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DIVE ADDICTS SCUBA DIVING CLUB
Welcome to the Dive Addicts Australia web page. This page is supplied by BAS as a service to its many customers and also some of the members work for BAS which comes in handy when something goes wrong when away.
Phone 49567790 for any Club details and to add your contact details to our list.
Below will be where we will be diving on the weekend and also an email address etc. to volunteer to come along. Also we will be having monthly meetings probably on a Friday evening at the shed for a start and then later on a bit more civilized at a pub or restaurant. The Club usually goes overseas once a year so check out the Dive Holiday page.
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Our plastic future…
 Having recently returned from a trip to Egypt, my head is full of images of huge numbers of plastic drink bottles, scattered across the landscape (OK, there were lots of other things too). There is no potable water supply in Egypt, so everybody has to buy bottled water.
Plastic waste is not biodegradable and pollution surveys conducted in the open ocean estimate that it is present at a density of more than 45,000 pieces per square mile. Two of the most obvious manifestations of the plastic waste problem are thoughtless disposal and accidental escape of plastic shopping bags and single use plastic drink bottles.
Plastic shopping bags are handed out daily by retailers in every developed country around the globe. Australians currently take home around six billion bags every year, enough for each of us to bring home a new bag almost every day. This level of consumption is not unusual in the developed world; residents of Britain, Japan and the U.S.A. each bring home the same quantity. Singapore is generally regarded as one of the premier shopping destinations for travellers and this is reflected in the Singaporean plastic bag consumption: the current estimate is in excess of six hundred bags per capita, per year.
An equally obvious (and equally harmful) waste product is the single use, P.E.T. bottle. Oceans and foreshores the world over are littered with them and persuasive marketing programs ensure that we purchase them in ever-increasing numbers. P.E.T. is a comfortable-sounding acronym for Polyethylene Terephthalate, a clear form of Polyester which is manufactured using modified ethylene glycol and purified terephthalic acid. Bottles are manufactured in both single use and multi-use types, but the additional costs associated with manufacture and treatment of the multi-use type means that they are produced in relatively few numbers. P.E.T. bottles have been implicated in numerous studies of compounds which mimic sex hormones, and which leach from plastics.
The marketing push behind bottled water sales is enormous and residents of countries with good quality reticulated water supplies (like Australia) prefer to pay for an often inferior product which comes in a potentially polluting package. In 2006, global consumption of bottled water had reached two hundred billion litres and the market continues to grow at around ten percent every year. Growth is greatest in developed countries, where residents can afford to pay. The cost of bottled water is several thousand times that of tap water and clever marketing promotes it as a healthier alternative. Bottled water production throughout the world is currently controlled by only four multinational companies.
It almost impossible to accurately estimate the total number of marine animals which are affected by plastic waste each year. Those most at risk are seabirds and animals which target larger jellyfish species. Plastic bags are only slightly negatively buoyant and persist in the water column before finally reaching the sea bed. Their resemblance to the prey of turtles and some whale species is enough for them to be ingested in error, leading to starvation and eventual death for an estimated 100,000 marine animals every year. This figure excludes sea birds, an estimated one million of which perish each year due to interaction with plastic bags.
Plastic bottles will sink, so long as the cap is left off; however, many who thoughtlessly dispose of them see fit to re-cap them first, ensuring that they will pollute surface waters as well as the sea bed. Bottles are ingested by a number of whale species and pelagic fish; Fragments of partially destroyed bottles are ingested by birds.
Next time you you’re feeling thirsty – try the tap!
As always, you can send comments, news items, photos, etc. to optimal.eng@bigpond.com (please enter “Dive Addicts” on the subject line). Of course, Paul is always happy to receive your input at the shed, as usual (paul@baservices.com.au)
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News
We are back.!!!
