Six days of torrential rain hit Nelson Bay in March. Four hundred and fifty-seven millimetres fell in just three days, the highest ever three-day total since records began in1889. There were minor local landslips including one near The Pipeline which temporarily closed the road that leads to the dive site. Flood water laced with herbicides and pesticides flowed into the bay from the Karuah River, the freshwater devasting the grasses, kelp and coral beds that had been home to numerous marine species. The kelp beds between Dutchies Beach and Fly Point were particularly hard hit. The gardens of purple cauliflower-like corals (Dendronephthya australis) that were already in decline due to sand movement and boat anchoring, were badly damaged. From the surface to a depth of around seven metres, only bare rock and strands of kelp now offered any shallow water sanctuary to the life that had survived. Much of that smaller marine life was nowhere to be seen and had presumably perished. It was now difficult not to feel depressed when diving Nelson Bay. 

Still an Ornate Ghost Pipefish at The Pipeline and Sydney Cardinalfish with eggs in their mouths at Fly Point hinted to a happier future. Dive buddies were light on the ground, only Don Silcock was brave enough to dive with me. Jayne Jenkins had offered to but had to stand down after a bad reaction to her Covid19 vaccination. Or maybe she thought better of it!