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You are here >> Home - Reports - Abroad - Australia ’02
Hamilton Island - Great Barrier Reef
14.-17.02.02
First Impressions
When I arrived at the 'Dive Shop' (I didn't at first realize that it was in fact H2O Sportz) it turned out to be a surprisingly small outfit crammed full with merchandise,
On our way to Manta Ray Bay
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most of which seemed targeted more at the average tourist than serious divers. The staff, however, were not only friendly, but also seemed competent. Unfortunately they had bad news for me when I asked about my booked dives. It turned out that due to the bad weather the day trip to the reef was cancelled, but they were doing a half day cruise to the top of the Whitsundays instead. Well, better than no diving at all, I thought and signed up for it.
Next day Sarah and I returned and were equipped with stinger suits and shorties to prevent us from being stung by jellyfish, which is another nuisance of the wet season and quite dangerous. A week after we left an elderly tourist died of a heart attack on one of the Islands, brought on by contact with a jellyfish.
The other diving equipment had already been taken aboard the boat, which proved
Kitting up
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to be a roomy and comfortable vessel, containing a dive- and a sun-deck and a climatized cabin where you could get free tea and coffee and soft drinks for a modest sum. We were greeted by Max, the captain, and then boarded the boat, where a boat safety briefing commenced as soon as everyone was on board. Afterwards I checked out the diving equipment. Regulators and BCDs (both Aqualung) seemed fairly new and well maintained - I really needn't have lugged my own regulator halfway across the world, after all! There was a dive computer on every regulator and a stab buoy in the jacket of each BCD (another piece of equipment I could have left at home). My first impressions concerning quality of equipment and safety standards were more than favourable - but what about the dives?
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