UECWA Newsletter

16th July 2025

Upcoming Dives

Stragglers Exploration Double - Sun 20/07

Swirl Reef & North Point Reef - Sat 26/07

Parker Point & Crystal Palace - Sun 03/08

The Vault & Porpoise Bay Caves - Sat 09/08

Dive Report - Sunday 13th July

Photo Credit - Martin Crossley

Finally, Cape Cruiser was able to escape the Marina on Sunday with a decent break in the weather … en route to the newly discovered Dutch submarine (HNLMS K XI)

Skipper John and DO’s Chris and Taryn set out on a chilly morning with 8 divers onboard, all eagerly anticipating an exploratory dive on the sub. We had a variety of coordinates on hand, so had to search this area for about 20 mins to find it. With the help of our Raymarine Sidescan technology and excellent navigation from Chris and John, we were able to drop our shot line about 10cm from the wreck. Due to it being a deep dive, we were unable to drop our anchor and used a dive float instead with about 8kg of lead off 50m of rope to mark our descent.

As the divers got ready, we idled around the mark until they could all jump in the water together. Divers swam over to the float and made their descent. Despite the perfect accuracy of the shotline, unfortunately, two divers were unable to locate the sub in relatively challenging conditions. Nonetheless, the other divers spent about 8 mins circumnavigating the wreck at 40m depth and spotted a huge Dhufish and Grouper amongst some crays and other schools of fish in 10m visibility.

We then headed over to Five Fathom Bank caves for the 2nd dive at around 30m depth. Divers reported differing opinions, with one saying “it was a beautiful site with lots to explore” and another reporting “a whole lot of nothing”. As the surface current picked up, we had to extend the mermaid line to pull two divers in, and DO Chris had to rescue a couple more who had drifted a bit further away from the boat. Visibility only 5m here, with not a lot to report except a happy crayfisherman who picked up a decent size cray.

Interesting day out on the boat, with the crew subjected to different events throughout the day to keep our skills up to date. All divers had a great day out and returned safe and sound to the Marina by 2pm. Next time us crew will definitely instead be the divers at the sub wreck!

Cheers, Taryn Schuster

Sounder Photo Credit - Chris McCoppin

AGM & 70th Birthday Celebration, This Friday! 

Join us on Friday, July 18th at the Swan Yacht Club as we celebrate 70 years of the Underwater Explorers Club of WA and hold our Annual General Meeting. 

Liz has booked us a table for dinner under "Underwater Explorers Club", for 6:30pm. She has also negotiated membership rates with the SYC, so the meals will be at members’ prices.

This is a free event, but bookings are essential through Member Jungle so we can ensure we have plenty of cake!

We look forward to seeing you there.

Committee Nominations 2025

We are pleased to announce the following committee nominations to be voted on at the AGM this Friday.

All UECWA members are invited to attend. 

President - Jen Pryor

Vice President - Jonathan Anderson

Secretary - Michele Hardesty-Munday

Treasurer - John De Boer

Boat & Marina Liaison Officer - Chris McCoppin

Public Relations Officer - Mel Daws

Dive Coordinator - Sebastian Laffont

Membership Officer - Jen Pryor

Environment, Training and Safety Coordinator - Taryn Schuster

Social & Fundraising Coordinator - Liz Davey

Derawan Trip 2025 - Spots Available

Due to a last-minute cancellation, there are now three spots available on this trip next month.

Please email Jen at president@uecwa.com.au for further information if you are interested in this fabulous opportunity.

Containers for Change

Did you know the Underwater Explorers Club is registered with Containers for Change? Simply swap your payment method to 'donate' when recycling your cans and bottles, and search for Underwater Explorers Club of Western Australia Inc. or use our member number C10320909. 

Important Information for Dive Bookings

Please do not book dives for other divers. If we receive double bookings from one diver, the second booking will be automatically cancelled.

If you would like to receive notifications about dive cancellations during peak periods, please email divebookings@uecwa.com.au with your name and phone number to be added to the WhatsApp group.

Guests on the Boat
A reminder: For all boat trips (including Christmas lights), UEC members must be on the boat with any guests booked under their membership.

Cancelling a Dive Ahead of Time

Important to note that you cannot cancel dives using the dive calendar. Cancellation needs to be made by email directly to divebookings@uecwa.com.au

Please note our cancellation policy below as per the club bylaws:

Cancellations between 07:45 and 16:00 the day before: 50% cancellation fee.

Cancellations after 16:00 the day before: 100% cancellation fee.

No-shows: Full event fee.

Appeals for waivers due to medical reasons or family emergencies can be submitted in writing to the committee.

If you have any questions, please check out our FAQ's, Contact Us or chat with your Committee members when you see us on the boat!

Newsletter Editor

Mel Daws - Public Relations