Dive Number: 179 09/08/11 12.35, Outer Wall, Lady Musgrave Island
Wind: 10 north-easterlies???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 15m.
Water Temp: 18c
Bottom Time: 45minutes
Max Depth: 18m
Air usage: 200bar/3000psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: My lack of planning and Queensland’s winter dive hybernation struck again and had me digging to find options to dive. We headed to 1770, a lovely little fishing inlet. The only dive operation in the region was Dive 1770, but the owner was up in Gladstone doing mining surveys or something for a couple of weeks. My only option was to get a ‘cattle’ boat out to Lady Musgrave Island which cost a fortune and charged extra for diving. All up $250 for a double dive…steep. Against my better judgement i decided just to do it…i really didn’t have any other options. After an hours ride out, we arrived at Lady Musgrave, a beautiful coral cay in the coral sea and unboarded to the platform moored in the cay. Only one other spanish girl was diving, and the dive master, Gus, had to stay on the surface, so he had a friend dive with us as dive leader. We geared up, boarded a smaller dive boat and headed back out of the cay to the outer wall. We dropped into about 18m, and saw a turtle dissappear into the blue. That was possibly the most interesting sighting, and again the diving was underwhelming. Little colour (except the shallows) and a lack of marine life. I’d heard so much about these cays and islands in the southern GBR, but it left me very dissappointed. One of the tour operators told me back at 1770 that you see more snorkelling in the lagoon, and i think i should have taken his advice. The second dive was going to be in the lagoon, so i hoped it would show the true glory of these coral cays.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , Inon 2000 + Sea and Sea Ys-120 Strobe (fired optically with difficulties)
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