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The Presidents Rant: winter version |
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Well we are half way through winter and although water temps are down the diving just keeps on coming!
Recently we have had several good days out mainly diving the Bay for scallops and exploring the wrecks and reefs off Rosebud, Williamstown & Queenscliff.
A large goup of VSAGers have just returned from diving the Beqa Lagoon Shark dive in Fiji. By all accounts a fabulous trip with great diving and even better food and accomodation.
As the depths of winter are fast approaching we are planning our annual Christmas in July feast as well as planning a few easy shallow dives in the upper Bay area on the Uralba and the old tyre reefs.
The club has planned a diver recovery day for early October. the plan is to practice recovering an unconcious diver into our various small boats. This has been planned for some time and we hope to see all boat owners supporting us on the day. There will be a dive on offer as well after the serious stuff -as well as the usual after dive de-brief at a local watering hole!
Wilsons Prom Cup weekend is fast approaching and anyone wanting a camp site with the club has to advise the Dive Captain Alan Storen asap. Cash with order is the only way to book a site!
Brrrrr... gotta love this winter don't ya!!
Greg Richards.
Posted by Shadow on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:53 AM (92 reads)
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Queens Birthday Long Weekend |
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Hi VSAG’ers,
QUEENS BIRTHDAY LONG WEEKND
BOARFISH LODGE….QUEENSCLIFF
VSAG has booked Boarfish Lodge again for the QBLWE 11th-14th June…our hosts:Mary Malloy and Alan Beckhurst..and Mollie
Cost per head: $15 per night.BYO all food and drinks
Boarfish Lodge is a 6 berth bunk style accommodation with all the necessities for diver comfort:
Need to bring doonas/blankets/sleeping bags and pillows etc
First in gets a bunk..one booking already made so 5 left.
( There may be other suitable accommodation available near by if there is an over demand for BL)
Dive gear wash down and drying….great fire every night..hot shower..TV..10 minutes from the boat ramp.
Friday night for pizzas or BYO food….Saturday night at the great Victoria Tavern for a top pub meal…BBQ Sunday..BYO
Weather permitting we dive Saturday..Sunday..and possibly Monday….or some sight seeing for those who are dived out on Monday..all this is flexable.
Tanks filled at Dive Victoria at $10 per fill.
Day trippers are very welcome….could collect from Portsea if the trip to Q too long
Dive Captain: John Lawler…M: 0414 922916 E: jlawler@aapt.net.au
Cheers,
JL
Posted by BUBBLEDIVER on Sun, 30 May 2010 10:29 AM (191 reads)
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Amazing Blue Hole Freedive |
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The New Diver Day was cancelled – well mostly |
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The Curse of Pope’s Eye Rescinded
The curse you say – how can such an innocuous piece of landscape generate a curse! To understand you have to cast your mind back to the early nineties when…..
Picture a young (okay – younger) man newly arrived from the NSW mid coast. Offered the potential to become a Mexican or Sandgroper he had chosen the armpit of the earth over its fingertip and eventually settled in Macedon where at least the air was clear.
He had heard that there was some diving in the muddy pond that accepted the rubbish out of the Yarra so hesitantly booked a dive with QDC, expecting the worse. After boarding the charter and having his experience level determined the tour operators enthusiastically announced the destination was a fascinating dive site that was also a marine sanctuary – Popes Eye. Forty minutes later he retuned to the boat and politely responded to the host’s enthusiastic wrap up of the dive – concealing his smug condescending attitude best expressed by the thought that Victorians don’t understand what good diving is about…
For 17 odd years these same Victorians continued to enjoy world class diving on the Nepean and Lonsdale walls, the offshore wrecks and reefs while he smugly packed his diving gear for the annual pilgrimage to Forster and other NSW coastal areas for ‘real’ diving.
All due to over selling Popes Eye…
17 years of diving missed…(sob)
Back to the future….
Last weekend the weather was looking very ordinary so our new diver day was cancelled. However Pam’s daughter (Merri) was keen for her first dive in more than 6 years and it seemed significant to me that she was prepared to step out and do it at this stage in her life. With only 2 of us and high winds the only option was Popes Eye, that curse of my youth. I went out of my way to explain to the returning diver (who had only dived Queensland and Fiji) that this was a very ordinary dive, pretty boring and only entry level compared to the wonders that waited only hundreds of meters away. To make it worse that morning hosted a flood slack with very low maximum currents both before and after the slack. What a perfect day for the wall…..and we were diving Popes Eye.
So the two of us headed off on the 70 min trip to Queenscliff with the boat. It seemed a good chance to train up the ‘decky’ so we went through each of the launching steps and had the boat ready in far from record time. I was still preaching Popes Eyes defects as we left the channel and headed across the narrow strip of water to the mooring in Popes Eye.
Merri has always wanted to do the Swim with the Dolphins tour and as we entered the mooring we passed them preparing to start snorkeling. Our day out was now at least equivalent to an experience Merri had always looked forward to. The day came off rock bottom from my perspective! Just before we entered the water another tour type charter pulled up with more swimmers, confirming we were at the right place at the right time.
