Diving Down Under

DAY 3
Location: Great Barrier Reef
Temp: Surface 28 C, Bottom 26 C
Activities: Cruise, diving, snorkeling, general mayhem
Accommodations: Tropic Days

I booked the Down Under Dive Cruise and Dive for a full day of the Great Barrier Reef, and despite paying a little extra while on board, I got it back in drink.

To start, it was another early wake up call, but a Scottish lass "taught" me how to make toast and peanut butter which I tried and actually kept me full most of the morning. I didn't have as much time this morning as I ate and got dressed, got into the shuttle and checked in at Cairns northeastern Reef Terminal. The rep there told me to walk down the wharf (there were a gazillion and of course I picked the wrong one) and I eventually made my way down to the cruise ship, fearful they would leave without me. I asked directions from some local Aussies who pointed me in the right direction and I boarded the boat. They had tea and cookies and I happily consumed each before reporting to the diving room upstairs for a debrief.

The intimate debriefing room on the upper deck of our vessel. My English friend Steve and I were debriefed here on weather, sea forecast, safety, SCUBA review and so on. I was happy for a biscuit and some warm tea while racking my brain on the finer points of diving once more.

 There I met Steve from England who was the only other certified diver on the boat. Our dive master reviewed some basics and boat safety and I elected to have him guide Steve and I through the reef because, knowing me, I would end up on the bottom of the Continental Divide, pop up, and the boat nowhere in sight. It cost an extra $10 on top of the $189, but I figured it was just safer to have him show us around. I originally had one dive scheduled, but decided to go for two, because we were going to hit two locations on the Great Barrier Reef.

The abandoned stern gave me a nice opportunity to take a few shots of a glorious morning in Oz as we departed the mainland. 

After debriefing, I snuck out to the abandoned bow and loved having the rushing sea to myself a bit before returning to get suited up for the dive. I was a smidge nervous because it's been years since I've dived, but it did come back to me more or less as I got under. "How do we--oh yeah, ok." Of course, everything was in meters, but our dive master kept an eye on all the logistics--depth, location, bottom time, decompression--all the fun stuff. I just got to explore.

A shot to starboard of the mainland as we raced by.

The first area we dove was Saxon Reef, where we reached a depth of 14 meters, bottom time 40 min., and we had to safety stop after having gone so deep. True to form, I still have issues equalizing my left ear and struggled at the deeper areas, but we did see a couple turtles, trigger fish, sea cucumbers, clown fish and so on. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with the first dive. I've seen it all before, right down to the fish and turtles.

We did a decompression stop towards the end of the first dive and I snorkeled a bit, but struggled in the chop. The waves don't bother me, but it makes it awful difficult to breathe with them crashing over your snorkel.

The crew broke for lunch and again, I ate almost everything I possibly could including macaroni salad, potato salad, and prawns. I also snagged another refill of tea to warm up on the bow as I was cold outside of my wetsuit. Some folks were seasick and I felt bad for them. Some were even airlifted off the boat, it was that bad, while meanwhile I rode the waves like a roller coaster. I and the rest aboard, however, had to endure some violent heaving. So violent I crashed into a big guy and struggled to stand again stammering apologies, and some gal crashed into me. Also, it is very hard to pee in zero G.

My dive master advised I do some snorkeling over the North Hastings reef before my second dive as the crew tossed in some leftover lunch to attract the fish. I saw this freakin' huge barracuda as long a I was as I floated on the surface. The bugger eyeballed me as it glided toward me and I was like "I'm cool, you're cool, we're cool, man," as it swam right under me. The teeth on that thing. But I didn't panic, if it bit me there was nothing I could do. I did keep my hands over my back though to protect my fingers. Big ass fish and mean as Tuesday.

I ventured out a little ways and came back in time for my second dive which I enjoyed a little more because the reef was more colorful and schools of fish followed us hoping for a handout.  The current through the coral heads was a little nuts, I would kick and kick and make no headway and I didn't want to damage the coral with my fins. We got to a depth of 9 meters for 45 minutes, no decompression this time, obviously, and headed back up to the surface. Turns out that barracuda bit someone and most of the snorkelers were scrambling in. I'm sad to report I didn't get to see any sharks on my dive. That's 10 now and no sharks--but other swimmers got to see some. I was so sad. That would have really cinched the day.

Up top, I sunned again to warm up with another cup of tea and got another debrief shortly after to officially record the dives and get them signed off by our dive master, Kelvin Law. He was cool, I liked him. I knew they had a free wine and cheese thing for the return trip and I literally sat at the bar, striking up a conversation with these cute guys, while the crew offered top up after top up of wine and muffins. I chatted with Jordan the Canadian and Dan from Boston for most of the trip as we all steadily got happier and more fearless. I got teased/complimented time after time for my "Danger" swimsuit by everyone aboard. Easy conversation starter.

When the boat got to port at 5 p.m., I teetered off with my possessions and managed to get the crew together for a fun group shot before catching up to the boys who I walked with until my shuttle point, still getting teased all the while for my misinterpretation of a high five and forever dubbed a 'Russian spy.' Yeah, yeah.

Last off the boat, the crew eagerly offered to take a photo with me and, having commandeered their bar for the return trip and getting to know each of them, I was all too happy to pose and shaka brah.

So yes, another full day! Most of the buddies I made in the Tropic Days hostel have already left and I'm leaving tomorrow. I have no idea whether I will have Internet connection in the coming days--so don't be surprised if I don't write. I'll try to of course, but I can't promise anything--which is a shame because I still have a lot planned. Wish me luck, ay?