on the coast that are swell affected.  Some surfing websites said that point danger was registering zero foot swells, so i thought i’d check it out…a place i’ve been tempted to dive but never hit the right conditions.  Pt Danger is not usually a spot with the biggest swell, but there is always some small breakers. Today was flat, with some small bumps approaching the shoreline. I couldn’t resist and headed down the stairs and straight out.  The water looked pretty dirty and vis wasn’t the best, but i felt priveledged just to get out in this area. It was on high tide, which i didn’t plan, but this was to my benefit, since it enabled me to swim out to deeper water and not risk my ankles navigating the rocks. As i got deeper (3m+) the fishlife started to pickup, and a varied catshark squirmed its way through the weed. The reef started turning into scattered bommies with lots of shelter and unique formations.  I gathered an entourage of sea sweep, and continued out, stumbling onto a boarfish that was also inquisitive.  I’d heard Pt Danger drops off to 10m+ so i was keen to head out deeper. When i got into about 6m, i spotted a HUGE Banded Wobbegong. I’ve seen Ornate Wobbegongs up at Byron and the GBR, but they were babies compared to this guy… 3m+ !!!  I was feeling a bit tentative about my approach, coz this guy was big enough to take off a hand, but since i had my fisheye on i  had to get in nice and close. It didn’t seem to mind, but i still kept a comfortable distance(and the pics suffered because of it). I  decided to go behind it and get some different angles. I was wary of it feeling vunerable so i approached slowly..then..spook! it 180’d on itself and rose up in a threatening gesture. I obviously didn’t get the message strong enough and took photos at arms length and it pounced again. I got out of there quick smart, keeping my eye on it and it departed into the murky vis in the opposite direction. The heart was beating,  and i started heading back in, damn happy with such an encounter with a magnificent creature. Spotted a couple of biiig crays on the way in, and a stingaree that looked paler to the other species i’ve seen in the bay.  Apart form the usual reef species, there were silver drummers, and some other small school fish that aren’t common in the bay. I didn’t manage any pics though.  A short but very sweet dive thats whet my appetite for more coastal diving.           

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes.

Dive Report: