Harbord, the first booties last dive

• Sunday 16th Sept, me and JCJ
  
• Approx 2pm in, 50mins
• Middle of dropping tide
• 15m vis, but snotty out front
• 16 degrees
• 3mm wetsuit, damnit
• Clear skies, wind picking up and swinging NW-NE

The sound of a shark alarm is one that may strike fear into your average beachgoer but also one that may encourage a diver to get ready that bit more quickly while it adds a little extra tredidation. And that was yesterday's start. We arrived, parked, took a look at the entry and exit points and then, when I came back from the toilet block I was greeted by a siren sound that JGJ told me was the shark alarm; cool! The water looked very clear, we saw what could have been a spotter plane overhead so maybe we'd get lucky and have sharks, but maybe not as there were a couple of dolphins spotted. Maybe a case of mistaken identity?

The zip on my left bootie exploded and that was about as disasterous as the kitting up got, far better than the amatuer dramatics of our previous outing. By the time we walked to our chosen entry point the wind had picked up some and the water was that bit too lumpy for comfort. Saving me the call, JCJ said no to the front and we wandered around to the pool and the sheltered exit; we'd swim out and back instead of jump from the front and swim one way. A good call.

Immediately we were struck by how clear the water was. We could see well out onto the sand to an open water class in progress and beyond. Beyond was where JCJ spotted a shark; he gave the shark sign - open hand as a fin raised above his head. My heart rate jumped some, I kept peering into the distance but I didn't spot it. We kept on heading out through the incredibly clear (by local standards) water. Even the snot hanging in suspension didn't bother us and in places we had about 15m. With the sun overhead it took about 30mins for me to start getting cold (by the end of the dive my feet were numb, making the pebbly exit somewhat entertaining in it's wobbliness.)

Until we turned the corner the dive had been pleasant enough, and that is about as much as I was expecting from Harbord. My memories are of a rock pile that is light on both fish and fixed life. I'm not sure what has happened but yesterday there were huge schools of fish and the rocks, in places, were covered in sponges and anenomes. Loads of them. This nwas turning into a very nice dive.

The first large school of yellowtail was lovely; but the school of bullseyes over and between some of the rocks was quite incredible. You could barely see through them. Then there was another large school of yellowtail. Then there was a large catfish feeding in the sand, a couple of blue grouper, a colourful triggerfish, crimson and senator wrasse. It was, as they say, going off. And all this was going on over and around the rocks I remember as barren that were now encrusted. I take back everything I have said about Harbord's ability to disappoint. Of course it may have been so good because neither JCJ nor I had cameras...

We turned and headed back over top of the rocks, through the same schools of fish and clear water. Every so often JCJ and I would swap hand signals that gave away our shared incredulity. Harbord, this good? Feeling confident, I went on an eastern 'bleekers' blue devil hunt as we returned. I had no luck, but plenty of fun looking under rock ladges and into cracks and crevices that sometimes hold the prettiest fish in NSW. As I came close to wedging myself in one swim-through I missed seeing the large free-swimming port jackson shark that JCJ saw above the rocks I was reversing out of in a cloud of silt (bloody amateur that I am.) SO no sharks for me, but I did spot a squid in the clear water just near the exit point, surprising as by that time my concentration was beign severly challenged by my shivering.

Hardbord; who'd have thought it could be that good.