John and Chris planted a plastic seahorse on the reef and Linda and Nigel fell for it hook line and sinker - they took heaps of photo's, got the reference books out on their return to find out which type it was - it was a really well planned operation. Well done John and Chris it was really very devious - whose going to be the next victim? Thank you Linda and Nigel for the hilarious time had by all and the gracious way you took it.
See you at the weekend
Fran.
Hi Fran and Les.
How in earth did we think that this was real. We think John or Chris hypnotise us or maybe filled our tanks with drugs.
I am now going to send my mask back and get my money back on my lenses and Nigel is going for an eye transplant this week.
No more deep dives for us it is affecting what little brain we have left.
Extremly funny joke.
Catch up with you both on the week end.
Have a good one.
Linda
Hi Les and Fran,
Just wanted to say thanks again for the fantastic advanced course on 22 - 25 Nov 07. Your level of knowledge and experience was truly amazing. The course gave us the perfect opportunity to develop our skills and become safer divers (although we're still air pigs!!!).
I look forward to diving with you guys again soon and I'll be recommending your courses to everyone.
Cheers!
Chris Johnson
P.S. Les - you should make 'underwater singing' a specialty course.
Hows this for a control panel? Les and Fran,
Wishing you all the best. Sorry I haven’t been in touch sooner but I will always remember two fantastic people who taught me to dive in the best dive pool around (Terrigal Haven).
Les, hope your still not letting your student touch electric rays?
Here’s a couple of pictures from the Caribbean working offshore commercial diving for BP last month and a couple from offshore WA.
A close mate of mine did a dive not so long ago in a submarine with Hollywood Director James Cameron on the Titanic. 3.5km depth with only an optic fibre cable between them and the surface.
Miss the feeling of SCUBA and diving around the Coast.
Enjoy.
Take care,
Matt Wilson
Three Guesses - the first two don't count.
Meet Ian Shorey and Kate Gunby of Manly who popped up to join us on a weekend dive. Their first dive was a deep one to jew ground. A muddy layer at 15 metres cleared out to good vis on the bottom and a good selection of nudibranchs and other critters were on display. The second dive was pinnacle with our friendly resident blue gropers there to meet and greet.
On shore Ian and Kate entertained us with stories of kayaking in Britain. I must admit we all shuddered when they related a tale of having to get into a wetsuit that had frozen in the overnite cold.
We enjoyed your company on the weekend and look forward to diving again with you soon.
Terrigal is just a hop, skip and a jump from Sydney and offers a wide range of shore and boat diving options for the visitor. Check out our dive locations and upcomming dives on this web site.
Blue Groper
Le mort blue groper
This week we lost an old friend - one of our beautiful blue gropers finally fell foul of a baited hook and her filleted carcass left near the boat ramp. I know she was fished legally, I'm sure the filets tasted good too. But more than one misty eyed diver walked past her remains and quietly said goodbye to an old friend who had provided so much pleasure over the years. As an attraction for recreational diving Blue Gropers are high on the list of things to see. If those few kilos of groper fillet were costed in terms of diving tourism they would be in the thousands of dollars.
So what is my point? I do not begrudge the fisherman the fish, but I have resharpened my dive knife in case I see a blue groper hooked while I am underwater.
John
Photo:
Linda Robinson
Dear Les and Fran,
A couple of shots for you of the Mighty Murray.
Love Graham and Rita Tight
Many thanks Graham and Rita for sharing your trip with us and we look forward to hearing more about it next time you come up this way diving. The leg is coming along nicely and thanks you for your concern.
Fran
Hi Fran and Les,
Here is a photo of John playing with Chris's toy yesterday. 29th Oct.
He is just a big kid.
Linda
Hi Les & Fran.
Just a short thank you for helping me achieve another first for my diving, the wreck of the Galava! It truly is one of the prettiest dive sites around and I would put it up there with my best dives of the year.
The fish life on the wreck is truly amazing as are the number and size of the Wobbegongs! Just awesome!! The water was so clear but we had difficulty in seeing because the schools of fish were so thick! Best of all I got to dive it with people I enjoy diving with in Matt, Chris & John, Noel and Paul (Snapper).Can't wait to do it again!
Cheers
Peter Saunders
ps. Next time I'll take my camera!
If there were any doubts that Chris enjoyed her first dive on the Galava this weekend they were dispelled with her well known “Woo Hooo Hoo” the moment she removed the regulator from her mouth. A beautiful wreck in a depth that has meant little disturbance over the years. We were amazed at the size of the wobbygongs – well over 2 metre in length and huge schools of fish. Any tales to tell? Well Chris was looking on an old fishing net for seahorses, carefully checking each strand of net. This went fine for a while till she found a few strands a little thicker than the rest in her gloved hand. Rather than fish net, these were the barbells of a rather large wobbygong! Exit stage left Chris.
Thanks for an excellent dive Les!
John
Chris on the Bridge
The HMAS Adelaide is coming to Terrigal so we decided to get a preview by diving the ex-HMAS Brisbane off Mooloolaba. In a word WOW! On that first dive when we descended right on to the forward gun turret we could tell this was going to be a great dive. After two years on the bottom great schools of fish had made their home on the Brisbane which is now a marine park. Large kingfish and zillions of surgeon fish swarmed in the upper rigging of the ship. Inside the bait fish were in clouds. At the bow we found a couple of enormous brown cod (easily 2 metres long) and a 3 metre shovel nosed ray.
Within the wreck there was lots to see particularly in the boiler and engine compartments. Pipes, boilers, and surprisingly most of the wheels on the valves still operate - a lot to be said for lubrication and maintenance in the navy. Most of us entered the boat via the forward funnel at least once. A roomy tube leading right down to the boilers and a real delight for fish life. My favourite, though, was a dive where we entered a hole surgically cut below the waterline at the bow.
Through this entrance you enter the chain locker and from there you can pick your way along the entire length of the boat. The preparation of the boat for dives was even better than expected. Very few snags and all spaces on the boat have at least a glimpse of light to show the way out. More like a series of swim throughs.
Ashore the accommodation was excellent (hey, we even had a spa!) and the dive boat was a superb hard bottom rubber ducky that was some 7 metres long. Morning tea was HUGE and supplied as part of each dive. As for any stories of divers partying each night I will say nothing except that you can all purchase the negatives from me when ever you like! A great trip and a big thanks top our "Dive mum" Fran who organised the trip and looked after us so well.
John
Group on Gun
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