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Jul 25 - Aug 1

Today it's off the the Cod Hole located at the top of Ribbon Reef #10. The Ribbon Reefs are part of the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. The Cod Hole is a well known dive site because there are some very large potato cod there - supposedly weighing up to 300 pounds. It's just a couple hour sail to get there. The winds are still holding steady at 20 knots and we have a good sail. We get there in time for a dive before lunch. As advertised, there are some gigantic fish there. They are very used to divers and are quite friendly, coming right up to you and seeming to like being petted. Besides the potato cod, there are some large Humback Wrasse. We also saw several sleeping sharks - little reef sharks just lying on the bottom snoozing.

After lunch we set off to dive the outer wall of the reef. Little did we know we were in for some excitement! It was a short ride by dinghy to the dive site. Our normal procedure when diving from the dinghy is to get into the water and then to put on our dive gear in the water. So into the water we went. There was a fairly strong current but we got our gear on OK while holding onto a line off the back of the dinghy. Once set, we let go of the rope and started our descent. That's when we realized how strong the current was. Even as we descended the current didn't abate at all. Soon I realized it was too strong for me to swim against. I was making no progress and was only succeeding in getting tired. I decided to surface and try to make my way back to the dinghy. I signaled to Ron that I was going up. Ron was hanging on to some coral just beneath the dinghy so he would have no problem getting back to it. He knew what the problem was. By the time I came up I was a fair way past the dinghy with not much chance of getting back to it. Luckily I was between the dinghy and the boat and was drifting right towards the boat. I saw Ron surface and get in the dinghy followed shortly by Bradley. So I knew they would come to rescue me. Soon they did, but it was a little scary to think of what a strong current could do.

We re-grouped and decided the only option was for two of us to do a drift dive while one waited in the dinghy. So Bradley and I got to dive while Ron waited for us. Once we got out of that one area the current was not so strong and we were able to end our dive right at the stern of Shear Madness. It was another beautiful dive.

We spent some time after that discussing how to avoid trouble in the future. We are all alone out here and if we get into trouble there is no one to help. First we talked about why the current was so different just three hours after our first dive when it was insignificant. It was because our second dive came at low tide when the water was trying to escape from the basin formed by the reef and was rushing out a small opening. So we need to be more aware of tide patterns. We also realized that it's not a good idea for all of us to get into the water at the same time. One should get in first and judge the safety of the current.  We then determined that we could try the same dive tomorrow morning at high tide.

So Friday morning we set off for the same spot. First we dropped a line in the water and looked at it. The current seemed to be slight. Then I got into the water (leaving the guys on board in case another rescue was needed!). I let go of the dinghy and did not drift much at all. So we knew we were safe. We got ready and went down along the outer wall. It was spectacular! One of the top three dives we've done I think. We didn't see any of the huge fish out there but the coral wall was impressive, rising more than 80 feet from the floor. No problems at all with this dive.

It was time to head on to the next spot. Spearfishing is not permitted here so we need to head a little further south so the guys can do some hunting. We got ready and moved fifteen miles further down Ribbon Reef #10 to a new anchorage. We had to motor most of the way as the wind was right on our nose at 20-22 knots. We arrived in time for an afternoon spearfishing trip. We went to several spots and Ron nailed two nice Coral Trout. But for the most part there were not a lot of good hunting targets. There were plenty of fish, just not the kind we like to eat.  But the coral trout made a nice dinner with enough left over for lunch tomorrow

Saturday morning we set off for a short seven mile sail to Ribbon Reef #9. The winds are still blowing 20+ knots. We caught a barracuda off the back of the boat but let it go because you can't eat them. When we got to our planned spot, the visibility was poor and the wind was still blowing so we decided to go on another 20 miles to Ribbon Reef #5. No sooner had we got the mainsail up than the wind started to wane and to shift east. Soon both the winds and seas were working against us and instead of blazing along at 8 knots we were barely making 5 knots.  It didn't look like we would make it in time to have good visibility so we decided to duck into Ribbon Reef #7 for the night. We got safely anchored and Ron and Bradley went off on a spearfishing expedition. They had some good success; two coral trout, one coral cod, and one lobster. Bradley also had a scare which could have been a disaster. He was in the dinghy alone when the throttle stuck and he was pitched over the stern into the water. The motor was still running so he didn't want to let go because the dinghy could be lost. Yet he was in danger from the propeller. He was able to pull over the side and hit the kill switch on the motor. Another safety lesson. The motor has a kill switch that is intended to wrap around your wrist so that if you fall out it stops the motor. So the new rule is from now on we wear it if you are in the dinghy alone.

Saturday night the winds were blowing with gusts up to 35 knots. There was some rocking but it wasn't too uncomfortable. Sunday morning we left early to head south to Ribbon Reef #5.  The winds were good and it was overcast so we decided to skip Reef#5 and go on to #3 where there is supposedly incredible diving. We caught a nice mackerel along the way. We also almost caught a second mackerel but it got away just as we were getting it onto the boat. We saw our first whale of the season, a small humpback that jumped out of the water just off the bow of the boat.

 We arrived at Ribbon Reef #3 in time for a spearfishing trip. There were lots of fish down there but the hunters only nabbed one coral trout and one other fish we have not yet identified. But between the last couple outings and the mackerel, the freezer is getting full and we're having fresh fish every night.

Monday morning brought sunshine and finally light winds and calm seas. We set off the dive a site called the Temple of Doom which is rated as 5 stars in one of our dive guides. We talked by radio to a nearby dive boat and verified the location of the site and found it with no problem. It was nice - a large coral pinnacle rising from the floor with tons of fish. But it didn't rate 5 stars in our book. It's not as good as some of the other dives we've done this week. After lunch we went for another dive at Steve's Bommie - it was better with some excellent fish and we also saw a small minke whale!

Tuesday (July 30) looked like a great day for sailing so we set off for a 30 mile trip South to St. Crispin Reef. That will put us just 30 miles from Cairns where we need to be in a couple days. We hope to get in a couple more hunts and maybe a dive before heading to Cairns. Things were great when we left with winds from the Southeast but they soon started to shift more and more south until finally we were headed directly into the wind. We ended up having to motor almost all the way. It was still a nice day, highlighted by catching a 54 inch, 32 pound wahoo off the back of the boat. I got to reel him in while Bradley managed to gaff him and bring him onboard. We were close to our anchorage so Ron cleaned him when we got there. A real team effort.

The entrance to St. Crispins reef was a little hairy. Small reefs (called bommies) everywhere. It was like driving through a mine field. Fortunately we had good enough visibility to navigate through and get anchored. On Wednesday morning we went for a spearfishing outing and Bradley got two new kinds of fish - a Slate Bream and a Scarlet Sea Perch. Both are supposed to be good eating. Afterwards we decided we better leave St Crispins while the visibility was good and head a few miles south to Opal Reef so we can be assured of making it to Cairns on Thursday.

We arrived at Opal Reef and anchored. Friday morning we had a nice snorkel but an unsuccessful hunt before packing up and heading back to Cairns.