It was 29 degrees in our room, very hot and very humid. It was raining heavily outside once we packed our gear for our next three night, three day liveaboard dive trip. We checked out of the YHA and subsequently had to check in as we arrived after reception had closed yesterday. I then deposited my valuables and camera film with them for safe keeping until our return on Thursday.
After breakfast we paced the streets of Airlie Beach looking for Lycra socks for protection of our fin damaged feet. In the end I bought some neoprene slippers, which will double up as useful protection when boogie boarding, and hired some open heel fins for the dive trip. Ian bought some thick socks to protect his toes.
We spent the afternoon sat in a cafe in Proserpine, drinking and eating and writing our journals. On the way out to Proserpine from Airlie Beach Ian saw a sign by a creek warning of the presence of estuarine crocodiles.
Back in Airlie Beach we wasted a couple of hours, one reading e-mails in a slow cyber cafe, another eating yet another McDonalds. Then we returned to the Pro Dive shop to check in for our next liveaboard dive trip. Having arrived at Abel Point Marina we bade another farewell to Roy, our hire car, and embarked Ocean Pro where we received lots of instructions from the dive supervisor. It is nice to have a couple of female crew on board as most of the crew on dive vessels, that I have encountered, tend to be male. During the instruction briefing we had three power blackouts, which doesn't bode too well for our trip...
Now the sun has set we have finally set sail for the outer reef, leaving at 21:15 and cruising at a speed of 6 knots, approximately 11 km/h, twice my walking pace. Ian, playing with his GPS, informs me that we are heading south west from Airlie Beach which means we are heading to where cyclone Beni was last week, so it's pleasing to know that we chose well by picking this week for this trip, not last.
Copyright 2003 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.