Trip report- Great Barrier Reef off the Whitsunday Island

Left earliest on the Thursday morning 28/5 for the airport and our flight up
to Hamilton Island which is about 900km north of Brisbane in Queensland.
Flights were,Ok even with SWMBO and the 4 screamers. Got our luggage and got
a lift to the marina to meet up with the rest of the fellows and my first
look at me mates 52 foot Riviera (?) that would be out diving platform for
this trip. Drop SWMBO and the kids at Daydream Island to meet up with
extended family and than headed out to the reef.

What can I say about the diving it was fantastic. We dived at a mixture of
known dive sites but also at many sites which we felt just looked good.
There were 8 of us on board and we divided into a diving group and a duty
pair. The duty pair did 1/2 a day which involved the cooking cleaning etc
and also the manning of the main boat and the inflatable while the others
were diving. Mostly the group in the water stuck in a very loose gaggle so
it was easy to make pick ups if necessary.

Some of the younger blokes were doing 6 dives in a day but my max was 4 and
mostly I did 3 :- morning afternoon and a dusk/night dive. The water was
warm 18 degrees or so and the vis was normally fantastic 20m+ although we
had a few dives where is was down to 5 m or so due to the currents running
around the atolls/islands.

The next Thursday we head back to Daydream and I spent 2 nights there with
the family before heading back to Sydney to watch Aus play South Africa in a
tri nations rugby test. Finally home on the Sunday

It was a fantastic trip and being a bit parochial IMHO and with my somewhat
limited OS diving experience the GBR has some of the best diving in the
world.

Highlights

1) going back to Daydream Island on the first Saturday night and watching
Australia beat the All Blacks ( New Zealand ) in rugby on a huge outdoor
screen, cold beer, the moon the stars and the Southern Cross in the
background

2) finishing a dive and not being able to get back to the boat because there
was a whale between us, absolutely magic floating around watching this
creature

3) coming up from a dive and bitching because the vis was 15m not the normal
20m vis, than remembering that where I normally dive 8 to 10m is good

4) just the diving the coral the fish the rays and sharks

Comments

1) the camera was great but I found myself always looking for the great
photo not enjoying the dive so I limited myself to 1 dive a day with it

2) by the end of the trip I was feeling quite jaded with the diving maybe a
week is to long

Oh well I have the memories I am typing this with the temp at 4 degrees C it
is pissing down with rain and I am cold and wet after feeding the horses and
cattle.


Hopefully I will post some photos in the not to distant future

"Dan Bracuk" <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote in message
news:oc4393d7u7rjha2b5sre24s29stiu2srml@4ax.com...
> "dechucka" <dechucka@vomithotmail.com> pounded away at his keyboard
> resulting in:
>
> :What can I say about the diving it was fantastic. We dived at a mixture
> of
> :known dive sites but also at many sites which we felt just looked good.
> :There were 8 of us on board and we divided into a diving group and a duty
> air. The duty pair did 1/2 a day which involved the cooking cleaning etc
> :and also the manning of the main boat and the inflatable while the others
> :were diving. Mostly the group in the water stuck in a very loose gaggle
> so
> :it was easy to make pick ups if necessary.
>
> Duty group? Cooking, cleaning? Not really my style but glad you had
> a good time.

I did have a great time and the duty was not bad. Cook for the buggers make
sure the boat wasn't too disgusting, tanks were OK and the rest of the time
fishing and keeping an eye on those who were diving. Bit different from a
catered liveaboard but it was a great experience and you do the duty so you
don't pay the money. I must admit the whole thing was not to formal so if
you didn't want to do a duty because you wanted to do a particular dive
someone would do your shift maybe.

Great time

On Jul 8, 7:49 pm, "dechucka" <dechu...@vomithotmail.com> wrote:
> Left earliest on the Thursday morning 28/5 for the airport and our flight up
> to Hamilton Island which is about 900km north of Brisbane in Queensland.
> Flights were,Ok even with SWMBO and the 4 screamers. Got our luggage and got
> a lift to the marina to meet up with the rest of the fellows and my first
> look at me mates 52 foot Riviera (?) that would be out diving platform for
> this trip. Drop SWMBO and the kids at Daydream Island to meet up with
> extended family and than headed out to the reef.

