Dive at The Steps, Kurnell, NSW on 5/4/14

Dive Details

Location

Date

05 April, 2014

Time

10:20am - 11:32am

Details

Conditions at The Steps did not look as good as they had been earlier in the week, but it was still pretty calm despite the forecasted 2 metre southerly swell. The Sun was out, too, which made it pleasant. We jumped in at The Steps and descended to the sand line and kelp. We turned towards The Leap and headed along the sand line as far as the basket star. We then headed diagonally up the reef to the pygmy pipehorses. While George was photographing the pygmy pipehorses, I made a vain attempt to find the Miamira magnifica nudibranch.

After my turn with the pygmy pipehorses, we headed back to the sand line and continued on towards The Leap finding a weedy seadragon along the way.

At around 110 bar we turned and headed back towards The Steps. I found the same weedy seadragon who seemed to want to play.

We visited the pygmy pipehorses again and then headed along the top of the reef towards The Steps. We had not gone far when George discovered the (or a) M. magnifica nudibranch. If it is the same one we've been seeing, it has made quite a journey.

We continued between and around the sponge covered rocks and I looked carefully for "Big John", the orange form undescribed angler. I was able to find the last rock where I'd seen it on 23 February but it was no longer there or nearby (that I could see).

After a safety stop around the Plesiastrea colonies I exited at The Steps with George and Paula shortly after me.

Buddy

George & Paula Borovskis

Seas

Slight but a little surgy

Visibility

5-8 metres

Duration

72 minutes

Maximum depth

15.2 m

Average depth

11.5 m

Water temperature

20.4°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

12:47am

1.63m

Low

7:30am

0.54m

High

1:27pm

1.25m

Low

7:04pm

0.68m

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.