Dive Number: 326 07/07/12 14.03, Clay Bed Reef
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 11.2c
Bottom Time: 52minutes
Max Depth: 19.3m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: I arrived at the Ocean Grove carpark to find a very muddy looking Barwon River. I headed out through the river mouth and down towards the Canberra. The outflow from the river spread a long way east down to Port Phillip Heads and gave the water a very milky dirty appearance all the way out to the 40m depth contour. Speaking to a newly surfaced diver at the HMAS Canberra, he informed me that the vis was indeed as bad as it looked and it wasn’t worth the effort. So i headed back over the other side of the bluff, which is generally cleaner. On the way i spotted two Southern Right whales that gave close viewing for about 30minutes. It was great to sit out on the ocean and hear them heaving out of the water and splashing there tales. An amazing encounter. I thought i better get in a dive and went exploring off Charlemont reef and sounded out a nice little drop off. The area had large areas of exposed clay with little growth on it. It was very unique to see the substrate so exposed and where the reef joined it created a great habitat for marine life, with lots of fish…especially for this time of year. I’ll definently be revisiting this area again. It was sad to hear on return that i diver went missing on The Coogee during the day…no doubt the bad vis was partly responsible for the incident.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
