Dive Details |
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Location |
The Leap, Kurnell, NSW |
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Date |
Sunday 18 October 2015 |
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Time |
10:41am - 12:07pm |
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Details |
The surface was quite rough despite the low swell forecast. I slid down the wall and on the surface the visibility was probably only 3 metres but the temperature was around 19°C. I descended and swam to the sand line at around 60°. I arrived right in the middle of the amphitheatre to the north of the flat rock with sponges. Visibility here was 10 to 15 metres but the temperature was below 17°. I was regretting diving in my wetsuit.
I swam along the sand line towards The Steps. Behind Seahorse Rock I came across a large lion's mane jellyfish. There have been quite a few around lately. I had a look in a cave on the sand at the base of the wall behind Seahorse Rock. I was surprised to see a snake eel in the sand. Unfortunately, it backed it into its burrow before I could get a photograph. I will have to try again on another dive.
I continued on to Seadragon Alley. Here I saw 5 weedy seadragons: 2 females (PT2015011102, PT2013122201), a male with eggs (PT2014030803) and two large juveniles (PT2015091101, PT2015050901).
I kept on along the sand line and just near Big Rock I found my favourite weedy seadragon (PT2014030901). She's the one with the wavy body.
By this point I was pretty cold and my thinking was a little clouded again. I missed the first lot of pygmy pipehorses and diversity rock and only when I saw Little Big Rock did I realise where I was. I back tracked to Diversity Rock where I found "Noel" and "Arnold". I noticed the angler on the rock next to Diversity Rock. I wondered if it was the same one and checked the rock it was on last Saturday only to find the Miamira magnifica in that spot. I came back to Diversity Rock to look for the pygmy pipehorses and found a new male (IL2015101801). It appears he's replaced or displaced the previous male (IL2015091101). I couldn't see the female.
I swam back to the other pygmy pipehorses and found both of them, the female (IL2015072601) and the male (IL2015092701). I headed back to Diversity Rock and found "Rosie" on the front and then found the female pygmy pipehorse (IL2015091201).
I headed to the other seahorse location where I found "Di" in a sponge but I could not find "Joseph". I need to spend more time looking for him. I headed to the boulders, did my safety stop and exited at The Steps. |
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Seas |
Choppy |
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Visibility |
3 to 15 metres |
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Duration |
85 minutes |
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Maximum depth |
21.4 m |
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Average depth |
14.1 m |
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Water temperature |
16.5°C |
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Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand |
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Tides at Botany Bay AEDT |
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location. |
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High |
12:07am |
1.30m |
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Low |
5:50am |
0.55m |
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High |
12:19pm |
1.59m |
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Low |
6:57pm |
0.48m |
Video |
Video captured with GoPro Hero HD with BlurFix, Archon W38VR and Sola Photo 600 lights
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Camera gear |
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Camera |
Nikon D7000 |
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Lens |
Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D |
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Housing |
Ikelite 6801.70 |
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Lens port |
Ikelite Flat Port 5502.41 |
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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.
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Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015011102). 19.6 m.
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Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015011102). 19.5 m.
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Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2013122201). 18.5 m.
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Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2013122201). 18.4 m.
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Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030803). 17.8 m.
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Eggs on the tail of a male weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030803). 17.8 m.
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Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030803). 17.9 m.
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Large juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 16.7 m.
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Large juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 16.7 m.
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Large juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 16.5 m.
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Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030901). 15.5 m.
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Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030901). 15.2 m.
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Common Sydney octopus, Octopus tetricus. 15.5 m.
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Eastern smooth boxfish, Anoplocapros inermis. 15.1 m.
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Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 13.2 m.
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Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus, ("Kim"). 13.1 m.
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Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 12.6 m.
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Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 12.8 m.
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Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 13.2 m.
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Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101801). Note copepod parasite on head. 12.9 m.
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Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.6 m.
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Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.6 m.
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Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.6 m.
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Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.6 m.
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Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus, ("Kim"). 13.3 m.
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Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015091201). 13 m.
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Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015091201). 13 m.
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Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 12.8 m.
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Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101801). Note copepod parasite on head. 13 m.
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Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 13.7 m.
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Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 10.8 m.
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Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 10.8 m.
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