DOUTS
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Unive r
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News letter of the Diving
Organisation of the
University of Technology,
Sydney
NOVEMBER
2005
NSW GOVERNMENT PROPOSES NEW SCUBA TAX INSTEAD OF
ENDANGERED SHARK PROTECTION
Scuba clubs from around NSW met this week and condemned plans to introduce a tax that the NSW
Government claims will help to protect the grey nurse shark.
Classified as ‘critically endangered’ in NSW waters, this creature has been hunted and fished almost to extinction
along the Australian east coast with less than 500 remaining in the wild.
It has been proposed that all divers will be charged a fee to dive in NSW waters. This tax is apparently to be
directed towards a research study to harvest embryos from wild sharks and rear them in artificial wombs. Even the
Minister in his media release acknowledges this is a "world first" and an untested program.
If successful, it won’t produce adult sharks for at least 6 to 10 years. In fact, this research could further endanger
the few grey nurse sharks that remain in NSW waters, as the female sharks could die when their eggs are
harvested said Wayne Hack, President of the Underwater Research Group NSW.
Divers often report seeing fishing hooks stuck in the mouths of grey nurse sharks. Around 75% of grey nurse
sharks are suffering from fishing related injuries, and yet the diving community is the one being targeted. It is
frustrating and illogical for the government to contemplate taxing scuba divers when the greatest killers of grey
nurse shark are the fishing.
The Queensland government has had meaningful protection measures in place for grey nurse aggregation sites
since December 2003. These include a ban on any form of fishing within a 1200m radius. But it is legal to dangle
a baited hook anywhere in NSW critical habitats if you are not anchored! So why is the NSW Government
‘dragging the chains’ by only having 200m ‘protection’ zones in place that still allow some fishing to take place?
“There is little point in harvesting embryos when you don't take simple steps to stop fishing in the congregation
areas" said Wayne Hack, President of the Underwater Research Group of New South Wales. "It's like trying to fill
up the bath without putting the plug in." He added, "It appears that protection of an endangered species is losing
out to short term financial gain. What is urgently needed is action on the key strategies outlined in the grey nurse
shark Recovery Plan".
"We know enough to know what has to be done and what will happen if we don't do it. What we need now is
action", said world renowned diver and shark protection advocate, Valerie Taylor.
Page 1
"The proposed fee for divers is just a recreation tax by another name. It establishes a dangerous precedent for
charging taxes for any marine based activities such as surfing or canoeing“, said John Olsen, president of the
SCUBA Clubs Association of NSW.
We call on the NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian MacDonald to:
• Declare minimum 1500m radius fully protected marine sanctuaries in all grey nurse shark critical habitats
along the NSW coastline;
• Ensure protection through enforcement of the zones; and
• Set high penalties for non compliance.
The NSW Government should scrap this proposed tax. Scuba divers should not foot the bill for the protection of an
endangered species - that is a responsibility of the NSW Government.
For further information contact Jeanie McKenzie Media Officer Underwater Research Group NSW 0413 604
200
Photo courtesy of Wayne Hack
Page 2
Sample letter that can be sent to the Minister
about the need to protect grey nurse sharks
The Hon. Ian Macdonald, MLC,
Minister for Natural Resources,
Minister for Primary Industries,
and Minister for Mineral Resources
Level 30 Governor Macquarie Tower
Farrer Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Your Name
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
Address Line 3
Suburb Postcode
29 October 2005
Dear Minister,
PROTECTION OF GREY NURSE S HARK / RECREATIONAL SCUBA DIVING FEE DISCUSSION PAPER
I am writing to express my concern for the grey nurse shark, which is in urgent need of
protection, and to object in the strongest terms to the proposed tax on scuba divers in NSW.
The tax on divers proposed by your Department, will not arrest the decline of this threatened
species. None of the options proposed in discussion paper are acceptable and quite frankly
some are vexatious (ie funding brochures on low impact diving techniques isn’t that a training
agency responsibility?). Critical arguments as to why this proposal is flawed include the
following:
[Choose from the following bullet points to adapt / customise Paragraph 3 of your letter, then
delete this text]
- Funding of threatened species recovery should come from core Government
- conservation funding paid for by all NSW taxpayers.
- Diving fees should not be compared to recreational fishing fees as diving does not
remove anything from the environment and therefore is a completely different type of
activity to recreational fishing.
- It is fishing that threatens the extinction of the grey nurse shark, not recreational scuba
divers so targeting this user group, (who have in the past assisted Fisheries) is a very
cynical way to proceed.
