April / May Bulletin
- Duncan Heuer
- 12 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Underwater Research Group of New South Wales
Presidents Slate
Hi all,
Big thanks those helped at Bunnings earlier this month - Hatty, Joshua B, John Swift, Vishal, Denise & John V, Walter and Ann, Karolyn, Charlotte Mills Robin Evans and Charlie. We raised $2610 for club, so outstanding result. The next one is on the 9th of June on the long weekend. Please put your name on the sheet if you can help out here.
Tropical cyclone Tam produced wonders for the surfers in April, but gave divers the opportunity catch up on chores they'd been postponing. Even traditional sheltered spots in the harbour produce good quality waves. I was amused to see surfers out in Balmoral.
We ventured out for a shore dive this weekend at Bare Island and viz was possibly the worst I've seen it. It was very surgey and it felt like there was a lot of movement in the water.
Fortuitously I took out a macro lens and I'm glad I did, otherwise I would have been very bored.
I don't have an awful lot to share this time as I've been away, so instead of babbling, I'll let you get on with reading the stories members have contributed.
See you all at the next GM in May.
Cheers,
Duncan Heuer
Rainy Saturday or how to cope with a URG boat cancellation
By Réka Spallino
The URG boat was cancelled on Friday. It is Saturday, the 29th of March and what do I do instead?
To be fair, the forecast for that morning is rain, rain and more rain. I can’t be dry, so I texted one of the few SCUBA dive friends, and fellow URG member, who might have the same need/urge.
Scott’s points are:
It doesn’t rain underwater
With the drysuit you don’t feel cold
And so it is, we meet at Bare Island at 7:00 am for a double shore dive with our drysuits. The parking lot is empty, as I have never seen it and during the entire morning, we will see 3 other divers. The ocean is flat, as also doesn't happen very often.
First cave
ITW= 08:12 am 17m 70 min 20-21C viz=up to 6m at depth
Deep wall
ITW=10:16am 19.3m 74 min 18-21C viz=up to 4m at depth
Easy entrances and exits, viz horrible at shallow (like a night dive) but cleared a bit up at depth both times especially when the thermocline hit. Usual suspects and my highlights = nudies (lots of Pteraeolidia ianthina), scorpion fish, octopus shooting ink, for which I had no camera on.
And Scott was right on both points! :)
Raja Ampat with Emperor Divers
by Hatty Conwell
Denise (URG member) and I dived in Palau last year and had such a fab time we decided we would arrange a dive trip each year. Denise had been to raja before on the same boat so she knew what luxury we were up for and it didn’t disappoint. The ship takes 12 guests and 12 crew. A schooner with plenty of space and a helpful, friendly crew.
The trek to Raja Ampat from Sydney is not much fun however totally worthwhile.
The crew met us at Sorong Airport after a 24 hour journey. The first day we travelled overnight sail to Misool. Misool is the southern most area of Raja. The beauty lies in its limited population and minimal dive boats. The sites are regulated to limit divers and protect the reef.
Our mornings started early with a dive before breakfast followed by two more dives in the day. Each dive brief was hand drawn on the white board by one of the divemasters who has dived Raja for twenty years.
We did a night dive and a few afternoons we went to the beach or walked to lookouts across the islands.
We sailed after each dive to the next site and variety was magnificent. We were blessed with calm seas. And the skipper managed to find comfortable anchorage each night. The boat was well appointed with spacious cabins and camera table and charging desk. Dive gear was set along the side gunnels with your own bucket for gear. The crew carried these to the dinghy for each dive and helped with gearing up. Most boats these days have Wifi with Starlink for those that need to work! Lucky for me it is just for my kids to track where I am, I do love the role reversal.
There is something for everyone in Raja Ampat. The fish life is abundant, with plenty of macro and the Mantas don’t disappoint.
As we slowly made our way north we dived 24 sites. Closer to Central Raja there were certainly more divers in the water however starting early meant we generally had the reef to ourselves.
I would highly recommend Emperor Divers. The food was delicious and plentiful. They is limited alcohol however soft drinks and beer a plenty, at a cost, and unlimited hot drinks and water.
My photos don’t do the trip justice but with over 4000 of them I have included a few.
Adex/Oztek Australia 2025
By Réka Spallino
It is the middle of March (Saturday and Sunday) and what do I do? I go to the International Convention Centre Sydney, where the Adex/Oztek Australia 2025 is being held.
Saturday the 15h of March I scooter with my friend, flatmate and SCUBA buddy Victoria. She drives and I try not to die from a heart attack.
We arrive around 09:25 am and pretty rapidly we disperse. It is my first time, so I really want to enjoy it to the maximum. It is one hall with 2 separate conference areas for which you had to buy extra tickets. I didn’t buy those tickets, so I am allowed to wander just in the free part where the exhibitors are and where the UW360 stage is. There is one cafe that also serves different types of lunches.
I see a lot of friendly and friends SCUBA divers, I watch a lot of interesting talks and in my heart I make plans for my SCUBA diving future. I have a little lunch break with a burger, but otherwise it is pretty full on: walk here, walk there, listen to this, listen to that, chat with this person, listen to this other.
I wish I had a step counter with me. I stay until the end, until 6:00pm and I see a lot of exhibitors closing down. After the 505 min, I am way more tired than after a full day of work.
Sunday the 16th of March I go by myself and take it “easier”. I arrive later, just before 11:00 am, staying still almost until closure, 4:30pm, having the same burger for lunch.
