Busy, busy, busy!

Wednesday was a public holiday here (ANZAC Day; similar to Veterans' Day in the US) so the boat was busier than normal this week.  I went out on lots of dives and got to see some really great things, especially in the last couple of days.

On Weds, the wind was really strong and on our first dive, there was a rip current on the surface.  We dropped into about 60 feet of water and started swimming headfirst into the current, which was still quite strong at that depth.  I ended up getting pulled away from the group since I was carrying the line to our dive flag floating on the surface.  I waited for a few minutes to see if they might swim back in my direction, then prepared to ascend and return to the boat.    I turned around just in time to see a huge manta ray* gliding gracefully past me!!!  Surprise!    I was so thrilled that I didn't even mind missing the rest of the dive, especially since the rest of the group didn't get lucky enough to see mantas.  This one had three sharksucker remoras under it, two attached and one just swimming along.  The free-swimming fish ventured closer to me and started giving me the eye.  I got the feeling that he had heard about me from his cousins in Belize.**

Remoras:  lazy little bastards.

*For those of you who don't dive, mantas (and whale sharks) are one of the most exciting, elusive things you can hope to find underwater.  Mantas can grow up to 20+ feet across and do not sting or bite.  Click here for more info & pics!
**Backstory here

Minor Differences

The old commute

The new commute

The old motorman

The new motorman (AKA Captain Mick)

The old office

The new office

1770 Adventure

So yesterday I actually made it out to Southern Great Barrier Reef; woohoo, actual diving!!!  Boat days are a bit of an endurance trial.  I dragged myself out of bed a little after 5:30am, and the bus dropped us off at the house at 6:30pm.  Let's just say I had no trouble falling asleep.

Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera yesterday, but I am headed back to the boat tomorrow, so I will bring back plenty of photos to post.  Hopefully the underwater visibility will be somewhat improved so I can introduce you to George, the resident giant estuary cod at the place we dive, who's at least 4 feet long & about 300 pounds.

I managed to get my rescue diver certification wrapped up, which is a huge relief.  It resulted in a lot of REALLY perplexed Japanese tourists, I must say.  There was a small crowd gathered at the railing looking very concerned as I performed a simulated rescue on my "drowning" fellow DM trainee.  I was especially entertained by one woman who showed up for a day of sun and water adventure dressed in a long black velvet  skirt, black & gold brocade jacket, and loads of pearls.  We speculated that perhaps she had gotten her tours mixed up and would show up for a dinner theater engagement that night wearing her bikini...