- Scuba divers have contributed to raising awareness of the plight of the grey nurse shark
and undertake considerable research assisting government to monitor grey nurse shark
populations and should not be penalised for demonstrating an interest in conservation
values
- Costs of administering a recreational scuba diving fee will leave little for conservation
activities.
- The proposed research is not going to deliver any viable outcome for some considerable
time (if at all). This strategy can not be considered a primary strategy but only an aid to
assist the overall recovery programme.
- Scuba diving is an important part of the NSW economy and aids tourism. Fees could
detract people from participating in this activity.
- Scuba diving allows people to interact with our marine environment therefore increasing
public's affinity for marine life and increasing support for its conservation. The activity
Page 3
should be encouraged, not discouraged by creating new taxes as the government is
proposing.
The NSW Government listed the Grey Nurse Shark as a threatened species over 20 years
ago yet still has failed to provide real protection for this species. Consequently their numbers
continue to decrease. With less than 500 Grey Nurse Sharks remaining along the east coast
of Australia, this species could become extinct in the next 10 years. It is a shameful thing for
the Iemma Government to consider that a failure of its leadership would mean these sharks
becoming extinct within our lifetime.
As you know, the Queensland government has already taken action to protect the key
aggregation sites of the grey nurse shark. Yet the NSW government lags behind, giving
justification to the recent criticism of it being a ‘tired’ administration. Please show that this is
not the case - the power to create sanctuary zones is within the scope of your Government’s
policy mechanisms and I urge you to take that opportunity to save the grey nurse shark.
Given that these creatures congregate mainly at 16 small key habitat areas in NSW, the
creation of 1500m sanctuary zones around each of these areas would significantly reduce the
otherwise imminent threat of extinction of this species. Since accidental hooking is the main
reason for their decline, it makes sense that this activity should be eliminated from these 16
key sites in NSW.
The areas I am asking you to protect are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Julian Rocks and Spot X off Byron Bay
Manta Arch at South Solitary Island
The Steps/Anemone Bay at North Solitary Island
The E Gutters at North West Solitary Island
Fish Rock and Green Island off South West Rocks
Mermaid Reef off Laurieton
Latitude Reef, Spot A
The Pinnacle off Forster
Big and Little Seal Rocks
Little Broughton Island off Port Stephens
Foggys Cave off Terrigal
Magic Point, Maroubra
Long Reef, off Sydney
Bass Point off Shellharbour
Montague Island off Narooma
Tollgate Islands.
Creating sanctuaries around these key areas will reduce grey nurse shark deaths and
improve the amount of marine life in and around these sanctuaries - this means more and
bigger fish - creating benefits to fisheries. Significant marine sanctuaries are imperative for
the health of all our marine life in NSW and I hope that the creation of these 16 sanctuary
areas will contribute to a large network of sanctuaries comprising a minimum 20% of NSW
marine waters. Rather than creating a tax for diving in NSW, I call on the NSW Government to
act responsibly and urgently establish proper protection measures for its marine life.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully
Page 4
Thanks to Fernando Pena for supplying photo of rally at Parliament House in October 2005.
Page 5
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
“DOUTLESS &
DIVING”
The occasional newsletter of DOUTS
Editor: Rose Saltman
CONTENTS
November 2005
NSW Government’s New Scuba Tax
Sample letter to Minister about protecting
grey nurse sharks
Gear Hire
Inside This Issue
Editorial
Club website and douts group
President’s report
Diving medicals
Divekomodo trip
Minke Whale Itinerary-Pt 2
Undersea Explorer Trip
Being Alice
October Long Weekend South West Rocks
Attempt on world record for underwater
Ironing
Forthcoming away trips
Club Contacts
Discounts
1
3
6
6
6
6
7
7
8
9
11
13
14
15
16
17
17
wuu uw
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.douts.org
S U B M I T!
O
FREE boat dive is given for every 2 articles
published.
<
Articles can be submitted by disk or e-mail
(faxes are a LAST resort). Preferred format is
plain text, images in jpeg or tiff format. Keep it
short. (1-2 pages please) and spell check it
+
Please send contributions to:
EDITORIAL
This is a bumper edition to usher in the warmer weather. Read
about the latest in grey nurse protection – or not. And how you
can help. Travelling members have recently been to Indonesia,
South West Rocks, the Coral Sea. If you want some light relief,
join the quest to become an underwater world record in ironing
(BYO ironing board). All this and more….
Rose – Editor
CLUB WEBSITE & DOUTS GROUP
Check out the club website at http://www.douts.org and see all
the latest information, including the club newsletters.
