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Published: November 24th 2005
Hi guys, well this has been a while coming but hey its worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I left you in magnetic island at a bit of a lose end, well from the internet room on my way back i guy approached and asked me if i was interested in a dive, After talking for a while i asked him how much to dive the yongala, a huge steam ship which was sunk in a storm 3 hours from the island. One thing lead to another and 30 minutes later i ended up commencing on an advanced scuba diving course. The course included plenty of theory as ever, 1 night dive around the fringing barrier reef, a compass navigation dive, a naturalist dive (that doesnt mean i went naked!), a deep dive to the SMS Yongala and a wreck dive also on the Yongala.
after some theory on the anatomy of the lungs (dejavu)/ nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness) we headed into the pool to go over briefly the basics of the open water course. We then headed of on to the beach to map out lines squares and circles with our compass and then for the real thing. Visisbility close to sure
was less than a metre so ideal for the use of the compass. It seems ironic, doing a compass navigation dive in around magnetic island, as it was so called by captain cook whom had problems with his own compass while passing this very spot. The fact that it was just a dodgy compass didnt matter, the name stuck.
That evening we headed of into the pitch black on my first night dive. Equipment such as whistles/ torches/ light sticks (like the ones you get in bpool illuminations) were added before the dive. It was like entering a different world, the same reef we had explored in the day had come alive with a million read eyes staring out from the bottom - these eyes ended up being thousands of shrimps and crabs, not to mention giant crayfish with huge legs!
phospherous lit up the sea as you swam deeper waving your hands in front without the light of the torch, the only other light you could see was that of my own and my buddies. You could easily get really disorientated as everthing is just pitch black until you light the reef up with your torch then everything becomes
more colourful than you can imagine, colours are more vivid than youve ever seen them and the bigger fish come out to play.
I shone my torch only to see right below us a large brightly coloured blue spotted fan tailed stingray, which darted of in the blink of an eye. A sleeping epelet shark approx 1 m chilled on the reef. A turtle enjoysing a mid night snack - i thought they were meant to sleep at night! A pale anaemic looking moray eel smiled madly as if it was having a prolonged yawn when we chanced by. Squirrel fish/ parrot fish/ wrasse/ angel / clown/ tetras of all colours you name it.
The next day we arose early to set of for the yongala, a 3 hour boat ride, which i swatted up on its history and how it came to lie at the bottom of the ocean with its many many passengers on board.
The yongala was made in Newcastle, England which is the reason many people say that it sank (Laura and Si- that ones for you).
Launched on the 29th April1903 and set sail later to sydney where it was to be registered
and widely used up and down the east coast for shipping gold etc.
On the 14 March 1911, Yongala embarked on its 99th voyage in Australian waters. It left Melbourne with 72 passengers, including the only two passengers who were to remain on board after reaching Brisbane, intending to travel to Cairns.
The vessel arrived at the Municipal Wharf in Brisbane on the morning of 20 March. Bound for Cairns, it was due to leave the following afternoon. The master was Captain William Knight aged 62, one of the company's 'most capable men', who had been in the service of the ASSCo for 14 years 'without mishap'.
Having completed the loading of passengers and a large general cargo, including a horse known as 'Moonshine' destined for Townsville, and a red Lincoln bull for Cairns, Yongala finally left the wharf, having been inspected and found to be 'in excellent trim'.
On the morning of 23 March, Yongala steamed into Mackay to drop off and receive passengers and discharge 50 tons of cargo, leaving 617 tons in the lower hold - 'properly stowed'. By 1.40 in the afternoon it had departed, carrying 49 passengers, and 73 crew, making
a total of 122 people.
Yongala was still in sight of land when the signal station at Flat Top (Mackay) received a telegram warning of a cyclone in the area between Townsville and Mackay. Although the first Australian shore wireless station capable of maintaining communication with ships had been established in Sydney in 1910, few ships carried wireless in 1911. Ironically, a wireless destined for installation in Yongala had recently been dispatched from the Marconi company in England.
Five hours later, the lighthouse keeper on Dent Island in the Whitsunday Passage watched Yongala steam past into the worsening weather. It was the last sighting.
Further north the wind was swinging from the south east to the north west, and was coming from the north east when it would have hit Yongala, travelling at right angles to the full force.
