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The Diver's Thread!

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prawn_86 said:
Spear fishing: man i would love to try that. If/when i retire im gunna get my own dive kit and a spear gun :D
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yeah, you should give it a go. Spear fishing can be a great hobby. Just remember in most parts of Australia it's illeagal to use a spear gun while you are using scuba gear, you can only spear fish while skin diving ( Snokeling ).

you can pick up some starter gear for a few hundred dollars, all you need to get started is some fins ( flippers ), snorkel and mask ( gogles ) and a spear gun, then over time if you want to get more serious you can upgrade to better spear guns, get a weight belt and wetsuit etc.

It can also be a good idea to have your fish bag (the bag you put your fish you have caught in ) on a float and line so it floats 20-30 metres behind you. one of my friends has actually had his fish bag attacked by a shark, so it's not a good idea to have your fish bag hanging from you hip which i have seen some one do.
 
I've done a few thousand dives (former Inst) but the best dive ever was the Yongala out of Townsville.
Has anyone been luck enough to to that one?

1 1/2 boat ride usually in rough sea's, down a shot line in strong currents and a work out just to travel alone it.

But its one of those rushy dives cause you can't see too much. Things come into view and then are gone again. Each way you look you see something almost ****t yourself and then its gone only to be repeated for the entire 30 minutes.
Sea snakes. leopard sharks, queensland groupers, huge shovel nose rays. The amount of coral growth is staggering.

Im so slack I live on Orpheus Island surrounded by awesome sites and I have not blown bubbles in over a year.

Got the day off today so think I'll go for a dive now::D

G
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Im so slack I live on Orpheus Island surrounded by awesome sites and I have not blown bubbles in over a year.


G
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"Orpheus Island" That name sound familier, did you guys have a bunch of black hawks and SAS troops land there for a training exercise back in 2005.
 
Tysonboss1 said:
"Orpheus Island" That name sound familier, did you guys have a bunch of black hawks and SAS troops land there for a training exercise back in 2005.
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Yes,

They used the research station over in Pioneer bay. it was a bit before my time but heard the black hawks came in a night, SAS down the from ropes with some kick ass guns and secured the place a couple of minutes.

I'm over at the resort, if it happened here the guests would all have heart attacks.

G
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Im so slack I live on Orpheus Island surrounded by awesome sites and I have not blown bubbles in over a year.

Got the day off today so think I'll go for a dive now::D

G
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What the? Yes, get off the couch!

I'm heading up to Mexico again in May for some more diving. Hopefully get in 10-20. Maybe head to the Bay Islands for a few days as well.

I miss 30 degree, 30m vis .... No diving in Peru ... :(
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Yes,

They used the research station over in Pioneer bay. it was a bit before my time but heard the black hawks came in a night, SAS down the from ropes with some kick ass guns and secured the place a couple of minutes.

I'm over at the resort, if it happened here the guests would all have heart attacks.

G
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I was on that exercise, we assualted twice once with daylight and once at night. I remember the first time during the day the down draft from a black hawk flipped a boat that was on the beach and blew all the washing of the line, it was pretty funny, then on the flight back to townsville we saw three girls in a little boat miles out a sea, the pilot moved the chopper in to check that they weren't in distress when they lifted there tops and flashed us,

That is a seriously beutiful area though, If I lived there you could keep out of the water.
 
kennas said:
What the? Yes, get off the couch!

I'm heading up to Mexico again in May for some more diving. Hopefully get in 10-20. Maybe head to the Bay Islands for a few days as well.

I miss 30 degree, 30m vis .... No diving in Peru ... :(
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off topicand just being nosey really .......

kennas , you living in peru ? ifso . why ? are you working there or just living the easy "live like a king " life ? just tell me none my bizzness if getting too personal but am intrested as thought about living in brazil after a visit there many moons ago . was cheap living and my kinda lifestyle at the time

re catch bags . yes FLOAT IT !!! i too have had a bag robbed from me while attached too close ./ was a scary experience having 5/6 black tips wanting my fish.... i dont use a spear gun i use gidgees . pretty accurate with practice ...
 
Gordon Gekko said:
I've done a few thousand dives (former Inst) but the best dive ever was the Yongala out of Townsville.
Has anyone been luck enough to to that one?
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Yep, dived the Yongala quite a few times now. Took me four attempts to dive it the first time. First dive was no current big vis and huge schooling cobia. I had a barracuda following me on the whole dive, just cruising on my flank.

There is huge marine life as there is only a sandy bottom in the region so it's like a magnet. It's a good dive to blow a full tank and just hover around your NDL. Start at the stern in depth to see the deck and by the time you get to the bow you can make your way up and cruise along the port side back to the stern.

There is a dive shop at Alva Beach near ayr that has a RIB. It takes about 30 minutes steam to get to the site. They also have dorm accommodation and put on a great BBQ after the dives.


cheers,
 
What's everyone using for a dive computer?


I use a VR3, a Suunto Stinger, and a backup Alladin pro that just stays in the kit bag for emergencies.
The VR3 handles mixed gases for longer deco dives. The Suunto is used in gauge mode as a depth gauge and bottom timer only in this instance. Tables are written on a slate for redundancy.
The Suunto is great for fun diving and occasional decos on air. I made the mistake of doing a long deco dive on the suunto and the first to dives were fine, but on the third day, the algorithm in the Suunto couldn't cope and I had just under two hours at 6 metres to clear the computer. I needed to clear it or the computer would have locked up and I needed it for the rest of the dives.
I ended up using tables for the rest of the trip. I'm glad all the other divers were happy to sit on the boat while I hung off the deco line. I copped a ribbing for it for a few days, though.


cheers,
 
The GF and I are probably going to do a dive course the next trip to Thailand, any advice from you guys would be great.

I have enjoyed snorkeling several times and i'm looking forward to the course.

Cheers,


CanOz
 
CanOz said:
The GF and I are probably going to do a dive course the next trip to Thailand, any advice from you guys would be great.

I have enjoyed snorkeling several times and i'm looking forward to the course.

Cheers,


I have worked and dived all through Thailand and I believe the best is out of Phuket, Similan Islands.
Usually its an hour drive north then a boat ride out to the live aboard boats. Do the course in town but then go out on the live aboard boats to get the most bang for you buck. Also make sure you do the night dives.


If you can get someone to take you up by boat closer to Bura that is supposed to be untouched. But you can't go on land or you'll probably be shot.

G

Kho Samui, Kho Phanyang and Kho Tao are all over dived and lifeless.
My first job there was to teach 3 Isralies (no other Inst would do it) we spent the entire tranning dive picking up plastic bags off the bottom.
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Over on my travel forum you might be able to get some more/additional advice :)

Thailand thread here

Diving thread here
 
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