Dayum! You got SWMBO down under too? We up here think of distant
places like Down Under as an escape from that.

> What can I say about the diving it was fantastic. We dived at a mixture of
> known dive sites but also at many sites which we felt just looked good.
> There were 8 of us on board and we divided into a diving group and a duty
> pair. The duty pair did 1/2 a day which involved the cooking cleaning etc
> and also the manning of the main boat and the inflatable while the others
> were diving. Mostly the group in the water stuck in a very loose gaggle so
> it was easy to make pick ups if necessary.
>
> Some of the younger blokes were doing 6 dives in a day but my max was 4 and
> mostly I did 3 :- morning afternoon and a dusk/night dive. The water was
> warm 18 degrees or so and the vis was normally fantastic 20m+ although we
> had a few dives where is was down to 5 m or so due to the currents running
> around the atolls/islands.

18 is warm???? Up here that's shriveldick temps.

> The next Thursday we head back to Daydream and I spent 2 nights there with
> the family before heading back to Sydney to watch Aus play South Africa in a
> tri nations rugby test. Finally home on the Sunday
>
> It was a fantastic trip and being a bit parochial IMHO and with my somewhat
> limited OS diving experience the GBR has some of the best diving in the
> world.
>
> Highlights
>
> 1) going back to Daydream Island on the first Saturday night and watching
> Australia beat the All Blacks ( New Zealand ) in rugby on a huge outdoor
> screen, cold beer, the moon the stars and the Southern Cross in the
> background

Trade rugby for hockey (the ice kind) and you've got it right. We
can't actually see the Southern Cross, but after a few wobblypops it
starts to come into focus.

> 2) finishing a dive and not being able to get back to the boat because there
> was a whale between us, absolutely magic floating around watching this
> creature

That's very good.

> 3) coming up from a dive and bitching because the vis was 15m not the normal
> 20m vis, than remembering that where I normally dive 8 to 10m is good

Holidays spoil a man.

> 4) just the diving the coral the fish the rays and sharks
>
> Comments
>
> 1) the camera was great but I found myself always looking for the great
> photo not enjoying the dive so I limited myself to 1 dive a day with it
>
> 2) by the end of the trip I was feeling quite jaded with the diving maybe a
> week is to long

Give yer head a shake. If it gets old take the camera down again.

> Oh well I have the memories I am typing this with the temp at 4 degrees C it
> is pissing down with rain and I am cold and wet after feeding the horses and
> cattle.

Hey. Aren't you the same guy said 18 degrees was warm diving? 4
degrees isn't much different from 18.

> Hopefully I will post some photos in the not to distant future

You'd better. We want pics of Wobblygongs or whatever those little
crotchbiter sharks are called.

JF

"dechucka" <dechucka@vomithotmail.com> wrote in message
news:469177ff$0$12859$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
>
> Oh well I have the memories I am typing this with the temp at 4 degrees C
> it is pissing down with rain and I am cold and wet after feeding the
> horses and cattle.

It's good to be home.

Thanks for the report. Another place I'd like to visit.

On Jul 8, 6:27 pm, JOF <jofran...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jul 8, 7:49 pm, "dechucka" <dechu...@vomithotmail.com> wrote:

> 18 is warm???? Up here that's shriveldick temps.

And down here it's frozen solid.

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 09:49:36 +1000, "dechucka"
<dechucka@vomithotmail.com> wrote:

<snip>
>Some of the younger blokes were doing 6 dives in a day but my max was 4 and
>mostly I did 3 :- morning afternoon and a dusk/night dive. The water was
>warm 18 degrees or so and the vis was normally fantastic 20m+ although we
>had a few dives where is was down to 5 m or so due to the currents running
>around the atolls/islands.

