View our Winter Newsletter to see all the latest news and latest courses

Don't Miss Our Christmas Party Sunday 14th December at 2 p.m.

Congratulations to Christine Preston in obtaining her SSI Instructors Certificate. It was a lot of work but well worth the effort. Well done Chris and it is truly "one up for the girls." hee hee hee.

Our chirpy mate Linda has been a bit quiet of late after undergoing an operation - at the time of writing this it is only 4 weeks to go until she can get back in the water. Never mind Linda you will be back at this dive site next year.

Last weekend was just what diver's dream of - clear, calm seas and the sun shining. The diving was good too. We had a fantastic weekend with the BSAC Dive Club staying up here for Saturday and Sunday - thanks guys for being a great bunch of people and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

On the Sunday a group from Dive Smart - Dural joined in the fun with a boat dive and a shore dive. Hope you had a good day guys - we did.

Our Anniversary party went off very well and Les and I would like to thank everyone who turned up - it was lovely seeing you all.  It was a long day as we opened the shop at 7.30a.m and seemed to have people coming and going continuously.  

We do have some photo's but have not yet sorted them out and a fuller report will be given later.   We must say a very big thankyou to our "Organising Committee" i.e.  John, Chris, Linda, Nigel and Byron - without their help we could not have managed. 

Thank you too to everyone who contributed towards the carving  -  we have to find a place now to do it justice and keep it safe.  
It was a lovely surprise.

Les and Fran

It was good to have the Sydney Project Dive Group visit us on the weekend of the 27th Sept. They had two good dives on the Galava and Kiama. Thanks for being a good group guys - hope to see you again sometime.

Fran

The 40th anniversary week started with visits from Local MP Chris Harcher and neighbouring MP Marie Andrews. Both came to congratulate Les and Fran on their outstanding achievement of surviving 40 years in the rough and tumble business of diving. Of particular interest to both MPs was some 40 year old dive equipment that Mike Nelson of Sea Hunt fame would have been proud to wear on screen. Double tanks and one of the iconic twin hose regulators! Those were the days.

Chris Hatcher with Les

Marie Andrews with Fran

Details of the S.S. President Coolidge Wreck Trip for April 2009 can be read here.

The 40th Celebration Committee really have Les and Fran worried. They don't know if the "surprise" is a set of gold plated flippers or a bucket of goo built for two or anything in between. Make sure you attend on October 5th to find out what has been planned.

Steve
The Webmaster

Les and Fran,
I was shocked to learn that you have been running the Terrigal Dive School for 40 years! How time flies. I was one of your very early student in January 1971. I still to this day have very fond memories of the very valuable lesions you  imparted to me and the professional way they were delivered. 

I was a mere boy in those days but the disciplines that you imparted to me have stayed with me to this day.  About 12 months after graduating from your school I started to learn to fly aircraft and found many similarities with the disciples and planning involved with diving. The fact that I haven't drowned or had a crash when flying is good testament to Les and Fran's lessons.

I can still remember the little blue half cabin dive boat and the final exam "ditch and recovery" (I think how it worked was that if you got through this without drowning then you graduated!!)

Unfortunately being a country boy I haven't been able to dive as much as I would have liked although I did dive on Lady Musgrave recently. I would like to drop in soon and maybe do a refresher!! Best wishes and thanks for the fond memories

David Druitt
Bathurst
PS My original blue certificate attached for prosperity

Is your blue certificate older than this?

A boatload of divers from Sub Aquatics braved the elements at the weekend. They dived the Galava for their first dive which was a bit dark - but they had a good dive. They saw a couple of dolphins and seal - as well as the wreck.

Their second dive three hours later after lunch saw them dive the Commonwealth. The weather had really picked up and the water had silted up a bit -" but what did that matter they were out on a days diving." yea Bill good one. It was great to have you all here - it will be nice to have you back again when the conditions are better.

Fran

After the weather conditions last Friday who would have imagined that 6 brave divers would venture out on Saturday, albeit only to the Skillion Cave. Apart from the friendly gropers, Chris got up close to a sleepy Port Jackson and promptly woke it up - it allowed a few more pats before moving away.

