Dive Details

Location

Date

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Time

11:09am - 12:19pm

Details

It was very calm at The Steps and the entry was easy. We descended to the sand line. Visibility was between 5 and 10 metres mostly because it was an outgoing tide. We swam through the kelp and then headed toward The Leap.

I came across a rock flathead on the sand and then a male weedy seadragon (PT2015061401). He didn't have any eggs.

We continued along the sand line until the rock with sponges and then we headed up to the rock where "Di" used to be. After much looking we could not find her or "Joseph".

We headed straight to Diversity Rock along the reef and came across the Miamira magnifica nudibranch along the way.

At Diversity Rock we saw only one of the pygmy pipehorses, the male (2015102401). It is slowly turning white. I have always wondered whether white ones are always white or they turn white. I think this confirms they turn white. I found "Rosie" and "Arnold" on the rock behind Diversity Rock. The red-fingered angler was still on the rock to the left. While I was photographing "Rosie" a lion's mane jelly nearly got me. I believe I ended up with one of its tentacles on my hood which transferred to my neck when I removed my hood at the end of the dive. I had a small welt on my neck although it was not very painful.

We headed along the reef to the other pygmy pipehorses and found both of them, the female (IL2015072601) and the male (IL2015092701).

We turned and swam back to Diversity Rock. Kim found a smaller Miamira magnifica on the way. Back at Diversity Rock I tried to find the female pygmy pipehorse but could not. I then looked around the surrounding rocks for "Noel". I didn't find him but I did find a new small male seahorse, "Greg", on the other side of the large rock from Diversity Rock. This was the 5th new seahorse in the area since late July.

From here we headed to the boulders, passing the large Miamira magnifica on the way. We did our safety stop and exited at The Steps where it was still very calm.

Buddy

Kim Dinh

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

70 minutes

Maximum depth

13.9 m

Average depth

11.2 m

Water temperature

18.3°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

2:23am

0.42m

High

8:48am

1.66m

Low

3:12pm

0.39m

High

9:07pm

1.42m

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.

Pygmy leatherjacket, Brachaluteres jacksonianus. 10.5 m.
 

Rock flathead, Thysanophrys cirronasus. 11.2 m.
 

Male weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015061401). 12.3 m.
 

Male weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015061401). 12 m.
 

Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 12.4 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus, ("Kim"). 12.6 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 12.6 m.
 

Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 12.3 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015102401). 12.6 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 12.5 m.
 

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 13.1 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.1 m.
 

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.2 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.1 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015102401). 12.4 m.
 

Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Greg"). 13.2 m.
 

Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Greg"). 13.7 m.
 

Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 12.1 m.