First dive
A friend and I did our open water dive mid last week. We had an absolute ball... We did our last dive as students at Crystal Palace, just off Parker Point at Rotto. There we saw some awesome caves and ledges and swim throughs ranging from 5-18m deep, there was Crays, Rays, a Turtle, loads of skippy and heaps of other fish- I can see why some people get so enthusiastic about diving....
I splashed out on a Rob Allen 1100 spear gun and was itching to have a shot with it... The next day my mate and I decided to hire tanks and go and try for our selves off my boat just out from Herring bay on GI. We got out there and sounded around for a while, anchored up in 12-15m and jumped in... There was some great ground but not that much life down there... no crays so we came back empty handed but we did see a cuttlefish that must have been 700mm long and he was really inquisitive, and a few Dusky Morwongs so an enjoyable first unsupervised dive... Getting back onto the boat was a different story... the wind had picked up and we got beaten by the boat getting back on...
We still had a full tank each and didn't fancy going back into that swell so thought the D9 might be fun and headed into the sound.. we found it on the sounder so anchored up and went in.. we descended and the viz was only 3m max so we followed the compass and saw another big Morwong and two blue swimmers on the job.... we were down there for 35 mins and could we f##k find it... when we came back to the surface we had gone about 150 m in front of the boat so drifted back and called it a day... we were really suprised how easy it was to get lost and totaly disorientated!
Has anyone dived the D9 before and is it worth going back for another try????
So any way thats it just a quicky......
NEVER PUSH YOUR GRANNY WHEN SHE'S SHAVING
reef-raider
Posts: 65
Date Joined: 04/10/10
ive always wanted too
i recently learnt there is a sunken barge called the D9 and a D9 dozer in the sound which one are you refuring to. I've since found the barge its a bit hard to miss on the sounder and the dozer would probably be a boring dive but i still want to check it out.
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
There is no dozer, its just
There is no dozer, its just the 9th dredge barge.
kwozz
Posts: 36
Date Joined: 03/11/09
d9
there is a dozer off the causeway, ive been on it
mrwinta
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 14/01/10
yea I was refering to the
yea I was refering to the barge... I didn't know about the dozer though.... how would I find that mate??? (if you don't mind me asking)
NEVER PUSH YOUR GRANNY WHEN SHE'S SHAVING
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Sorry kwozz, but the last
Sorry kwozz, but the last pictures I saw were a barge too. Always happy to change my mind but it would take some proof.
Besides, if there was a D9 near the causeway, it would be above the waterline most of the time. They are at least 4m high.
hlokk
Posts: 4293
Date Joined: 04/04/08
Gotta remember to ping the D9
Gotta remember to ping the D9 on the sidescan sometime and find the exact coords. Keep in mind if you find any gps coords on the net they could be in the old datum and you'll need to convert them. I think they're about 200m off. As for being a dive site, I haven't heard many good things about it, especially with poor visibility most of the time. There are other wrecks that would be more interesting but the d9 might still be worth one dive?
Paul G
Posts: 5215
Date Joined: 12/12/07
Yes I still get bushed
Yes I still get bushed sometimes even after 20 years of diving .Can get you in big trouble if you down current of the boat .I like to dive edges as it gives you something to follow.
Active Gyp-Rok solutions ,Residential and commercial ceilings and walls
Cammos
Posts: 606
Date Joined: 30/06/09
Welcome to the wonderful
Welcome to the wonderful world of diving mate. Just remember you will probably blow three quarters of a tank when you hit your first fish. I know I did.
Reefmonkey
Posts: 711
Date Joined: 22/09/08
Congrats!
Congratulations on your first dive! Pretty sure there is a vid on youtube of someone free diving the D9 that was posted on either here or wa divers. Getting in and out can be interesting sometimes! having just completed your course i'm sure you'll still be a gun at getting your kit off on the surface, handy hint if your not already doing it, we hang ropes and SS clip's over the sides of the boat, get your gear off in the water clip it on and just walk on up and pull your gear up over when your ready and rested.
Dave J.
mrwinta
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 14/01/10
Na.. we run a line out of the
Na.. we run a line out of the back to a fender so we can grab it, and use a second anchor with more rope out incase the main gets draged into deeper water, but thats about all .. but thanks for the tip that sounds like it would make life a lot easier!!! I was also told to hang a weight on a 5 m rope from the boat so you can hang there for safety / decompression stops as trying to suspend in mid mater is not that easy when you're just getting started....
NEVER PUSH YOUR GRANNY WHEN SHE'S SHAVING
southcity104
Posts: 1659
Date Joined: 27/01/09
The D9 is a fun dive.
Its a large barge 30meters or more long. Plenty of schooling bread and butter species. Along with skippy, tarwhine, rays and gunards. Various soft corals and more tackle than BCF. My last dive there i picked up 3 decent anchors
and dont miss the letter box on the east front end.
"Its a life style job"
mrwinta
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 14/01/10
I wreckon it would be worth a
I wreckon it would be worth a good look again from what you say southcity104.... also I do fish that now and again so actualy checking it out and seeing it for real would possibly help my misrable attempts at catching a fish there!!!
BTW if anyone needs a dive buddy from time to time pm me. I work away doing 2 weeks on 2 off but have a boat and live in Rocko.... I promise I dont need babysitting... haha....
NEVER PUSH YOUR GRANNY WHEN SHE'S SHAVING
Nauti Buoy
Posts: 595
Date Joined: 20/04/09
mrwinta
Mate- hope you have more luck next time. One thing to remember always try and have the anchor on the EXACT spot you want to dive, especially if the site is small. Then you just follow your anchor line down to where you want to go. If you are not convinced your anchor is on the spot, then re-anchor. There is nothing worse than wasting a tank and not finding what you are looking for.
PS I always throw over a float with 2 or 3 SS clips, so when you surface clip your gear on, throw your weightbelt in the boat and climb onboard. Then you can rest for a while and haul your gear in when you are ready.
Pete D
Posts: 1681
Date Joined: 07/06/07
Welcome to the underwater
Welcome to the underwater world. Mermaid line as mentioned. If you are worried about your anchor pulling, then it is time to upgrade the anchor and chain. As said anchor on your spot, dive down the anchor line and set the anchor/chain. Have a good look around for features to get a refenence for your return. Take note of the sun aswell throughout the dive. Over time your navigation back to the boat will improve. The biggest trap I find is when hunting crays.
The D9 barge is a good dive...even at night (when no snapper fishing is happening). Haven't done it for a few years now.
Cheers Pete