We also have a DOUTS e-mail group for up-to-date
announcements and you can find this at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/douts. This group is exclusive to
DOUTS members. When you join DOUTS you will be
subscribed to this group and you will automatically receive emails posted to the group. To post a message on the group,
address e-mails to [email protected]
If you do not wish to receive email from this list please
unsubscribe yourself by sending an email from your subscribed
email address to: [email protected]
GEAR HIRE - DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that you can hire dive gear from DOUTS? We
have several sets of gear comprising BC, regulators and tank
available at convenient locations (see Gear for Hire at the end of
the newsletter). To borrow a full set of gear including a BC,
Regs and a Tank is only going to cost you $7 with one tank and
$10 with 2 tanks. You will need to supply the rest of the gear
(fins, bootees, wet suit, weight belt, mask and snorkel) yourself
and will need to get the tanks re-filled (see discounts in this
newsletter) prior to returning them. Please remember to wash the
hire gear prior to bringing it back.
However, please be aware that the gear keepers are also human
beings and do have a life other than waiting on the end of the
phone for your call. So, get in touch well before you want the
gear and make appropriate arrangements to collect it.
Rose Saltman
[email protected]
Page 6
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
President’s Report
There has been a lot of activity in our club over the last month to report. We had about 45 in attendance at
the October club meeting, which included members from RUC, UNSW and UOW dive clubs. The
meeting went on for a long time, but the information was most informative. It highlighted some great
opportunities for dive holidays that included first class shark dives, for those that can handle this kind of
action. Thanks to Judy and Stacey for catering for this event.
Many members enjoyed the great diving and good times socialising on the October South West Rocks
trip, which is one of our most popular dive destinations. We had 22 divers over the weekend. With the
exception of the water being colder than expected, all other predictions, including the prolific whale
action, were true for those that came on this trip. If you could not make the SWR trip, look out for more
DOUTS trips, such as the early December Jervis Bay trip and the X-mass trip (17 th Dec – 2nd Jan) to
Wooli to dive Pimpernel Rock and the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve. There is also the SCAN dive day
on Nov 6th, which runs out from Frenchman’s Bay, La Perouse. We plan to run 3 dives that day, with a
BBQ lunch provided. You will also get to meet other divers from the SCAN-affiliated clubs that plan to
come along too.
Our boat had some minor but essential repairs done after the SWR trip, but is now back in action, on the
water, ready to be dived off. The dive calendar has been sparse for a while, but we hope to have dives
organised at shorter notice, so please keep an eye on your e-mails for dive updates. One way to help fill
the dive calendar is to have a larger base of active captains, and we are always willing to train interested
people (with a boat licence) to become a DOUTS captain. Therefore, we are planning a follow-up to the
captain training day held earlier in the year. Again, keep an eye out for this event.
Our social coordinators have also been providing some post dive activities. About 12 of us met for dinner
at the 5 Os restaurant in Coogee on 18 th Oct, and the DOUTS pub crawl has been announced for 19 th
Nov. We also plan to hold more dive and BBQ days over the summer months, as both water and weather
warm up.
So I hope you can all take advantage of the activities DOUTS have in stall for the next few months. And
expect some more great trips away as well as local activities in the new year as well.
Keep wet!!!
Wayne Dyer.
DIVING MEDICALS
The UTS Health Service has a doctor. Les Osen, who holds a certificate in Underwater Medicine and is able to
undertake diving medicals for any club member requiring such a service. The UTS Health Service is located on the 6th floor of
the Tower Building. A diving medical will cost $80, including GST. The medicals usually take about 45-60 minutes, and
include spirometry, audiometry and urinalysis. Anybody wishing to avail themselves of this service should contact the Health
Service on 9514 1177.
Page 7
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
Divekomodo trip on MV Bidadari, Indonesia 2005
With one day remaining before we were due to fly out from Sydney to Bali, I handed in my PhD thesis!
Although I had booked our flight as far back as May, I knew that I would have to cancel the diving
holiday with DOUTS if I couldn't get my thesis finished before the due date of 31st August. Needless to
say, after such a close call, I had little headspace to consider what I should bring to Indonesia with
respect to medications. Unlike the trip of 4 years ago (Evening Star, 2001 - Divekomodo) when we were
fully vaccinated against hepatitis and carried antimalarial medication, on this occasion we decided to
'wing it'!
After my raving about the 2001 trip so much, my dad (a non-diver) decided that he would like to come
along to do some fishing, so I emailed Greg Heighes to see what gear he would need. Greg suggested
to bring lures for spanish mackerel and tuna.......these were duly confiscated at Sydney airport because
my dad only carried hand luggage, having no check in luggage to pack them in!
We had 2 restful days in Bali to acclimatise and do some touring before meeting up with the rest of the
DOUTS group (and Valerie Taylor) at Denpasar airport on the 2nd September. Valerie is the aunt of
Greg Heighes, and she and my dad are of a similar age. It was turning out to be very fortuitous to have
her along on our trip!
Our dive group was comprised of a perfect blend of people in that everyone was relaxed and easy
going, and that helped to make the trip memorable. Besides that, the ship was comfortable and the
Indonesian crew went out of their way to be friendly and to assist in every respect. Harianto (the
engineer) took a liking to my dad and they went out together in a small tender virtually every day for
hours at a stretch to trawl for fish.......coming back with mackerel, trevally and a coral trout. My dad was
ecstatic!
We had the option of doing 3 day dives and 1 night dive, every day. I wasn't fit enough to do 4 dives,
and benefited from watching Wayne's video footage on the ship's television at the end of each day.
Valerie was most impressed with Wayne's movies and promised to introduce him to her husband Ron!
My negligence to pack some appropriate medication came back to bite me on the last day of the trip
when I developed a shocking migraine headache. Fortunately Grant and Paula had a virtual pharmacy
and were able to spare some Panadeine Forte. Back in Bali, we had a farewell meal with Linda, Scott
and Anna who were leaving for Sydney on the 11PM flight.
During the night, I awoke with an excruciating pain down the right side of my face, and again I cursed
the fact that I wasn't suitably prepared with painkillers. I had never had a problem with 'wet ear'
previously while diving, but later learned that it pays to wash your ears with aqua ear or vosol after a
day's diving, particularly when doing multiple dives. Three weeks on and I still have no hearing in my
right ear after taking 2 courses of antibiotics!
On our last day in Bali, my dad and I did a whirlwind tour out of Kuta with Wayne to Double Six beach,
Uluwatu Beach and Seminyak before travelling out to the airport heavily dosed with Dispirin Forte for our
flight back to Sydney. The day tour was capped off with a 5-star dining experience at La Lucciola (The
Glow-worm) Restaurant in Seminyak, after which I refused to eat the aircraft food in order to be able to
keep those magical flavours in my memory for as long as possible!
Start saving now because Divekomodo has promised us that they will have an even better boat next
year! A huge 'thank you' to Les and Judy Matthews for organising another splendid cultural and diving
extravaganza.
Next time I'll be better prepared.....
Marina Tretiach
Page 8
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
Minke Whale Itinerary – Nimrod Explorer 12-18 July 2005
[This is the second in an edited version of a two part article submitted by Kjarten Paulsen. The first part was
published in the August 2005 edition of Doutless and Diving]
sharks. They even tried to attach themselves to us! One of
the Red Fire Fishes was idling in a hole, the Sea Slug was
slowly climbing the wall up towards the same hole and
then a Parrot Fish peeked out between the two before it
disappeared again into the hole. The sun was shining and
the water was crystal clear. Even without a camera this
picture will probably stick in my brain forever...
Day four
The current was against us today, however not very strong.
Visibility was still amazing around 30m. This place was
awesome, lots of fish and stuff! Dog Tooth Tuna, Star
Puffers, Smooth Flute Mouth, Red Fire Fish, Moray Eel,
Potato Cod, Grey Reef Sharks, White Tip Sharks and lots
of Parrot Fishes, Sea Slugs and Remoras attached to the
Grey Reef Sharks at North Horn (Photo by Bon Djonly)
Second dive this day was still at North Horn, a shark
attraction dive. A cage full of dead fish was lowered down
from the dingy in front of us. Two divers at a time were
signaled forward to watch from underneath the cage. Yes,
there were a lot of sharks on this dive, plus huge Giant
Potato Cods trying to get to the food. We only encountered
Grey Reef and White Tip sharks on this dive, but that is
perhaps a good thing (they were very close).
Third dive today was False Entrance, further south than
the previous dives on Osprey. We covered quite a distance
on this dive, seeing turtle, Grey Reef Sharks, Parrot
Fishes, Barracuda, White Cheek Surgeon Fishes, Amber
Parrot Fish, Clown Trigger Fish and thousands of Wrasse.
Our fourth dive at Rapid Horn saw Humpback Parrot Fish,
barracuda and Hump Nose Unicorn Fish. A pack of
Humpback Parrot Fish were following us while they field
bombed the reef as a bunch of U2 bombers! Hilarious.
Page 9
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
Barracuda out in the blue (Photo by Bon Djonly)
John, a crew member, came up with the brilliant Black
Water Hang night dive on our way back to the Ribbons. In
pitch darkness we descended one of the lines fastened to
the boat, with depths of 2km below us. The boat was
drifting so we had to hold on tight to the ropes to avoid
disappearing into the dark. I saw many weird shapes,
microscopic jellyfish like things with tentacles like
threads, long transparent tubes which some claimed had
long tentacles as well. The dive was limited to max 30
minutes, which was good. Hanging in pitch dark under a
boat in free water going up and down and watching weird
stuff makes you quite dizzy after a while…
Nemo, a Fire Fish in one of the many caves, and blue
spotted rays lying on the sand bottom as well. The
visibility had decreased and was now only 15m.
Day six
Still on Ribbon Reef #5, first dive of the day was Dali’s
Garden. With approximately 15m visibility, we saw many
of the previous mentioned fishes and also a Scorpion Fish
along a wall. Dive two, Jaynems.
Between these two dives we watched a great school of
twenty dolphins or more, playing and swimming in front
of the boat. What a sight!
Day five
Back again on Ribbon Reef, #3 this time at Century Bay.
Poor visibility - only 20m or so! We saw a gathering of
Cuttlefish. Something was happening because I noted that
when one of the smaller cuttlefishes approached one of the
bigger, it was abruptly chased away by the bigger one
(maybe a mating ritual – ed).
At Taka Mooring on Ribbon #5, we found something we
haven’t seen before – a nudibranch. It was small, orange
and had a straight white stripe on its back and two horns
with the same color as the body. About a minute later
further downstream we found another one, completely
different to the first. It was purple with lots of orange
horns on its back. Aboard the boat there was a book of
3000 nudibranchs, but sadly I never managed to find and
name the two we encountered on that dive.
Dive two on Ribbon Reef #3 was Steve’s Bommie,
marked by a metal plate to honour Steve who passed away
in 1989. This was his favorite dive site. I had never seen
so much fish gathered at one place before. Steve’s
Bommie consists of two bommies, one reaching almost to
the surface from about 30 meters and a smaller one
reaching up to about 20m depth just beside it.
The fourth and last dive on the trip was again on Century
Bay, Ribbon Reef #3. Our goal for this dive would be to
locate all the cuttlefish we saw last time. On the very same
spot as last time, we actually found two, about the same
size as the biggest we saw last time. They seemed to stay
together and kept quite calm even though we circled
around causing them to shift colors. Again I experienced
something new. When I went deeper they actually moved
closer and over me, presenting a white underside that
blended quite well against the surface. When I moved
shallower again they moved away going deeper and tried
to blend in with the corals surrounding us.
Among all the fish schools of Yellow Snappers and Sweet
Lips, we saw Black Spotted Puffer in Bicolor Phase,
White Margin Unicorn Fish as well as a Leaf Scorpion
Fish. There where several patches of Green Carpet
Anemone, and several Anemone fishes in their homes.
Dive three was also on Steve’s Bommie, but we did it anti
clockwise this time. We found a Wobbegong Shark
sleeping in its cave and also saw lots of baby anemone fish
among some hard corals on top of the reef. Just as we were
due to leave, two Dwarf Minke Whales appeared and
swum around checking out the boat. Nice!
Since this was the last dive on the trip and we had no dives
left to do, we started loosening up. Into the beer! All good
things must come to an end. Most of us gathered later that
night for dinner and more drinks, followed by a pub crawl
and even more drinks. An absolutely awesome trip with
professional crew, delicious food and of course, the best
diving I ever had!
Dive four, the Clam Garden, was at Ribbon Reef #5. And
were the clams huge! Wouldn’t put my hand or foot in one
of those Giant Clams… We also saw the real Clownfish
Page 10
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
Undersea Explorer Trip
After an exhausting (I'm kidding ) semester at UTS and a successful overseas MBA, I well deserved the
next 50 dives during the 3 following months I spent with some diver - friends in Port Douglas.
On the Great Barrier Reef I have dived the worst (Kangaroo Explorer from Cairns, an industry for
inexperienced coral breakers ! They were lucky enough to have two humpback whales jumping around
their boat...not deserved ), I also had some good dives (TAKA : luxury 14 dives during 5 days at Cod
Hole or the Reef Encounter, 10 friendly dives from Cairns in 3 days ) but by far, far away the BEST ones
were the 21 sporty dives in 6 days I did on the Undersea Explorer.
They promote it as a scientific adventure and it certainly is. I would recommend it to all (good) divers
who are not scared of intense 4 dives a day and are interested in understanding all that is going on
down under.
You will not only discover manta rays or countless sharks (lots of white tips and grey reef sharks, local
wobbegongs or a surprising tawny nurse shark...Unfortunately I was on one of the weeks without any
hammerheads but they usually turn up) at Osprey Reef but you will also have a clear explanation about
the marine life with answers to all your questions (even the tricky ones).
Power point presentations of all the species encountered are provided between dives with always an
environmental protection reminder!
If you are as lucky as we were, you will also experience a swim along with lovely Dwarf Minke whales or
fish astonishing nautilus with Carl at 5 o'clock in the morning just before your first dive !!
What I was really also impressed with, was the ambience on board. The Undersea Explorer has more
than a crew, they are like a family business where every member is a marine biologist with his own field
of expertise. That was AWESOME ...even despite a 25 to 30 knot sea all week.
Honestly, I was marked for life. At a point that I had to immortalize it (at least as long as I live) and I went
to Port Douglas' tattoo shop to get a large friendly green turtle "flying" on my back. This is my only and
last tattoo (it hurts!!) so I will always remember this trip and my 8 months spent in Australia.
Back in Paris, I have my "forever stuck to me" turtle on my back to remind me that there is still a place
on earth were mother nature rules...
It has been a pleasure to dive with all of you Wayne, Sophia, George, Rob, Judith and Les, Lawrence,
Kjartan, Esin, Alister and Alannah, Julie and Chris, Matt, Richard, Phil and Chantal, Mike and Rose...
LONG LIVE THE GREY NURSE SHARKS...
The French Franck ( Shelly Beach Sultan )
[Ed: some of Franck’s images are on the following page]
Page 11
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
Page 12
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
BEING ALICE
By
Karen Dawson
(Learning to Scuba Dive in Fiji)
So much bigger and so much smaller than things in that underwater world. Like Alice in Wonderland
after she goes down the rabbit-hole I found myself having to re-assess all my senses and all the critical
pathways I take for granted in my ordinary life.
I felt tiny and afraid like Alice after she drank the potion labeled “Drink Me”, when I allowed myself to
consider the unlimited expanse of the ocean around me and the dangers of being there. Then tiny life
forms perfectly adapted to their place on the coral showed me to myself as ungainly and huge and
maladapted for this place and I felt gargantuan like Alice with her hands and legs stuck out of the
windows and doors of the little house after she ate the cake to get bigger.
It was easy to get totally distracted watching a pair of brightly coloured fish completely at home on their
patch of coral. The diving guide pointed out striped slugs in neon blue, pink and purple on the ocean
floor. It was visually beautiful and strange, but what I found stimulating was that other world business of
altered senses and having to re-think my place in the scheme of things. The point seems to be the alienness – not belonging or being powerful in that world, and experiencing it from a different set of
perceptions.
A fellow tourist I drank with at the outdoor café in the evenings said “What is so marvelous about Scuba
Diving - isn’t it just like a sophisticated visit to the Zoo?”. I couldn’t answer him at first. How to describe
the delight of seeing that neon slug on the ocean floor just doing its thing? To try to explain the wonder
of being Alice?
“Alice in Wonderland” has been seen as a philosophical piece as much as a children’s story. Since
learning to dive and experiencing that world as an alien visitor like Alice, I have been thinking again
about Lewis Carroll’s story.
I returned to this world with some new perceptions, and found it enlivening to think in new unfamiliar
ways about it. Notions of “underwater colonialism” for example. Or how we believe ourselves to be the
dominant species on Earth, when water covers two thirds of the planet and we are spectacularly
inefficient in the underwater environment? Which underwater species might supercede us? How might
that happen, in a brave new world? Science fiction to be sure, but that genre has always posed some
interesting questions about human progress.
It would be interesting to know if there is a “profile” for Scuba divers. Are divers prone to seeing
themselves as alien? Do they/we enjoy a sense of dissonance in not “belonging” and being out of our
comfort zone, experiencing another world? Is it this which keeps us going back for more – rather than
the traditional view of scuba diving as a variation on adrenalin sports for those who love danger and
risk?
Lewis Carroll chose a delightful little girl to be his alien. He would probably have called it “A clever
device”. I have to admit that it’s more appealing to me to think about being Alice than being Neil
Armstrong or being Aladdin. But the idea is the same whichever – the pull of scuba diving remains for
me the peculiar exhilaration of being an alien in an alien world.
Karen Dawson
October 2005
[ed: I dived with Karen in Fiji in August/September]
Page 13
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
October Long Weekend – South West Rocks
members plan to dive with Douts. It only takes 15
minutes.
The first weekend in October about 25 people drove
north to South West Rock for a great time with
drinking, diving and so on...
Different people experienced different problems.
Often this has to do with faulty gear such as broken
BCD buckles, damaged seals and sticky valves.
These problems are easy to fix. Use of properly
working gear will help to give our new divers even
more confidence because there is one less thing to
worry about.
