Dive 311 – The Pipelines

By pfuller

May

20

Dive Number: 311 20/05/12 15.33, The Pipeline

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions: Rainy

Visibilty: 6m

Water Temp: 13.2c

Bottom Time: 93minutes

Max Depth: 3.3m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Pipeline

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos: Phil and Hyeonji were coming out west and were headed for the Springs. I suggested to come over to the end of the bellarine since the winds were strong westerlies and the Springs would probably be pretty dirty. We ended up at the Pipeline, a site i hadn’t done in ages and one i was keen to show off. Phil and Hyeonji were pretty impressed with the site, despite Phil falling for my sinister horsehoe swimthrough diver trap…mwahahaha. Fishlife was down, but plenty of rays around.













Dive 310 – Rye Pier

By pfuller

May

19

Dive Number: 310 19/05/12 11.57, Spider Crabs at Rye Pier

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions: Rainy

Visibilty: 7m

Water Temp: 14.0c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 6.5m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Word was out that a spider crab aggregation was happening at Rye Pier, so me and Chris jumped in the boat and headed over. It was a cold, wet day and vis was pretty bad, but an amazing event to witness. The numbers were incredible…well into the thousdands. They were doing thier “stacks-on” behaviour, and forming pyramids of crabs. Alan and Mary showed up with Rani and Shannon, so i snapped a few shots of them photographing and playing with the crabs. On the way back, i just had to try an underover rainbow shot.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:






































Dive 309 – Victoria Towers

By pfuller

May

17

Dive Number: 309 17/05/12 13.00, Victoria Towers

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions: Overcast again

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 14.4c

Bottom Time: 98minutes

Max Depth: 7.6m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Another dark and surgey dive to find the Victoria Towers. I’m beginning to think this place is permanently under cloud cover. I didn’t find the wreck till very late into this dive again. Some nice ledges and sponge growth around though.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:











Dive 308 – Lake Purrumbete, Camperdown

By pfuller

May

14

Dive Number: 308 14/05/12 15.18, Lake Purrumbete, Camperdown

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions: Windy, cold, rainy

Visibilty: 10m

Water Temp: 14c

Bottom Time: 60minutes

Max Depth: 10m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Dive number two in Lake Purrumbete. Phil leaked on this dive, so had to spend it in the car. We took a shallower route on this dive, and the vegetation was much more lush, with fishlife to match. Another sighting of a red fin school…amazing. Another great dive that ended with crawling through knee deep mud to get to shore.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:














Dive 307 – Lake Purrumbete, Camperdown

By pfuller

May

14

Dive Number: 307 14/05/12 12.47, Lake Purrumbete, Camperdown

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions: Windy, cold, rainy

Visibilty: 10m

Water Temp: 14c

Bottom Time: 60minutes

Max Depth: 10m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: The forecast for the weekend was horrible with big swell and strong winds. So we headed inland and gave Lake Purrumbete a try. After finding a suitable entry point (which is nearly the only entry point), we geared up and walked through crystal clear shallows(inhabited by eels) to the edge of the dropoff. At this point reeds extended down to about 6-7m, forming a towering wall of reeds to explore along. The vis was great for a fresh water lake, but there was still large particles in the water, perhaps some type of algae, that made photography difficult. I thought i was hallucinating at one stage when a school of about 10 red fin swum past..i knew i was in a fresh water lake, but it felt like the ocean. A really interesting dive.

Camera Details: Canon 60mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:









Dive 306 – Andersens Reserve, Indented Heads

By pfuller

May

13

Dive Number: 306 13/05/12 16.53, Andersens Reserve, Indented Heads

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions:

Visibilty: -m

Water Temp: 14c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 3m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Took the macro lens out for a spin at Andersens Reserve. Nothing too exciting about.

Camera Details: Canon 60mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:







Dive 305 – Victoria Towers Wreck

By pfuller

May

9

Dive Number: 305 09/05/12 17.34, Victoria Towers Wreck

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions:

Visibilty: -m

Water Temp: 16c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 7.9m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Ok, i can see this wreck turning into a compulsion for me. The weather was bleak and overcast, but regardless i wanted to explore this wreck further and try to get some pics. After 10minutes or so i was onto the wreck and it gave me plenty of time to poke around. It really is a massive wreck and there’s plenty of holes in the hull, an impressive bow, and other odds and sods to explore. A bit of rigging was nice find. It was sad to find a draughtboard shark with a fishhook in its mouth and the attached line snagged amongst some weed. Unfortunately i made the mistake of untangling the line before taking the hook out, and it swam off dragging a heavy sinker behind it.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:
















Dive 304 – Pt Lonsdale Ledges

By pfuller

May

9

Dive Number: 304 09/05/12 11.06, Pt Lonsdale Platforms

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions:

Visibilty: -m

Water Temp: 15c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 5m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Another gloroius dive in the point lonsdale giant kelp forests ending at the pier.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:




















Dive 303 – Victoria Towers Wreck

By pfuller

May

7

Dive Number: 303 07/05/12 17.26, Victoria Towers Wreck

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions:

Visibilty: -m

Water Temp: 16c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 7.9m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Attempt Number Two at trying to find the Victoria Towers Wreck. This time i was going to do a more systematic search after closer study of maps and gps coords. I walked down the beach about 500m from the path and swum out about 200m. I then worked my way back towards the path searching the reef for signs of the wreck. At one point, two pitted eye cavities stared up at me from the reef – a large skull shaped rock that seemed like the remains of a prehistoric primate – King Kong’s ancestors perhaps. Was this a bad omen? A portent of my impending death? Naa…a sign of adventure, shipwrecks and…. treasure lol I knew i was close ;) Sure enough i came across a hole littered with bottle bases, then just out the back i came across the sweeping hull of Victoria Towers sprawled across the sand. As always, i was nearly out of air when i found it, so i surfaced and tried to burn the location into my brain for next time.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:









Dive 302 – Andersens Reserve, Indented Heads

By pfuller

May

6

Dive Number: 302 06/05/12 14.12, Andersens Reserve, Indented Heads

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions: Cold wintery day..

Visibilty: -m

Water Temp: 14.2c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 3m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Hyeonji came down for a dive and we headed to Andersens Reserve which i checked out on snorkel a couple of weeks ago. The bay was getting icey cold and there weren’t many fish around, but there was some nice colourful sponge life around. We watched a Banjo Shark munching away on its lunch.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos:














Dive 301 – Whites Beach

By pfuller

May

1

Dive Number: 301 01/05/12 17.23, White Beach – Torquay (Nudist Beach)

Wind: ???

Tide: ???

Conditions:

Visibilty: -m

Water Temp: 16.0c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 7.9m

Air usage:

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: I’ve been tempted to try to find the Victoria Towers wreck for a long time, and today was the day to start the search. I headed out but didn’t find any signs of the wreck. The terrain was fantastic though, so failing to find the wreck wasn’t a big issue. At least i know where not to look next time.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes

Photos: