Dive at The Leap, Kurnell, NSW on Friday 11 September 2015

Dive Details

Location

Date

Friday 11 September 2015

Time

1:15pm - 2:52pm

Details

A fantastic spring day, perfect for diving. High tide was too early so I did an early afternoon dive, getting in just after low tide. The swell was slight but there was a strong north-easterly wind putting a bit of chop ion the water. As it was low tide I had no problems at all getting in from the low shelf. In fact, it was a bit of a leap even from there.

On the surface the visibility looked to be around 5 metres and the water was a balmy 18°C - much warmer than the 16°C last Tuesday when I was in my wetsuit. I descended and took my usual path the the sand line reaching Pygmy Rock. Visibility here was around 10 metres and there was a slight surge.

I had a quick look at Pygmy Rock before moving on. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to look for this red pygmy pipehorse near The Steps.

Just before Seadragon Alley I saw the same male weedy seadragon (PT2014051701) with a lot of eggs that I saw last Saturday. This time it was alone.

In Seadragon Alley I saw 6 weedy seadragons, including 3 juveniles (PT2015091101, PT2015050901, PT2015081601) - the first I'd not seen before and the 3rd was the one from south of The Leap; two probably females (PT2013122201, PT2015011102) and a male (PT2014030803) without eggs.

I continued along the sand line past Big Rock and then ascended to the pygmy pipehorses. I found the female (IL2015072601) immediately and the male (IL2015070501) shortly after. Once again the surge, even though it was slight, made photography difficult.

I descended to the sand line, swam past the basket star and on to the seahorses. On the way I spotted a male weedy seadragon (PT2015061401) with eggs. The red pygmy pipehorse was meant to be on the rock which the seahorses are sometimes on (if I've followed the instructions correctly). I found the Miamira magnifica nudibranch. It had moved rocks but was still nearby. I then found "Noel" and "Arnold", the pot-bellied seahorses. "Noel" was holding on to the pink sea tulips on the rock that I believe the red pygmy pipehorse was on. "Arnold" was holding a sponge on the rock behind where I have only ever seen him.

While scouring the rock for the red pygmy pipehorse I spied an orange red-fingered angler. It could be "Big John". The pattern of algae is a bit different but not inconsistent seeing I haven't seen "him" for over a year. "He" had patterning on the body which may be an age thing.

I continued looking at the rock and found a drab male pygmy pipehorse. As the red pygmy was meant to be a female I wondered if this was her mate. I did not find the red pygmy. Nor could I find "Rosie", the pot-bellied seahorse. I vowed to come back tomorrow for another look.

I swam on the "Di", the juvenile pot-bellied seahorse, and found her on her usual rock. She was not hiding this time.

I was running low on air by now so I headed to the boulders for my safety stop. I exited at The Steps which was quite easy as the tide was still low.

Seas

Wind chopp

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

96 minutes

Maximum depth

21.1 m

Average depth

13.5 m

Water temperature

17.9°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

1:06am

0.39m

High

7:07am

1.38m

Low

12:55pm

0.48m

High

7:14pm

1.64m

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.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014051701). 17.8 m.

Eggs on the tail of a male weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014051701). 18 m.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014051701). 17.9 m.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2013122201). 17 m.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2013122201). 16.9 m.

Juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015091101). 17 m.

Juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015091101). 17.1 m.

Juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015091101). 16.8 m.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015011102). 16.4 m.

Juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 16.2 m.

Juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 16.4 m.

Eastern smooth boxfish, Anoplocapros inermis. 14.4 m.

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 11.8 m.

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015070501). 11.7 m.

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 11.7 m.

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 12.4 m.

Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 12.9 m.

Reaper cuttlefish, Sepia mestus. 12.9 m.

Pygmy leatherjacket, Brachaluteres jacksonianus. 12.5 m.

Male pot-belied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 12.3 m.

Male pot-belied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 11.9 m.

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.5 m.

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015091101). 12.2 m.

Juvenile female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 9.9 m.