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25.01.2022 I have been meaning to do this for so long (Sorry Kade Mills & Chrissy Tustison)But on Sunday I finally headed over to Flinders set up to shoot Dragons for both our local Reefwatch Dragon project and Seadragonsearch.org. I was getting worried as I didn't see any at first, turns out they were not under the pier but hiding out in the Sea Grass. In the end I managed to find half a dozen including some egg loaded males. I was so engrossed in Dragons that I missed a Draughtboard Shark which swam a couple of meters away from me despite the best efforts of Christine Reynolds to attract my attention. Also diving was Peter Beaumont and given the strong Northerlies most of the rest of the Melbourne Dive community. Still good to see people getting out again.

24.01.2022 Our second night dive yesterday was on the SS Coogee. If the first dive was great, this one was even better. Without the surge we experienced on the Canberra we had a much easier time of it on the Coogee. Conditions were very nice and once again it was a kaleidoscope of colour everywhere we pointed a torch. An epic diving day finished about 9pm and I went to bed very happy, especially with the prospect of a lie in looming.

24.01.2022 Hi all I took this pic last time I dived in the Neptune Islands. We now have a group of 8 travelling to do the Rodney Fox Great White Shark trip ex Adelaide 13-...17th January 21. I have a single lady who is keen to join the trip but she needs a cabin mate. Are there any ladies out there who would be interested in joining the trip? Please note - you do not need to be a VSAG member. If so please come back to me ASAP if you are interested or want more details (There are just two spots left on the boat) Ian See more

23.01.2022 Right now you can park just 50 metres from the entrance to Rye Pier. When the planned Rye Foreshore changes are done, you could be forced to park up to 290 metres from the entrance to Rye Pier. Protect access to Rye Pier by signing this petition http://chng.it/XPGpT8FX42

21.01.2022 Chris Porter and I headed out to the Ships Graveyard this morning on board Red Rover with skipper Luke English #Redboats for a dive on the Milora. The Milora is the biggest wreck in the graveyard and is very accessible at 40m. Despite the strong wind warning on the bay and a bumpy start to the trip once we were through the heads we had a smooth ride out with Dolphins shadowing the boat for a while. We were given nice long run times with some on board going for 90 minutes alth...ough Chris and I stuck to 66 Mins. The wreck has quite a lot of structure and it is covered in impressive Sea Fans. There were plenty of fish around including a Port Jackson taking a snooze inside the wreckage. The collier Milora was heavily damaged in a severe storm in the Bass Straight, suffering engine damage and the breaking of the rudder post rendering the vessel uncontrollable. As a result she driffted past the Point Lonsdale lighthouse into "The Rip" and ran aground on the Rondella Reef. Bumping heavily she threatened to break up but as the tide ebbed her position became more stable. As a result the captain and crew remained aboard. Attempts were made to refloat the vessel but were initially unsuccessful. By the 28th of September, 1800 tons of coal, from a total cargo of 2800 tons, had been jettisoned and the vessel, sufficiently lightened but with all holds extensively flooded was towed off the reef by the tugs Tooronga, James Paterson and Eagle. Two of these tugs were then lashed to either side of the Milora to manoeuvre the stricken ship; the third towed the vessel to Williamstown for repair. The Milora was subsequently found to be a total constructive loss and unseaworthy. She was stripped of all salvageable items, towed into deeper water in the Ships Graveyard and scuttled. WRECK DATA Name: MILORA (+1935) Date wrecked: 08/03/193 Protected: Protected Comments: Ran ashore at Barwon Heads, 21, Sept. 1934, and then scuttled in Bass Strait, 8 March 1935. VESSEL DATA Draft(mtrs): 8.3 Type: Steamer screw LOA(mtrs): 100.9 Builder: Commonwealth Naval Dockyard Port built: Williamstown, Victoria Country built: AUSTRALIA Date built: 1921 Port registered: Melbourne Official no.: 151541 Registered no.: Melbourne 1926 Cargo: Coal Owner: Australasian United Steam Navigation Co. See more

21.01.2022 Over the years I have dived the Bass Straight wrecks a lot. Hence it was great to get a chance to see a couple of those very familiar wrecks in a new light yesterday. Thanks to Luke English, #Redboats and some excellent weather conditions Chris Porter and I headed out last night for a double night dive. First up was the Canberra. I don't think I have ever noticed the truely amazing colours on the wreck now. It's certainly changed since the early dives we did just after it was sunk. Back then it was bare metal but now - just wow. We went in with a plan to get a shot of Chris next to the bow, I thought it would be a good shot with the black behind. I think I nailed that shot - what do you think? If you ever get the chance to do a night dive on Canberra, grab it folks, its a fine dive.

20.01.2022 A lazy morning dive a Blairgowrie for me yesterday. Not the best dive i've had there but still plenty to keep me occupied for a couple of hours. My Nudi hunting skills seemed to have deserted me yesterday and I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Those are the breaks I guess but I still got some nice pics of some old favourites. Perhaps the best of the finds were what I thought were flatworms but turns out they are comb jellies. On one pylon I found 30-40 of them.

