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Reports from traveling divers: Australia's Coral Sea by Carl Roessler |
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In
the
1970s
and
80s
we
cruised
from
Rockhampton
and
Townville
300
miles
across
sometimes-bumpy
seas
to
wondrous
Marion
Reef.
During
those
decades,
I
was
escorting
groups
of
avid
divers
to
many
of
the
world’s
richest
coral
reefs,
but
only
the
Sudanese
reefs
in
the
central
Red
Sea
could
approach
the
combination
of
stunning
visibility,
brilliant
marine
life
and
numbers
of
sharks
that
Marion
Reef
delivered
year
after
year. As the years went by, we explored other superb reefs in the Coral Sea such as Flinders, Diamond and Holmes before moving northward to dive the Cod Hole and Pixie Pinnacle on the Great Barrier Reef and North Horn and other sites on Osprey Reef. Remarkably, each of these massive oceanic atolls had distinctive dive sites which differed radically from each other. Marion Reef, for example, had dozens of skyscraper-sized coral towers rising up from the 200-foot depths of its lagoon to graze the limpid surface. Some of the most spectacular diving conditions I’ve ever seen occurred while soaring around these fabled pinnacles.
Holmes didn’t have much coral development in the shallows, but further down on its deep flanks there were soft coral colonies bigger than a diver, and in a rainbow of colors—pink, yellow, burgundy—which we always had trouble leaving. There was always just one more beautiful angle to be shot! |
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Osprey
Reef
was
distinctive
for
a
series
of
crevices
in
its
outer
wall
which
were
swept
by
regular
tidal
currents.
As
a
result
of
such
rich
and
concentrated
feeding,
the
walls
were
alive
with
hard
corals,
soft
corals
and
sponges
in
varied
colors—with
night
dives
featuring
hundreds
of
flashlight
fish
and
huge
nudibranchs. In addition, one secret site had 20-foot trees of black coral and a wide meadow of huge soft coral trees stretching as far as we could see. Absolutely unforgettable! The northern tips of both Marion Reef (“Action Point”) and Osprey Reef (“North Horn”) were home to healthy populations of hungry sharks. I learned a lot about what happens when sharks swarm to feed, and I’ll never forget some of those maelstroms of flashing and darting gray bodies. |
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These amazing reefs are protected only by 200-300 miles of open ocean, or they would be overrun with divers. As it is, only a fortunate few ever get to dive these remote wonders. If you are a serious photographer, however—these are worth whatever it takes!... |
Beginning
in
1972
I
had
the
great
good
fortune
to
make
twenty-nine
ten-day
cruises
to
the
oceanic
atolls
of
Australia’s
Coral
Sea.
On
a
succession
of
live-aboards
ranging
from
Coralita
and
Reef
Explorer
to
Coral
Princess,
Hero
and
Elizabeth
E
I,
we
explored
the
Coral
Sea
paradises
that
lie
far
out
to
sea
beyond
the
Great
Barrier
Reef.
Diamond
Reef
had
smaller
pinnacles
in
the
shallow
areas
of
its
lagoon,
but
its
coral
walls
astounded
us
with
vast
arches,
caverns
and
swim-throughs
riddling
the
coral
massif.
On
one
memorable
occasion,
twenty
or
more
gray
sharks
decided
that
I
was
to
be
lunch,
and
I
only
escaped
The
Final
Chapter
by
bashing
shark-noses
with
both
big
camera
rigs
until
I
could
flatten
myself
against
the
coral
wall.
Memories,
indeed…