Coolidge was awsome as usual,we also dived the Destroyer the "Tucker" and some the extensive hard coral reef around Tutuba point, 30+ metres vis. Some of us did 22 dives, a day at Oyster Island, the girls did some serious hammock sleeping and "Pina colada" sipping whilst the boys and Karen did some plane wreck hunting: a jungle treck to the crashed "Catalina" only discovered some 5 years ago. A day at Aeore Island Resort, swimming , eating and sleeping under some Palm trees, all on video (stand by)
Paul.
Sunday Scooterthon and BBQ Drift dive at Swansea will be on shortly,I will wait till all have returned and set date. Southwest Rocks is off as it is to soon after our big trip away.
Next year so far .
Proposed travel.
Vila , Vanuatu. One week in nice hotel with morning dives and afternoons and evenings filled with what ever takes your fancy ( and no ! plane wrecks.)
The Aaron Ward. One week trip to dive a WW2 Destroyer fully intact(deep)
Truk Lagoon. 10 Days (easy diving)
Mongolia (Ask Rod about it - not much diving...)
Coolidge (Bobs Trip.) Super Diving.
Yongala Wreck (Queensland) 5 Volunteers so far.
I have recently installed our famous booster pump and upgraded the panel so now we can supply Oxygen to 200 bar consistantly.
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Where & When [November 18th to December 1st]
Sorry about the last few weeks, during which no tide tables were posted. Here 's a couple of weeks of tides to be going on with.
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Fort Denison
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Swansea channel
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Tues 18th Nov
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12.01 1.78m
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14.55 approx.
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Wed 19th Nov
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13.03 1.66m
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15.35 ..
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Thurs 20th Nov
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14.09 1.54m
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16.29 ..
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Fri 21st Nov
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15.14 1.45m
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17.30 ..
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Sat 22nd Nov
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16.15 1.38m
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18.20 ..
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Sun 23rd Nov
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05.00 1.48m
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07.45 ..
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Mon 24th Nov
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05.45 1.56m
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08.15 ..
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Date
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Fort Denison
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Swansea channel
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Tues 25th Nov
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06.25 1.62m
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09.10 approx.
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Wed 26th Nov
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07.02 1.67m
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09.45 ..
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Thurs 27th Nov
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07.39 1.71m
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10.30 ..
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Fri 28th Nov
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08.14 1.73m
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11.05 ..
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Sat 29th Nov
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08.49 1.73m
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11.45 ..
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Sun 30th Nov
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09.26 1.71m
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12.20 ..
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Mon 1st Dec
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10.03 1.68m
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12.45 ..
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Always a good idea to turn up a bit early and be prepared to jump in at short notice! All care, but no responsibility taken, as usual...
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Dive reports
Send us your reports from around the sites:- tell us about the conditions, the viz., what you saw and who you saw. If you took any decent photos, send us a copy to post on our photos page.
Let's see some reporting! I'm far too woosy to jump into freezing (well, almost) water, but I know that there's plenty of brave souls out there who have been groping their way about recently. Let's be hearing you!
August - SW
A dive, a dive!! (2 dives?)
Yes, it’s true! Last weekend I managed a double dive after goodness knows how many weeks, or months of sitting at home, trying to keep warm. Small confession: this happened in Queensland. It all came about because I have just experienced one of those birthdays; you know the type, they feature a fairly high number with a zero in it. Anyway, Helen was feeling a little sorry for me, so she arranged a quick flit north to Airlie Beach for the weekend, where we spent a day on the water with Odyssey H2O, a local operator.
As luck would have it, the boat had been booked for the day by six PADI IDC students and their course director, and we were the only other customers on board. This meant that we could stand around watching the students being put through their paces, then sneak off in the inflatable for a quiet dive. Surprisingly, the water temperature was only 22OC and I had brought along a 3mm wetsuit, expecting something altogether warmer. This meant that by the end of our first dive I really, really cold. We dived on fringing reef off Hook Island and the variety of corals and fish was quite something. Viz. was pretty poor, unfortunately.
