The forecast was for a moderate southerly swell (less than 2m) which is usually fine for The Leap. I didn't bother checking the conditions at The Steps as there were a lot of divers there. Conditions at The Leap were choppy, mostly from the wind. The entry looked safe enough.
There was water washing over the low platform so I slid down the wall. It was choppy on the surface and I couldn't see the bottom which meant the visibility was less than than 5 metres. I descended and swam at around 45° towards the sand line. At the start the visibility may have been as much as 3 metres but it dropped to less than a metre before I reached the sand line. I had to hand over hand over the rocks for the last 10 metres until I reached the sand. At the sand visibility was still less than a metre but it was possible to discern the sand from the rocks. I turned left and headed towards The Steps.
I wasn't sure where I was until I reached Seahorse Rock. From here on I was able to recognise the landmarks. I stuck close the the sand so I wouldn't run into any rocks. At Bent Stick Rock I had a good look for the male weedy seadragon with eggs that has been there but I couldn't find it.
I continued past Southern Cross Rock and below the next rock I found the weedy seadragon with eggs I was looking for. He still had a few eggs. This was a relief as I worried that with the poor visibility my perfect record of seeing weedy seadragons at The Leap would come to an end.
I continued on to Seadragon Alley and found another male weedy seadragon with eggs about halfway in. I did not see any more weedy seadragons for the rest of the dive.
I swam on past Big Rock. The visibility and probably improved to almost 2 metres but after swimming under a group of divers swimming in the other direction the visibility dropped to under a metre again. I found Old Basket Star Rock and cut up the reef to the basket star. I was surprised to find two Miamira magnifica nudibranchs on the same rock they'd been on a few weeks ago. I have to assume it is the same two.
I swam back to the sand line and on to Diversity Rock. I had a look for the small Miamira magnifica nudibranch around the area but could not see it. I had a brief look for pygmy pipehorses on Diversity Rock before heading back to the sand line.
I continued on past Little Big Rock and then swam up to Di's Rock to look for the red-fingered angler that Mike had seen there. I made a number of laps of the rock and looked from different angles but couldn't see it. I swam back to the sand line and followed it to the break. I ascended to Split Rock and did my safety stop. I swam the exit and found it was quite calm and it was easy to kneel, take off my fins and stand up. |
