GREAT BARRIER REEF 2012 - PART 3

Okay, here it is – the long-awaited third instalment of my Great Barrier Reef trip report.

 

In case you missed Parts 1 & 2:

 

GREAT BARRIER REEF 2012 - PART 1

 

GREAT BARRIER REEF 2012 - PART 2

 

 

GREAT BARRIER REEF 2012 - PART 3

 

We sailed from Cairns on the Thursday afternoon and headed east for Holmes Reef.  Spoilsport rode comfortably through the night with only an unfortunate few succumbing to mal de mer.

Friday morning opened fine and clear [nautical terminology that; it means it was a nice day].  Our first dive was at Nonkie Bombie.  Like the first dive of most trips, the crew were checking out the divers to see who needed hand-holding and who was safe to roam.

THE BENDS - MY STORY

THE BENDS - MY STORY

Last week I gained membership to a club I didn’t want to join. 

I got bent.

As a diver, decompression illness, or ‘the bends’, is something that happens to someone else and if you do everything right you don’t have to worry about it.  Right?  Wrong!  Even if a diver does all the right things, follows all the guidelines and adds extra conservancy, it’s still possible to get bent.  I knew all this, so when it happened to me, I accepted what it was and sought treatment.  I’m one of the lucky ones.  There should be no permanent problem, but it’s an experience I’m happy not to repeat.

GREAT BARRIER REEF 2012 - PART 2

GREAT BARRIER REEF 2012 - Part 2

I'm back from the most amazing dive trip.  The week on Spoilsport went so far beyond what I expected, I'm having trouble grasping the magnificence of it all.

Where to start?  How about a checklist:

• Comfortable boat with everything a diver could want.
• Fantastic crew for whom the word 'No' doesn't exist.
• Awesome bunch of divers from all over the world.
• Perfect weather.

GREAT BARRIER REEF 2012 - PART 1

GREAT BARRIER REEF 2012 - PART 1

It's happening.  Almost two years in the pipeline and now it's here...  I'm en route, in the air, on the way.  The Great Barrier Reef, here I come!

23 months ago (to the day), I turned 40.  My beautiful wife gave me a piece of paper with a coded message.  Crack the code, discover your present.  I admit, I needed some (big) hints, but eventually worked it out...

Dive the Great Barrier Reef on Spoilsport, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions premiere liveaboard!

Now here I am, bound for Cairns...

HOBART’S DERWENT RIVER - WHAT LIES BENEATH

I did a night dive in Hobart's Derwent River, a few night's ago.  This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but the logistics seemed too hard.  When I heard the Tas Uni Dive Club had an event planned, I joined them for this unique opportunity.

For those of you not familiar with the Derwent, it's a victim of industrial pollution.  For many years considered a nasty, toxic place, there's been a great improvement in the health of the estuary in recent years; thanks to an increased community awareness of the environment.

HOBART’S DERWENT RIVER - WHAT LIES BENEATH...

It’s a Tuesday night in Hobart.  The rush hour is over and diners are enjoying their restaurants.  It might be early spring, but it’s still too chilly for many people to be out and about.  Those who are, huddle against the cold, hurrying to their destinations.  Lined up on the end of a wharf are seven divers.  One at a time, they step off, splashing into the river.  The dark waters close over and they disappear from sight.  Underwater lightning surrounds the photographers and bubbles give a clue, but from the surface, their whereabouts is uncertain.