Before (and after) the Scholarship Society Awards weekend in NYC (read all about the experience in my previous post), I spent some time in Sydney. Upon returning home to Sydney from Palau, I had a chance to reacclimatize, meet with sponsors, and get some productive ideas flowing for the crazy adventure ahead, before my year officially kicked off.
After meeting with my coordinator (mer-mom for the year) Jayne Jenkins and 2015 Scholar Ben Buchan, Ben and I went for a visit to the headquarters of PADI Asia Pacific. Here we met with Territory Director Thomas Knedlik, Marketing Manager Brandon Scott, and Michelle Davidov of Project AWARE. It was fantastic to have a tour of the office, and gain a better insight into what PADI is all about, and the passionate individuals behind the world’s leading dive training organization. As PADI Instructors, we have a unique opportunity to introduce others to the fascinating world underwater, and PADI’s Social Media team does a fantastic job in keeping excitement levels high on Facebook and Instagram through sharing inspiring photos and news from the diving world, as well as ways you can do your part in ocean conservation with Project AWARE. Be sure to check them out!
Next, I was off to visit my regional dive gear sponsors, Tabata Australia, where David Balsom was in charge of generously kitting me out head-to-toe in the best gear from TUSA and Waterproof. I also met the team at Mondottica Australia, who provided me with a few pairs of amazing polarized sunglasses from Mako Eyewear. Although much of my year will be spent underwater, having good quality eye protection for the surface is so important when spending time out on the water. While in New York, I tested them out by scoping the NYC skyline – they’ll certainly be perfect for looking to spot sharks and whales from the surface throughout the year! Thank you so much to Tabata and Mondottica for your continued generosity and support to the Australasian Scholarship. I can confidently say that I am well prepared for all conditions that this scholarship year will see me in!
Before heading off to New York, I also had the chance to join Jayne, Colin, Karen and shark diving pioneer and legend, Valerie Taylor at the Australian and New Zealand Explorers Club “Evening of Adventure”, a fantastic event organized by Club President Todd Tai. We were treated to presentations by guest speakers Palle Lunoe, drone pilot extraordinaire, and Tim Cope (and his awesome dog Tigon!), who shared his incredible 10,000km solo journey across Eurasia. Although not strictly underwater related, the evening was wonderfully inspiring and fascinating to hear such amazing stories of exploration, innovation and adventure from a variety of passionate individuals.
I returned home from New York well equipped with what was to be an exciting year laden with excess baggage. Thanks to the incredible generosity and sponsorship by Reef Photo & Video, I was now prepared to document the adventures of my scholarship year with an underwater camera setup from Olympus and Nauticam, complete with Inon strobes and Light & Motion Sola video lights. As a complete underwater photography amateur, I’m so excited to have a real camera kit to use! With Jayne’s help, I managed to set up and familiarize myself with the intimidating and foreign looking settings and pieces of gear of the Olympus OMD-EM10 II camera and Nauticam housing.
With beautiful Sydney weather I was ready to test out all my new gear with Jayne at a couple of Sydney’s best local dives. Gearing up for a dive at the one and only Chowder Bay, it was really special to be starting my scholarship year at a site where it all began for me – the site where I learned to dive and spent so much of my diving upbringing! What was even more exciting for me, was the chance to jump in with a camera to finally document the marine life at the dive site that had such an influence on my early love for the underwater world. Even after almost two years since my last dive here, Chowder Bay was as underestimated as I remembered, and put on a fantastic show with all the usual suspects proving to be excellent subjects for practicing underwater photography – countless cuttlefish, seahorses, stingrays, anglerfish, and even a few curious octopuses that surprised me by leaping out to play with my strobes! We had lovely conditions and it was a great chance for me to test out all my new gear and practice using the different settings and lens options of the camera. Thanks to my Waterproof W1 5mm wetsuit, I was nice and warm in Sydney’s temperate waters, and my TUSA gear was incredibly comfortable and took no time at all to get used to. I can’t wait to use it on all the adventures to come!
Jayne also introduced me to a Sydney site new to me, Bare Island. Located just south of the city on the edge of Port Botany, Bare Island is as beautiful under the surface as it is above, exhibiting more of Sydney’s best marine life treasures, including the tiniest anglerfish I’ve ever seen!
