FINALLY… I managed to do the HMAS Brisbane dive, that I wanted to do more than a year ago! I’ve been up to Brisbane quite a few times since then, and EVERYTIME, it was put off for different reasons like bad weather, didn’t bring the right gear, not enough time etc etc..
It’s Easter long weekend, and what better ways to start-off the holiday than a dive up in Sunshine Coast. HMAS Brisbane was a warship, that retired about 1.5 year ago and was sunk off the coast of Mooloolaba in Sunshine coast. It certainly was big news for scuba divers as it means an artificial reef would be created, with a lots of famous BIG fish-life around this rather large wreck. If you have time, you can read about it here.
My last dive was done in Vietnam while on holidays last April. So, it’s definitely been a while. However, there is one thing that I’ve NEVER done in my 30+ diving experience, and that is to PUKE during a dive! Whilst, I’ve been through worst sea conditions than this one, for some reason, I can’t seem to handle the 1.5 metre swells this time round!
It was suppose to be a 2-dive trip, and I was promised BIG Queensland gropers, sharks, stingrays, octopus, nemo, schools of fishes! For the 1st dive, things were ok. Me, Paul & my dive master went down 27m of water and dived around the whole wreck. It was certainly very impressive! All things changed after 30 minutes, when I went back up the dive boat to finish my 1st dive. Suddenly I started to feel funny in my stomach, and ‘stuff’ is starting to creep up my throat! My dive partner along with a couple of other beginner divers all felt the same. We were all asked to jump back in the sea, and float around the water to feel ‘better’! I think they just don’t want any of us puking in the boat! As expected, it wasn’t long before my breakfast started streaming out! And you know what!? Even that’s not a bad thing! It attracted the attention of a lot of banner fish!! Just imagine several banner fish, feeding off your puke, right next to you. There’s something beautiful about that! Yes, I know I’m sick!
Seriously, I thought about not doing the 2nd dive. Paul talked about bailing out too, and wanted to get a refund. I didn’t think the shop would do refunds, so I made myself go back down the 2nd time. Why? Because I’m Asian, and I’m not about to throw away money! Besides, my dive master told me I’ll feel better once I get down again. He was right. We went diving inside the ship this time, paying a visit to the various cabins, including the engine room! They were ENORMOUS! Definitely saw a LOT more fish again in here. It’s definitely an amazing sight! All the pain before was gone, until we resurfaced! This time, I couldn’t even make it to the boat, and had to stop and just let it all out. It certainly looked like I was in trouble, and soon 2 dive master came and dragged me to the boat.
Maybe it was the shaky little boat I was on, maybe it was the shitty weather. Maybe I was just unfit! Maybe I just didn’t get enough sleep last night! In the end, it was still a dive worth puking for!
