No tanks allowed

I am adding Fairlight to my "no tanks allowed" list.

I was heading for a freedive at Fairy Bower today knowing I had to be at the Orpheum cinema in Neutral Bay before 3pm to see the new Batman Movie (great flic!) I could see the Harbour as I drove down from Balgowlah and it looked very flat. So I decided to stop at Fairlight, figuring I would be in the water earlier and could stay in longer than I would be able to if I kept going to the Bower. And besides, I'd walked Rowlf to the Harbour a few hours earlier and knew the water was very clear inside he heads. Why not?

I quickly geared up and headed to the shore, seeing as I aproached sand pathes, kelp patches and rock patches in the very clear water. The water was flat, the sky was blue; this was going to be good. And indeed it was. I slipped into the water to find it as clear as it promised from the shore. I swam out to the drop with the intention of finding the small wreck and taking some video of it. Great plan. However, despite the great vis and being able to see the sand from the surface...I could not find the wreck. I knew I did not have a lot of time in the water, so I did not spend too long searching before heading north eastish to the rocks were there are usually nice schools of fish.

And there were nice schools of fish. And the water was very clear. The site is oriented such that a large apartment block casts a shadow over part of it. That part has a small vertical wall that is very photogenic. Light streams into the water and where the shadow is cast the water goes from green to blue. Bery blue. Today I decided to call it "the blue room." As you go along the wall there are green bits and blue bits and schools of fish and urchin covered rocks. There is klp, there is sea grass and there is a resident boarfish who has been hanging around for years.

Today there were not as many fish as I usually see. But maybe that is because I was not paying as much attention, or because I was covering far more of the site than I usually do on scuba. But it was one of my favourite "dives" at Fairlight, all the way up to and beyond the camera battery life and my left ear's ability to clear.