HMAS Brisbane Dive
Dive Reports
September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 Febrary 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 09 November 09 October 09 September 09 August 09 July 09 June 09 May 09 April 09 March 09 February 09Dive HMAS Brisbane Report update 10 - 17 April 2009
After many, many days of foul weather we decided to go out and have a look at what the conditions were like on Thursday morning.
Andy went for a dive while Dave sat topside. On the way to the site, they crossed over a very distinct 'blue line' in the ocean. The dirty brown fresh seems to be confined to within a few hundred metres from shore, after that green and then a little further out, the water turns to a distinctive blue colour. The report was very encouraging. 5-8 metres viz on the HMAS BRISBANE. Viz varied from place to place, as it does on that ship.
The seas were not anywhere near as bad as the reports indicate. There was a metre and a half of swell but it was very diveable. Entering the Control Room is a no no when the swell is really pumping, but this was very doable with care as was hanging off the funnel to do the safety stop.
After diving there, they ventured over to Hanging Rock on the Inner Gneerings but the conditions were different there. With the reef coming up shallower this forces the swell to peak and become very uncomfortable. So diving the reef may not happen till Sunday or Monday but we'll be diving the HMAS BRISBANE over Easter.
There no doubt will be a bit of rain but that doesn't stop a keen diver. It helps wash off that salt water after the dive.
Dive HMAS Brisbane Report update 2nd April 2009
The cyclone has whipped up some big swells that are keeping the surfers happy at the moment. It’s not much joy for the divers though. This past week or so has produced a fair bit of swell and no diving on HMAS Brisbane apart from what has gone on in the pool and at the lake.
It doesn’t look too bright for diving this weekend either. The swell is predicted to continue. Let’s hope all of the forecasters are wrong, but the swell will need to drop for us to venture out to dive HMAS Brisbane.
We are proud to announce that we have just completed out first PADI I.D.C. for some time and there are now 5 newly qualified instructors and one assistant instructor on the scene now. Congratulations to all of you guys, you put in a great effort and thanks to Tony Fontes for conducting the program. We are currently planning our next IDC for later in the year. We’ll keep you posted.
This is a time to check out all of your dive gear. Check that mask strap; those fin straps, the test stamp on your scuba cylinder and the date of your last reg service. Make sure that all is in good order and ready to go once this weather breaks.
Sunshine Coast beaches open
Moreton Island beaches could reopen
Seafood from southeast Queensland coastal waters has been given the final all-clear in time for the Easter rush, after massive efforts to clean up a toxic oil spill.
Qld Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said consumers could rest assured that the region's seafood was not contaminated by fuel oil spilled from the cargo ship Pacific Adventurer.
The vessel leaked 250 tonnes of fuel off Moreton Island, near Brisbane, earlier this month in the state's worst ever oil spill.
Mr Mulherin said the results meant commercial fishers in the area would no longer have their catch tested before market.
"To date, 51 samples taken from 48 sites throughout the area affected by the oil spill near Moreton Island have now been tested," Mr Mulherin said.
"The seafood samples have been through rigorous safety and suitability testing for effects of the oil spill which has found the product meets stringent Queensland Health requirements for consumers."
However, commercial fishers who decide to operate near Moreton Island will need to be cautious around the location where a number of shipping containers were lost from the Pacific Adventurer.
The navy has located 24 containers packed with ammonium nitrate that fell overboard from the vessel amid cyclonic seas and pierced the ship's fuel storage tanks.
The state government is yet to decide how to deal with the containers.
Moreton Island and parts of Bribie Island, hit by the oil spill, are still out of bounds for campers and vehicles.
A Queensland Transport spokesman said an announcement would most likely be made over the weekend on whether Moreton Island would be opened in time for Easter.
Sand sifting machines are being used to clean up the environmental disaster, which affected birds, turtles and sea snakes.
RSPCA Queensland has sent a team to help wildlife on Bribie Island and has another team on standby for Moreton Island.
During the clean-up, toxic waste was dumped on a vacant property owned by a Greens party candidate in last weekend's Queensland election, Andrew Jeremijenko.
Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ), which is coordinating the mopping-up effort, said the site would be decontaminated.
"Every effort was made to identify any owners of properties abutting the response area, and any site impacted by the clean-up efforts will be fully remediated," a MSQ spokesman said.
He said the clean-up costs would likely run into the millions.
The costs will be recovered from Pacific Adventurer's insurance.
