Dive Details
Location
Date
Saturday 26 December 2015
Time
9:06am - 10:31am
Details
We jumped in on the northern side of the island just to the east of the "swimming pool". The tide was very high and the easterly swell was coming right around the corner and breaking around us. We descended near the outboard motor, headed along past the boulders to the cutting. We swam through the cutting to get to the western side of the island continuing south until we dropped down the wall. Visibility at the wall was at least 10 metres but it was a bit cool.
We headed west along the wall and when the wall petered out we continued west along the reef for some distance before turning north. We swam to the west of the shallow wall and hit the north west corner of the reef just near the caves.
After the caves we headed up the slope. Vicki and I stopped at the white male (IL2015081403) and (now) drab female (IL2015081402) pygmy pipehorses. I had a look for the third one but couldn't find it.
We had a look around the area for the new juvenile Kim had found but had no luck. We then headed up the slope past Pygmy Rock and stopped at the rock just above Pygmy Rock. I found the female (IL2015101402) and male (IL2015121402) very close to each other and then the male moved to next the the female. She appeared to peck at the male. I don't know if this was some part of courtship or she didn't want him close. Vicki and the others left me at this point as I wanted to check out the remaining pygmies.
I found the tiny juvenile on the side of the low rock before the rocks with the pink sea tulips. I then found the juvenile on the side of the 3rd rock with pink sea tulips, the juvenile of one side of the second rock and the pair on the other side of that rock.
After leaving the pink sea tulip rocks I ascended to 5 metres and did my safety stop while heading to the exit. I got out on the northern side of the island.
Buddy
Vicki, Garry, Ricky
Seas
Slight
Visibility
5-10 metres
Duration
85 minutes
Maximum depth
18.7 m
Average depth
11.7 m
Water temperature
17.2°C
Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand
Tides at Botany Bay AEDT
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
Low
3:10am
0.39m
High
9:41am
1.91m
Low
4:20pm
0.22m
High
10:18pm
1.39m
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.
Umbrella snail, Umbraculum umbraculum. 6.1 m.
Sea star, Plectaster decanus. 18.2 m.
Striped catfish, Plotosus lineatus. 18.3 m.
Mosaic leatherjacket, Eubalichthys mosaicus. 17.5 m.
Common Sydney octopus, Octopus tetricus. 17.7 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015081403). 13.5 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015081402). 13.6 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101402). 11.3 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (). 11.3 m.
Sydney pygmy pipehorses, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101402, IL2015121402). 11.3 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (). 11.2 m.
Sydney pygmy pipehorses, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101402, IL2015121402). 11.2 m.
Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015121802). 11 m.
Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015120701). 10.7 m.
Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015120701). 10.7 m.
Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015121901). 10.4 m.
Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015121901). 10.4 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015121401). 10.2 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015121801). 9.9 m.