Every day the Doutless III went up to 3 times to
Green Island, Fish Rock Cave or Turtle Reef offering
every time 8 divers the beauty of the individual
location. Depending on the time of the day it was
possible to see humpback whales jumping distances
of up to 200 m off the boat. The captains always
stopped the boat allowing the opportunity for us to
take some shots. It’s difficult to capture the motion of
these creatures on film, but I had a go anyway – see
pic.
Nearly everyone experienced ear ache caused by fast
descent. One suggestion to avoid pain is to start
equalizing before commencing one’s descent.
After diving people split up in different groups and
spent the rest of the evening either in a pub close by
or with lots of wine, cooked dinner and other goodies
near the tents. It was very social and relaxed and
everybody had a good time. This atmosphere was
helped by friends of club members joining us for the
weekend on the campsite. Instead of diving, they
spent the day on the beach instead building up energy
for the next week.
Since I joined the club there hasn’t been that many
young divers. Most of them finish their dive course,
but tend not to have had the opportunity to gain
experience in diving yet. For those who dived on the
weekend, this was an opportunity to improve their
knowledge and get more confidence in their skills.
Hopefully I'll get the chance to dive soon with them
again.
Before letting our new members in the water we
talked about diving in general, common problems
and own experience, minimising problems on their
first dive. When looking back this refresher was
important in preventing any incident underwater. I
suggest that these briefings are done every time new
South West Rocks with Fish Rock Cave and Green
Island was by far my best Douts trip so far! I'm
looking forward to diving there soon again.
Christian Goslich
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UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
Attempt on the world record for underwater ironing
The Brisbane Waters Aqualung Club (BWAC) on the Central Coast of NSW has about 50 members and has been
in existence since 1959 and we still have some of our foundation members diving!
We have decided to attempt the World Record for Underwater Ironing with three objectives in mind
1.
2.
3.
Raise some money for two charities that continually assist people on the Central Coast
a. ChildFlight
b. Cancer Council
Raise awareness of our club and SCAN and drive membership for both
Showcase a new sporting facility in the area, the Peninsula Leisure Centre in Woy Woy
And of course in the process, hopefully achieve a new world record.
So far we have support from you Tabata, Sub-Sea Salvage, Emergency Management and Rescue Service and are
in the process of getting more sponsors to donate some prizes to raffle so that we can raise as much money for
charity as possible.
Two of the local radio stations, 2GO and SEA FM will be assisting us with local publicity and getting their listeners
to bring in their old irons to drop-off points at the Central Coast Retrovision stores (The Entrance, Toukley,
Gosford, Umina and Woy Woy). We are also hoping to have TV coverage of the event with the possibility of some
pre-event publicity on the morning shows
We will have a sausage sizzle happening (at a small cost) and there will be tents for competitors to shelter from the
sun while they gear up (it will be daylight savings time then and still be a bit warm).
What we need are divers who would like to participate in the record attempt and ironing boards (by the way the
irons will not be plugged in). The details are as follows
DATE: Saturday 26th November
TIME: 5.00pm arrival to gear up and be briefed for a 6.00pm start
VENUE: The Peninsula Leisure Centre, Blackwall Road, Woy Woy (just near Gosford on the Central Coast of
NSW)
The cost for divers will be $10 which includes a T-shirt depicting the record attempt, along with an entry for a lucky
Dive Prize.
Spectators will be able to view the attempt (and enjoy the many facilities at the Leisure Centre) from 4.00pm for the
normal pool entry fee (although we are negotiating a lower fee at the moment) and T-shirts will be available for a
cost of $15. There will also be loads of prizes to be won and ALL the money that is raised from diver entry, t-shirt
sales and raffles will be donated to the charities.
The pool is indoors and heated to 26c so wetsuits won’t be necessary, fins wouldn’t be needed either.
Once we have set the new record, we will be challenging those in Victoria and New Zealand to beat our record and
hopefully we can have a ‘state of origin’, ‘tri-nations’ type of thing happening (I know that we don’t have three
nations represented here, but Vic and NSW often view each other as being from a different country).
If you need any other information, just give me a call (details below). Also, could any clubs who are interested
please contact me with your possible diver numbers for this attempt. Why not make a weekend of it and come and
do some diving on Sunday with us!
THANKS
Sue Dengate
President, BWAC
Mobile: 0417 028286
E-mail: [email protected]
Page 15
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
Forthcoming Away Trips
Jervis Bay - December 2005
10-11 December 2005
We will be camping at Green Patch. Note that arrival can be on Friday night, our sites are DW35, DW
36 and DD61. Please leave room for truck and boat parking in front of site DD61.
