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Published: April 21st 2009
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Let Them Sting...
Our lovely stinger suits, offering the same amount of protection as a leaf to a knife. "G'day mate, what can I do foy you?" "I'd like to learn to dive please."
"No worries mate."
And so that's how I obtained my SSI Open Water certificate. Well, nearly.
I walked into the CDC shop on Tuesday to see about learning to dive and getting to see the Great Barrier Reef before it all goes the way of Betamax. With the Oz experience buses only leaving Cairns at the start of the week and being full, I needed something to occupy myself with for at least 4 or 5 days. Naturally when in Cairns one goes SCUBA. So I signed myself onto the CDC 4 Open Water Course, involving 2 days in the pool to practice, a theory test and 2 days 1 night out on the reef.
The course started the very next day at the most inhuman hour of 7 am. Having been accustomed to waking up with the sound of lunch this was a short sharp shock to the system. So Wednesday morning I drag myself awake and walk the short distance to the shop to begin my course. In total there were 8 others on the same course as myself, 4 English,
Praise be our tanks
Lets go SCUBA now everybody's learning how... 2 German, 1 Norwegian and 1 Canadian (dive buddy). Our instructor, Ethan was a typical Australian, "too easy bros, too easy." We spent Wednesday and Thursday in the pool learning to assemble the SCUBA gear and differentiate a Buoyancy Compensator from a weight belt etc...This part of the course involved homework and a 50 question multiple choice exam at the end, without both we could not dive. Only 2 out the 9 got full marks, thus earning themselves beer on the boat. Needing at least 80% to pass we breezed through (46/50 not bad...)
Things really began to get interesting on the Friday. Again at a completely unhuman hour, we rocked up to the Dive Shop, complete with newly bought masks. "A certified diver has just a card, a real diver has a mask." We alighted the waiting bus that took us to the marina and embarked the day boat that would take us out to our home for the weekend. The 2 hour journey out to the Kangaroo Explorer was wet and loud, this was a boat designed for divers and snorkelers to jump off and not for comfort.
The outward journey passed slowly, finally we reached
Sunset on the Explorer
The calm surface belies the multitude of life underneath, and thats just in the galley. the Liveaboard boat. This 3 deck twin hulled ship can sleep 75, cruise at 9 knots and cater for any taste from the cupboard sized kitchen in which the chef made miracles from tins every day.
As it goes with these sorts, you eat a nice big meal and then go diving. So it was with full stomachs that we got kitted out with dubious stinger suits, even though the stinger season was nearly over we were still required to wear what amounted to a full body rash vest. Albeit a full bodied rash vest with holes in strategic areas; the crotch, arse and armpits were the most common rips. Still no one dives for the fashion
It was our fist dive in the ocean, so we double our buddy checks "Bruce Willis Always Ruins Action Films" or "BC, Weight belt, Airways, Releases, Final check." With these done, we entered the water gave the OK signal back to the boat and submerged into the underwater world.
Even as non certified divers we still had the option of a night dive. Those on the 5 day course got theirs in with their package. Us with only the 4 day
Dive Buddies
Zeena, Mark and Julie pose before the certification dive. course, it was an added extra. Only myself and Julie went for it. As the time for the night dive approached apprehension was growing, Julie nearly pulling out 3 or 4 times. We made it into the water with only the smallest of drama. The black swell of the water hid the beauty that lay beneath. Guided by our instructor we dived under the 2 hulls of the Kangaroo Explorer, its propellers menacing in the gloom. Each armed with an underwater flashlight we illuminated our path, beams of light in the darkness behind us indicated that other divers on the boat had entered the dark ocean. We pressed on through the gloom and saw 30cm Red Snappers devouring any tiny fish that you spotted with the flashlight. This and the promise of fish guts thrown in by the ship's chef, who had in between dive sites caught a big mackerel, attracted the sharks to the boat. We saw 3 maybe 4 different grey reef and white tipped reef sharks in one dive.
All too soon we were approaching the ends of our tanks and had to return to the boat. An experience that I'm sure I will never forget. There was, however, little time to reflect as we had some paper work to do. Part of the diver's life is filled with the Divelog, a record of each dive: the times, the weather the equipment etc. With Saturday's wake up at 5:30 for a 6 am dive, we were understandably eager to get to our beds, but even after we had completed our Divelogs for the day, Ethan regaled us with his Marlin fishing experiences. His stories took us past 11pm when he finally ran out of gas.
And so my final day on the Explorer drew to a close and as the dayboat embarked on its 2 hour journey back to shore I had time to reflect on yet another amazing but expensive past-time. Oh for one more dive...
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Bridget
non-member comment
Hey travelling Man!
Hello Slester! This is Bridget colleague and friend of your Mum and "My boy's flown the nest and gone travelling" supporter! I've so enjoyed reading your blog. You seem to be having a ball. I think you're so brave! Looking forward to keeping abreast via your blog. take care of yourself. best wishes Bridget x