Inaugural Trip for Scotch Scuba Club

Sunday 15 November saw the Scotch College SCUBA Club make its inaugural expedition. The club was formed after the successes and great feedback received after the Year 10 Exmouth Diving Expedition and Year 11 Marine Studies Abroholis programme. Boys met earlier in the term to discuss the format of the day and seven boys participated at Rottnest Island. It was an early meet at Dolphin Dive Fremantle where the boys were able to organise their equipment before heading down to the docks near Cicerellos. A 45 min boat ride later which involved a few green sea sick faces, we arrived at our first dive site, Roe Reef in perfect conditions. Here we were under water for 40min and had a fantastic first dive. The visibility was incredible, easily being able to see up to 20m. The boys were able to swim through rock ledges, overhangs, passed brilliantly coloured corals, many different fish, in particular a 1m samson fish, and the occasional cray.

It was then time for a BBQ lunch which was highly welcomed after our first dive. As always the boys showed great manners in eating after all other customers and were able to get their fill, except for poor Andrew who was still a little green faced hanging over the side of the boat!

The second dive was a short boat trip away at Drive-in Reef, known for the higher amount of boat traffic travelling through the area. Our skipper was very adamant on safety and made sure there were plenty of obvious 'Diver Down' flags visible. No issues though, the drive-in theater was obviously closed for the day… Drive-In Reef had cray everywhere with Lochie managing to find a decent sized critter that was on closer inspection, 'having a long sleep…' Bad luck Lochie! Again, some incredible rock formations to dive around and through and brightly coloured starfish hanging out amongst the coral.

Overall, a fantastic day out, the boys were a pleasure and it is always an easy job when the boys help the crew right till the very end. It was definitely an enjoyable and positive experience, and I look forward to getting more boys involved in 2016.

Boys involved:

Andrew Orvis (Year 11, Shearer), Saxon Read (Year 12, Alexander), Thomas Reymert (Year 11, Brisbane), Thomas Keamy (Year 12, Stuart), Nicholas Klug (Year 11, Keys), Lachlan Morrell (Year 11, Keys) and Ethan Cassidy (Year 11, Alexander).

Mr Alistair Steele

Outdoor Education