Dive Details
Location
Date
Sunday 18 October 2015
Time
10:41am - 12:07pm
Details
The surface was quite rough despite the low swell forecast. I slid down the wall and on the surface the visibility was probably only 3 metres but the temperature was around 19°C. I descended and swam to the sand line at around 60°. I arrived right in the middle of the amphitheatre to the north of the flat rock with sponges. Visibility here was 10 to 15 metres but the temperature was below 17°. I was regretting diving in my wetsuit.
I swam along the sand line towards The Steps. Behind Seahorse Rock I came across a large lion's mane jellyfish. There have been quite a few around lately. I had a look in a cave on the sand at the base of the wall behind Seahorse Rock. I was surprised to see a snake eel in the sand. Unfortunately, it backed it into its burrow before I could get a photograph. I will have to try again on another dive.
I continued on to Seadragon Alley. Here I saw 5 weedy seadragons: 2 females (PT2015011102, PT2013122201), a male with eggs (PT2014030803) and two large juveniles (PT2015091101, PT2015050901).
I kept on along the sand line and just near Big Rock I found my favourite weedy seadragon (PT2014030901). She's the one with the wavy body.
By this point I was pretty cold and my thinking was a little clouded again. I missed the first lot of pygmy pipehorses and diversity rock and only when I saw Little Big Rock did I realise where I was. I back tracked to Diversity Rock where I found "Noel" and "Arnold". I noticed the angler on the rock next to Diversity Rock. I wondered if it was the same one and checked the rock it was on last Saturday only to find the Miamira magnifica in that spot. I came back to Diversity Rock to look for the pygmy pipehorses and found a new male (IL2015101801). It appears he's replaced or displaced the previous male (IL2015091101). I couldn't see the female.
I swam back to the other pygmy pipehorses and found both of them, the female (IL2015072601) and the male (IL2015092701). I headed back to Diversity Rock and found "Rosie" on the front and then found the female pygmy pipehorse (IL2015091201).
I headed to the other seahorse location where I found "Di" in a sponge but I could not find "Joseph". I need to spend more time looking for him. I headed to the boulders, did my safety stop and exited at The Steps.
Seas
Choppy
Visibility
3 to 15 metres
Duration
85 minutes
Maximum depth
21.4 m
Average depth
14.1 m
Water temperature
16.5°C
Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand
Tides at Botany Bay AEDT
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
High
12:07am
1.30m
Low
5:50am
0.55m
High
12:19pm
1.59m
Low
6:57pm
0.48m
Video
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, (PT2015011102). 19.6 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015011102). 19.5 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2013122201). 18.5 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2013122201). 18.4 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030803). 17.8 m.
Eggs on the tail of a male weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030803). 17.8 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030803). 17.9 m.
Large juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 16.7 m.
Large juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 16.7 m.
Large juvenile weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015050901). 16.5 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030901). 15.5 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014030901). 15.2 m.
Common Sydney octopus, Octopus tetricus. 15.5 m.
Eastern smooth boxfish, Anoplocapros inermis. 15.1 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 13.2 m.
Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus, ("Kim"). 13.1 m.
Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 12.6 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 12.8 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 13.2 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101801). Note copepod parasite on head. 12.9 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.6 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.6 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.6 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.6 m.
Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus, ("Kim"). 13.3 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015091201). 13 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015091201). 13 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 12.8 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101801). Note copepod parasite on head. 13 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 13.7 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 10.8 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 10.8 m.