Dive Details
Location
Date
Saturday 2 December 2017
Time
9:07am - 10:29am
Details
My mandatory weekend dive was at Bare Island as there'd been a north easterly swell for the last few days and Bare was the only place really protected. It was very calm around the island but you could see a lot of white along the shore of Kurnell on the other side of Botany Bay. I had arranged to dive with George, Paula and Fabio to show them the anglerfishes and a pygmy pipehorse. I bumped into Lou and Martin while we were getting ready so they tagged along as well.
We got in on the northern side of the island just to the west of the ramp and surface swam out. We descended and swam to the outboard motor. Visibility was around 5 metres and there was no surge at all. Water temperature was around 16°C.
We swam past the outboard motor and over the ledge to the sand in front of the boulders. We headed down the slope and I found and pointed out the tiny orange striped anglerfish. After taking some photographs I moved farther down the slope.
At the rocks with the purple sea tulips I looked around for the orange painted angler but could not find it. It had been there yesterday so I don't know where it had gone.
We headed farther down the slope and I pointed out the other orange painted anglerfish under the ledge.
At the bottom of the slope the water temperature had dropped to 15°C. I looked for the Ardeadoris rubroannulata nudibranch but couldn't find it. George eventually spotted it almost covered in kelp. We pulled the kelp away so we could take some photographs.
I then led the way to the pygmy pipehorse on the rock where the white pair had been last year. There were a couple of rebreather divers nearby that were kicking up the sand making photography difficult. It's great that you don't blow bubbles but why kick up the bottom and ruin visibility for everyone else?
I went to the corner to see the eastern blue devil under the ledge. At about that time the current was bringing a huge school of comb jellies. The school was not as thick as yesterday but it was still pretty thick. They were also going under the ledge with the eastern blue devil. I think I managed one photograph without at least one jelly in it.
George, Paula and Fabio left at this point while I started looking for the red indianfish from yesterday. The jellies had reduced visibility making it very difficult so see anything. I went back to the pygmy pipehorse.
Lou, Martin and I headed back to the nudibranch and took some more photographs before heading back up the slope. We stopped at the orange painted angler under the ledge and then Lou and Martin left me as I made my way slowly up the slope.
I stopped at the rocks with the purple sea tulips and looked for the other angler again but with no success.
I stopped at the little orange striped angler and took some more photos and some video before moving on.
I made my way slowly along the sand in front of the boulders, past the outboard motor and along to the exit. I got out where we got in.
Buddy
Various including George, Paula, Fabio, Lou, Martin
Seas
Slight
Visibility
5 to 8 metres
Duration
82 minutes
Maximum depth
14.9 m
Average depth
10.2 m
Water temperature
14.9°C
Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand
Tides at Botany Bay AEDT
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
Low
1:20am
0.31m
High
7:45am
1.80m
Low
2:11pm
0.29m
High
8:10pm
1.53m
Video
Camera gear
Camera
Nikon D500
Lens
Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED
Housing
Ikelite 6812.5
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.
Striped anglerfish, Antennarius striatus. 9.4 m.
Painted anglerfish, Antennarius pictus. 12.7 m.
Eastern blue devil, Paraplesiops bleekeri. 13 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 13.1 m.
Nudibranch, Ardeadoris rubroannulata. 13.6 m.
Striped anglerfish, Antennarius striatus. 9.3 m.
Striped anglerfish, Antennarius striatus. 9.3 m.