Came looking for you guys this morning. Geez Mav, that carpark was chocoblock. I thought i could actually film you guys underwater. It is hard to cray hunt and film, and get your head right for hunting. I couldn't get a spot so i drove around the area a bit trying to find a spot to park. Ended up looking at the end of St Pauls road where there were parking spots but an armada of spearos and SCUBA divers in the water and lots about to join them. The water looked sensational there. Excellent conditions. I thought that Portsea Back beach would have similar conditions but at london bridge there were surfers on a nice apex breaking left and right. Water was stirred up and turbulent...i must have swam 4km around all the ledges to Spooks. After about an hour of passing over lots of undersized crays, I free-dived down through the bubble cloud to about 10 feet and at 15 feet below me were two antennae tips of a cray popping out of his hole for a captain cook. I shrank behind a big boulder to conceal myself and tried to relax for about 30 seconds, grabbed a huge breath and finally pushed downward past the surge through the white cloud, relocated the bombie flank and swam from nowhere and hit him square on the head with my claw like left hand. He backed backward and had anchored himself radially with his ten legs like a 10 pronged grappling hook. How much longer can i fight him and hold my breath? He put up a great fight inserting his front claws across my hand in a vice like grip. Both claws detached from his body but still were applying pressure across my hand. But he was done and dusted. I swam about 50 metres to the ledge. I waited on the edge of the rock platform waiting for a wave set to pitch me and my crustacean friend homeward. Right now I'm steaming the monster in my whopper steel pot. Hope you guys got some action too.

mat wrote: and hit him square on the head with my claw like left hand.

Good work, good write up Mat! Haven't you had that hand fixed yet?

SurfanFish wrote:

mat wrote: and hit him square on the head with my claw like left hand.

Good work, good write up Mat! Haven't you had that hand fixed yet?

Its great for a crack scratch!

bastard.

What happened? Good dive?

It was chockers, we got there early and got the parks, as we got out of the water there was a group of 20 going in plus the 10 or so spearos coming and going.

I told Merv to bring his good fins, I think he was a little confused. Sorry Merv.





Ok it is a joke.

Bummer...sounds like a carbon copy of St Pauls Road. Crikey...it looked good though. i was Hans Solo at London bridge. It was a little rough in the drink though.

I was talking to ELM about london bridge after our dive this morning..I used to fly over it all the time in my hang glider and thought it looked good from the air sounds like it is good under the water as well....well done Matt might have to try down there next time !!

Crays....sigh~

I used to grab them too! Never wore gloves at all but ended uo with bits out of me most times....it was worth it!

Slight swell and an offshore breeze knocked the swell down even more, conditions were perfect at Diamond Bay.
Glad I got there before 8:00 to meet Mav & Merv & wait for Chris.
Every other diver must have been aware the conditions were going to be perfect on the back beaches.
All the car parks were gone by 8:00.
Plan was for Pete & Chris to buddy up & Merv & I to make the second buddy pair and come back with 2 crays each.
It's still a bloody long walk down those steps to Diamond Bay & with my new steel tank and gear on and fully suited up I worked up quite a sweat & was keen to get into the water.
My weight belt buckle played up and I had to pull my weight belt up and re adjust it every third step on the way down.
I thought I would be able to adjust it in the water but the buckle completely fell off and Merv had to snorkel around to help find it in the sand.
Buckle back on tight on & belt eventually adjusted Merv & I followed Pete & Chris out on snorkel but then my belt started to play up again.
I pulled the pin & snorlelled back to shore, Merv joined Pete & Chris.
They saw several crays, Pete was able to grab one but it was 1 cm under size.
Chris Pete & Merv came back in after a 45 min dive & met me on the beach empty handed.
One that they saw which was unable to be grabbed from under its ledge was apparently a massive bull.
Chris described it like something out of star wars.
The walk back up the steps was hard work and my weight belt fell off again on the way up.
Its a long walk down but its even harder walking back up but it is worth it in the good conditions.
Even though I didn't get to SCUBA dive It was a great way to spend the morning.
After Diamond bay I drove to Portsea front beach & watched a few divers under the pier.
The conditions on the front beach were rougher than the back beach and the water was dirty.
A group from Dive Victoria returned from a wreck dive near Barwon heads.
The swell on the front beach required them to time the unloading their gear & then step off the dive boat with the rise & fall of the boat against the jetty.

Thanks Mav for posting the trip. It was good to catch up with you, Merv & Chris.