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| Date: | 2004-03-28 | Location: | Portsea Pier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather: | Fine, Sunny, 32°C | Dive Number: | 13 |
| Sea Conditions: | 0.5m waves | Visibility: | 5m |
| Dived From: | Pier | Weights: | 12kg |
| Time In: | 16:30 | Time Out: | 17:00 |
| Depth: | 5m | ABT: | 25 minutes |
| Start Group: | B | Residual N2: | 39 minutes |
| End Group: | C | TBT: | 64 minutes |
After our earlier dive on the pier we headed back for lunch, rest, and air-fills. My lunch was clearly too-large, as I failed to fit back into my wetsuit afterwards, going from a size 4.5 to size 5.
Our dive was due to be a short one, since the Dive Victoria shop would be closing at 5pm and we needed to get their equipment back before then. Once again we found a variety of fish life, weedy sea-dragons, and a green-gilled clam.
I also learnt two important lessons when pier diving. One is to be on the look-out for fishing line. Fishing lures are intentionally colourful and bright to attract fish, but they also do a great job of attracting divers. The first time I saw a lure my reaction was: "Cool, what's that? Let's go and see!" I was almost tangled in the line before I saw the hook and line. Later on in the dive, Jacinta did become tangled in a line, although luckily nobody tried to reel her in, and removing the line wasn't too difficult.
The second thing I learnt about pier diving had to do with boats, and that it's very scary to have one go over the top of you. I knew where the boating lanes were, but near the end of the dive didn't realise that I had entered one. Having a very loud, and (from your standpoint) very large vessel go over the top of you and blot out the sun is a great way to invoke a panic response, although luckily not one that will send you to the surface. In my case, it was hugging the sand on the bottom and trying to clamber in the direction of the shore. Ever since then I've had a very healthy respect for boating traffic, including steering clear of any known boat lanes, and ensuring that I'm very visible on the surface whenever boats may be around.
At the end of the dive we hauled ourselves onto the shore to find a wonderful Dive Victoria staff member on the pier waiting for us. Despite it being right-on closing time our gear was happily trollied back to the shop. That's so much better than having to carry it.
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