We had a bit of fun around lunchtime, as one of the IDC students managed to lose his nice new mask during an exercise and he and the course director headed for the bottom to look for it. While they were down there, a friendly (aren’t they all?) humpback swam around the boat a few times, surfacing within five, or six metres of us several times. Just after it had headed off for points unknown, our two heroes surfaced and wanted to know why everyone was so excited… It took a while to convince them that we weren’t all playing some sort of complicated practical joke on them.
I’d recommend the dive operation: nice people, nice facilities. Be warned, however: everything at Airlie Beach costs much, much more than it does elsewhere!
July So Far. (Paul)
Been diving the Bridge , water is still 18 c not to bad.The ole dry suit helps but.Some of the lads on various courses report Vis has been OK, Mikey dived the Maclay wreck (Port Stephens) as well as mud dived a few others,John reports that the wrecks off Terrigle have been not to bad and Andrew dived the Satara recently reporting 5 meters Vis 15c bottom temp.I will hit the bridge again this morning to try out some gear re arrangments ready for a few deeper dives to warm up for our Coolidge trip.
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Some Photos from Southwest rocks.See photo Page,5 now and the right size.
Saturday 12th April
Quiet saturday arvo dive , got in about 4pm,10+ meter vis ,fish everywhere,as sun was setting the fish allowed you to mingle with them.Saw a Pinnapple fish under the triple pipe northern anchor block in the midst of a couple of hundred sleeping Catfish.The fish sleep on their sides for some reason ,maybe the sand is a bit hard so they can swap sides occasionally.The tide change was a long leisurely one so I was able to cover the whole bridge quite easily, a couple of other divers I saw gearing up but none in at all.Surfaced at approx 5.30 to a glassey channel and the whole place to my self.
Paul.
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OCTOBER 28th 2007
We had great weather and good diving. Viz. could have been better and a bit surgy around the island. The Grey Nurse sharks were great and a few encounters (ask Rod about his face-to-face encounter: 60cms apart and he has a photo to prove it) Jons new 7.5 metre sharkcat boat is awsome, the only way to travel. We will be going back in March 2008.
Andrew at work inside Fishrock Cave.
Whom is scared of whom?
.Fish !!! Where.?
The Majestic Grey Nurse Shark.
Rod was doing some Macro shots ,looked up and !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (2 feet away,just curious!!!!!!)
How he got the Shark to Smile ?????( must be a good tickler)
Best Ever.Great work.
A copy of the DVD is at the shed for a loan.
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Wreck Of the Advance
The Advance was dived by members of DIVE ADDICTS on Saturday the 26th may. The aim of the dive was to see if there was any damage done to the wreck by the Coal ship that was anchored above it. There is no damage to report but the Anchor chain was within 20 meters of the wreck. The dive was fairly tough due to a fairly strong northerly current. Vis was good and more of the wreck is exposed so some return visits are to be expected.
I used half my back gas just to get to the bottom , coming back was easy but hanging on the Deco line, like a Flag flapping in the breeze was not real pleasant.
The sea was flat and a beaut sunny day.
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Boiler and Divers and lots of Fish
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Bow
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Great Vis
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Coal Ship
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The Kiama was dived again on Saturday the 26th May and the Bow was located west of the main part of the wreck so we will try and get some pictures as well in a fortnights time. |
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The wreck of the Kiama was successfully done on Saturday the 28th of April, vis at the surface was approx 10 meters and on the bottom 15 mtrs. A good dive to get the lay out of the wreck. As can be seen on the attached pictures the wreck isflattened out and spread over a large area.
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Two divers above the wreck with the boiler in the foreground
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Lots of broken Hull sections to explore
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Paul M with the deep gear on
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A sleeping Wobbygong blends in to the back ground really well
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Finally starting to find my way around the wreck, the bow section is broken off and we are yet to find it, which will be done shortly.
Thanks again to the guys from BWAC and Paul M, Andrew, for getting me in and out etc, Paul
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