Maybe the worst dive I've had was 2 weeks ago at the end of July. We went outside the Port Phillip heads on a boat dive to see the 26-metre J-class submarine sitting on the bottom. There was a strong wind and it was pretty choppy for the boat to locate and maneuver to a good entry spot.

Already feeling a bit loopy from the motion sickness drug, I dunked in and headed through the murky 12 degree C water to where the buoy was. Once on the bottom with my buddy at 27m, there was no wreck to be seen so we headed off in the direction it was supposed to be. Within about 1 minute, I heard (and then felt) a loud bang - bang - bang. My alternate regulator was blowing bursts of bubbles every 3 or 4 seconds -- all else seemed ok and my main reg was letting me breath just fine. How weird. I was unable to get the attention of my buddy, and as I finned toward him I realised I was now at 12 m. Not good. So now I'm looking for his bubbles -still no buddy - and I'm slowly going up. I enjoyed a 5 second safety stop then looked up to see the surface within a few metres. All the while, my alternate reg is continuing to belch.

Me with Mike BallI had the very pleasant opportunity to meet scuba diving hall of fame luminary, Mike Ball. We attended our nearby dive shop's (Dive Experience in Williamstown VIC) monthly club night where Mike was the scheduled speaker.

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions is legendary as the best live-aboard boat operator to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef. No doubt about that - a Sydney friend still talks about his great experience on the Spoilsport a few years ago. I always felt that the Mike Ball trips were a) too advanced for my skill level, and b) too pricey for my budget. Probably wrong on both counts.