Thanks to all those who attended our outing on the 15th. A damp and foggy morning does not do much to inspire anybody to get out of bed on a Sunday so congratulations for persevering.

We had a team of 8 on the day, with just the one non-diver, Cathy. Mr and Mrs Chan deserve credit for navigating us safely to our dive site. Thick fog reduced visibility to less than 500m at times necessitating a vigilant lookout and good use of the GPS chart and local knowledge. About 2 km from our destination though, we escaped the fog bank and were rewarded with a good view of Basalt Island.

A cloudy sky made it difficult to judge how clear the water would be but as the first wave splashed in (with a few exclamations re. the cold!) the sight of the divers descending to the bottom but still visible from the surface boded well. On their return the first wave reported good viz of 5m plus and sightings of morays, octopus, lots of shrimp and anemone fish and dense clouds of fish fry.

The junk having swung in the current to be closer to the small island at the south west corner of Basalt, the 2nd wave opted to swim in that direction and ended up swimming around it. Initially visibility was quite poor though a little cow fish and nudibranchs were found amongst the rocks. Closer to the island and in it's lee however, visibility improved markedly and their efforts were rewarded with the sighting of a large marble ray (1.5m dia) swimming by, seemingly unphased by the company of divers swimming alongside it. A strong current made for heavy work in returning to the junk and the divers surfaced after an hour to find themselves with a long surface swim before they could voice their excitement over the ray to those awaiting their 2nd dive.

In light of the current, every-body's 2nd dive was focused north of our anchorage and easterly toward shore. Copious cups of hot water were used to warm up chilly boots and wetsuits to ease the discomfort of donning wet gear. The fog had descended on us again denying anybody the chance to dry their kit out. Nobody passed up the opportunity to get back in though and visibility was comfortably 5m or more. No more rays but the tumbled rocks at 12m and shallower provided ample opportunity for exploration with every one putting in at least a 40 minute dive (well, 39 minutes for Stephen and Timo), and the aggressive clown fish kept us on our toes.

Last diver was back aboard shortly after 4pm and the strengthening wind had thinned the fog such that the return journey was quite a bit quicker and we were alongside in Tso Wo Hang by 5:15pm.

Many thanks again to all who participated, particularly Alice Wu who was making her first trip with the club and joined up on the day. Turns out two 3mm suits was a good combination for keeping out the worst of the chill. Hopefully we'll see a lot more of Alice and a few more of our members on future club outings.

Bruce Stephens
23 February 2009