Again an early start, with the alarm set for 05:45hrs. This enabled us to have a hearty breakfast (Drovers Platter) before packing up the car and heading off at 07:05hrs to West Beach, just west of Adelaide. We departed the motel under thick cloud, but once we reached the leeward side of the peninsula, we found ourselves bathed in glorious sunshine. We arrived at West Beach at 08:15hrs, with Kym already waiting for us with all our diving gear. Following usual diving brief we headed down to the jetty to board the inflatable speed boat that was to take us out to a dredger that had been intentionally sunk in the '80s to create an artificial reef. Alas, one of the twin 250hp outboard engines would not start, which meant having to abandon plans to dive the wreck. Instead, we headed out on one engine to a natural reef closer to shore.
Visibility was good, but out in the open and at depth the water was even colder than yesterday, with Astrid shivering badly once we exited the water 45 minutes later. Thankfully, we were partially compensated by close encounters with some very inquisitive and particularly colourful cuttle fish. We also drifted over a poisonous variety of star fish - not to be trifled with - schools of various cold water fish, and some more nuddibranchs. On re-entering the boat at the end of the dive, which involved manic fining to 'launch' oneself out of the water like an Emperor Penguin, we were informed that the second outboard engine had been fixed, so during the surface interval we headed out to the sunken dredger.
By now however Astrid's complexion had turned blue, and so she sensibly decided to fore go the second dive along the bottom, into, and over the sunken dredger. Kym and I thus paired up and dropped over the side of the boat and descended down the mooring line to the dredger 15m below. Within seconds we were greeted by blue devils, cuttle fish, groupers and host of other fish that had taken up residence at the wreck. Passage through the various open holds and interior cabins was a tight fit, and definitely not suitable for those suffering even the slightest claustrophobia. Fortunately, Kym kept me safe - although I did bump my head a few times as buoyancy control using his borrowed BCD proved difficult.
At the end of the allotted 45 minutes maximum diving time we headed back to the boat, by which time my feet felt like blocks of ice. Fortunately, my hands had not been effected by the cold, and so retained the dexterity needed to operate the underwater camera, allowing me to capture some great shots of various marine critters. The journey back to the jetty was quick, but with the wind now at 25 km/hr, I too was shivering by the time we reached Terra Firma. Thankfully, with no clouds in sight, we both warmed up very quickly, and found ourselves heading off in the car at 13:30hrs to Glenelg for a hot coffee and to study the locals relaxing on the beach. We then drove north to Outer Harbor at the tip of the peninsula for views over Gulf St Vincent before then heading back to the Mercure Hotel in Adelaide, arriving just after 16:30hrs.
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