The conditions were ideal for preparing a new diver and we slipped over the side and then started to descend the 2m to the bottom. A bit of a panic attack stopped the descent but we had another go a few minutes later and as we descended I pointed out some wrasse that had approached us. Fascinating to watch the tension leave a new diver as the focus moved from being in a ‘threatening’ environment to absolute engagement with the fish life around us, particularly as we approached the inside wall in great vis. With all concerns evaporated we headed off for our boring dive.
I had timed the dive for the flood slack and so the turn around the NW corner was into clear, still water with lots of fish and fascinating sea vegetation. It was refreshing to watch Merri dart about exploring the wall and finding the anchor etc. The vis was superb and the multi coloured box fish were my favourites, followed by a couple of good sized cuttlefish. With plenty of air (thanks Greenie) I decided we would do the cir(edited)navigation rather than crawl over the rocks half way round and we kept moving steadily. By the time we were heading up the eastern side of the U I could feel the ebb flow building but knowing the peak current was going to be less than 2knots allowed us to push on. Soon after we rounded the corner and swam up into the pool like conditions inside the U to find our boat where we had left it – always a good feeling.
After a quick lunch I sprang my bonus for the day – a trip to the Chinaman’s hat to find some seals. The chop was building with the westerly but Merri was keen so we headed east to the structure. The seals did not disappoint and Merri spent around half an hour snorkeling around the structure. She found it surprising how these friendly seals can look so big under the water where they move so fast….
So back we came to the hot showers at Queenscliff.
Afterwards I found myself reflecting that the site that turned me off diving in Victoria for 17 years may well have paid its debt to me by perfectly hosting a new diver introduction. The secure mooring, easy entry with immediate fish life to distract a new diver and then such still conditions for most of the dive combined for the perfect beginner day
Debt repaid
Posted by DavidG on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:17 AM (206 reads)
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The Presidents Autumn Rant! |
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Summer is now a distant memory and if Autumn is half as good we are in for some great diving. This time of year often produces the calmest seas and recent visability has averaged 15-20m for months and should stay that way.
We have already had a couple of good days out including a perfect calm day at Cape Schanck. With our boats and our friends from Black Rock, all up 14 boats and around 45 divers and brilliant dive conditions.
"Easter at The Prom" is fast approaching and if you haven't booked in sadly you've missed out! We have 5 boats and 35 campsites organised and expect the weather Gods to be kind.
The club has a weekend planned at Phillip Island on Anzac weekend with some members staying at Kilcunda Oceanview Resort.
Check the Forthcoming events for our regular Day Dives and let the Dive Captain know you want to come by the Thursday night before the dive.
The club is also running a "New Diver day" for people who haven't dived with us before onApril -11th.
Congratulations to the winners of our annual Photo Comp which was announced at our March meeting. David Reinhard took 1st place and Alex Ivanov scored the Encouragement award. Well done to all who entered and many thanks to Dave Bryant from Seapics for judging the competition.
Dust off the wetsuit and ring the Dive Captain now!
Regards,
Greg Richards.
Posted by Shadow on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:05 AM (245 reads)
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Weekend Diving - 23-Jan-2010 |
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The planned dive on the Canberra for Saturday 23rd January 2010 was cancelled due to strong weather forecasts... also for the same reason the whole day was cancelled... the BOM report was right as the winds howled for most of the day... one yacht sank aftefr a colision in the bay!
The dive is now scheduled for Monday 25th January 2010. We have 3 boats and one back up so if you wish to dive the HMAS Canberra please book in with John Lawler.
Depart Sorrento top boat bay at 8.45AM... the dive slot for HMAS Canberra is 10 to 12.
Another dive will be had and we will decide on that on the day.
JL
Posted by BUBBLEDIVER on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:31 PM (374 reads)
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Diving with VSAG over Christmas and January 2010. |
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January is nearly over and the club has had some very succesful days diving in the last month.
Many members have been away on holidays at various exotic locations since Boxing Day, but we have still had well attended dives on at least 7 different days. The sites included the HMAS Canberra, The J5 Sub (twice), The Coogee, Lonsdale Wall, Castle Rock, Twin Bommies, Magic Reef, and also the Phillip Island Pinnacles.
The visability has been in the 15-20m range on nearly all dives and and a great time was had by all concerned.
Our January meeting at Bells Hotel is fast approaching and we have an excellent guest speaker in Ken Hoppen. Ken will be presenting on Diving With Humpbacks in Tonga and also diving with Whale Sharks at Christmas Island. This is a free event and open to all interested divers.
Don't forget if you want to come to Wilsions Prom for Easter, you need to let Andy M know NOW! Bookings for the campsites close before the end of January.
Keep diving.
Regards,
Greg Richards
President VSAG
Posted by Shadow on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:10 AM (313 reads)
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The Presidents December Rant. |
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Well folks Christmas is nearly here and Santa has delivered VSAG an early Chrissy present. Yep, the Ex HMAS Canberra opened for diving last weekend and we grabbed bookings on both days.
Over the weekend we had 16 divers dive the Canberra, plus the week before we have had a good weekend at Phillip Island diving around the Cape Woolamai drop offs.