18. Man, that is so warm. And you're in the middle of winter.

>The next Thursday we head back to Daydream and I spent 2 nights there with
>the family before heading back to Sydney to watch Aus play South Africa in a
>tri nations rugby test. Finally home on the Sunday
>
>It was a fantastic trip and being a bit parochial IMHO and with my somewhat
>limited OS diving experience the GBR has some of the best diving in the
>world.

No doubt.

>Highlights
>
>1) going back to Daydream Island on the first Saturday night and watching
>Australia beat the All Blacks ( New Zealand ) in rugby on a huge outdoor
>screen, cold beer, the moon the stars and the Southern Cross in the
>background

Ain't that such a freak event!

>2) finishing a dive and not being able to get back to the boat because there
>was a whale between us, absolutely magic floating around watching this
>creature

What kind of whale? That would be so cool.

>3) coming up from a dive and bitching because the vis was 15m not the normal
>20m vis, than remembering that where I normally dive 8 to 10m is good


The worst vis I've ever had was about .5m, in the Madawaska River at
Arnprior. It was a sunny day, but at about 2-3m down it was lights
out.

>4) just the diving the coral the fish the rays and sharks

Hmmmmm

>Comments
>
>1) the camera was great but I found myself always looking for the great
>photo not enjoying the dive so I limited myself to 1 dive a day with it
>
>2) by the end of the trip I was feeling quite jaded with the diving maybe a
>week is to long

A few years ago I went on a diving trip on the St Lawrence River
onboard a converted tug boat. Following the night dive with some cold
beer, looking up at the stars. I'm there, even if it wasn't the GBR.

>Oh well I have the memories I am typing this with the temp at 4 degrees C it
>is pissing down with rain and I am cold and wet after feeding the horses and
>cattle.

OK, now you're getting cold.

>Hopefully I will post some photos in the not to distant future

No upchucking shots I hope.

Thus spake JOF <jofrancis@gmail.com> :

>On Jul 8, 7:49 pm, "dechucka" <dechu...@vomithotmail.com> wrote:
>> Left earliest on the Thursday morning 28/5 for the airport and our flight up
>> to Hamilton Island which is about 900km north of Brisbane in Queensland.
>> Flights were,Ok even with SWMBO and the 4 screamers. Got our luggage and got
>> a lift to the marina to meet up with the rest of the fellows and my first
>> look at me mates 52 foot Riviera (?) that would be out diving platform for
>> this trip. Drop SWMBO and the kids at Daydream Island to meet up with
>> extended family and than headed out to the reef.
>
>Dayum! You got SWMBO down under too? We up here think of distant
>places like Down Under as an escape from that.
>
>> What can I say about the diving it was fantastic. We dived at a mixture of
>> known dive sites but also at many sites which we felt just looked good.
>> There were 8 of us on board and we divided into a diving group and a duty
>> pair. The duty pair did 1/2 a day which involved the cooking cleaning etc
>> and also the manning of the main boat and the inflatable while the others
>> were diving. Mostly the group in the water stuck in a very loose gaggle so
>> it was easy to make pick ups if necessary.
>>
>> Some of the younger blokes were doing 6 dives in a day but my max was 4 and
>> mostly I did 3 :- morning afternoon and a dusk/night dive. The water was
>> warm 18 degrees or so and the vis was normally fantastic 20m+ although we
>> had a few dives where is was down to 5 m or so due to the currents running
>> around the atolls/islands.
>
>18 is warm???? Up here that's shriveldick temps.
>

John, I thought you Cannucks had all gone over to the metric dark
side. That's like the Brits, who can't even legally sell a good pint
to a man anymore. Not that they don't do it on a regular basis.
--
dillon

Broadway Photo sucks. Ask me why.

"Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> wrote in message
news:1183947797.760996.223600@k79g2000hse.googlegr oups.com...
> On Jul 8, 6:27 pm, JOF <jofran...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Jul 8, 7:49 pm, "dechucka" <dechu...@vomithotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> 18 is warm???? Up here that's shriveldick temps.
>
> And down here it's frozen solid.

talking Celsius not F
>

On Jul 8, 11:35 pm, Dillon Pyron <dmpyronINVA...@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> Thus spake JOF <jofran...@gmail.com> :
>
>
>
>
>
> >On Jul 8, 7:49 pm, "dechucka" <dechu...@vomithotmail.com> wrote:
> >> Left earliest on the Thursday morning 28/5 for the airport and our flight up
> >> to Hamilton Island which is about 900km north of Brisbane in Queensland.
> >> Flights were,Ok even with SWMBO and the 4 screamers. Got our luggage and got
> >> a lift to the marina to meet up with the rest of the fellows and my first
> >> look at me mates 52 foot Riviera (?) that would be out diving platform for
> >> this trip. Drop SWMBO and the kids at Daydream Island to meet up with
> >> extended family and than headed out to the reef.
>
> >Dayum! You got SWMBO down under too? We up here think of distant
> >places like Down Under as an escape from that.
>
> >> What can I say about the diving it was fantastic. We dived at a mixture of
> >> known dive sites but also at many sites which we felt just looked good.
> >> There were 8 of us on board and we divided into a diving group and a duty
> >> pair. The duty pair did 1/2 a day which involved the cooking cleaning etc
> >> and also the manning of the main boat and the inflatable while the others
> >> were diving. Mostly the group in the water stuck in a very loose gaggle so
> >> it was easy to make pick ups if necessary.
>
> >> Some of the younger blokes were doing 6 dives in a day but my max was 4 and
> >> mostly I did 3 :- morning afternoon and a dusk/night dive. The water was
> >> warm 18 degrees or so and the vis was normally fantastic 20m+ although we
> >> had a few dives where is was down to 5 m or so due to the currents running
> >> around the atolls/islands.
>
> >18 is warm???? Up here that's shriveldick temps.
>
> John, I thought you Cannucks had all gone over to the metric dark
> side. That's like the Brits, who can't even legally sell a good pint
> to a man anymore. Not that they don't do it on a regular basis.

I was talking about Celsius. 64F isn't my idea of warm. We got stuck
with litres for gas, kilometers for the highway, kilo's for meat
(although they cop out and put #'s in small print), and Celsius for
temps. The rest the gov't caved on before getting it all in place. Of
course they waited until industry & commerce had wasted a bunch of
money setting up for the transition. Us old farts still think in the
old measure, but not our kids. To me Matt's 6'5, to him he's just
under 2 meters. If I say it's 90 out he looks at me like I'm nuts "The
world isn't about to explode yet, dad." When I reminisce about the
good old car and bike days, how we actually went speeds like 125
occasionally, the kids just shrug, big deal.
Some of the workarounds make things like driving in the US
problematic. My wife's car can be switched from Imperial to metric so
even the analog looking speedo shows either miles or kilos. We had
crossed back into Canada a couple of weeks ago and I was driving. At
one point I was pretty much alone on the highway, glanced at the
speedo and saw I was only doing 60. I figured my speed sense had
dulled after 5 hours on the US highways so I speeded up a bit. Well
before I hit the local speed limit of 100 I realized I was going way
too fast. We switched the computer back to metric then.

JF

On Jul 8, 8:42 pm, "dechucka" <dechu...@vomithotmail.com> wrote:
> "Greg Mossman" <moss...@qnet.com> wrote in message
>
> news:1183947797.760996.223600@k79g2000hse.googlegr oups.com...
>
> > On Jul 8, 6:27 pm, JOF <jofran...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On Jul 8, 7:49 pm, "dechucka" <dechu...@vomithotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> 18 is warm???? Up here that's shriveldick temps.
>
> > And down here it's frozen solid.
>
> talking Celsius not F

Why would you do that? Only a 7 degree difference between a warm and
a cold water dive doesn't make sense. Celsius is way too limiting for
complaining about water temperature. We Americans have many
gradations of cold to warm. How can you really experience life
without being able to tell the fine distinction between, say, 78 and
80 degrees? Might as well leave out the numbers altogether and just
say cold or warm.