Day 23 - Diving on Milln Reef

     You would think being on a boat 30 miles off the coast of Australia there would be some disconnection from the outside world. Not on the Pro Dive II  dive boat.  This isn't the only thing we have been surprise about on this dive trip.  When I was here four years ago it was summer in the southern hemisphere; its winter now.  The water temperature is 73 degrees but the outside temperature today only reached about 72 degrees.  On tonights night dive the water actually felt warm when the air temperature was in the mid 60's.  We were able to get some warmer gear, so we're all set for four more dives tomorrow.  Leslie and I are both working toward our advanced diver certificate; we will have it complete by our return on Tuesday.  Today we completed our underwater navigation skills dive, night dive and peak performance and buoyancy dive.  All we have remaining is a deep dive to 30 meters (98 feet) and a search and recovery dive to complete our advanced certification; the rest are just fun dives, eleven total for the three day trip.

      The Great Barrier Reef is an amazing place to see all kinds of wildlife.  Today we saw a sea turtle, sharks (two at night), lots of fish and beautiful corral.  Although it has been a bit chilly and a little more windy than we would have liked, we are having a great time and look forward to the day of diving tomorrow.  I will post pictures as soon as I can...