G'day Kids,

Wednesday May 25
Freshwater Beach
Harbord NSW Australia
Air temp 24C
Water temp 22C
Max Depth 11.2 meters
Time UW 64 minutes

May 25 is an Australian Public Holiday, so what better excuse
for a mid week dive. Buddied up with Julian which probably
marked our 100th dive together as a buddy pair.

Got to the shop at about 9:30 am for airfills and then elected
to dive Freshwater Beach. Conditions appeared to be ideal. But
that wasn't the case today.

Freshwater Beach is a largish sandstone headland jutting out
into the ocean with rocks and boulders tapering down to the
sandline with depth ranging from 2 to 12 meters. Generally entry
is made from a small channel which is used to gather and pump
sea water into the man-made swimming pool there. Once out of the
channel, divers turn left and head for deeper water. Turn right
and head towards the beach and you can do some scuba-surfing if
you feel adventerous. There are other entry points but you have
to pick your day and pray for very calm conditions. The dive is
generally an out-and-back affair but there is plenty to see.

During kit up we noticed a few other divers around so that was
in itself a good sign. A bit of white-water was evident as waves
broke over the larger rocks protecting the channel, but nothing
too scary. Off we went and zoomed out of the channel and headed
down towards the sandline. I elected to wear my wettie jacket
today (first time in months) but it really wasn't needed. I was
a bit under-weighted but once below 3 meters, bouyancy control
was ok.

Turned left and off we went scanning the nooks and crannies for
critters. Not 10 fin kicks into it and an enourmous school of
Yellowtail Scad appeared. Some Kingfish could be seen hearding
the Yellowtail, no doubt looking for weak individuals to munch
on.
The swell UW was becoming annoying despite the calm appearance
from the surface. It was a fair struggle to make much forward
progress and we spent a lot of time just getting pushed back and
forth with the swells. We got as far as the point but decided
not to go any further due to the swell and the cruddy viz. It
was like being in a sandstorm.
Better viz was to be had closer to the entry point so we
backtracked. Ladderfinned Pomfrets were everywhere and in all
sizes along with Nannygais, White Ears, Comb Wrasse, 4 Blue
Groupers (the largest of which insisted on being patted)and
scores of shrimp under the rocks and ledges. Out in the sand
were juvenile Snappers, Trevally and Goatfishes. Couldn't find
any Rays nor Port Jackson Sharks or Wobbies.

Upon exiting back thru the channel, my bad sense of timing got
me and a rather large wave broke just as I was heading in. I was
torpedoed into the channel almost being rolled onto my back
heading for the rocks. Not a good look. All I could see was
white-water. Not wanting to look like a beached whale, I got the
arms and the legs moving and plowed back through the channel
into protection. Looked back at Julian to see how he was coping
but he, of course, waited until things flattened out and had no
trouble at all. Typical!

We both laughed but I got the last laugh when Julian pulled his
mask off and his face was covered in "boogers" Just proving once
again that no one "snots out" like Julian.

Cheers
Bird

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