Back to the Poor Knights with PK Dive, www.pkdive.co.nz, on 7 Apr 07 for two dives, one at Middle Arch and the other on the walls north of Trevor’s Rock extending to Mary’s Wall. Both dives were about an hour duration to 24 m.  Sea - essentially flat at 19°C.

The first dive was dedicated to buddy locator experimentation, testing out my new Suunto Cobra dive computer, and a new control on the camera housing.  Armed with a 50 m string line I set about measuring detection distance and ranging with the buddy locator.  With my experiments completed I undertook a leisurely assent looking through the kelp and crags on the wall for nudibranches.  Schools of Pink and Blue Maomao, Demoiselles, and the occasional Snapper were playing on the wall.  At 10 m I reached for camera to find that it had become detached from its retractor!   I immediately retraced my route looking through the dense kelp but decompression limits meant that I couldn’t get down to the likely camera resting spot - a shelf at about 23 m.  Sod.  I immediately planned a return dive at the earliest opportunity to complete the search.

With the camera gone I set about a second dive with Martin.  A nice relaxed dive but with no camera I could not capture any footage.

The following day a diver with Tutukaka Dive found my camera.  Martin and Jill from PK Dive had let the local dive community know about my loss on the previous day and I am most thankful for the Tutukaka dive community.  Click here for this story and the resurrection of the dead camera.

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