DIVE LOG AUSTRALASIA FEB 2026

great fish portraits of Red Emperors, Coral Trout, Sweetlip and Trevally as well as turtles. I deliberately did not name any specific Trevally. There is a very good reason for this. After looking at the photos, and taking a squizz at the Fish ID books, I realise that THE “Trevally” was at least six different species. Study the photos to see spots and marks that allow you to distinguish them. The bio-diversity of Trevally on this wreck is simply mind-blowing. The challenge on the Yongala is that you need two hands to take a photo with a big housing. Letting go of the wreck can mean getting dragged off in the current. A reef hook can help. The Royal Mail Ship Quetta The RMS Quetta lies a few hours East of Thursday Island. It sank at night in Feb 1890 within three to five minutes in a shallow tidal current prone channel near Adolphus Island. It had hit a submerged rock which made a long gash in the hull. One girl was rescued 36 hours later drifting out to sea towards oblivion. Another girl was saved by clinging to a dead sheep. In order to dive it, you go to the site around the time of the slack water according to the tide tables, check out the current and wait for it to subside. It is about 5 to 6 hours ESE from Thursday Island. Sometimes, it is possible to dive it. I have had fifteen metres viz, on my first trip. The next two trips were six and four metres viz. I discovered that 15m viz is really exceptional. The Quetta is an open wreck and it is legal to penetrate as the holds are enormous. It is also a

Always try to photograph the eyes. Good eye contact makes the shot!

There is a lot going on on this wreck. One of the great sights is stacks of Stingrays. I have seen two or three big Rays stacked up like pancakes. As the current pushes you into awkward positions, these massive Rays actually gently steer around you with an impressive display of courtesy that you rarely see humans using. One of my favorite set of moments from the wreck is the sighting of three generations of Queensland Cod. Anyone you listen to will tell you without exaggeration that the resident Cod is absolutely enormous. As usual, most divers have lost the ability to guestimate how big it is. The one parent sighting of big daddy that I have had is huge. I would have said nine to ten feet long. The problem with this is that they only grow to nine feet. Some divers swear that it is bigger than a VW and fifteen feet long, especially after a few beers. I have seen a teenage one about six feet long. On a night dive here, I saw a baby one metre one. It had the unmistakeable bulging eyes and Cod shaped head and body. There you have it, three generations all living on the wreck. The lens of choice for this dive is as wide as you can. I used a Tokina 10 to 17mm Fish Eye lens and now the 16 to 35 mm Nikon wide angle zoom. I usually set it to 35mm just in case of a fleeting encounter with something that buzzes past like an Eagle Ray. Visibility on the Yongala rarely exceeds ten metres. I have seen it at over thirty metres but that is rare. Therefore, close up wide angle is the go. You can get

37

Dive Log Australasia #416 February ’26

www.divelog.net.au