Dive Details
Location
Date
Monday 5 October 2015
Time
1:08pm - 2:14pm
Details
It was calm enough and the tide was low enough for us to be able to get in from the low shelf. We descended and swam to the sand line at around 60°. We arrived at the amphitheatre just near pygmy rock. Visibility was around 10 metres.
We started swimming towards The Steps. Just the other side of the sponge covered flat top rock we came across two male weedy seadragons. The first one (PT2015100301) which had eggs on Saturday no longer had eggs but had what looked like scars on his tail. It is possible another fish has eaten all the eggs. The other weedy (PT2015060601) still had his eggs.
We continued on towards The Steps. Between Seahorse Rock and Southern Cross rock we came on a large juvenile weedy (PT2015081601) and then between Southern Cross Rock and Seadragon Alley we found PT2013122201, a female weedy.
In Seadragon Alley we only saw two weedies, a male with eggs (PT2014030803) and a large juvenile (PT2015050901). The male with eggs did not have any eggs on Saturday. Just after Seadragon Alley we found another male (PT2015052601) with the remnants of eggs. Out on the sand near Big Rock we saw the female weedy with the wavy body (PT2014030901). It has been a couple of months since I last saw her. We saw one more weedy (PT2014092001) before ascending to look at the pygmy pipehorses.
I managed to find both the female (IL2015072601) and male (IL2015092701) pygmy pipehorses quite quickly. There wasn't much surge and they were easy to photograph.
We descended to the sand line, swam past the basket star and on to Diversity Rock. The red-fingered angler, "Kim", was on the side of Diversity Rock where it has been for the last few weeks. "Noel", the pot-bellied seahorse was on the pink sea tulips and the two pygmy pipehorses (IL2015091101 and IL2015091201) were in the Carijoa as usual. "Rosie" was down near the sand and "Arnold" was in the sponges on the rock behind Diversity Rock.
Heather left me at this point to swim to the exit while I swam on the "Di" and "Joseph". I found them on their usual rock, each hanging on to different sponges. I then headed for the boulders, did my safety stop and exited at The Steps where Heather was waiting.
Buddy
Heather Sutton
Seas
Slight
Visibility
10 metres
Duration
66 minutes
Maximum depth
22.0 m
Average depth
14.2 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
3:05am
1.20m
Low
8:46am
0.64m
High
3:16pm
1.52m
Low
10:12pm
0.51m
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, (PT2015100301). 21.4 m.
The tail of a male weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015100301) with what looks like scars where the eggs were. 21.8 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015100301). 21.3 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015081601). 20 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030803). 17.7 m.
Eggs on the tail of a male weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030803). 17.6 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 17.1 m.
Reaper cuttlefish, Sepia mestus. 14.6 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.7 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.5 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.5 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.7 m.
Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 13.3 m.
Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus, ("Kim"). 13.2 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 13.2 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 13.3 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 12.6 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015091101). 12.9 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015091201). 12.7 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Joseph"). 11.2 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 11.2 m.