Carol Crewe

The February 2009 Latrobe Valley Scuba Club trip to Rosebud was a very successful trip with those going all agreeing that we should make it an annual event on the dive calendar.

With the forecast for extremely hot weather at home we were planning on spending most of the weekend in the water to keep cool. None of use anticipated the fires that would rage across the state.

The weather on Friday afternoon was lovely as most of the group arrived to set up camp at the Foreshore Camping Ground. Nearly everyone else was there when Zac and I arrived at 5.00 pm. Quickly setting up our borrowed camper trailer we fit right in as most of the thirteen sites help camper trailers or camper-vans.
It seems that having a camper trailer is almost a prerequisite for being a member of the LVSC these days. The main exception was Gwen who had braved the trip with her swag. The weather was fine so the only problem she had was the great big security light located directly above her head and kept her awake most of the night.

As the evening was so pleasant and the bay calm a night dive at Blairegowrie Pier was decided on. Eight divers headed in under the Yacht Squadron Pier to enjoy a great dive behind the wall.
They were accompanied by a visitor in the form of a medium sized seal. It had great fun splashing around and seemed to enjoy watching the divers below. Most of the divers reported a fantastic dive with lots of opportunity for photography. Shaun came back expressing frustration that he had not taken his camera.

The next morning we gathered for a dive brief with four boats to take the group out. Two groups decided to head to Rye for a scallop dive. They managed to get in for a dive in the calm water before the wind changed. With great visibility they all came back to camp with a full quota of scallops. The bins at the camping ground may never be the same after the shells were discarded and the scallops put on ice in eskys for the trip home.

The other two boats headed over to western post to go out at Flinders. Once there we all gathered into David Hume’s boat for a trip out around Cape Shank. The water at Flinders Pier was great and it was decided to come back there for a second dive. The water was a little rough around the point with a strong hot wind blowing from the shore. Only three of the divers went in for a short dive as there was some concern about the wind blowing up even more. The reef was nice, in
about 12 metres it had lots of kelp and moderate fish life.

After the dive David had a little ‘engine issue’ and so the trip back was slow and choppy. Gwen ended up wearing her mask to keep the spray out of her eyes. Getting back to Flinders Pier the water had turned and so a second dive was not an option.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the water at the beach. Having a slow steady gradient the beach was perfect for kids as they could splash around in the gentle waves. The bigger kids headed out deeper to try some body surfing. The only issue was the crabs that kept everyone busy trying to avoid having their toes grabbed.

Back at the campsite the news had started to come through about the fires at home and so we all gathered around the radio to get the latest information. Shaun was trying to keep track of Jo and the kids who were facing the fires at home without him. He said that he had everything he wanted (new boat and scuba gear) so they should get out and leave the house to chance. And if his old boat went up in flames he would not have to worry about selling it so that could be a positive event. He and Rod were packed up early the next morning hoping that the roads were open so they could get back to his place.

Tom and Ross Robinson also had their home in the path of a fire at Yarram so they headed off late on Saturday night. We were pleased to get the report back from them that they had made it through to Yarram and their house was intact.

On the Sunday morning most of us had a late start as we had sat up late listening to the ABC radio. After a cooked breakfast we planned another pier dive at Rye. Unfortunately the skies opened and we had a storm with some thunder and lightening so the dive was called off. Instead we had a relaxing morning before packing up to take the back roads home, as the freeway was still closed.

Despite the fires we all had a great weekend and hope that it will be a trip that can be repeated again in the future.