The underwater world of Sydney certainly has a special place in my heart. Despite the fact that we are so spoiled with beautiful beaches and coastlines, it is just as remarkable under the waves. There is never a dull moment with temperate treasures year round, a smorgasbord of cryptic fish, cephalopods, nudibranchs, sharks and rays. I mean, how fortunate are we to live in such a wonderful major city, yet have such diversity of marine life that most people don’t even realize exists on their own doorstep?! Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself!
Living in a large city it’s easy to be oblivious to the marine environment, Sydney or otherwise. The potential to educate and excite people about the dynamic marine ecosystem we have under the waves is huge. Richard Vevers, Jayne Jenkins, and the team of Underwater Sydney have worked together to use the latest technology in specially developed Fisheye Video and Underwater GPS Photography to reveal our oceans and give a unique view into the world of the creatures and life in all your local areas and favorite beaches around Sydney. What’s even more exciting is that this programme has incredible potential to be applied on a local, regional and national basis to reveal the oceans, its wonders and issues and inspire public to care about it and help us protect it! Check out their website and Facebook to learn more about the local areas and dive sites to explore and the creatures that reside there, as well as how you can support and do your part!
When I wasn’t busy underwater, I spent time exploring ideas for potential experiences during my scholarship year. The Rolex Scholarship offers the unique opportunity to experience a very wide variety of dive conditions and challenges, as well as document these experiences as I go along. Before taking off for my first trip of the year, I jumped at the opportunity to join some PADI dive courses to ensure that I am well prepared for these conditions with the development of my skills, and ultimately maximize the experiences of the year ahead of me! Thanks to the generosity and support of the team at Dive Centre Manly and PADI Asia Pacific, I joined instructors Rosie and Richard (Tricky) at Shelly Beach for the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer and Drysuit Diver courses.
I had a great challenge ahead of me, learning two skills I was very unfamiliar with! I was very excited to be using my new drysuit from Waterproof for the first time, let alone my first time using a drysuit ever! My first thoughts, apart from feeling slightly marshmallow-like, was the unfamiliar feeling of being, well… dry(!) upon hitting the water. My Waterproof D9 quadlaminate drysuit with dual core layer undergarments were wonderfully comfortable, even for a first time user, without even as much as a trickle through my seals – a very nice change from the *refreshing* feeling of temperate Sydney 19ºC water seeping down the neck of a wetsuit at the start of the dive.
On another beautiful Sydney Sunday at Shelly Beach, we descended over the kelp beds and rocky reef of Cabbage Tree Bay Marine Reserve. After a few test shots, and some helpful tips from Rosie to get me going, we set off in search of subjects to work on our photography skills. As always, life under the waves at Shelly Beach did not disappoint! We spent two lovely dives photographing the usual Sydney suspects – lizard fish, rock cod, stingrays, octopus, cuttlefish, banded shrimps, goatfish, pygmy leatherjackets, and of course, the puppy dogs of Shelly Beach, the always friendly and forever photo-bombing blue groupers. We even had an exciting (I may have squealed through my reg) sighting of a few juvenile dusky whaler sharks!
Thanks to my awesome Waterproof drysuit, I was wonderfully warm on both of my dives, and had no trouble getting used to it, which allowed me the chance to still direct my attention to practicing using my camera. Much to my surprise, I also managed to not end up with my feet full of air at the surface! Upon completing our dives for the day, I unzipped my suit to see I had successfully passed my final Drysuit test – I was completely dry underneath, hooray! We returned to the shop to go through our shots from the day and learn more about post-processing of our photos. Rosie was very helpful and encouraging (important for us budding underwater photographers!), giving us the chance to critique each other’s photos, learn the pros and cons of some of our images and think about how to improve in the future. A huge thank you to Dive Centre Manly and PADI Asia Pacific for their generosity in hosting and supporting me for my photography and drysuit diver courses and certifications!
With a few new, very useful, dive skills under my belt, I was very excited and ready to pack my bags for my first big adventure down to South Australia – sure to be a great (white) start to the year!
