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It is no surprise to John Hallett that his âbig blue backyardâ contains three of the reefs voted Queenslandâs 10 best.
Mr Hallett and his wife Lyn have run a charter boat business out of Rosslyn Bay for the best part of 45 years.
But reaching the Crystal Blue Hole, about 270km offshore from Yeppoon, remains as âspectacularâ as when John first saw it. Crystal Blue Hole Adori Charters
âThe reef is structured out over the lagoon; you come over the bombies and itâs a nice cosy place to anchor,â he said.
âIf the boat lays the right way, you just jump over the side but, if the winds arenât right, then you take a tender over to the reef and swim back to the boat.â
his share of storms is joining us live from cedar key, florida. how is it looking there, phil? reporter: right now we are in the break of what have been throw rep torrential repetitive squalls. right now tropical storm debby is 80 miles due west of here, that decks. typically there would be a bunch of charter boats, clammers coming back this place bus lynn with activity. bustling with activity. debris all over this place. the docks totally destroyed for the moment right now. cedar keys has been around for a longtime. there are 1815era buildings just a few miles in. basically this place has experienced a lot of hurricanes and storms over the past and things are shut down right now.
that is their iron coffin. to disgrace that is like vandalism at arlington cemetery. martha: you re so right, that is a perfect analogy sore what we are seeing unfold here. it s obviously very personal to you and to all of those who are connected to that battle and the ships that are the burial places that are underwater there. do we have any idea who is doing this and how to stop them and how to potentially perhaps get some of these things back to their rightful place? well, the investigators are underway. as i said, ncis in company with the japanese maritime safety agent see, i m sure they ll be checking the dive boats, the charter boats who have gone out here. it s probably souvenir hunters. there is quite a market for memorabilia from world war ii it is so rare. it would take experienced divers, the ship was sung in
it s going to cause some more problems to the estuaries obviously. i know you suffered and lost everything after hurricane katrina. right now bp is saying that they are cutting checks of $5,000 to boat owners, also hiring people for cleanup. have you applied to get a check from bp for that $5,000? yes, i have, which i have already received, and also, you know, individuals from this area that are charter boat operators, guides and commercial fishermen have the opportunity to apply for the vessel of opportunity to try to make some cash flow during this time of need because obviously not only our loblg, but our businesses, all the charter boats and guides in this area. the fishing is shut down so, therefore, nobody is making any money in the business or the way of life that they are used to doing. right. i know that new orleans has climbed back to 85% of tourism before hurricane katrina and businesses like yourself, small businesses, you ve also climbed back. when you see this hurri