Beasts under the Pier

A couple of days ago we decided to take a literal plunge, and do our first open water scuba dive. Prior to leaving Blighty we'd done our PADI theory test and confined water dives, in the relaxed and friendly confines of the local town pool. On arrival in WA we were disappointed to be told that though PADI allows ten-year-olds to do their open water diver course, Western Australia imposes more restrictive requirements and prohibits those from under 14 from scuba diving.

So the kids spent the day with a nice local girl, while E and I strapped on scuba tanks and headed off to the Navy Pier, a relic of the cold war US occupation of this side of WA and (happily) a marine structure which has been colonised by a broad and stunning diversity of local fauna. It is ranked as one of Australia's top dive sites.

We did two supervised 50min dives, separated by 30mins surface time. First feeling was fear. Dropping into the vast ocean, under a massive rusting steel structure, was scary. Next sensation was discomfort.. both of us encountered severe ear equalisation problems as we descended down the first five metres towards the foot of the pier's concrete base. Maintaining the right level of buoyancy (ie not floating up or down) was tricky, too. And the perennial nagging concern "I am now too deep to pop up to the surface if I have a problem..".

But those worries evaporated after 15 or 20mins, and we started to explore the surface of the ocean. A real treasure trove.. We had close encounters with reef sharks, rays, huge shoals of tiny fish and a 500kg turtle. A giant old grouper sits in pride of place under the pier, attended by a large fan club and malevolently staring down any impudent divers who venture into his presence. There were stonefish, parrot fish, clownfish, Moorish idols, fusiliers, mahi-mahi, baby barracudas and much else. A marine paradise that will serve as an excellent incentive to the completion of our PADI course in a cold Leicestershire quarry..



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