Once more the guys (and Caroline) go diving - where were all of our other women divers? We had Todd, David, Jason, Richard, Tristan and Nigel. Poor Caroline had to keep us all in line. Actually, she had help from Swee Bee and Agnes above water, but had to tough it out by herself underwater.
More important, where were all the fish? Maybe they have gotten tired of swimming about in murky waters stirred up by the over-abundance of typhoons this summer. However, maybe the fish can hear the loud breathing plongeurs of the Underwater Club long before we can see them, so are keeping out of sight! I suspect that Dr. Colwill's treatise on fish visibility is true. [This can be found in the June issue of newsletter.] Does anybody have a rebreather for sneaking up on the denizens of the deep?
Enough whinging about those that did not show - on with the dive! Our amazingly punctual crew cast off from the Tso Wo Hang pier at the appointed hour and set sail for the delights of the South China Sea. There were seven divers and seven non-divers on board. When the DM mentioned our hoped for destination of Tai Long Wan to the coxswain, he murmured back "typhoon". Oh yes, there was a typhoon that passed south of us and hit Vietnam earlier in the week. Rocky Harbour was fine, but when we went through the Sor See Mun passage, things livened up considerably. The junk roll started but not bad enough to shift the table. Deciding that Tai Long Wan was a bit too exposed we pulled into our Chairman's favourite diving site. Too bad he was not with us - going on a liveaboard trip in the Coral Sea is not an excuse! The anchorage by the two caves was calm, but there was a bit of rocking at first that gave a couple of people queasy stomachs. We were the only boat anchored in the bay, so we did not have to worry about divers getting run over by speeding motorboats. Some of the non-divers went onto shore and walked about. Swimming around the boat was a popular pastime and several of the better swimmers went over to the caves.
Caroline went off with Jason, who just got back the day before from England. We did not have any trouble keeping track of them - their heavy breathing caused great spouts of bubbles to come up. Ahem, well they did not have such an easy time keeping track of each other. Has anybody ever heard of a PADI Rescue Diver and a Divemaster getting separated going down the anchor line? In 10 metres of water? Well you have now! Jason was found hiding under the bow by the DM, looking out to sea for any sign of his wife and buddy. Caroline's bubbles were easy to spot from the deck of the boat, and Caroline herself was soon seen. The inevitable question and answer period ensued, but will not be detailed for fear of disillusioning those of you who still believe in marital bliss and harmony.
"Hmm", said David, "I think I've left the thingamajig that goes on the end of this hose back in the car, can I borrow yours Nigel?" "Well okay," says Nigel, "we won't be doing decompression diving today." Off went David, happy as can be. Back came David, happy as can be, having seen a lobster. "Oh no," says Nigel when he turned on his air after getting his thingamajig back and putting it on the end of his hose, "it says 'do not fly for one hour', now I cannot go off the side." So off he went with Richard and Tristan, taking great care not to get airborne.
David decided that he was not going to do a second dive (so he thought) so Todd, no longer green faced, joined the second wave and went with Tristan. The Diving Officer and Secretary, a.k.a. the Dive Marshal, went off by themselves and were able to prove that Brownian motion can get you back to the boat in an hour, with nobody else being the wiser. These two should co-author a paper on the results of their research.
By the time we were ready to raise the anchor, there were lots of nice red crispy people on the boat, it having been a rather nice day. Mrs. Lee put the anchor hoist to work but decided to stop when the bow tried to submerge. Mr. Lee tried everything he knew to get the anchor loose. We pulled at it from all the points of the compass but it would not come free. David, having greatly regretted his earlier decision to not have a second dive, decided that this was a good opportunity to add one more to his unknown total. On with the kit and over the side! It was a very short swim to the anchor since we were right above it. Those of us on the boat noted David's great effort as he was breathing hard to free the firmly wedged anchor. We had anchored further out than normal to avoid damaging the coral on the bottom, but obviously not far enough. All Dive Marshals take note!
There was a surprisingly quick one-hour trip back to the pier. The sunset was beautiful and the scenery as magnificent as always. An added bonus was that it was Swee Bee's birthday (I am sworn to secrecy as to which one it was) and she brought her own birthday cake. We sang to her surprisingly well then tucked into the cake. It was not quite perfect, as someone had rearranged the contents of the cooler and turned the cake box onto its side. It still tasted the same though! All on board thoroughly enjoyed the day, except for the two uncooperative stomachs. Now that the typhoon season is past, the visibility should pick up again and we should start to find more fish.
Nigel Cornwell
23 October 1999