My first dive for crayfish ever. We took the Dive Wellington boat out to Thoms Rock off of Karori Lighthouse. The site has a depth of 80-90 ft.

Being my first crayfish dive ever, I may have been a bit underprepared. Who goes on a crayfish dive without crayfish bags? Rookie move on my part. Thankfully my buddy was willing to share one of her bags so I had somewhere to put my catch.

No underwater pictures! When my buddy saw my GoPro, she made an off hand comment to the effect of "You're bringing a GoPro on a crayfish dive?" I took the hint and left it behind. Much better to focus on the catch.

The first dive started off slow. We descended and began to search but didn't find much besides a beautiful reef and plenty of fish. However, that's not what we were there for.

About half way through the dive my buddy happened upon a nest of crays and began grabbing what she could reach. I searched the reef in the same area and found a smaller nest. My first attempt at grabbing a crayfish was futile. It squirmed out of my grasp by rapidly retreating into a crevasse.

Then I saw a much larger cray that wasn't near any crevasse. I grabbed it behind its head around the bulk of its body. It thrashed and flexed but I maintained my grip. I unhooked my borrowed crayfish bag, opened it up, and put the cray inside. My first catch complete and it was a beauty!

I also managed to snag and bag a smaller cray too. After all of the commotion of catching those two, the rest had scuttled off. From all of the excitement, I knew I had been chugging through air. A quick check of my pressure guage confirmed it. Time to ascend. 

Location: Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Dive Number:   138 Bottom Time: 27m Time In: 11:25 a.m. Tank In: Max Depth: 86.00 ft Table Used:

Mix:   Air Safety Stop: 3m Time Out: 11:52 a.m. Tank Out: Average Depth: 60.00 ft Start Pressure Group:

Surface Interval:   End Pressure Group:

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