Dive Details

Location

Date

16 February, 2013

Time

12:13pm - 1:19pm

Details

I was running very late the dive site due to being stuck in very bad traffic on the M4 and I had sent Sheree and Daniela in without me with the plan of meeting them at the rock where "Lisa" and her males live. Mark Walters had just finished a dive from The Steps to The Monument with St George Underwater Centre Dive Club, still had some air left and was keen for another dive so he came with me.

We entered at the bay around the point and went straight down to the rock with "Lisa". Mark spotted "Lisa" straight away and I went hunting for "Kimi" or "Fernando". Sheree and Daniela came along shortly and Sheree pointed out "Fernando" who was hiding in some sponges. There was so much life on the rock that we stayed around it for half the dive.

Sheree had to leave early for an appointment and then Mark was running low on air - it was his second dive on the one tank - which left Daniela and me to potter around the immediate area. Daniela eventually left as she was cold (she'd been in the water for over 80 minutes) so I headed along the sand line towards The Steps looking for weedy sea dragons and cuttlefish, but found none. I returned via "Lisa"'s rock and then exited at the entry point.

Buddy

Mark Walters, Sheree Papuni, Daniela Stark

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5-8 metres

Duration

65 minutes

Maximum depth

13.0 m

Average depth

10.7 m

Water temperature

19.8°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

1:15am

1.48m

Low

7:32am

0.59m

High

12:27pm

1.29m

Low

6:30pm

0.56m

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.

Nudibranch, Pteraeolidia ianthina. 12.2 m.
 

Red rock cod, Scorpaena cardinalis. 10.5 m.
 

Eastern frogfish, Batrachomoeus dubius. 11.1 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis ("Lisa"). 10.7 m.
 

Spindle cowrie, Phenacovolva. 12.1 m.
 

Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis ("Fernando"). 11.1 m.
 

Nudibranch, Aphelodoris varia. 11.2 m.
 

Red brick sea star, Pentagonaster duebeni. 11 m.
 

Macro of mosaic sea star, Plectaster decanus. 12.5 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis ("Lisa"). 10.9 m.
 

Gills of a nudibranch, Aphelodoris varia. 12.1 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis ("Lisa"). 10.9 m.
 

Nudibranch, Ceratosoma amoena. 11.6 m.
 

Yellow boxfish, Ostracion cubicus. 11.8 m.
 

Blotched hawkfish, Cirrhitichthys aprinus. 11.1 m.
 

Nudibranchs, Neodoris chrysoderma. 11 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis ("Lisa"). 11.1 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis ("Lisa"). 11 m.
 

Hinge-back shrimp, Rhynchocinetes serratus. 10.5 m.
 

Coral, Coscinaraea mcneilli. 5.2 m.