South West Rocks in Summer
By Michael Abbott
The only down side of the tree change has been the lack of access to the Club and to easy day-dives. So when a free weekend eventuated Janet and I jumped at a chance to return to South West Rocks (SWR) and again dived with the crew at South West Rocks Dive Centre. We stayed at the divers' accommodation next to the shop and above the tackle shop at 98 Gregory St, South West Rocks. SWR Dive Centre are really well organised and safety conscious, even providing their own steel nitrox tanks as part of the boat dive cost. All dives are guided which can be a bit hit and miss but we have never had a problem with the guides here.
The weeks before had seen a lot of rain in the Hunter and Mid North Coast and the river was running brown but we were assured by Kevin that Fish Rock would be fine. It was and we managed double dives on both days. It was overcast and gloomy but the visibility averaged 10 to 15 metres except for one dive at Fish and Chips which I logged as a night dive.
Previously I had not dived here at this time of year, so was unaware that the water temperature would be 24 degrees. The down side, no GNS but they were replaced by a Leopard Shark that hung around the mooring gutter. The cave had all the usual suspects, wobbegongs, crayfish, black cod,cowrie shells, sea cucumbers, bigeyes and bullseyes.
We also did two dives at my second favourite site here after the Pinnacle being the Aquarium. You do need to be cautious as if you venture too far you can get sucked into the current which will sweep you south and away at a great rate of knots. We both remember loosing Kong on a Club dive in that current. The risk reward is that you are constantly surrounded by large schools of fishes both temperate and tropical and have brief sightings of pelagics like kingys, samsonfish, spanish mackerel and various fusiliers.
A highlight for me was spotting a keyhole angelfish (Centropyge tibicen) amongst the tropical fish.
SWR Dive Centre and Fish Rock never disappoint.
History Article
Given the current years RLS dives are about to start in Sydney Harbour I thought it would be a good time to reflect on an earlier study done by URG. The Underwater Research Group produced a report after receiving a grant from Envirofund and the Natural Heritage Trust. The full report is available to any members who would like to see a copy.
Biodiversity Baseline Survey in the North Harbour Aquatic Reserve
Published in August 2005
1. Project Summary
The boundaries of the North (Sydney) Harbour Aquatic Reserve are formed by a line between the headlands at North Head and Grotto Point and a line joining Little Manly Point, Manly Point, and Forty Baskets Beach. The reserve extends from the seabed at these outer boundaries up to the mean high water mark between them and covers an area of approximately 260 hectares.
The location of the North (Sydney) Harbour Aquatic Reserve within Australia’s largest metropolitan area requires that the needs of a wide range of stakeholders be balanced with the necessity to protect a rich biodiversity. The project seeks to facilitate this process (currently underway in the development and implementation of a management plan) by providing baseline data on diversity and abundance of marine and estuarine species within the Reserve.
In addition, recent anecdotal evidence suggests that the noxious marine plant Caulerpa taxifolia has been sighted in the Manly area, near the boundary of North Harbour Aquatic Reserve. If this is the case, it may pose a significant risk to the biodiversity in the aquatic reserve. This project also aims to:
1. Conduct preliminary reconnaissance dives to confirm the existence of Caulerpa taxifolia and the extent of the infestation
2. Conduct transect dives to accurately map the infestation
3. In association with NSW Fisheries investigate options for its eradication.
The study is designed to provide a general overview of the current status, as well as following a reproducible methodology permitting subsequent analyses of changes in the Reserve’s ecology in future years.
What you can do in the reserve
Within the reserve, you can line fish for fish that have fins only
Licensed commercial fishers are also permitted to set lobster pots and beach hauling is restricted to an area north of Cannae Point and east of a line from Cannae Point to Manly Point and is only permitted on weekdays
Besides these activities, the collection or disturbance of marine life or habitat is prohibited, including collecting shellfish, pumping for worms, spear fishing and collecting dead or empty shells.
Why was the project necessary, and why have we chosen this way of tackling the problem?
Perhaps unique among the world’s big city harbours, Sydney Harbour still provides home to a large diversity of marine and estuarine species, despite the environmental pressure associated with a large metropolitan centre. The North Harbour Aquatic Reserve (NHAR) was declared on 26 March 1982 to protect this diversity, and a management plan for this area is currently being drafted. Given the accessible location of this area, there is a need to effectively balance the interests of a large variety of stakeholders, requiring data on which to base informed decisions. While the rich ecology of the sites within the NHAR is well known to recreational SCUBA divers, actual data is very sparse.The discovery of Caulerpa taxifolia in areas immediately adjacent to NHAR, increases the need to investigate the existence and abundance of this noxious marine pest within NHAR itself. This data will allow NSW Fisheries to develop appropriate response plans.
Upcoming Events
Next general meeting - at the Oaks - 13th May. This month we have the pleasure of hearing from award-winning photographer Gillian Shark, whose work aims to shift public perception of sharks and highlight their importance through captivating imagery and insightful observations. Gillian will share with us scientific research on shark social behaviours
9th June - advance notice Bunnings - please sign up to contribute a few hours here.
Dive Log and Oz Diver
Boat Dives
Boat dives are organised most weekends from the St George Motor Boat Club Marina in San Souci. Check https://www.urgdiveclub.org.au/dive-calendar and Facebook for dates and conveners to book onto dives.
Boat handling lessons.
Get in touch if interested
Editors Note
Published Items. The opinions expressed in the “URG Bulletin” are not necessarily those held by members, or the committee of the URG Dive Club. All material published in the URG Bulletin will remain the property of the original author or artist. Please give acknowledgement when citing articles.
Please check with the author informing them of your intention to republish their material, prior to publishing your article.
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