Around Our School 

i sea i care Moonraker Boat Trip 

Last Thursday, the i sea i care Marine Ambassadors went on the most fantastic excursion on a boat called ‘The Moonraker’ from Sorrento Pier on Port Phillip Bay. There were 5 other schools on the boat trip with us. We were all very excited because we were going to go snorkelling with seals and maybe even swim with dolphins. 

The first thing we did was learn about the safety on the boat and then it was time to get our mask, snorkel, flippers and wetsuit. We then jumped on the boat and I went straight up to the top deck. It had the most awesome view of the bay.

Once everyone was on board, we started motoring out into the bay. We couldn’t believe we were finally on our first i sea i care excursion and the excitement was amazing! It was then explained that first we would go dolphin spotting and if we saw some dolphins, we would get in the water with them. 

It wasn’t long before we could see several pods of dolphins.  Dolphins are protected, so this means if a female dolphin in the pod has a baby, we are not allowed to swim with the pod. Luckily the dolphins were all adults so we were told to get ready to slide in the water from the back of the boat.

After swimming with the dolphins, we headed out to sea to find seals. It wasn’t long before we came across this structure in the middle of nowhere called The South Channel Pile Light. It was built in 1874 to guide ships through the narrow South Channel and was occupied by lighthouse keepers until 1925. Today it is the home for many seals and sea birds.

It was then time to jump into the sea and explore the sea life. We snorkelled all around the structure where most of the seals were sleeping, however there were several in the water and they were not at all scared of us. We also saw 2 stingrays, a Port Jackson shark and some spider crabs.

After a long time snorkelling in the sea, we had to get back on the boat and head back to the pier. It was such an amazing experience and something we will never forget! The aim of the trip was to get us all inspired and motivated to care for the marine environment and it certainly did that! Stay tuned for more information on how we can all take better care of our oceans.

Nahla Bhachi-Green, Aman Wolter, Scarlett Sevilla, Will Robinson, Seth Hornbuckle, Jackson Cormick and Scarlette Walsh

NAPLAN