Scuba diving in the Whitsunday Islands

On the second day of our Whitsunday cruise, we went scuba diving. Since I’d never dove before, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I had done some snorkeling before, but only briefly in a lake on Fraser Island. There, I had only looked down through the water and onto the white lake floor. In the Whitsundays, we would be swimming through the Great Barrier Reef.

In small groups of three or four, we were taken out for free 30-minute introductory dives. Along side Andrew and an English guy, I put on my wetsuit, which was really to protect against jellyfish stings more than anything. The instructor, a soft spoken man named Carlo, showed us how to breath and taught us the appropriate hand signals for any situation that might arise underwater...[Link]

'Significant find': Divers discover Glenelg shipwreck

A shipwreck has been found off Victoria's east coast 109 years after 31 people drowned when it mysteriously sank.

The Glenelg set off from Lakes Entrance, east of Melbourne, on March 25, 1900 on a regular short run to Bairnsdale.

The iron steamer's captain Thomas English is believed to have double-checked the ships two lifeboats moments before sailing, telling bystanders it was always best to be prepared.

The lifeboats were used by the ship's only three survivors when it ran into bad weather and monstrous waves not long after leaving shore.

Survivors told a marine board inquiry they heard a crash before water began to fill the ship.

More than a century later, their evidence helped a group of wreck divers discover the Glenelg lying upright on the sea bed...[Link]

Historic ship to become diver's wreck

HMAS Adelaide, the ship that came to the rescue of stranded yachtsmen and terrified asylum seekers, now begins its final chapter underwater.

The decommissioned frigate was on Friday handed over by the commonwealth to the NSW government and will be sunk off Terrigal on the NSW Central Coast later in the year to create an artificial reef and dive wreck.

NSW Premier Nathan Rees said instead of being scrapped or dumped, the ex-HMAS Adelaide would be used by generations of divers.

"Coral will grow on the metal you see before you, fish will swim through the corridors that once rang with the sound of action stations," Mr Rees said.

"And divers will find a place of contemplation and beauty as nature slowly reclaims her broken frame."...[Link]

Vacation!

AUS and Tasmania...back in 2 weeks!

'Best job in the world': profile of Briton Ben Southall

Mr Southall, an adventurer from Petersfield, Hants, has already travelled the world on fundraising expeditions.

He worked as a tour guide in Africa after graduating from university with a science degree and then came back to the UK where he has spent the past few years working as a charity events manager and fundraiser.

The 34 year old introduced himself, in his one-minute video pitch for the Queensland job, by saying: “Hi, I’m Ben, otherwise known as the adventurous, crazy, energetic one.”

Mr Southall describes himself as a dynamic, gregarious and hardworking go-getter.

“The most important thing to me in life is to have an exciting job that makes me happy, puts smiles on peoples’ faces and achieves challenging goals,” he said in his application.

He has ridden an ostrich and his interests include scuba diving, bungee jumping, mountain biking and photography.

In his spare time, he also manages a music festival and keeps fit running marathons and climbing...[Telegraph]

Australian islands offer cut-price paradise amid recession

The global financial crisis has driven down the price of tropical islands in Australia, creating big bargains for would-be Robinson Crusoes seeking a coral-fringed paradise retreat.

Richard Vanhoff, a realtor in the northeastern state of Queensland who has about 10 islands on his books, most located near the famed Great Barrier Reef, said Thursday that prices have dropped as the recession bites.

"The initial asking price on some islands was a bit high and they've now come in lower and are a lot more reasonable that what (sellers) were asking initially," he told AFP.

"Some were asking six million dollars (4.2 million US) initially, when their island was certainly worth in the millions, but definitely not six."

One of the properties Vanhoff's Coldwell Banker Capricorn Coast estate agency is marketing is Turtle Island, which he said Hollywood star Julia Roberts missed out on buying eight years ago.

She may want to renew her interest as Vanhoff said the island -- complete with mansion, helipad and in-ground swimming pool -- was now available for "any reasonable offer" down from an initial asking price of 6.75 million dollars...[Google]

100-year-old wreck found off Fremantle

A SHIPWRECK discovered off Rottnest Island is believed to be a steam dredge which built Fremantle harbour more than 100 years ago.
Former Member for Fremantle the Hon. Jim McGinty, WA Museum principal author Graeme Henderson and Geoff Kimpton found the 48-metre long iron wreck lying on reef in 12 metres of water, 1km west of Straggler’s Rocks during a recreational dive.

Although the vessel was in many pieces and camouflaged by marine growth, Mr Henderson said but the location, depth, size and condition of the wreck point towards it being the Fremantle.

The dredge was built in 1894 and played an important role in building the port harbour during the 1890s when shipping access to the Swan River river was blocked by a rocky bar across the entrance.

Graeme Henderson said other vessels were scuttled off Rottnest Island but records showed the Fremantle was the only one scuttled on reef west of Straggler’s Rocks...[PerthNow.com]

Divers urged to take snaps of sharks

DIVERS exploring the waters off the east coast are being urged to carry digital cameras, in case they come face to face with a shark.

Sean Barker, a Macquarie University marine researcher, is aiming to compile a computerised photo album recording every grey nurse shark.

