On Sunday, February 10, 2002 9:58 PM, Michael Levy wrote:

(snip)
> > http://www.asitis.com.au/~adlind/ddescrip.htm#Shellyb
> > A very easy and entertaining dive in a sheltered part of Twofold Bay.
Just
> > wade in and swim to the outside edge of the exposed rocks and down you
go.
> > There are two main dive options here. Firstly you can follow the natural
> > reef to the right and link up with the long Snug Cove breakwater .
> > Navigating is easy from here as you follow the sandline out to 10 -12 m.
>
> You will cross a fuel pipeline (4) at about 7m on the sandline.  Search
> here briefly as there are often Weedy Sea Dragons lingering about. There
> are many great caves and tight swimthroughs along the breakwater which
> house giant cuttlefish, crayfish and a timid blue groper.

Hi, Michael!  This particular Shelly Beach is near Eden, down on the south
coast of New South Wales, about 800 kilometres or so from Sydney.  Eden was
originally a whaling town and as such probably also has some good 'relic'
diving for those - like me - who enjoy a good fossick in the mud!  :-)

I say *probably* 'cause I've never been down there to dive.  The only time
that I've visited the place was when I scrambled ashore from a yacht, after
several days being tossed around in a particularly vicious storm swearing
that the only way that they were going to drag me back on board for the
remainder of the trip back to Sydney was kicking and screaming.  They
dragged me back on board kicking and screaming! :-)

What's also interesting is the sighting of Weedy Seadragons at the site.
The Seadragons are unique to Australia and there are two types; the Weedy -
the same as the colony at *our* Shelly Beach - and the Leafy.  Of the two,
the Leafy is the far more ornate and less often seen in New South Wales
waters.

Having said that, even the Weedy Seadragons are seldom seen by divers unless
they take the trouble to look for them.  They appear to be very territorial
in that, having once found a spot where they congregate, divers can expect
to see them again at those same places.  However, there are short periods
throughout the year when they just seem to disappear.  Probably 'cause
they've hiked down to that other Shelly Beach for a change of scenery!  :-)

Strike