On Saturday, November 02, 2002 8:41 AM, Mark Bevelhimer wrote:

> Strike,
>          Your timestamp says you posted at 7:16 am (although my other
> source on Sydney time says its a little after 8 am AEDST).

G'Day, Mark!  It was definitely 07.16. <bwg>  (We moved the clocks forward
one hour last weekend for summertime)  I was up and just getting ready to go
diving with Julian and Dave.  :-)

The water temperature has incresed nearly three degrees Celsius since
Thursday and there were thick patches of what I suspect were fish eggs? -
ribbons with little blue dots running down each edge - and plankton.  We
swam out to Reef #3 where we saw two weedy seadragons - male and female -
together; a large Port Jackson shark that swam right up to us; and lots of
rays and Stingarees.  There are several brightly coloured sponges and soft
corals on that reef and we saw three or four different types of nudibranch.

Back on the main reef we came across two resting wobbegongs; a number of
large grouper; schools of pomfrets, yellowtail, bream and seapike; damsels;
gobys; wrasse; several different types of leatherjacket; a large clutch of
cuttlefish eggs; octopus and a school of small squid.  Julian also
discovered a large bailer shell trundling across the sand.  The interesting
thing is the size of the shrimps.  They're about four times the size that
we've ever seen them before!  :-)

After the dive we joined Helen and Nao - from Japan, and who's in town for a
few days having just completed her 6th trip on TAKA II - Sylvia; Ralf and
Simone, and Birdo, for a picnic at Little Manly Beach.  It's been a good
day - and I still can't get over the increase in water temperature!  :-)

Now to complete Nekton so that it's - hopefully - on line tomorrow.  :-)

Strike