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The Diver's Thread!

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Sean K

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Hello fellow divers!!

How I miss diving, being stuck here in Lima with the closest decent diving being in The Galapagos and Caribbean. Too far for weekend trips unfortunately.

How I long to be back in Central America and the Caribbean Coast that has some of the most amazingly cheap and spectacular diving in the world!!

My best dive sites around the world have been:

The 3 tank Blue Hole dive, Belize
North Shore, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
Dahab, Red Sea, Egypt
Cod Hole, GBR
Madang, PNG

Worst dives:

Portsea, Victoria
Isla Grande, Brazil
Taganga, Columbia
My first backyard pool


Look forward to hearing about some great sites to go to in the future.
 

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That`s great kennas.I have a PADI Advanced ticket and dived the Great Barrier Reef.My reg., bcd, fins, mask, snorkel and wetty have been dormant for so long they may need to be replaced.
I had a scary moment once when the mouth-piece (zip-tied) on my regulator came off and when i went to inhale i got sea water instead.So as i had exhaled prior, there was no oxygen in my lungs.Try exhaling and see what the natural reaction is.A sweep of my arm down the side of my body picked up the occy within seconds, and the pleasure of air was back in my lungs again.My buddy was about 3 meters away so there was an alternative too.
A gut full of water taught me to check my equipment thoroughly every time before use.

Are you a master diver?

I liked finding nudibranch (not my photos) ...
 

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Here's a website regarding diving in Vava'u. Personally I've never been to Vavau, though I have been to other Tongan islands.

A friend has though - and he also dove with whales (accidentally) in Samoa.

http://www.divevavau.com/

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=224065&highlight=diving#post224065

spent some time in the inland sea in Philippines - brilliant reefs, difficult access though (at least it was then - maybe trips are available out of Cebu ?) - Also some parts are blown up where the locals go fishing with explosives - best not to be in the vicinity when they do that btw

dove on wreck off Pattaya once - found a bit of pottery and a coin with a square hole in it - forget how old they were. lost now, just a memory - and even they are fading . Then again maybe some memories embellish with old age

Like the two old blokes in the English club...
"mmm, mmm You know Wotheringtonthwaite, mm I was in India once.."
" oooohhh, that must have been exciting, mmm "
"mmm yes, and I went tiger hunting once, mmmm"
"'ooooh, "
"out in the jungle we were ..."
"'ooooh, "
"and just as we came around the corner ... RRROOOAAARRRR!!"
"'ooooh my GOOdness - what happened",

.."mmm I made a mess of my pants, mmm"
"I don't blame you I would have too,,, mmm"
" no, no , mm, I don;t mean then , - I mean just now when I went RRROOOAAARRRR!!"

whatever
 
Wysiwyg said:
Are you a master diver?

I liked finding nudibranch (not my photos) ...
Click to expand...
I'm a Divemaster, but not a master at diving.... only done a couple of hundred dives......

..... and I'm not a big fan or nudibranchs, although when I was living and diving in Sydney, they were a highlight!! Along with Leafy Sea Dragons.

...and those big sharks that like cruising about!

Can't wait to be back in 30 degree water!!!
 
I too have my dive licence, but only ever dive when i manage to get up to the barrier reef. The water down here is too cold and i dont have my own gear.

I have heard that wreck diving in Thailand is amazing and it is one of my goals in life to spend a few weeks diving there. Perhaps you should join me Kennas
 
Prawn, there are some bloody gigantic fishes down there too!! I'd be hesitant about putting a toe in the water there, let alone a body dressed up like a seal!!!!

 
kennas said:
I'm a Divemaster, but not a master at diving.... only done a couple of hundred dives......
Click to expand...

So you went right through to divemaster for occupation reasons or just to learn more?I have 57 logged dives for 38 hours and 44 mins. and about 10 recreation dives out of a private boat.Last dive being a blowhole in the reef which exits on a sheer drop off at 20 m depth.How do you like night dives, completely different at night hey.

prawn_86 said:
I too have my dive licence, but only ever dive when i manage to get up to the barrier reef. The water down here is too cold and i dont have my own gear.
Click to expand...

I lived on the Barrier Reef for 5 years and diving was the main attraction.Now that i`m a land lubber, diving is only accessible on dive charters at an expense i`m not used to.So I would be a bit of a tourist diver now myself.Yes a warm 28 degrees would be more pleasant.


They don`t damage the reef do they, only surface explosions?

dove on wreck off Pattaya once - found a bit of pottery and a coin with a square hole in it - forget how old they were. lost now, just a memory - and even they are fading . Then again maybe some memories embellish with old age
Click to expand...

Good memories you have 2020.Pattaya, Thailand looks very built out nowadays from the www pictures.
I wonder if the South Sea island reefs are as good as they say for marine life and visibility or just a plug to pull the visitors in.I suppose it would be a good experience going there even if the diving wasn`t as good as The Great Barrier Reef.The beer is cold and the natives are friendly.
 
