Last Spring my wife and I were fortunate enough to be out on the Great Barrier Reef to snorkel. It was a major event for us, and clicked off an item on our Life Lists of things to experience before we die.
A concern before we left shore to head out was the looming presence of Typhoon Ita, which had achieved Category 5 for a period while out over the Coral Sea, and was then headed -- slowly -- towards the Australian coast.
We finished our visit to the reef, and the captain of the boat, eying the darkening clouds, made the decision to head in with haste. Another dive boat -- of only three out on the Reef that day -- stayed briefly before following our lead.
Although not the typhoon itself, the disturbed air along the storm's western edge created a weather disturbance which kicked up a significant ruckus itself. The seas became quite choppy, and the wide -- as you can see in the below image -- picked up considerably.
All boats made it to shore safely, though with more than a few green faces amongst the passengers.
We escaped Port Douglas the morning before Ita rocked ashore. Oddly enough, the tropical storm remnants of Ita were crashing into New Zealand as we landed there a week later, making for a rough arrival. But that's a photo for another time.
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