Dive Details

Location

Date

07 December, 2013

Time

10:02am - 11:15am

Details

For my second dive of the day I went to The Steps. It was still a bit rough but the entry was easy because the tide was midway.

I descended to the sand line and headed towards The Leap. I stopped to look for "Little Andrew", the tiny orange painted angler, and "Big John", the orange form undescribed angler but could not find either.

I continued towards The Leap seeing a weedy seadragon and then stopping to look for the Miamira magnifica nudibranch but I could not find it. I then headed up from the sand line to look for "Robin", the little orange painted angler. I couldn't find "Robin" either. This was getting disappointing.

I figured I push on to where we've seen "Dana", the tiny red painted angler, who we couldn't find on the previous dive. I passed the basket star on the way which was reassuring. I also spied a eastern cleaner-clingfish on a sponge while I was looking for juvenile seahorses. I also saw a male weedy seadragon with eggs, although it looked like the eggs were passed their use-by date.

I had a really good look for "Dana" and managed to find it hanging under the rock. It was a relief to find it again - especially since many of the others have been missing recently.

I turned and headed back to The Steps. I looked again for the M magnifica but couldn't find it. The last time I saw it it was laying eggs. I couldn't find the eggs. I also had another look for "Robin" with no luck.

As I approached the location where "Little Andrew" had been I nearly crashed straight into a large stingray that was cruising in the opposite direction. I don't know who got the biggest surprise. I looked carefully again for "Little Andrew" and "Big John" but could not find them. Hopefully they are just hiding from the big seas.

I made my way to the shallows and did my safety stop. I found a few pygmy leatherjackets so I had something to do while waiting.

My exit at The Steps was less than graceful, being knocked over twice by the waves. Luckily, Noel and Diana were there getting in and Noel took my camera. On one of my falls I ended up with a small nick in the left wrist seal of my drysuit, although I didn't find that out until the next dive.

Seas

Rough

Visibility

3-5 metres

Duration

72 minutes

Maximum depth

15.6 m

Average depth

12.0 m

Water temperature

17.8°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

12:20pm

1.41m

Low

6:01am

0.42m

High

12:27pm

1.86m

Low

7:12pm

0.21m

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, Chromodoris splendida. 13 m.
 

Eastern cleaner-clingfish, Cochleoceps orientalis. 15 m.
 

Tiny painted angler, Antennarius pictus, ("Dana"). 15.2 m.
 

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 13.9 m.
 

Nudibranch, Pteraeolidia ianthina. 13.2 m.
 

Nudibranch, Pteraeolidia ianthina. 12 m.
 

Pygmy leatherjacket, Brachaluteres jacksonianus. 5.1 m.