1. they blow the hell out of the fan coral mate
2. Pattaya -? visibility about 1 metre lol. (specially with everyone stirring up the mud looking for 'treasure'
and plenty of evidence of deep fishing nets being trawled through the area.
- really makes you feel relaxed lol
3. Polynesia would be as good as barrier reef my guess. - almost identical. The avas (Samoa etc) are tricky (where the tide rips out through a channel in the reef). You crawl back to the sfaety of the bank hand over hand along the reef floor.
4. But you obviously have a heap of memories in the Gt Barrier Reef as well.
5. Something to tell the grandkids about, since there won't be much (living) reef around for them to see

6. PS speaking of visibility - was on a yacht in Isles de Wallis - bludy anchor got stuck (yet again) at about 120-130 feet (whatever). Quick bounce dive to free it - but the view when you looked up - perfectly clear - and the boat looking like an ant up there
 
Great post, Kennas. It can be tough biding your time without the salt on your skin. I'm sure you'll be back in the water before you know it.

A sweep of my arm down the side of my body picked up the occy within seconds
Click to expand...

Wysiwyg, it's great your training kicked in when it should. Those sorts of scenarios can come up from time to time. There is an old rule that can be useful in diving. If you need it to live, take 2. If you can live without it, leave it on the surface. (cameras excepted haha)


Practice can not be underestimated. Diving is nothing different to any other activity. Learn the best skill sets to make the dive enjoyable and safe, then master those same skill sets. Buoyancy is the key. Practice hovering in shallow water. Then throw in a task such as taking off a fin and replacing it to add to the task loading. Once that is mastered, practice hovering with your eyes closed for long periods of time. The local swimming pool is great for that.

It will be good to see where the thread goes re: training / skills. I really don't want to hijack it on Kennas.

Nice photo of the Nudi. I can remember waiting about 45 minutes to get a macro of a shrimp about the size of my little finger on the bow of the Coolidge back in 2005. I was lucky enough to have Aquamarine use about 10 of my shots on their web page from that trip.


Top Dive Sites:

Solomons - Tulagi, Gizo and Uepi. Specifically the Aaran Ward. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Aaron_Ward_(DD-483)

The Sudanese Coast: Excellent wall diving in the Red Sea.

Henderson Rock: East coast of Moreton Island. Not often dived due to ocean swells and proximity to Brisbane. World Class dive with granite outcrops, often good shark action. Vis often 40+ metres.

Similans: The western side of the Islands have great structure and vis.

So many others such as Truk, Sipidan, Wrecks off the British Isles (too bloody cold), Venezuela, Cambodia, Japan.

I do prefer wrecks, caves or interesting structure, and big critters these days as opposed to straight reef.


Bad ones: No such thing hehe..

cheers,
 
Wysiwyg said:
So you went right through to divemaster for occupation reasons or just to learn more?
Click to expand...
It was to work as a divemaster, then go through to instructor, but haven't done too much since leaving Utila, (Honduras) where I did the course. Hopefully when we leave Lima, we move to somewhere where there's diving on the front door step, and I might divemaster part time.
I'm looking forward to Solomans. A friend just got back from Similans and said it was the best in the world, and he's dived everywhere.

I was hoping to dive Venezuela when I was there last few weeks, but the diveshops were all closed because of the low season!

No bad dives!!! whooohoo! I've had a few. One night dive on a wreck off Eden wasn't particularly good. Got a bit bent. Thought I was going to die. eeeek!

My next diving is going to be in September. Not sure where yet, but maybe The Cayman Islands.
 
Recent rescue
Anna Bligh makes a good point - they could pay something towards the rescue

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/25/2255047.htm

 
I wonder if the divers get a refund for their trip? Here comes more legislation for the dive industry.

Useless tip #4: Always crack a few jokes or grab the dive coordinator's attention in some way when diving off a boat for the first time. They are more likely to remember you at the head count stage.
 
Youve done some serious serious Travelling Kennas !

Ive dived Madang as well, awesome spot, Perfect waters so many awesome wrecks, shame some of the Locals had done bomb fishing on parts of the reef ! Did you visit the B25 wreck ?

Stayed in the Resort there and Rounded up all the Bow n Arrow wielding security guards one night and got them all tanked up on Bourbon, they told me at the end of the night I was the First White man to ever give them a drink ! And rewarded me with some Hand made War arrows ! Pretty cool, just as well the Rascals didnt invade that night
 
Yes, Madang doesn't see too many white faces. My dive trip there was part of an Army adventurous training exercise. We treked from the Ramu Valley, over Shaggy Ridge to the coast, and then fisnished off with an open water dive course. Was an amazing experience actually. One of the best things I had the opportunity to do in the Army. Would love to go back and do Kaiving (spelling?)
 
Didn't I hear that some Chinese mining company is refusing to put in settlement dams, and the reefs in Madang are probably gonna be subjected to massive doses of poisons?
 


G'day Kennas,

Are you a qualified military diver,
 
Some great diving sites, i have dived with tanks, but i much prefer freediving
and a bit of spearfishing.
I get a giggle listening to divers coming out after a dive, where i live, talking about nudibranch's as if it's the only thing that's worth looking at.
The water hasn't been the best lately, very dirty around where i live (with the exception of Broughton island).
 
Who is in North QLD and has a place me and a mate can crash at? I frickn love diving up there, but dont do it anywhere often enough

Damn this student lifestyle!
 
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