Great Barrier Reef - Norman

Wake up at 5:50am. We hit the water at sunrise at 6:30am for a 45 minute dive to 17 meters at Norman/Playground. We practiced CESA (controlled emergency swimming ascent), and the spent some time playing with sea cucumbers and a large clam. We also saw a lion fish which is rather poisonous. The water is a lovely 85 degrees with 50 foot visibility.



When Madison and I walked up to the bridge to watch maneuvers to the next spot on the reef, captain Greg gave Madison the helm and directed this 105 foot vessel to withing 30 feet of the reef - 10 degrees port rudder, ahead one third on the starboard engine. Maddie was nervous, but we picked up the mooring perfectly at Norman/Caves!

Our next dive was at 9:00 am at Norman/Caves. Forty minutes later, after practising underwater compass navigation, we passed our PADI "Open Water" diving certification.

We were then allowed to dive on our own (with buddies of course). At 11:00am, four of us from the class did our first dive without an instructor.



The final dive for the day was a night dive with the sharks. We had watched in horror the night before when the shined a bright light into the water, and dozens of sharks up to 10 feet long circled. After many assurances that they had only lost a few divers (well actually none) to the sharks, we boldly jumped in with our flashlights. Swimming up the side of the ship in our scuba gear in moderate seas with black flashlights, it seamed more like a commando raid. As promised, nobody was eaten, but we now have great bragging rights!