Dive Number: 168 04/07/11 15.39, Pt Danger Torquay
Wind: 30knot+ north-westerlies/westerly
Tide: 1hr past 1.66 high tide at heads
Conditions: The wind had swung around to a strong westerly, but this site is slightly protected by the headland. Some small swell was developing, but it was generally flat. Dark overcast conditions with chilling, howling winds and splatterings of rain.
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 12c
Bottom Time: 62minutes
Max Depth: 10m
Air usage: 140bar/2000psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: My plans were to head to Barwon Bluff and do another dive there. It was hardly inspiring weather with strong, freezing winds..but to the initiated that meant flat coastal conditions and opportunties to dive other usually swell affected sites. I drove to Barwon Bluff but the winds had moved around to the west and swell was moving sideways across the shoreline. In hindsight this shouldn’t have stopped me, since it was only surface swell that wouldn’t have affected my dive once underwater, but i thought i’d try to find a site that is sheltered from westerlies. I drove over to Black Rock and was very tempted to dive here, since its so unusual to see this site flat (it usually has waves smashing against the rocks violently). I walked to the shoreline, but i couldn’t find a safe entry/exit point along the rock wall, so decided not to risk it and head around to Torquay. Pt Danger was flat and protected from the westerly winds, however, the swell was building, and the water and sky hardly looked inviting. I decided to take the plunge anyway, and headed out aided by a tail wind that helped me along the surface. I headed out a long way, past the visible inshore reefs, in search of the ellusive 14m terrain i’ve heard boat divers talk about. After swimming for about 10 minutes across open sandy terrain with no reef in sight, i eventually hit 10metres and decided to turn back. The inshore reef ended at about 7m, so i stuck around here for a while taking some photos, but i was getting very cold and the water was very dark, so i decided to head back in. No significant marine life to mention apart from the shell of a cray, that had been a feast for some lucky fish.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes.
Dive Report:
