Hi All

We plan a double dive at the Gold Coast. How exciting!!!

Palm Beach Reef is the largest coral reef system on the Gold Coast and ranges from 5m to 24m, with lots of different environments to explore. There are many different sites here that can be explored, depending on the conditions and the time of year, as different sites are better suited to different wildlife. In the summer, leopard sharks frequent the reef and grey nurse sharks are occasionally seen in the winter. Stingrays, eagle rays, wobbegongs and turtles are frequently seen, and the site is well known for nudibranchs. Large schools of tropical fish are common, and the shallower parts of the reef offer a good variety of tropical fish.

The Scottish Prince was an iron-hulled barque ship with three masts, built in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1878. It was a passenger and cargo ship that operated between the UK and Australia. It ran aground at the end of a voyage from Glasgow to Brisbane in 1887, without loss of life, and now lies 800 metres off the Southport Spit. Now, what remains of the 64-metre ship is covered in soft corals and sponges, and is a haven for crayfish, shovelnose rays, catsharks and wobbegongs, as well as plenty of tropical fish.

Each diver must:

• Be a current UniDive member, medically fit to dive, and have a valid UQ Swim Test Certificate
• Have dived in the last 6 months
• Have an Open Water (or equivalent) dive certification from a recognised agency
• Dive within their certification and capability
• Ensure that they have all required dive gear, and are familiar with all aspects of it
• Dive with an SMB / "safety sausage", cutting device (e.g. knife) and whistle
  Note: These items are NOT supplied (you need to bring your own)
  
• Bring their own mask, snorkel, and fins
  If you need to hire other equipment such as BCD, reg, wetsuit, it is your responsibility to hire these before the trip (typically at the UniDive shed on Thursday night before the trip). There will be no time to sort out gear hire on the day of the trip.
  There's no need to hire tanks and weights, as these are included in the trip and will be loaded from the shed on the day.
• Follow instructions given by the Boat Handlers, Dive Supervisor, and other people in charge (such as the commercial operator)
• Help out throughout the whole day
• Notify the Trip Organiser and Dive Supervisor asap of any changes to personal circumstances as declared in the event registration form.
• Attend the trip meeting (usually on the Thursday beforehand at 6:30 pm at the UniDive shed)

If you have any questions about the trip, please contact the Trip Organiser. If you can't get hold of the Trip Organiser, email dive@unidive.org.