It's the middle of the Sydney winter with cold nights and mild(ish) days.
At Sparrow's Fart this morning, wrapped up in jumpers and jackets, I toted
the dive gear down to Manly Wharf to board Pro-Dive's boat for a trip out of
the Heads and down the coast to Magic Point - just south of Bondi - to film
the grey nurse sharks.

It was a full boat, including a TV film crew, U/W film-maker, Geore Evatt
(one of the OZTeK presenters) Jayne Jenkins from Scuba Diver mag, and a few
marine conservation organisation representatives.  The sea was calm with
just a slight swell, but it was still a cold run that improved slightly when
the sun came up.  I can't say that I was looking forward to plunging my
relatively warm and cosy body into the cold oggin when we started to kit up.
Fortunately(?) I didn't have to!  My regs have DIN fittings; the cylinders
were all flat-faced K-valves - and I'd forgotten to bring my adaptor!
Rejecting the offers of loaned regulators, I told Jayne the 'bad' news.
"You're a wimpy, big girl's blouse." she said - somewhat unkindly, I
thought!  :-)

"I might be a big girls blouse, but I'll be a warm and dry one.  You go off
and enjoy yourself and I'll console myself with the hot soup, pies and
sausage rolls."  I told her.  They dived and saw the grey nurse sharks,
seadragons, heaps of Port Jackson sharks and took some great images.

As they surfaced, three southern right whales passed by the stern of the
boat.  Retrieving the divers, we followed them at a suitable distance up the
coast to the second dive site underneath the North Head lookout at the
entrance to Sydney Harbour.  Jayne wimped out of the second dive!  The
divers missed seeing the huge pod of dolphins that surrounded the anchored
boat. :-)

For a non-dive, it was a great morning's outing.  :-)

Strike