20.01.2022 Perfect conditions for a boat check out yesterday so both Sea Eagle and Toucans headed out from Rye for a check out. We shot over to South Channel Fort first. The jetty has had some work done on it and new ladders have been put in which is good. We then headed up to Capel Sound. While I did a double dive on the Hurricane Peter Beaumont did his second on Rosebud Reef. The water was pretty dirty which made pics difficult but at least the water temp is up another degree. As usual the wreck was well stocked with all sorts of fish and the Scallops I grabbed went down well last night. With a half empty boat ramp I am already liking the mid week retirement diving.

19.01.2022 I have to admit I was not that enthusiastic when my alarm went off at 5.00am and I looked out of the window. But I got up and in the pouring rain drove down to Portsea for the 7.15am #Redboats boat. We were trying for Captain Nitros Drop-off but shipping put paid to that and Luke English explained Plan B was The Links. Buddy Chris Porter and I have dived the wall a time or two but neither of us could remember diving this site. We were warned to watch our Deco due to the fast ...out going tide at the end of slack so kept our depth to a max of 36m to give us a decent run time without too much deco.We were first in and descended onto some really very nice territory. It was a bloody good dive making getting up well worth while. We ran for just short of an hour hitting the surface well away from the Rip as requested. After all of my recent travel it was good to be back on our magnificent dive sites. See more

18.01.2022 The moons aligned today with excellent sea conditions and an absence of shipping movements. That allowed me to dive the SS Courier which sits squarely in the middle of the pilot boarding area. As we approached the mark we were surrounded by a pod of dolphins. They stayed in the area for the duration of my dive and I was lucky enough to get a swim by while on one of my deco stops although I wasn't quick enough with my camera. The SS Courier was built for Huddart Parker Ltd for... the Port Phillip excursion trade. It was also built as an armed auxiliary of the Victorian Navy. On 29 March 1928, after 40 years carrying passengers on the bay, COURIER (Capt. G. Bates) was stripped of fittings and scuttled in the Ships´ Graveyard off Port Philip. Today, the remains of the Courier lie in 42 metres of water and, as with many of the wrecks in the Ships' Graveyard, the hull has mostly collapsed. The bow and stern sections are lying over to starboard and are the best preserved parts of the hull. The fore deck still retains a considerable amount of planking, a few deck fittings and some railing on the starboard side. This deck area is quite large and is an impressive sight, standing approximately seven metres off the bottom. Immediately behind this, the hull has totally collapsed, leaving the main deck hatch coaming sitting on the bottom. Behind this are the two boilers sitting in line. The wreck is absolutely covered in colourful growth making it one of the Graveyards finest dives and one of my favourites. VESSEL DATA Draft(mtrs): 3.8 Type: Steamer screw LOA(mtrs): 67.3 Builder: C. S. Swan & Hunter Port built: Newcastle-on-Tyne State built: England Country built: UNITED KINGDOM Date built: 1887 Port registered: Melbourne Official no.: 95231 Registered no.: Melbourne No. 24/1887 Master: Capt. G. Bates Owner: Huddart Parker & Co. Pty

16.01.2022 It's been a huge end of year for me and i'm a little behind with Photo's. Just got around to going through these today after the SA trip and then a Hogan Island trip two days later I still have another 28 dives to go through to catch up. More on these trips over the coming weeks but both produced some spectacular diving. This dive was a Fishcount dive and I was joined by Peter Beaumont and Christine Reynolds. I have to admit that Flinders isn't my favourite spot but when the conditions are perfect it can be spectacular. We were lucky to get a great day and I was pleased with the pictures. I was also hunting for Dragons for #SeadragonSearch and I think I found 13 individuals.

16.01.2022 Amazing footage

15.01.2022 Peter Beaumont & I headed back to Mornington again today. This time we clambered across the rocks and headed around Schnapper Point before exiting at the pier. It's literally years since I have done that dive. It was really nice with some good reef and bommies and the vis was considerably better than the area around the pier. First thing we found was a snoozing Port Jackson. As I had a 120mm lens on today I was slug hunting. I did pretty well and found some interesting things. All in all a very nice dive.

13.01.2022 Sorry for not advertising this mornings dive, it was a bit of a lot minute decision as the forecast for today wasn't great. Peter Beaumont and I headed back to Mornington Pier for the second time this weekend. The vis had got a bit worse following yesterday's rain but there was still plenty of life about. The best news is that the cafe is now open again so there was a nice post dive coffee waiting for us.

