To celebrate the first day of winter Yu, Alan, Marky and I struggled out of our warm beds predawn for a 6am dive at Black Rock.

Black Rock has a small pier, but the main attraction is the wreck of HMAS Cerebus, a Navy breastwork monitor ship that was scuttled as a breakwater off Half Moon Bay in 1924. Whilst it used to be a popular site for divers and picnickers (sections exposed above water), in 1993 there was significant structural collapse and the site now has a large exclusion zone around it, so alas there is not a lot to see.

A chilly morning (it was 3°C ❄️outside when we jumped into the 13°C waters!), but a quiet and peaceful way to start the winter months. Shallow site, great for playing with my new gear. Saw a tonne of flatworms in the water, as well as a fiddler ray straight up (camera wasn’t rolling!) and a few other critters came out to say hi. The best bit of a winter predawn dive has to be ascending to the crisp and clear sunrise 🌅