We would like to say welcome to Vaughan Haynes and Adam Ginnane who joined our group for the dive to the Skillion Cave and then after a warm up with coffee and buns decided to do a dive out along the Haven Wall.
Glad you had a good day and we look forward to having you diving with us again soon.
Oh visibility was about 8 - 10 metres.

The photo is of Chris Preston with Port Jackson.

We would like to thank all our trusty team for all their efforts - in spite of the weather to keep things going for us here at the dive shop whilst we had a break away on holidays.

Many thanks: Bev and Ivan Millington, Byron Potter, Chris Preston, John Johnston, and
Linda and Nigel Robinson and as usual a very big thank you to Steve our website man who kept the dive sites going in spite of the weather. It was very, very much appreciated.

Les and Fran

I have decided to give you a sneak peek of the Adelaide Photo Gallery from the images Fran and Les sent me. Stay tuned, this is only the start and now that I have put my hand up about it I had better put my nose to the grindstone and give you more.

Steve
The Web Master

Gary Peters has supplied us with his comments of our trip to Espiritu Santo to dive the S.S. President Coolidge accompanied by photos by Linda Robinson. It is a bit too long so put on this page so you can read the full story by clicking here.

A very happy birthday to Grant Bradley - TUG member and a good friend of Terrigal Dive. Grant has long been known as one of the most experienced and regular divers on the coast and now he has reached one of those mile-stone birthdays I guess we should add the word "mature" to his accolade.

Happy birthday from all of us at Terrigal Dive.

Hi

We were with Dive 2000 yesterday and just wanted to say thanks for a great day. Had a fabulous time and the diving was great. We'll be in touch in a few weeks as we are planning to pop up. Thanks again

Regards
Camilla.

Hello and a very big thank you Les, Fran, John, Chris, Nigel, Linda and Team !!

What a great day we all had.

Thank you so much for helping to make our day so successful. We really look forward to doing it again with you in the future. Also looking forward to seeing John’s pictures from the day which we hope to include in our e-Newsletter which we are producing on Wednesday.

Les and Fran, have a great time in Greece!! We will toast you from Italy nearby !!

Ciao!
Cherie and Kevin xo
Dive 2000

In diving we say there are only two types of divers - good friends and good friends you have yet to meet. On the weekend Kevin and Cherie Deacon (definitely in the very good friends category) came with a group of divers to enjoy some of the prime Terrigal dive sites. Kevin is best known as one of Australia's top underwater photographers and he and Cherie own Dive 2000 - one of the most respected dive schools in the Sydney metropolitan area.

In this photo Kevin shares a lighter moment with Les and Fran who are currently celebrating their 40th year at Terrigal Dive. Terrigal dive is the longest running , one owner dive shop operating in Australia.

John

Just when you think it's safe to mow the lawn rather than go diving Mother Nature throws a bit of magic into the water! After a week of a mixed bag vis wise, Sunday arrived. A choppy surface and 8m vis below. We decided on a drift dive from the boat just off the Cod Hole near the Haven. Splash! Straight into an enormous school of salmon. After about 5 minutes of wall-to-wall fish the salmon began to flee the area - whoosh! In came two superb dolphins. From that point on the dive just got better! Eastern Blue Devil fish, weedy dragons and not one camera among the group.

We were also able to offer the hospitality of the boat to a group of divers who had driven up from Sydney and decided on a shore dive to the Skillion Cave despite a swell that made the entry and exit rather dicey. After numerous attempts at exit the divers were faced with a very long swim back to the haven. Naturally we collected them from the water on our way past for our own dive and offered them morning tea and a hot shower on return to the Haven. It's always nice when there is a happy ending - but it is worth remembering that the distance and time travelled to a dive site does not make it any safer if conditions are less than perfect. Always have a frank assessment of your dive site before entry and ask locals for advice when you get there.

John

Photos of the last Equipment Course - learning can be fun

Making sure there is not a restricted airflow is important.

It doesn't work that way Nigel.

Kind regards.
Michael Christie

Reply:
Hi there Michael,
thanks for looking us up. You're quite welcome to come for a dive anytime. Have you been doing any diving lately? If the answer is no, come and do a refresher dive - a quick run through of hand signals and drills and then a dive out along the reef. We promise to look after you.