Once wrongly suspected of being man-eaters, grey nurse sharks were almost hunted to extinction. In 2000 a NSW Department of Fisheries survey estimated there could be as few as 292 left on Australia's east coast.

"I think that's pessimistic," Mr Barker said yesterday. However, "there are probably no more than 1000".

Project Spotashark, launched in collaboration with a friend and keen diver, Peter Simpson, "will hopefully iron out the real number".

They want divers who spot a grey nurse to photograph it and to download the pictures to Spotashark.com.

"We need to see the shark side on, from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail," Mr Barker said. While divers could photograph either profile "the left side is preferable".

Every grey nurse has a unique array of dots "just like freckles". The researcher intends to log the photographed dots to create a data base that can be used "like fingerprints" to identify every shark.

"The software was developed by the same people who developed the FBI's fingerprint computer system."

In just four months the project has collected almost 100 grey nurse photos. However, shooting them all could take years.

By sending in shark snaps divers will provide researchers with information needed to track individual animals...[SydneyMorningHerald]

Hamilton Island -- jewel of the Great Barrier Reef

Amid all the dark economic forecasts of late, sun seekers looking to escape the misery of the cold of Japan and get the most out of the strengthened yen are rediscovering Australia and its spectacular Great Barrier Reef.

Budget airline Jetstar recently burst onto the scene in Japan with inaugural 8,000 yen roundtrip deals from Narita to Cairns -- less than one-fifth of the regular return fare of 46,000 yen. Even though those opening specials have evaporated like a mirage, getting warm this winter doesn't have to break the bank.

Hamilton Island, in the heart of the 74 isles that make up the Whitsundays off the Queensland coast, attracts many Japanese tourists who account for almost 10 percent of visitors to the island.

The island is blessed with breathtaking views -- from beaches with turquoise blue waters, to a peaceful marina dotted with small shops and restaurants.

"The weather is really hot, but it feels good," said 29-year-old Shinya Watanabe from Tokyo, who was visiting the island on his honeymoon with 30-year-old wife Yuki.

In late January, there is almost a 30-degree-Celsius difference in temperature between northern Australia and Tokyo. "We're enjoying the relaxed lifestyle here. We should have come earlier," said the newlyweds...[MainichiDailyTimes]

River Derwent clean-up

Tasmanians are being urged to think about the impact littering has on the marine environment. A clean-up of part of the River Derwent near Princes Wharf yesterday was organised by the Environment Department and the Tasmanian Scuba Diving Club.

Items found ranged from cigarette butts, car parts and metals to chairs and a bicycle.

Carinda Rue from the Environment Department says people don't think about the affect littering has on marine life. "Plastics do last a long time in the environment a lot of plastics do pose a significant risk to marine life through choking and swallowing, a lot of the plastics do look like food that a lot of our marine life would normally ingest," she said...[ABC]

Mermaid wreck found in reef waters

A wreck found on the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns in far north Queensland is almost certainly that of the historic vessel HM Colonial Schooner Mermaid, wrecked on June 13, 1829.

Archaeologists from the Australian National Maritime Museum were scanning Flora Reef, 13km east of the Frankland Islands off Cairns, when they found an anchor and other metal fittings.

They believe the discovery marks the final resting place of HMSC Mermaid, a government vessel that ran aground and broke up on a voyage from Sydney to northern Australia...[TheWest]

Great Barrier Reef v Mount Everest v Loch Ness

The Great Barrier Reef, Mount Everest and Loch Ness are vying to become semi-finalists in the competition to become one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

261 places have been nominated from 222 countries including the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls and Nigeria's Zuma Rock.

Votes over the internet can be cast until today, with over a billion people expected to help nominate the 77 semi-finalists.

A panel of nature experts from the UN and UNESCO will reduce the list to 21 finalists in July and the seven winners will then be chosen in another round of public voting lasting until 2011...[LiveNews]

HMAS Brisbane's underwater allure

The Sunshine Coast dive industry has almost doubled in size in a matter of years, as news of the HMAS Brisbane scuttling off Mooloolaba has spread worldwide. In contrast to the disaster of last summer when bad weather plagued all Coast tourism operators, this year has seen the dive industry working 12-hour days, seven days a week for three weeks just to cope with demand.

Scuba World proprietor Ian McKinnon said the dive industry was actually grateful for the two-day reprieve due to poor weather. The dive business was up 27% on the same time last year - a year marred by bad weather but still about 8% up on the previous year. “We usually have busy weekends and quieter week days but we’ve been putting in 12 hours days from 6am to 6pm,” he said.

“We need the break but you’ve got to make hay while the sun shines,” he said. “There’s no doubt, news of the sinking of The Brisbane and the sort of dive experience offered has spread across the world,” he said...[TheDaily]

WWII shipwreck found off NT coastline

One of the first ships destroyed in Australian waters during World War II has been found off the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory.

Four people died when the steamship USS Florence D, packed with explosives, was sunk by Japanese bombers on their way to begin the first attack on Darwin in February 1942.

Just hours before, the ship had rescued the crew of a flying boat, shot down by Japanese Zero fighters.

The surviving crew members then made their way in life rafts to nearby Bathurst Island where they were marooned for four days.

Sixty-six years later and after months of research, divers say they have found the freighter in murky waters, 85 nautical miles north-west of Darwin...[ABC]