UECWA Newsletter
5th March 2025
Upcoming Dives
Dive Report - Sunday 2nd March
Photo credit - Jen Pryor
A full boat set out on Sunday with Skipper John, DO Tom and Trainee DO Will enroute to the west end of Rotto for sanctuary dives at Nurse’s Quarters and Servant’s Quarters. With predicted low swell and wind it was the perfect opportunity to go explore these two lovely sites.
As we departed the marina we all had a good laugh as Mike had to squeeze into a small green wetsuit found in the hold after leaving his at home. He had perfect buoyancy in it all day!
First dive at Nurse’s Quarters divers were met with a decent current so we all had to descend at the anchor chain - which was perfectly positioned at the south side of the cave. Taryn was first down the chain and spotted a Grey Nurse shark slowly swimming away. Trying to get the attention of her buddy who was fiddling with their camera it unfortunately was the only shark spotted on this dive. A large school of bullseye, plenty of nudis and crays were spotted as well as a large ray hovering around the cave. Viz was great, reaching up to 15m which made for a lovely relaxing dive.
We pulled into Eagle Bay for lunch before heading out to Servant’s Quarters for our second dive. A much calmer dive site with only a gentle current and minimal surge. Viz still remained around 15-20m. As we headed in a westerly direction we came across loads of crays, nudis, shrimp, a bat fish, old wives and a large school of silver drummers. These peaked our interest as we made our way to another cave system … with 2 grey nurse sharks cruising around a small school of bullseyes! We calmly watched these sharks whilst gripping onto any rock we could find as to not disturb or drift into them.
It was perfect … but we weren’t finished there. As we turned back to head to the boat we swam towards the large school of silver drummers and to our delight we spotted another 3 grey nurse sharks happily chilling in their little cave. So most of this second dive was spent observing these sharks who didn’t mind our presence and with not a care in the world. It was seriously perfect and you couldn’t wipe the smile off our faces.
Decent ride home despite the SW wind. A large fleet of sailboats greeted our return to the marina at around 1:45pm. Many thanks to the crew for their assistance today as well as whoever booked off from the dive which allowed me to have my best dive on the boat in months. It’s days like this which make it all worth it!
Taryn Schuster
2025 Dive Trips - Spots Available
Details and booking info below and on the website, please contact Donna at divebookings@uecwa.com.au if you have any questions.
9th - 16th July: Halmahera Liveaboard - $4160 AUD (subject to exchange rates)
An 8-day liveaboard to Halmahera, Indonesia, with only 13 spots available. The boat is newly commissioned, and no breakdowns are expected. Bookings open now. Please email Donna.
19th - 25th August: Derawan Island - $2470 AUD (subject to exchange rates)
7 days with 3 dives per day, all meals and accommodation included. There are only 15 spots available. Bookings open now. A $340 deposit is due by 30th April. Priority bookings for club members until 28th Feb. Final payment is due on 30th May.
Important Information for Dive Bookings
All members should have access to the dive calendar on the website and mobile app. If you're experiencing any issues, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us for assistance.
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 Donna at 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 by email directly to Donna at 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 to your Committee members when you see us on the boat!
Newsletter Editor
Mel Daws - Public Relations
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