David Hume

Four boats set out on the seemingly calm Saturday morning from Walkie North. I had mine with Gwen Fisher and Tom & Ross Robinson. Shawn Byrne had his new boat with Zac Crewe and Stuart Ashton on board. Glen Crisp launched his with Andy Ringin as did Kevin Kelly with Glen Templar on board. Once we got outside the protection of the headland we started facing an increasingly solid swell with a 10-15 knot south westerly.

The two smaller boats turned away and decided to dive closer to shore whilst Shawn and I pressed on. We dived in about 20 metres in an area SE of Grinders Point and found some interesting territory.
During the surface interval the swell increased to 2 metres plus with an increasing wind which made the pass of coffee cups between our boats more challenging than the diving itself.

With the increasing sea conditions we retreated further back into Waratah Bay. My boat decided to forego a second dive in favour of a fishing expedition. Shawn’s boat however, did a second dive close into shore just south of Walkerville South and were rewarded with a cray. After an unsuccessful fish we headed back to retrieve the boat where we were met by the water police who were doing routine checks.
The day was finished off with a group BBQ at the communal kitchen followed by drinks around Andy Ringin’s campfire.

Rob Timmers

Having joined the Walkerville team the night before, Sunday morning was a bit of a whirr. Meeting at the rotunda at 0800 hours with three boats ready to go. Ross and Tom along with Kev & Zac dived in one metre viz close to Grinders Point. We however, Captain Andy, Stuart and myself headed out wider and found the underwater rise at 13 metres down to 21 metres and with a bit of current, but 12 metres viz. The urge to submerge took hold (so did the nausea for me – see my Facebook entry under Rob Timmers)

The kelp is so thick here, successful dive with lots of pike particularly. We headed back and in the lee of Grinders found a good site on the current line, 10-12 metres depth, 6-8 metres viz, a superb bit of reef with heaps of fish, hard and soft corals, ditches and alleys, blue devil fish and quite a few crays.
60 minute dive time with sun shining, a bit of Easter egg from Andy (not quite the David Hume A la Carte surface machine), then off to Walkie North, a quick exit, ZZZZZ’s on the way home and back to the Valley.
Another great day of ocean adventure, exploration and nitrogen loading…don’t miss the next one.

Glen Templar

Peaceful, in a bush setting and great diving is Walkerville. Saturday saw good ocean conditions, “The Tinny Crew” making good use of this. Still inside the bay we anchored on the edge of good reef.
Luckily we swam the right way first off and encountered good fish life and a huge stingray and 5-8 m viz. Our depth ranged to 11 metres and I have to say the underwater scenery was even better than I expected. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for Sunday but still worth the trip down for one night.
PS: Oh, and Kelsea plays a mean game of UNO.

Carol Crewe & Nicole Tierney

Carol and Nic enjoyed a very relaxing weekend at Walkerville. After seeing the four dive boats off on Saturday morning we headed into Fish Creek and had a lovely time visiting three art galleries and assorted shops.
Then we settled into camp to read the paper in the sunshine for the afternoon. After Zac and Stu returned, we enjoyed a lovely BBQ and a great fire at Andy’s site. Leaving Zac and Stu to dive again on Sunday morning, Nic and Carol had a lovely morning of doing nothing in the sunshine

Gwen Fisher

Struck it lucky again at Walkerville! Great to have John Orr on another dive trip. Great dive weather and company. Too bad about the cards John! Thanks to Dave for the trip on the café bar.

John Orr

She tells lies!

Glen Crisp

Used Andy’s local knowledge for launching the boats.
The two small boats stuck together close to shore while the two bigger boats headed further afield. Looked for a bit of reef – Kev Kelly was lucky and found a good spot, but all I found was sand! Lovely day out on the water, no one annoying us! Good company and even a visit from our friends at the Gippsland Water Police checking everyone out. Good to see all our club members were up to speed with their safety equipment.

LVSC Walkerville crew: Ross & Tom Robinson, Gwen Fisher, John Orr, Glen Templar, Rob, Evelyn & Kelsea Timmers, David Hume, Andy Ringin, Kev Kelly, Shawn, Jo, Nathan & Bridie Byrne, Carol & Zac Crewe, Glen Crisp, Stuart Ashton & Nicole Tierney.

Big Thank You to Boat owners & skippers – Shawn Byrne, David Hume, Ross Robinson, Glen Crisp, Andy Ringin & Kev Kelly.