Just to shift talk away from my personal grudges let me tell you about this
morning's dive and wot we saw!

(We didn't see Jayne and the promised post-dive pastries! But at least
Julian, Meg, Pete - a guy from California who's on the Quest List and
presently in Sydney on a working assignment for a few weeks - and myself
turned up just as the sun started to rise.

Pete and I buddied together and I explained that we would follow Julian who
can *always* find interesting critters.  (It's the sort of pressure that
Julian hates!<bwg>)  He managed to find a pregnant pipefish, a couple of
eagle rays and - pointing to what I thought were three black flatworms
wriggling on the sand - knocked me to one side just before I touched the
large numbray that was lying beneath the sand using it's lures to attract
prey.  (Those things don't half give you a belt of electricity if you're
dumb enough to touch them!) :-)

He also discovered two Golden Weedfish, so well camouflaged to resemble kelp
fronds that even when he was pointing at the things it took me a while to
realise what they were! :-)

There were big blue groupers, a couple of wobbegongs, lots of nudibranchs,
seapike and snook, goatfish, damsels, shrimps, gobies, wrasse and
leatherjackets - and lots of other stuff.  But things really began to get
exciting when we surfaced at the end of the dive.  An army guy in camouflage
gear was standing on the beach waving his arms at us.  Pete and I waved
back!  He kept pointing behind us.  We looked around to see six black
inflatables carrying black-clad pongoes quickly sneaking up behind us - with
no discernible noise from their motors.  It's probably one of the quickest
exits from the water that any of us have ever made!  :-)

I think the most relaxed person among us was Julian!  With the pressure
off - and the success of finding two Golden Weedfish - he was able to relax.
:-)

Strike