On arriving at The Leap it didn't look too promising. The seas were getting quite large and the wind was really picking up. Getting in shouldn't have been a problem but we didn't know what it would be like under the water. We decided to go in anyway.
Getting in at The Leap was relatively easy as the swell means you don't have to leap as far. On the surface in the water it was very choppy with the swell being 1-2 metres. As we descended it looked pretty chopped up and the visibility was not great. Once we got down to the sand line it opened up and the viz was actually pretty good: at least 8 metres and increasing to 10 metres in parts. There was a bit of surge but nothing too bad.
We headed north along the sand line and I was looking for the cowrie and anglerfish. We spotted a weedy seadragon along the way. I managed to find the cowrie again in the same colony of Capnella but no anglerfish. A quick inspection of Seahorse Rock revealed no seahorses, but we found "Bob" on the low rock further along where he's been seen since the the 1st of December.
Moving further along, Sheree pointed out the basket star at its usual spot but I missed it. On the next large rock Sheree pointed out a short-tailed Ceratosoma nudibranch, Ceratosoma brevicaudatum, only the second I've seen at The Leap.
"Southern Cross", "Richie" and "Kel" were all at their usual location and were relatively easy to find.
We saw another weedy seagragon after leaving "Southern Cross" and swam over the sponge covered boulders near the sand line for 50 metres or so. The visibility got worse the closer we got to The Steps. Just before leaving the sand line we saw a third weedy seadragon.
Heading into the shallows the visibility got worse still as did the surge. The exit at The Steps was not easy but, with the help of Daniela and Peter, we got out unscathed. |