The divers that dived the Canberra were treated to excellent diving on a near pristine wreck, that we are all convinced will become the Victorian divers mecca in the years to come.
Our annual Christmas Party saw over 70 in attendence at Mt Martha and despite the appalling weather we all had a fantastic time.
In the coming weeks we have dives scheduled for The Nepean Wall, The Canberra( where else!) as well as the J1 sub plus general reef dives in and out of the Bay. Don't be shy, ring and book in with the Dive Captain as listed on the upcoming events.
Our meeting at Bells Hotel in December on Thursday 17th December is open to all and is purely a social get together before Xmas to get to know who is diving where and when over the holiday break. If you plan on being around and want to dive, then turn up and let us know.
Anybody wanting to dive with us at Easter at Wilsons Prom needs to let a committee member( preferably Andy) know by the January meeting, as bookings close for campsites by the end of Jan. Experience the most adventurous and exciting diving in southern Australia- "The Prom"
Have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.
Regards,
Greg Richards
Posted by Shadow on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:33 PM (390 reads)
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The Presidents November Rant: |
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Well folks the diving season has kicked off in Grand style!! November has so far given us 3 off the best days at the Prom in living memory plus several weekends since of fabulous diving in and around Melbourne.
Visability has been between 15-20m on most dives. The water has been getting warmer ( or less cold depending on your perspective). We had whales around the boats off the southern coast of the Prom and playful seals on the Broken sub at 39m!!! It has been sensational.
Upcoming dives are scheduled every weekend until Christmas and for those of who are Hunter gatherers the Cray season has started. Make sure you have a current fishing licence. A few of us have recently given the scallops a fair going over and they are back in good numbers.
Check the calender and book in with the Dive Captain and get out and enjoy this whilst it lasts. Book in and get amongst it now!
For the newer divers keen to get wet with us don't be shy- book in with the Dive Captain and we will find suitable dives to suit your level of experience.
Anybody wishing to come with us to Wilsons Prom next Easter will neeed to let us know by January as we have to book campsites and plan boat numbers for this awesome and remote location.
Regards,
Greg Richards
Posted by Shadow on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:35 AM (368 reads)
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November diving magic in Melbourne |
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Saturday looked to have beautiful conditions for boat diving so Peter Briggs fulfilled his role as DC and we eventually organised 2 boats out of Sorrento (MVs Lawler and Gladding). There were not enough divers to fill a third boat so JL agreed to pick me up at Queenscliff on the way to the heads.
The weather on the day was even bettter than we had hoped, the rip was brilliantly calm and we powered out to 'Lost Reef'. We dropped the shot on an east facing wall in around 30 - 37m. JL and I thought the vis on the bottom was quite good at around 10m and we followed the reef towards the coast, returning to the shot for the ascent. There was no surge on the bottom, a relief after recent diving I have done.
On the surface we were buzzed by some dolphins and a seal, these stayed around while we were stripping off our gear.
The Storens and Adam then dropped down the shot line and powered off along the reef, ascending independent of the shot.
After a bite to eat we headed into the 'Bommies' near Castle Rock and found some interesting reef at betwen 12 and 14m. This was once again a very calm dive with lots to see, including 6 crays. The vis was good and the water temperature at 16C more than acceptable.
The weather had remained excellent with no swell or chop at all. All enjoyed a great day's diving - so good in fact that before I had driven home Greg Richards had arranged some diving for Sunday.
Sunday. Mick Jeacle came out of Sorrento and I launched from Queenscliff with Mick K and Christine who blessed us by being prepared to mind the boat while we dived.
Mick Jeacle led us out to the Coogee where I had a second drop of the shot line to ensure we were on the wreck. On descending we found the shot was in the middle of the wreck, between the boilers and the prow. The conditions on the way out had been very sloppy, indicating we could have some surge on the bottom, but it was dead calm down below and the vis was around 15m. It was my best dive on the Coogee to date, we swam past the boilers to the stern where the fish life was amazing, then back past the shot line to the bow. With time running out we headed back to the shot line and up.
Our intention was to see if we could dive the outside Nepean Wall, but decided we would be better to head inside while with the tide, given the size of the swells we were experiencing. Once inside we went to the 'Caves' part of the wall and dropped the shot on the edge of the wall. When Dive Vic came and dropped their shot 10m away we figured we were in the right spot.
Mick and I dropped in and found ourselves in a fantastic section of the wall, with good canyons and a large swim through cave. We avoided the temptation of going too deep to max out our bottom time but once the curent turned we headed back to the shot. I definitiely heard Mick sob when I pointed out my computer was telling me we were headed for deco if we didn't ascend. Our faithful driver had the boat positioned next to the shot so we had an easy recovery, a good effort with boat loads of divers out of charter boats all around us.
The clouds had moved away, we were in full sunshine and the wind had dropped. A great way to finish a weekend's diving.
The water conditions are looking great for this coming diving season. The water is warming up rapidly, the swells are impacting less on the bottom and the vis is improving. It is time to dust off the gear and give it ago!
Posted by DavidG on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:46 AM (380 reads)
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