Dive Number: 197 14/10/11 10.36, Barwon Bluff – Estuary
Wind: 10knot northerlies
Tide: ?? tide at the heads
Conditions: Fine and Sunny, but swell higher than expected. Very surgey in the water, causing sand clouds in the water.
Visibilty: 4m
Water Temp: 14.4c
Bottom Time: 44minutes
Max Depth: 6.1m
Air usage: 70bar/1000psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Conditions seemed promising for a dive at Barwon Bluff, so i met Phil in the morning. The swell was up however so we decided to dive in the Estuary side of the bluff instead, as it was a bit more protected from the swell. Phil had an unexpected family commitment to attend to, so i ended up diving this alone. I headed out over the rocks, as far as the rocks would allow me. This side of the bluff is dominated by basalt rock, which makes it more undulating terrain and more dangerous underfoot. So i got in the water as soon as possible to avoid an inevitable fall if i continued out in the slippery rocks carrying tank and camera. Straight off the edge of the platform and bull kelp and large brown kelp is everywhere. The surge was bad, as was the vis, so i headed for deeper water asap. The dive wasn’t overly enjoyable…just too surgey… but a pass by from a Draughtboard Shark made it all worthwhile. It does turn into interesting terrain and has some good kelp stands but the sand in the water in this area has always made this a low vis dive. The other side of the bluff is definently the better dive.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200/SS400 Strobe
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