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The ANUSC Dive Site Survey

In May 2008, the Club began a project to formally map and describe the key dive sites that it visits. While there are lots of bibs and bobs of info around (books, the internet, dive shops, old members knowledge etc), none of this information is consistently accurate nor held centrally. And while some club members have accumulated this information over a period of many years, this is not much use if they are not on the trip, or in your boat!

The Committee has subsequently approved the idea for the club, via its members, to produce comprehensive maps/info/guides that would be totally accurate and would be easily accessible. Shorter 2 page versions of these site descriptions could then be produced and printed/laminated so they could be taken to the coast as appropriate.

As a broad template, the dive guides would include items such as the name of the mark in the club's GPS, dive site map, fish life, anchoring, location, description, dive shops and airfills, special factors, safety contact numbers, links, likely diving conditions expected etc etc.

The club's ethos towards diving safety is very much that you are responsible for your own actions and decisions. Given this, the guides will also include very detailed information on safety aspects (current, viz, depth, etc etc) in order for people (particularly Newer South Coast divers) to assess whether their training and experience are a match for some of the 'interesting' conditions that even the most sanguine dive sites can throw up (such as the 2007 Tathra laundromat dive).

Given the importance of accuracy to the success of this project, it will be undertaken over the long-term and will probably take 3-5 years to complete 50 of the easiest sites. And some sites may take many dives to complete with the resulting maps requiring ongoing iteration.

A couple of points of clarification following discussion with the Committee and others:

1. We will not publish GPS marks on the club's website, only the name of mark in the club's GPS.
2. A proposal that would retain the future possibility of publishing this material (for club profit) was not approved.
3. Individuals will be credited with the production of the site map.
4. The original proposal to give dive site ratings ("beginner", "intermediate", "advanced") for each site miserably failed the crucial 'campfire discussion' process and will not be pursued further.

1. Who you are:
2. What dive site(s) you would like to survey:
3. A rough timeframe for completing the survey:

Please let me know if you have any questions.

-- Charles.

The table of current assignments (May 2008) follows. Feel free to survey a site not listed below.
Completed surveys are in MS Word format for the moment, sorry!

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