Dive 80 – Stradbroke Island – The Group – Manta Ray Bommie

By pfuller

Oct

5

Dive Number: 80 11/09/2010 15.14 Stradbroke Island – The Group – Manta Ray Bommie

Wind: ????

Tide: 5hr past 2.30 high tide at Point Lookout

Conditions: Another lovely sunny queensland day with no clouds and a light breeze.

Bottom Type: Large Rock Bommie with scattered smaller bommies then extending out to a vast sand patch.

Visibilty: 15m

Water Temp: 19c

Bottom Time: 59minutes

Max Depth: 11.5m

Air usage: 170bar/2500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: This was dive number two on the trip out with Manta Lodge. After going to 26metres this was a shallower dive to finish off in about 12m. After some chicken noodle soup and snakes we were back in the water. We’d been informed that at least 3 Manta Rays were in the area and this was the first time this season, so i timed it well. This dive proved to be a fantastic ray dive.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: Diving in large groups again seemed unproductive. There were heaps of cool rays around, but it was hard to get close to any of them with so many divers flapping aorund mid-water. A school of around 80+ Golden rays were an impressive site though. Together with a couple of Manta Rays and a Bull Ray, the site lived up to its name.

Dive 79 – Stradbroke Island – Flat Rock – Shark Alley

By pfuller

Oct

5

Dive Number: 79 11/09/2010 13.30 Stradbroke Island – Flat Rock – Shark Alley

Wind: ????

Tide: 3.5hr past 2.30 high tide at Point Lookout

Conditions: Another lovely sunny queensland day with no clouds and a light breeze.

Bottom Type: 20-25m deep rocky gully/valley with steep walls and a sandy bottom.

Visibilty: 20m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 54 minutes

Max Depth: 26.1m

Air usage: 170bar/2500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Another lovely day, after a day off diving due to strong NE winds that cancelled most dive trips. We caught the ferry over to stradbroke island, and decided to take the car over as well to take the pressure off getting up to Lookout point in time for my dive trip. This was a dive trip with Manta Lodge that ran rubber dinghies off a beautiful little beach. Dolphins buzzed the boat just metres off shore as we launched the boat and on the way out we saw a Loggerhead turtle on the surface. A changing of the guard was underway as the Grey Nurses left for summer, and the Manta Rays were just starting to return, so a sighting of both was on the cards. This turned out to be a cracker of a dive just for the underwater terrain alone, a deep valley with sheer walls with plenty of fish around, and scattered patches of coral.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: I didn’t really get a lot of good photo opportunies and mainly enjoyed the dive. We dived in groups of 4-6, so it wasn’t real conducive to spending time to take photos. Here’s a few anyway, nothing i’m overly happy with apart from the stonefish.