HMAS Brisbane's underwater allure

The Sunshine Coast dive industry has almost doubled in size in a matter of years, as news of the HMAS Brisbane scuttling off Mooloolaba has spread worldwide. In contrast to the disaster of last summer when bad weather plagued all Coast tourism operators, this year has seen the dive industry working 12-hour days, seven days a week for three weeks just to cope with demand.

Scuba World proprietor Ian McKinnon said the dive industry was actually grateful for the two-day reprieve due to poor weather. The dive business was up 27% on the same time last year - a year marred by bad weather but still about 8% up on the previous year. “We usually have busy weekends and quieter week days but we’ve been putting in 12 hours days from 6am to 6pm,” he said.

“We need the break but you’ve got to make hay while the sun shines,” he said. “There’s no doubt, news of the sinking of The Brisbane and the sort of dive experience offered has spread across the world,” he said...[TheDaily]