SNORKELLING
SUMMER SNORKELLING PROGRAM
Our snorkeling program operates during the summer months from November to the end of March each year. It is run of a Saturday morning, starting at 8.45am conditions permitting.
Members are notified by email each week of the location the snorkeling will be conducted.
To participate you must be a paid-up financial member of Marine Care Ricketts Point.
For further information contact:
Ian O’Loughlin, Snorkel Coordinator. ianolou2@gmail.com
Check out the links to our Facebook page where you will see some spectacular images of the underwater world of Ricketts Marine Sanctuary.
OUR REQUIREMENTS
To snorkel with us, you must on each occasion:
- Read and follow the MCRP Snorkelling Program – Standard Briefing Notes. See here.
- Have your own equipment – i.e. mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit (5mm recommended in Port Phillip Bay), and preferably also hood, booties and gloves.
- Attend the safety briefing.
- Sign on to the attendance (buddy) sheet.
- Snorkel with a buddy (you can decide on the day who that will be).
- Everyone who participates in our Summer Snorkelling Program must complete the MCRP annual Activity Participation Form HERE certifying that they are competent snorkelers and medically fit to undertake the snorkelling activity. The onus is on the individual to consult their doctor if they have any doubts about a medical condition that may affect their ability to snorkel.
- Be a current financial member of MCRP. See here.
MCRP SNORKELLING PROGRAM – STANDARD BRIEFING NOTES See here
UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY We ask that members who have good underwater photos of life in the sanctuary contribute them regularly to the Parks Victoria Sea Search Species Image Library. Please provide digital images with location, habitat, date, scientific and common names of both flora and fauna.
The Parks Victoria (PV) Sea Search manual provides guidelines on methods to be used, including a Species Image Library. You can access the manual on the following link:
http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/get-involved/volunteer/sea-search
The Species Image Library methods page is:
parkweb.vic.gov.au/data/assets/pdf_file/0005/561272/1.2.pdf
(The location code for Ricketts Point Sanctuary is RIC)
Please forward images to Marine Ranger, Emily Verey at emily.verey@parks.vic.gov.au
This data provision is very important: It will add to Parks Victoria’s existing database about the Bay, and greatly assist them in the management of the Sanctuary. It will foster close co-operation between ourselves and Parks Victoria. It helps meet our aims to foster education about the Sanctuary and to advance knowledge about its marine life and environment
If you require any further information, please don’t hesitate to ask your snorkel leader
RESOURCES
Snorkelling Bayside – An Introduction to Snorkeling in the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary and Nearby Waters – by Ray Lewis, 2015.
This book was written primarily to assist members of Marine Care Ricketts Point Inc with their snorkeling. It is based on general advice and the experience of many local divers.
Click HERE to download a digital copy of this book.