Boat dive aboard El Tigre with Dive Tutukaka at The Poor Knights on 31 Dec 06.  Two fantastic dives completed on the day at Middle Arch and Mary’s Wall.  I have to say that this classy dive outfit is one of the most professional that I have come across.  The pre-dive brief was incredibly informative.  Depth to 24 m.  Visibility 12 m +.  Water temperature 18°C.  Sea glassy in the morning with a slight swell but a building nor westerly in the afternoon increased the swell and chop.   Some current through the Arch but otherwise none of note.

Lots and lots to see including some nice scorpion fish, five species of nudibranch, an eel, some snapper, Maomao, Demoiselle, Red Moki, Wrasse, Big Eye, fans...But no rock lobsters!  My assigned dive buddy, Holger was an Assistant Dive Instructor on holiday from Chile.

On the second dive decent I glimpsed a saw a trickle of water on the inside of the back of the camera case!  I immediately checked the gasket screws and two had loosened.  I tightened them and the leak stopped.  Lesson - add the camera case to my pre-dive safety check.  I tragically ran out of 512 MB memory card before the end of the second dive and  missed some great opportunities.  Darn!  The walls, arch and a cave really subdued the ambient light so I was forced to use the flash extensively.  I subsequently observed that the lens hood can cast a shadow when I’m in close to the action.  A slave flash might be a future project.

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