Dive Details

Location

Date

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Time

11:33am - 1:24pm

Details

It was calm on the eastern side of the island and so for a change we decided to dive that side. We jumped in just past the pole and descended to the sand line. We then slowly made our way back towards the bridge. The visibility on the eastern side was at least 10 metres and up to 15 metres.

We were looking for pygmy pipehorses and Kim managed to find some interesting nudibranchs. The eastern blue devil was in the cave and came right out to me although I couldn't get the camera to focus quickly enough.

As we approached the bridge and hadn't seen any pygmies, I left Kim, quickly swam under the bridge and headed to the rocks with pink sea tulips in the hope of finding a pygmy (otherwise this would be my first dive at Bare Island since 3 January when I hadn't seen one). The visibility under the bridge was about 2 metres. It opened up to 5 on the northern side. I made it there with only 46 bar left and set myself until 40 bar to find a pygmy. I failed.

When I hit 40 bar I ascended to 5 metres and swam north east until I hit the kelp near the outboard motor and then swam east at 5 metres until the bottom came up and met me. I got out just to the east of the swimming pool.

Buddy

Kim Dinh

Seas

Slight

Visibility

3 to 15 metres

Duration

110 minutes

Maximum depth

10.9 m

Average depth

8.3 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.

Low

6:21am

0.31m

High

12:26pm

1.51m

Low

6:23pm

0.44m

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, Phyllidiella pustulosa. 8 m.
 

Nudibranch, Tambja tenuilineata. 9.8 m.
 

Eastern blue devil. Paraplesiops bleekeri. 8.7 m.
 

Eastern blue devil. Paraplesiops bleekeri. 8.8 m.
 

Pleurobranch, Pleurobranchus peroni. 9 m.