Dive Details

Location

Date

Friday 10 August 2018

Time

1:00pm - 2:34pm

Details

On yesterday's dive at The Steps I had good visibility when I first jumped in an hour after low tide but it started to deteriorate 30 minutes or so into the dive. It also seemed to get worse as I got closer to Big Rock. Today I thought I'd try The Monument and get in right on low tide in the hope that I'd have good visibility for longer.

I got in at the protected area around a third of the way towards The Steps. As the tide was so low I had to wade all the way to the drop-off before I could put my fins on. Once I was ready, I descended and swam to the sand line. The visibility was around 10 metres and there was no current. The water temperature was around 15°C. I turned left and headed towards Sutherland Point.

I swam past Block Rock and looked around the area for seahorses and anglerfishes.

I continued on to the wall and to the rock where "Ginger", the female pot-bellied seahorse, had been. At the start of the rock I looked in the orange finger sponge and found the large dwarf lionfish that has been there for months. I looked farther along the rock for "Ginger" but could not see her. I looked all around the rock and the adjacent rocks but still couldn't find her. I found the smaller dwarf lionfish on the next rock.

I followed the wall until nearly the end and then dropped to the sand to look for the juvenile weedy seadragon in the kelp. I eventually found it.

I swam up over the wall to the rock where the new pygmy pipehorses are. I remembered to look for the small Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch that Mike found last week on the top of the wall. It was still there. I then found the male pygmy pipehorse on the top of the rock in all the snot algae. I found the female on the lower side of the rock.

I continued along the reef past Slope Rock. The visibility had already started to drop and it was now only around 5 metres, perhaps less. There was a lot of snot algae both on the rocks and in the water column. I looked on the slope below Seahorse Rock and found the female White's seahorse. It was difficult to find her because of all the snot algae. I went up and around Seahorse Rock to look for the small Nembrotha sp. nudibranch but couldn't see it.

I followed the reef towards Sutherland Point and stopped at the large grey red-fingered anglerfish in the gap between the rocks high up on the reef.

I swam along the wall and down to the sand. On the last rock on the sand I looked for the Volva volva cowries. I didn't find them but there was a Phyllodesmium poindimiei nudibranch out in the open as well as a small Nembrotha sp. nudibranch on an ascidian.

I swam straight up and over the wall and then headed north to the corner of the East-West Wall. I looked for the bright orange red-fingered anglerfish where I'd seen it on the large rock last Sunday but it wasn't there. I went to the other side of the rock to find the large orange red-fingered anglerfish in the same spot it was last Sunday on the side of the rock. It was covered in snot algae. I did a sweep of the area looking for the bright orange anglerfish but couldn't find it.

I headed west along the East-West Wall to the pygmy pipehorses. I found one of the male first and then the gold and white female. I found the other male and after a bit of searching I found the small pink female. There is still a lot of snot algae covering the rock and what is left of the Carijoa. Most of the Carijoa has gone, presumably not surviving the snot algae.

I swam east again and then south and south east to the exit. The incoming current was very strong and it was hard going swimming into it. I ascended to 5 metres and did my safety stop as I swam to the little bay area just to the south east of the point. I surfaced a little too far south-east and had to head north for a bit before getting out. The tide was very low so I had to clamber over the rocks to get out.

Seas

Current and surge

Visibility

3 to 10 metres

Duration

94 minutes

Maximum depth

12.2 m

Average depth

9.2 m

Water temperature

15°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.

Low

1:12am

0.23m

High

7:09am

1.43m

Low

12:50pm

0.36m

High

7:23pm

2.01m