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Week Two: Shore diving

Charlie Downes , Year 7

On January 20th the RATs team headed to the beach at Coral Gardens to clean the snorkel trail slates. The slates are signs that have information about the corals and marine life to be found in that area; when they are visible, they provide a helpful guide for the tourists to read while they snorkel.

Cleaning the slates was no easy feet – but with our dive team we were able to complete the BWIC Reef Action Team (RATs!) 2017 job. For cleaning the slates we used three main tools: a scraper, a brush and sandpaper. The brush is used to get the sand off the slate. The scraper is used to take of big bits of rust and rock. Finally, the sandpaper is used to smooth the plate out. It’s pretty hard work keeping yourself steady underwater while scrubbing away at those slates! But we were rewarded with quite a sight while we were diving – we saw two large spotted eagle rays gliding across the water, looking almost as if they were eagles gliding through the sky. The magic of the ocean never fails to disappoint!

Overall, we had a lot of fun and learned how to clean slates underwater as well as be helpful and healthy towards our underwater environment.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1488123341933-2c6a2667792d69c92b041c15217cb790-7″ include=”1377,1379,1365,1367,1373,1366,1362,1371,1372,1368,1376,1382,1363,1364,1361,1358,1369,1378,1359,1370,1360,1383,1380,1381″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]