In January 2010 Mick Todd, Nicci “Scubasquirrel” Johnson and I drove about 80 kilometres south of Sydney to Shellharbour and the picturesque Bushrangers Bay National Park. We dived with local dive centre owner Mick Harris hoping to see Sea Spiders. These can range from 2 to 5 centimetres in leg span and can be mostly seen on whitish-purple or brown bryozoans.
The four of us did not see any Sea Spiders on our first dive although we were treated to a close Boarfish encounter.
Mick H suggested that we use DPVs for our second dive and explore further from the shore. But Mick T had a chest infection and Nicci was reluctant to use a DPV – no doubt she felt it would be safer to be out of the water if I had a DPV. So Mick H and I set off on our DPVs. These were much more powerful than any underwater scooter that I had previously ridden on and the technique for using them different from anything I had experienced before. After a thrilling ride during which we sped by a cruising ray, we arrived at the spot where Mick H expected to find Sea Spiders. And sure enough, he quickly found several. As this was the first time I had seen any, I was naturally thrilled.