UECWA Newsletter

15th April 2026

Upcoming Dives

Blue Groper Cave & Victorias Station - Sat 18th April

Carpet Emporium & Ten Metre Spire - Sun 19th April

Skippers Choice Double - Anzac Day - Sat 25th April

Stragglers Double - Sun 26th April

Stragglers Single Dive - Mon 27th April

Dive Report - Saturday 11th April

Photo credit - Mel Daws

Only six divers joined us this week—surprising given the stunning conditions. Their loss was definitely our gain, with plenty of room to spread out on deck and calm, flat seas stretching in every direction. With very few other boats around, it truly felt like we had the ocean all to ourselves for once.

Dive One – Marjorie’s Big Hole
A fantastic start to the day, with the site living up to its reputation. The reef was teeming with life—crayfish tucked into beautiful caves and crevices, and plenty to explore at every turn. Visibility was reasonable, a little cloudy on top of the reef but still more than enough to take it all in.

Marine life highlights included an octopus, a large port jackson shark, a spotted catshark, a moray eel, and an abundance of fish. The standout moment, however, was a large smooth ray that glided in midway through the dive as if to greet each of us personally. When we returned to the boat, it was still lingering nearby—and came so close to me it nearly gave me a kiss! Safe to say, this friendly visitor had us all completely captivated… and may have contributed to us overstaying our dive time by a couple of minutes (apologies to the crew!).

Dive Two – Swirl Reef
An old favourite and always a pleasure to revisit. Even with slightly reduced visibility, the main cave was full of life as usual—fish darting in every direction and nudibranchs scattered throughout.

We were treated to a cuttlefish sighting and plenty of banded cleaner shrimp, including one particularly feisty individual who gave a blue devil an impressively firm snip with its claws—clearly not in the mood to share space! To my absolute delight, I also spotted another adorable catshark peeking out from its hole, its cute little face impossible to miss.

As we made our way back to the boat, we were once again greeted by a smooth ray—this one even larger—circling us several times in a slow, graceful display before disappearing back into the blue.

All in all, it was a brilliant day on the water. Dan and Malcolm managed to bring up a few crays, the sun was shining, and six very happy divers enjoyed what felt like a private charter. Thanks as always crew!

Mel Daws

Dive Report - Sunday 12th April

Photo credit - Damian Mcateer

Finally, after 6 years as a member of UECWA I was able to dive THE ORIZABA! This elusive 120 year old wreck has evaded me for years, but finally the weather gods turned it on Sunday … and wasn’t it well worth the wait!

Jono (Skipper) and Marcus (DO) set off with a full boat of divers, eagerly awaiting to see what lies below. Considering all the bad luck I’d had with diving this site, my buddy Seb was determined to break this curse. We enjoyed a different landscape travelling down to Rockingham, including viewing a couple of Naval ships at Garden Island along the way.

The seas were relatively flat with less than 1m swell and the wind was negligible as we arrived at the Orizaba site. Nothing was going to stop me getting a dive in today. After jumping in first with Seb, we started our descent and I could see the outline of the wreck below. I turn around and see Seb still stuck at the surface … oh no, it’s a free-flowing buddy reg. Surely this curse has not struck again. I couldn’t believe it. Alas, after reuniting at the surface, Seb worked his reg magic, and we were off diving again!

Seb let me take the lead to scope out the wreck. Viz was decent with a little bit of surge below. We swam under ledges, alongside the hull, ducking in and out of the different areas of the wreck making it all the way along the length to its stern wheel. We spotted heaps of crays, schools of buff bream, bullseyes, a hungry mackerel chasing a ball of bait fish and loads of soft/hard corals. You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

To end our dive, Seb had told me about this cubby hole where several port jackson sharks would stay. Each year they had grown bigger and Seb was keen to see if they were still there. We made our way back towards the bow end of the wreck, and I happened to first spot two PJ’s resting on the ocean floor. While I was enjoying their presence, Seb went searching for the cubby which was not far away. It was here we spotted 8-9 Port Jackson’s all of decent size (at least 1.2m long). A couple were enjoying a feed of cray while we just watched them through the portholes. Incredible!

We made our way over to Christmas Caves near Point Peron for our second dive. Lots of swimthroughs and caves to explore. We managed to stumble across an occy and another school of buff bream. A relatively shallow site meant there was a bit of surge and viz wasn’t that great, but hey I still enjoyed it, and it was a lovely day out.

Thanks so much again to Jono and Marcus for taking us out for the day. Really appreciate it! Definitely one of the best days I’ve had out on the boat in a long time.

Taryn Schuster

Social Lunch – Monday 27th April

Please join us for social lunch & drinks at The Boathouse in Coogee (opposite the marina) after our Anzac Day public holiday single dive! All are welcome. Please register on Member Jungle so we can reserve enough seats.

There will be a draw to WIN A DOUBLE DIVE DAY PASS! 

There are still a couple of spots left for the single dive in the morning, so why not join us for both and make the most out of it? 

AGM & Committee Nominations - Get Involved

Our AGM is coming up on Friday 3rd July, 7:00pm at the Swan Yacht Club, and we’d love to see as many members there as possible!

This is your chance to have a say about the future of the club, hear what’s been happening behind the scenes, and help shape what’s ahead. We’re also welcoming nominations for committee positions—so if you’ve ever thought about getting more involved, now’s the perfect time. Fresh ideas and new faces are always appreciated! You'll find nomination forms available to download on the website. 

If you’re curious but not quite sure what’s involved, feel free to have a chat with one of our current committee members—we’re always happy to share what’s involved and answer any questions.

We’ll be having dinner beforehand at the club from 5:30pm, so come along early, enjoy a meal, and have a chat before the meeting kicks off. Please register on member jungle so we can reserve enough tables. 

Whether you’re keen to join the committee or just want to stay in the loop, we’d love your support.

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, please email divebookings@uecwa.com.au with your name and phone number to be added to the WhatsApp group.
• 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.

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! All current club members are welcome to attend monthly committee meetings. 

Newsletter Editor

Mel Daws - Public Relations