Dive Details
Location
Date
2 May 2014
Time
8:34pm - 10:06pm
Details
This was my first night dive at Nelson Bay and also my first dive at Seahorse Gardens. Dave gave me a run down of what I might see on the dive and I pretty much saw everything he said I'd see.
We walked in off the beach and swam straight out. Paul was looking for a carpet anemone he'd found previously but was not able to find it. Once we got some depth we headed south and then turned and came back and exited at the entry point.
There were a lot of firsts on the dive. I saw my first Papuan cuttlefish (saw 3 altogether), my first southern pygmy squid (but unfortunately I was not able to get a photograph), my first Plocamopherus tilesii nudibranch, and my first juvenile White's seahorse. It is possible the orange octopus is also a new species to me. There were lots of other cool things to see making it a great dive.
Buddy
Dave Harasti, Paul Rudder
Seas
Slight
Visibility
3-5 metres
Duration
91 minutes
Maximum depth
11.0 m
Average depth
7.4 m
Water temperature
21.3°C
Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand
Tides at Port Stephens AEST
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
Low
4:32am
0.36m
High
10:33am
1.35m
Low
4:04pm
0.55m
High
10:33pm
1.75m
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.
Octopus. 4.5 m.
Octopus. 4.4 m.
Papuan cuttlefish, Sepia papuensis. 6.5 m.
Papuan cuttlefish, Sepia papuensis. 6.5 m.
Papuan cuttlefish, Sepia papuensis. 6.4 m.
Pygmy leatherjacket, Brachaluteres jacksonianus. 9 m.
Sponge decorator crab, Hyastenus elatus. 9.1 m.
Juvenile White's seahorse, Hippocampus whitei. 9.4 m.
Sponge decorator crab, Hyastenus elatus. 7.7 m.
Papuan cuttlefish, Sepia papuensis. 7.4 m.
Papuan cuttlefish, Sepia papuensis. 7.2 m.
Nudibranch, Plocamopherus tilesii. 7.2 m.
Striped pyjama squid, Sepioloidea lineolata. 8.7 m.
Striped pyjama squid, Sepioloidea lineolata. 8.6 m.
Nudibranch, Polycera capensis. 10.2 m.
Polyclad flatworm. 10.5 m.
Blind shark, Brachaelurus waddi. 10.2 m.
Striped angler, Antennarius striatus. 10.8 m.
Mourning cuttlefish, Sepia plangon. 10.5 m.
Sponge decorator crab, Hyastenus elatus. 9.9 m.
Nudibranch, Polycera capensis. 9 m.
Eunicid worm. 6.7 m.
Hammer octopus, Octopus australis. 6.6 m.
Bubble snails, Hydatina physis. 7 m.
Striped pyjama squid, Sepioloidea lineolata. 7.5 m.
Striped pyjama squid, Sepioloidea lineolata. 7.4 m.
Tube anemone porcelain crab, Lissocarcinus laevis. 7.6 m.
Mourning cuttlefish, Sepia plangon. 5.6 m.
Nudibranch, Plocamopherus tilesii. 5.1 m.
Hammer octopus, Octopus australis. 4.9 m.
Pygmy leatherjacket, Brachaluteres jacksonianus. 4.5 m.
Hammer octopus, Octopus australis. 4.6 m.
Nudibranch, Phyllodesmium poindimiei. 5.4 m.
Eunicid worm. 2 m.
Leopard sole, Bothus pantherinus. 1.6 m.