Contact Judy Matthews for further details.
Trips away co-ordinator [email protected] phone: 9797 8291
Wooli – December 2005
DOUTS is heading north for Xmas, to the best dive spot in NSW - Wooli! 620Km (approx 9 hours) drive north
from Sydney.
Dates: Truck and boat, and volunteer drivers Rob and Carol will be there from Saturday 18th December 05 to 2nd
January 06. 4 powered Campsites are booked at the Wooli Bushland Park. Cabins are possibly available, ring Jan
or Richard 6649 7519.
You can stay the full 2+ weeks or part of - please advise the dates you intend to join us.
I will post details on how to get there closer to Xmas.
Pimpernel rock is a pinnacle that rises from 45m to 15m. The swimthrough is almost always haunted by grey nurse
sharks…… on the deeper more protected parts of the pinnacle the growth is superb telecom corals, sponges,
gorgonias, whips ,many with tiger anemones attached….. on deco you’re often checked out by pelagics on one
memorable occasion by a manta ray!! It is however a site for experienced divers only.
+ north solitary island always provides protection from wind or current….anemone bay has the largest area
covered in anemones you will see any where, including the GBR!! = the shark gutters & split rock. Suitable for all
level divers.
The mixing of temperate& tropical currents results in an amazing diversity of marine life.
Contact: Judy Matthews
Trips away co-ordinator [email protected] phone: 9797 8291
Have an idea for a trip? Talk to the trips away co-ordinator, Judy Matthews. Your suggestions
are most welcome and you can organised and help run trips of your choice.
Page 16
UTS Dive Club Newsletter
Doutless & Diving
Position
Officer
Home Ph.
Work Ph.
Email
President
Wayne Dyer
0408 039 329
9229 4557
[email protected]
Vice President
Peter Jones
9481-9031
0408 031 775
[email protected]
Secretary
Mike Wiles
9904 1678
9908 3215
[email protected]
Treasurer
Brett Van Zuylen
9716-8225
9841 4451
[email protected]
Truck Master
Rob Mapstone
9531 1467
0414 636927
Boat Master
Rob Laird
Local Dive Coordinator
George Evatt
9665-5353
Away Dive Coordinator
9797-8291
Editor
Judy Matthews
Rona Taylor
Rose Saltman
Webmaster
Jeff Ferenczy
Dive Course Coordinator
Laurence Yip
Hire Equipment Officer
Laurence Yip
Fund Raising Officer
Sophia Marano
0417 452696
Social Activities Coordinator
0417 452696
9664 6324
0410 415 999
Expeditions Coordinator
Sophia Marano
Curtis Brager
Les Matthews
9797-8291
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Coral Sea Co-ordinator
Jeff Ferenczy
0428 665049
0428 665049
[email protected]
Safety Officer
Tim Anderson
9660-4580
Environment Officer
John Olsen
9428-5969
9317 7463
[email protected]
Student liaison
Christine Mathies
Fernando Pena
9664 1189
9416 1101
0403 828247
0409 069323
[email protected]
[email protected]
0422 633126
[email protected]
0412 777 330
[email protected]
9904-1678
9908-3215
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
0428 665049
0428 665049
[email protected]
0410 566 738
[email protected]
0410 566 738
[email protected]
9664 6324
[email protected]
[email protected]
The club rents out Regulator, Tank and BC for only $7/set per day ($15/set/day to non-union members). Sets may be broken
up if you only need bits (like a tank). The rate for this is $3/piece per day ($6/piece per day to non-union members). A
deposit of $20 is also necessary. You must return the gear cleaned, and with a full tank of air, otherwise you will forfeit your
deposit. Please book with the nearest gearkeeper as listed below.
Region/suburb
Role (email)
Gear
Contact
Home ph
North/N Narrabeen
Gear Keeper north
2 full sets
Laurence Yip
0410 566738
East/Coogee
Gear Keeper east
2 full sets
Sophia Marano 0417 452696
West/Strathfield
Gear Keeper west
2 full sets
Terence Chu
0414 642251
LOCAL DIVE STORES SUPPORTING DOUTS MEMBERS
FROG DIVE Stores
$5 Air Fills
10-15% off hire equipment, 15% off all sale equipment
Best price on dive packages.
Courses at FROG DIVE TEAM rates.
GUILDFORD: 395 Guildford Rd West, Ph:9892-3422
WILLOUGHBY: 539 Willoughby Rd, Ph:9958-5699
Web: http://www.frogdive.com.au/
Discounts do not apply to special offers, show your DOUTS card to reap rewards!
Page 17