Bruce the shark
Contributed by Ric Mingramm
Bruce the shark in the classic movie "Finding Nemo" declares I'm having fish tonight!
I must admit that this was my main thought as I dived for the first time with sharks at Coffs Harbour recently. Now I know that everyone says grey nurses don't bite but what if a rogue one lives here or one is having a really bad day?
I spent 7 days in Coffs Harbour this month and was graced with magnificent 20 - 21 degree (C) weather, low swells and the excellent service offered by Jetty Dive and their staff.
Dive Diary reads:| Date: | 12 June 04 | |
| Location: | South Solitary Island | |
| Viz: | 18 meters | |
| Air Temp: | 18C | |
| Water Temp: | 20C | |
| Depth : | 24.6 meters | |
| Dive duration: | 53 min | |
| Notes: - Whale breaching 250 metres off stern on way to island - spectacular dolphins escorting boat - dive crew exceptionally friendly and professional - descended down mooring line directly on top of first shark, 2 m great nurse male - hard to ascend while still dumping air - legs kicking, eyes , bulging - at bottom shark out of site, exhilarating. - heaps of school fish - small turtle grazing |
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| Date: | 12 June 04 | |
| Location: | South Solitary Island | |
| Viz: | 18 meters | |
| Air Temp: | 18C | |
| Water Temp: | 20C | |
| Depth : | 27.8 meters | |
| Dive duration: | 42 min | |
| Notes: - Could hear Whale sirens - gutter had 12 grey nurses ranging form 1.5 to 3 metres long, got within centimetres....no bites and was able to control bowel motions as large male tracked straight for me and then swam over head. - wobbegong shark on bottom - spectacular large cuttlefish - looking very nervous around grey nurses |
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| Date: | 14 June 04 | |
| Location: | South Solitary Island | |
| Viz: | 18 meters | |
| Air Temp: | 18C | |
| Water Temp: | 20C | |
| Depth : | 24.6 meters | |
| Dive duration: | 47 min | |
| Notes: - gutter full of grey nurse sharks 21 - recorded tag numbers and competed survey for PADI Shark Specialist course - heaps of school fish - small turtle grazing |
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| Date: | 14 June 04 | |
| Location: | Split Solitary Island | |
| Viz: | 8 meters | |
| Air Temp: | 18C | |
| Water Temp: | 20C | |
| Depth : | 14.5 meters | |
| Dive duration: | 63 min | |
| Notes: - Very turbulent - heaps of coral - black cowries - no sharks - heaps of school fish |
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Next 2 dives etc etc - all great heaps of sharks...none ate me and I have sworn myself off flack for ever. Also bought 3 shark books and are now stuck into learning more about these magnificent creatures.
My comments are Coffs Harbour was fantastic and Jetty Dive made it a great experience. I left Coffs with my PADI Shark Specialist and Underwater naturalist qualifications and some great diving under my belt. I would highly recommended Coffs and especially the Jetty Dive Crew!
My comments to the Jetty Dive crew :
Mike, Deb, Christian, Laura, Andrew, Gary, & all other I have forgotten,
Just a quick note to say thanks for a fantastic dive holiday. The diving was fantastic but even better was the attentiveness and extreme level of customer service and professionalism offered by all your team. I have been diving for nearly 25 years and as you can imagine have done a few dives and boat ventures, I have to say that after dive 1 I felt like I was diving with a club. The comraderie, friendship and humour was great. Your team had to balance the needs of trainees and experienced divers and i think they did this exceptionally well.
My only recommendation is ditch the old ladders on your boats and invest in fin friendly ladders (no sides) - we use these on Vic boats and makes ingress easier in heavy swells. I am working out how my son and I can get up there around Christmas for a few dives.