12.01.2022 Oh, how good was it to be back on Redboats and out doing some boat diving. Chris Porter and I jumped on for a double dive on Saturday afternoon. First up was a slack water on Ripbank. It was spectacular with 20m vis and loads of life. Of course, two days out from Cray season I found a monster in a very easy position to grab. All I grabbed though was a picture. All up a cracking dive and a few unusual sightings including the first Warty Prowfish I have seen in years. We then headed out to Lonsdale Arches. There was a little bit of surge but it was still a nice dive. On the way back we stopped to watch a seal shredding a fish it had just caught in the Rip. I Can't wait to get back out there again. Thanks for the ride Luke English at #Redboats

12.01.2022 I headed down to Blairgowrie for a solo Critter hunt. I found Peter Beaumont and Keith just packing up after their dive. They were planned for Mornington but switched due to poor conditions. I took my time and had a 3 hour dive. I found some interesting stuff but nothing too exciting. There were plenty of Nudibranch around but nothing I hadn't seen before. That said some of the old favourites are back in good numbers and there are heaps of e eggs at the moment.

12.01.2022 In case anyone is interested

11.01.2022 Peter Beaumont and I opted for a change of scenery this afternoon and by-passed Blairgowrie for Portsea. Conditions looked perfect from the surface but as usual there was a bit of surge to make taking pics a little harder. I found plenty to snap. I'm gutted as I missed the best find of the day noticing a Crimora multidigitalis Nudibranch sticking it's head out of a hole in one of my snaps of a Lamellaria australis when I looked through my pics on a big screen.Repeat ten times "I must remember not to get distracted by the main subject" Weather looking good tomorrow so boats out it is.

08.01.2022 After getting the call yesterday to let me know our planned Graveyard dive on VHB54 was a victim of the weather I had one of those shall I, shan't I days today. In the end I forced myself out of bed for a dive in the cold and rain at Blairgowrie. I have been hearing that Blairgowrie was not at its best with people recommending Rye instead. Ah no, are you guys swimming around with your eyes closed? I found a load of cool critters and I had the place all to myself. A good warm up dive for next weekends Sea Slug census with a few nice ones about and a mass of Short-headed Seahorses. A nice dive in the end and I was pleased I made the effort.

08.01.2022 We opted for a shore dive today even though it was looking good for the boats. Brian Heatherich, Peter Beaumont and I jumped in at Mornington. It was Brians' first dive at the site so we gave him the tour with a nice long dive. Sometimes I wonder why everyone dives the pier when the territory around the point is so nice and the vis is always better. I was hunting for the small stuff and found a decent collection including a couple of good finds one new species for me Tamanovalva babai which I found right at the end of the dive and Eubranchus sp RB9. A really nice dive again. I am fast becoming a fan of the point.

07.01.2022 Over the years I have done a few dives on the SS Coogee and I have seen it in all sorts of conditions. Yesterday was one of those rare days when the visibility was perfect. Although there were some particles in the water column once I hit the bottom at 32m it was very clean. I took a nice slow tour around the wreck and snapped away happily as usual. I am pleased with the results, these are probably some of the best shots I think I have of the wreck. There was a bit of a swell... on top although the interval was good so we headed into Port Phillip for our second dive in the shelter of Popes Eye. Not the best dive but acceptable and the vis was good there as well. I'm hoping the vis hangs around for a while with more boat dives coming up over the next few days. Fingers and everything else well and truely crossed. We had two boats out today with myself on Sea Eagle and Peter Beaumont on Toucans. See more

07.01.2022 Come on Dan - open things up buddy. I can't keep diving Mornington Pier - now can I? Back we went for the third time in 10 days.Seriously I am grateful that I have somewhere within my 25Km limit as I know a lot of people haven't. You guys must be busting for a splash so fingers crossed for some good news next weekend just in time for Cray season. Four of us dived this morning. Peter Beaumont and did our own thing while Mick and Sherryn Young practiced some cave skills. It isn't a bad dive at all, you can't complain about the amount of life as there are plenty of fish under there. I found a fish I don't recall seeing before which doesn't happen very often. Could be a juvenile but not sure of what. The water is warming up and is now a pleasant enough 14 degrees. We were under for 1 1/2 hours and had the usual post dive coffee.

06.01.2022 Second dive of the day for me was Lonsdale Arches. Some really nice territory in this area with plenty of colour. A nice cruisy second dive.

03.01.2022 Fantastic days diving today and great to see plenty of Vsagers out making the most of some sensational conditions. On Barcrusher were David Politakis, John Law...ler, Matthijs Smith and Dylan Smith On Dire Straights were David Geekie, Pamela Dagley and Ian Scholey We certainly covered the full gambit of diving. I was able to take advantage of a gap in the shipping movements to grab a dive on the Courier, David and Pam dived Lost Reef, David, JL, Matthijs and Dylan started on Chimney Rock. Matthijs and Dylan then did a second at Barwon Bluff while I finished off at Lonsdale Arches. See more

01.01.2022 For the eighties divers out there - enjoy

01.01.2022 Some fantastic news. VSAG Life Member Dr Jan Watson was recognised in the Queens Birthday honours list on Monday for her services to Marine Science and Ecology. This is very well deserved and on behalf of the club I would like to offer Jan our heartfelt congratulations.