Cheers
Les and Fran
P.S. Andy was born October long weekend 1975

The diving was absolutely brilliant this weekend just gone 12th/13th April. Here are a few photo's which show just how good. 40 metres viz vertically, the water's still warm and lots of very happy divers

40 metres top to bottom

Stringray

What visibility

Matt the Hat
They teased him about his hat,
but his home baked scones were just devoured in no time.

At a recent dive on the Galava this photo of Jewel Anenomes was taken by one of our regular divers John Johnston.   It was a fantastic day, one when you can see for miles. Lots of fish on the wreck too.

Diving at Foggy has been absolutely brilliant, these photo's were taken on the weekend of 15th - 16th March.   Viz and marine life purrrrrfect.      Thanks John for sharing your photo's with everyone.

Just wanted to say how much we enjoy diving at Terrigal Dive. It's such a friendly, social place with lots of experienced divers to buddy up with. New people who haven't dived here before are clearly surprised by the friendly atmosphere, free tea or coffee and usually yummy muffins, bikkies or cakes other divers have brought to share. I love how Les tries hard to find the best dive sites based on the day's conditions and how Fran makes sure everyone is comfortable and ready to dive. Thanks guys no wonder we always choose Terrigal Dive.

Diver Donna

Hey guys long time no speak,
I  just got back from Vanuatu it was an effort but I did get to dive the Coolidge we had to get a seedy little bus from Champaign bay to Loganville. I didn't think the bus would make the trip but what do you know here I am talking about it. It  was well worth the trip I was sad to leave after just one dive but that's all the schedule allowed so after a 45 minute dive and having a kiss with the lady we were back on that bus heading to Champaign bay.

Two days later we were in Port Villa were I managed 2 dives, one was on a beautiful reef sitting between 18 and 30 meters, the other was on the Konadah wreck a 45 meter island trader that was purposely sunk in 26 meters of water. All in all it was an excellent holiday   I'm just looking forward to getting back in the water attached are a few photos of the dives the camera didn't work too well in the depths so there just around the deco stops. Have fun guys I'll see you soon

Matt Lewis

Among the Fish on Deco

Group diving Foggy Cave on the 8th March for SeaWeek 

As Summer draws to a close divers keep coming out of the woodwork on weekends. On Saturday, we not only had the usual collection of divers heading out on the boat, shore divers and students, we also hosted around 20 divers doing their Coastkeepers course.  The rather ordinary viz in The Haven on Saturday had its benefits with lots of unusual critters coming out of their holes to take a look around. One of the more interesting observations was a collection of pipehorses in shallow water near the boat ramp.

Our Boat Dives have continued to be a delight with abundant surface feeding and mid-water fish life to entertain on Safety stops. On the bottom we have seen Banjo Rays, aggregation of Jew Fish and of course the usual suspects - blue groper, sweep and cuttlefish.

If you are looking for an interesting warm water dive before Winter we suggest you book your place on the boat today. Demand has been very high indeed.

All the best Lee Hodges

WoW - those pics of the Adelaide are awesome; what a morning I missed. Can't wait to get back in the water and show Les how to really dive :-) without having him to pull my @rse out of trouble.

take care
ange

Members of CARP were invited to go down and have a tour of the HMAS Adelaide on Wednesday the 30th January. A two hour visit ended up four hours finishing with drinks on deck with the Captain, second in command Phil Kelly and crew. CARP presented them with a Certificate of Appreciation for all their efforts in bringing the Adelaide up to Terrigal for an early morning glimpse of her on the morning of 28th January 2008.

Photo was taken by Linda Robinson.

Congratulations to James Etches on passing all his exams and good luck with the passing out ceremony. Get back diving with us as soon as you can.

Another Advance Course is planned for the end January beginning of February. Let us know if you are interested.

Congratulations and well done to:-

• Nigel and Linda Robinson
• Andrew Arvidson
• Max and Christopher Pittolo
• Christopher Johnson
• Daniel Daley
• Rodney Abraham

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