Shelly Beach
Sydney Australia
Sat Feb 24
Water temp. 23C
Viz. Variable to 15 meters.
Depth 12 meters
Time UW 60 mins.

Got a late start on Saturday and missed the regular gang (Strike
etc.) but met up with a nice young fellow named Arnold
(pronounced....Arnooood) from a visiting French aircraft
carrier. Sick of his boozy swarthy shipmates, he was trying to
locate a boat dive but was having little luck. I suggested a
shore dive with moi and he accepted. CMAS certified with 40
dives in his book, Arnold appeared very confident. Secured some
kit and off we went. We must have been about 20 or 30 minutes
behind the others. Did a thorough brief and a buddy check and
off we went.

Arnold was armed with a full 5mm wettie, but being a tough SOB,
I opted for the 1mm steamer. Very pleasant, and only 6 lbs. of
lead required.....yahoo!

Viz near the shoreline was crappy due to the high tide but
things improved once underway. Sticking to me like glue, Arnold
was always within a sideways glance and appeared to be very
relaxed.

About 50 meters out we spotted the 1st of 2 Wobbegong Sharks.
This one was on the move looking for a place to hide, so we got
a very good look and gave it a fairly wide berth. Strike's
protocol dictates that it is very bad form to exit with a Wobbie
clamped to your leg....or bum or some other part.

Further out we encountered schools of Trevally, Pomfrets,
Yellowtail, Bream and the usual cast of reef dwellers. The
largest Blue Grouper scooted in for a quick pat on the dorsal
and was then off to see if other divers had morsels/urchins to
offer.

Debated whether or not to visit Dragon Patches but my crummy
sense of direction told me to "give it a miss". Besides, I
didn't want my new buddy to think I had gone troppo sifting
through kelp looking for elusive Sea Dragons. With my limited
French and his limited English there was no way I was about to
describe a Sea Dragon to him. (no fish ID book handy)

29 minutes out and it was time to head back. The slow plod to
shore was a good opportunity to peer under the rocks and
boulders looking for other interesting critters. Arnold located
a small Moray Eel and I located another Wobbegong. Stopped for a
few minutes to watch the masses of Pomfrets and Yellowtails
gather, likely feeding on plankton, in an place I call "Fish
Soup".

Back on shore and Arnold had a huge grin on his face, obviously
enjoying his Shelly Beach adventure. As his time was limited, he
loaded his gear into my car and was off to re-join his ship.
He offered a guided tour of the carrier, but a ride in the F18
was pushing things a bit. :-)

Dived Sunday morning as well with another couple...but that's
another story.

Cheers
Bird

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/