Many theories were put forward regarding its possible location and reason for loss: some speculated that it had been rendered helpless due to some unknown mishap between Whitsunday Passage and Cape Bowling Green or been overpowered by the extreme force of the wind; others thought it had hit a submerged reef between Flinders Passage and Keeper
Reef or run into Nares Rock, or even struck Cape Upstart.
In 1958, the wreck was found and identified as that of the Yongala by the lettering of the name on the bow.
Well thats your history lesson over now time for the real thing and to find out why its classed as one, if not the best dive site in the world.
A brief was given on how much oxygen we were to return to the diving line on and how we were to descend and where. First to detect whether we would suffer from narcosis we would be tested on math sums - (not my strength anyway) when we reached the bottom. As i descended i held onto a line which you pulled yourelf down with while equalizing. Eventually the line ended and we swam deeper and deeper to the sandy bottom of the sea bed, feeling no different i passed my sum of the day! My buddy struggled as he thought the instructor was asking how much air he had left so answering 150 to the question subtract 7 from 11!
Then for the wreck - where is it i shrugged to
my buddy - he pointed behind me.
As i turned round i was nearly overcome by the size of the structure no more than 10 metres in front of us (109 metres long and 15 metres wide) and the amount of marine life that covered it - a sight that cant be compared to anything ive ever seen in my life! In size it makes you feel like your a small mosquito standing next to a dinasour. As we began to circle the ship you couldnt help but look in awe at the amount of fish- so many shoals that swam through you that at times you couldnt even see the ship! Wrasse twice as big and 3 times as wide as the average person. You could stroke many of the fish - they just didnt care- its like you werent even there. Enormous barracudas circled us as if we were pray with a big teethed grin, as i was taking pics a giant olive sea snake came out from nowwhere and circled around us as if to be enquisitive then swam of, moray eels broke the tradition and swam around like big fat pythons under water, silver trevelli darted
too and fro eating smaller fish on the move, large sea turtles lay on the wreck just observing us like wise old men, every fish of every colour were here- if it was a place in the world it would be the brazillian carnival!
I swam over the wreck as she lay on her side and looked down through the portholed in her many bedrooms (accommodation for 126 fist class and110 second class passengers)
You could make out an what seemed to be an old fashioned staircase and a toilet where im sure some poor soul would have spent there last hours due to the incredibly rough weather. The huge letters of the Yongala could be seen on her front. Some people say you can see skeletons still lying there as it is now an official graveyard site. Her masts could be seen lying now on the sea bed along with her huge steam funnel which seemed to have been broken.
On my second dive i learnt to keep a further distance from the snakes which were now in abundance and sighted a huge nurse shark fast asleep in the coral around what would have been the main deck. Approx 3m plus - the largest shark ive seen to date and the most impressive, as i was taking closer pics i felt something pass above me as a dark shadow came over the reef, A huge sea turtle looking for what seemed to be attention as he or she swam round us. Clown fish nestled in there anemoni home occasionally darting out to nip at passers by- never believe the movies - they nip at everything that goes past, the bigger the better - my finger if i let it!
We learnt to drift dive as there was a fast current going from one end of the boat to the other so no effort needed to get back to the surface line.
Wow now thats awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I took lots of pics as we hired an underwater camera between us all- someone from oz experience had to pick it up for me from townsville so am currently in hot pursuit of them heading south - but as soon as i get them ill put them on!
Well im and advanced scuba dude now which is cool - that night to top things we won the quiz at base hostel for a free hire of a topless car for 1 day on magnetic island. As there was only 2 of us still here the next day we had it to ourselves!
The next day we toured magnetic island - all the beaches and saw rock wallabies - see pics.
Well im now in airlie beach where my group are off sailing on different boats. Ive just booked a great deal for fraser island 4X4 adventure - ferry,Driving,sleeping and camping on the beach and 3 nights accommodation in hervey bay all insurance included for 100 dollars! Am going with a freind i met on Fraser island - Lord Giles from down south!
phew thats me so far then!
Hope all is well back at home
Ray - i never read Beano!
Good to hear from u Suze - hope it all goes ok
thanx for email And - will reply shortly
Hope MnD had good time at Hellgill
Hope gma keeps improving
Dave
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N.V. us parents
non-member comment
Wow...that was awesome
FANTASTIC. You really must write the next Harry Potter. Liked the comparison of the fish to a Brazilian Carnival. We went red/blue/yellow and green just reading the blog. Bloody Nora. Calm down please. We cant stand the pace.