The forecast was for a 3 metre southerly swell. Kurnell is normally protected from southerly swells so I decided to give it a go. I wanted to dive The Monument and so I knew if it was too rough to get in on The Steps side of Sutherland Point I could always get in near the flagpoles where it is more protected. As it turns out it was too rough.
I got in near the channel in front of the flagpoles and swam out on the surface. It was choppy on the surface but still easy to swim. I didn't want to stay on the surface for too long so I descended and swam north until I reached the wall. I dropped down the wall. The visibility was 2 to 3 metres. The water temperature was around 16°C. There wasn't much current but there was some surge. I turned east and followed the wall.
I had actually descended a long way west and it took me ages to reach the yellow White's seahorse. Before I got to her I found a dwarf lionfish and a basket start in the same sort of sponge that she's in. When I eventually reached the seahorse she was hanging upside-down in her sponge.
I came to the part of the wall where I saw a yellow and white female pygmy pipehorse on 31 May and a juvenile pygmy pipehorse on 16 June. Almost immediately I found golden male (IL2018071401) in the Carijoa. I looked around for the female and found another male (IL2018071402), this one was golden with a greenish tinge. I continued looking and found a cryptic female with pink (IL201807103). The surge was quite strong here which made photographing them quite difficult. I kept looking but was not able to find the original female.
I continued along the wall and around the corner to the south to the Carijoa covered rock where the bright orange red-fingered anglerfish has been for some time. I was surprised to see it in exactly the same place as it had been last time I saw it. It was even in the same orientation.
I looked around the area for the other orange red-fingered anglerfish I'd seen on 16 June but I couldn't find it. The surge was very strong here and I decided to turn and head back along the wall.
I came back to the spot where the pygmies had been and found the same three again. The males had moved slightly. I then noticed the original female (IL2018053101) again. She was near the first male I'd seen. Again, the surge made photography difficult.
I swam west along the base of the wall. When I came to the yellow White's seahorse she was facing up the right way at the back of the sponge. I took some photographs before moving on.
I continued along the wall until most of the rocks disappeared and then swam up the wall. I swam along the wall west-south-west until I saw a break in the kelp and turned south. I continued south. It was very tough going as I was swimming into current. Once it got too shallow I stood up. I was only 10 metres from the shore and I waded out. |
