Dive at The Leap, Kurnell, NSW on 5 July 2014

Dive Details

Location

Date

5 July 2014

Time

9:52am - 11:07am

Details

Another fantastic looking day at The Leap. The water was calm and clear. I was able to jump from the low platform because it was so calm. At the surface the visibility was around 15 metres or so. We descended and headed to the sand line at 60°. It was clear all the way to a depth of around 15 metres. Once we descended below 15 metres, it got colder and the visibility dropped significantly. At the sand line it was barely 3 metres.

We turned north-west and headed towards The Steps. Navigation was not easy because of the low visibility. I managed to find the first rock with seahorses but could only find "Bob". I could not find "Lucy" at all. I checked the adjacent rocks but the poor visibility made it difficult. The rocks were still covered in the snot algae. I'm not sure if we need a few days of rough seas to wash it away.

We pushed on towards The Steps. "Rosie" was in her usual location and I still couldn't find "Alex", the painted angler, but "Max", the orange painted angler, was on the other side of the large boulder as usual, although PJ said it had moved.

I found "Southern Cross" at her location almost immediately but "Pierre" and especially "Richie" were a lot harder to find. "Pierre" is no longer pregnant so must have given birth in the last week. One day I hope to witness it.

Just passed the seahorses PJ pointed out a red indianfish. This is only the second I have seen at Kurnell. They must be around but they are difficult to spot unless you are looking for them.

A little further along I came across two weedy seadragons swimming together. The visibility had improved a bit by now but still wasn't good enough to attempt any photographs.

I pushed on towards The Steps and the visibility improved significantly with it now sitting at around 15 metres. I was looking for pygmy pipehorses and anglers along the way but found none. Closer to The Steps I had a good look for "Big John", the orange form undescribed angler but could not locate it.

I did my safety stop and exited at The Steps.

Seas

Slight

Visibility

3-15 metres

Duration

75 minutes

Maximum depth

21.4 m

Average depth

15.7 m

Water temperature

15.5°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.

High

12:58am

1.44m

Low

7:32am

0.55m

High

2:00pm

1.41m

Low

7:58pm

0.77m

Camera gear

Camera

Nikon D7000

Lens

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D

Housing

Ikelite 6801.70

Lens port

Ikelite Flat Port 5502.41

Strobe

2 x Ikelite SubStrobe DS161

Photographs

Depth information, where present, indicates the depth of the camera when the photograph was taken and can be used to approximate the depth of the subject.