Underwater Research Group of New South Wales
Presidents Slate
Hey all,
I hope you are all doing well. The season has flown by, and I can hardly believe we're approaching the last weeks of summer.
Huge thanks to Josh for tuning the new engine. He intends to swap it out on Wednesday, 12 Feb. If anyone is available to assist, please get in touch.
Exciting things are in preparation for March. The Ocean Lovers Festival has blown up into a full month of ocean-related talks, shows, presentations, screenings and citizen science initiatives. I know a few club members, particularly Sarah, is involved in some of the events. We will publish more of the details in the March Bulletin. Check out the full program here.
The current situation with the shark nets is that Randwick Council is the last to cast their vote, which will occur on 25 February. They may be inclined to vote in favor of keeping the nets, even though all other councils have either voted to remove them or have abstained. Those who have connections with any Randwick councillors are urged to email and reach out to them.
We have also received 3 eDNA kits to sample the water near the shark cave in Bondi, so if any free-divers are interested in taking a swim out there, let us know.
Excited to see everyone at the first general meeting on Tuesday, February 11, at the Oaks, where Marco from Viz will join us to share his secrets on interpreting weather charts and selecting the best shore dive locations.
Convenors, please consider your availability so we can begin testing the new motors and get members out on the water.
North Bondi over the summer
Cheers,
Duncan Heuer
Dive Reports
A Perfect Day Out on the URG Boat - December 14th
by Charlie Elliott
On December 14th, we had an absolutely stunning day out on the URG boat, led by our club president and Convenor, Duncan. The divers for the day were Charlie, Sarah, Sascha, and Victoria.
The weather was beautiful and sunny as we made our way to the entrance of Botany Bay and anchored off Kurnell. The anchor point was perfect, dropping us just off the big rock. With the tide going out, we started both dives heading into the bay and then turned around with the current to head back.
Our first dive had decent visibility, and we were thrilled to spot Weedy Seadragons and a Nembrotha Purpureolineata. As we finished the dive, we were surrounded by hundreds of little moon jellyfish, which was quite a surreal experience as they obscured our view.
The conditions were so lovely that we decided to dive the same site again. The second dive was even clearer than the first and had less current. This time, we were delighted to find three Pygmy Pipehorses together. It was hard to turn back to the boat and leave them behind.
Overall, it was a beautiful day of diving, and we encourage all our members to book onto the boat for future dives. The more, the merrier, and we need as many people as possible to keep days like this going ahead!
History Articles
The Gap 2006
by Michael Abbott
Great dive site today. Anchored URG boat off Gap cave and swam down rock slope and SE along sand reef line towards Elephant rock. 21-22 degree blue water with 20 meter viz. Saw all the usual wrasse but so many fish it was almost like LongReef. Swam in and out huge schools of ladder Fin pomfrets, yellowtail and one spot chromis. Saw a weedy sea dragon, a moray and a spotted wobbegong. A school of 40 kingfish cruising amongst nervous clouds of bream, chromis, mado and sweep.
Lots of common nudibranchs to add extra colour to the sponges and a rock wall coloured crinoid white by tiny white feather stars.
An angel shark added the heavenly twist. Thanks to Janet, Jeanie, Bill , Christine, Jonathon, Wayne B and Cuong for joining me in coffee, biscuits, snakes, chocolate and of course oranges before a pleasant sunny harbour cruise back to Tunks.
URG Bare Island 1963
Upcoming Events
Next general meeting - 11th Feb at the Oaks - Marco Bordieri will be joining us to talk about the science and rational behind his diveability forecasts to help all our members when picking their shore dives for the day!
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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