Dive Details
Location
Date
Tuesday 1 December 2015
Time
11:04am - 12:24pm
Details
I wanted to dive at The Steps today as it was exactly 3 years since we first saw "Rosie", the pot-bellied seahorse. I was hoping to see her on her anniversary.
Conditions were pretty good at The Steps. There wasn't much swell and the entry was easy. We descended to the sand line and turned south-east towards The Leap. We swam along the sand line to the sponge covered rock where we first saw "Big John" and "Little Andrew" and then headed up to the rock where "Di" has been. To my pleasant surprise "Di" was there as was a male. I at first thought it was "Joseph" but after checking my photos I realise it is a new male who I will call "Mikhail".
We swam over the reef to Diversity Rock. At Diversity Rock I found "Noel" on the pink sea tulips; "Daniel" on a low rock near the sea tulips; "Arnold" and the white male pygmy (IL2015102401) in the Carijoa on top of Diversity Rock; and the angler on the same rock next to Diversity Rock it has been for weeks. There was also a weedy seadragon (PT2015072501) right next to Diversity Rock. I searched the whole area and I could not find "Rosie".
We headed along the reef to the other pygmy pipehorses and I found both the male (IL2015092701) and the female (IL2015072601) on their usual rock.
We headed back to Diversity Rock. I went via the basket star and sand line and found a male weedy seadragon (PT2014092001) with lots of eggs. Back at Diversity Rock I did another search for "Rosie" but could not find her. I would not get to see her on her birthday.
We swam over the reef back to "Di" who was still there with "Mikhail". From here we swam to the boulders, did our safety stop and exited at The Steps.
Buddy
Kim Dinh
Seas
Slight
Visibility
5 to 10 metres
Duration
79 minutes
Maximum depth
15.3 m
Average depth
11.8 m
Water temperature
17.4°C
Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand
Tides at Botany Bay AEDT
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
High
1:07am
1.28m
Low
6:42am
0.62m
High
1:02pm
1.62m
Low
7:51pm
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.
Mating nudibranchs, Chromodoris woodwardae. 10 m.
Mosaic leatherjacket, Eubalichthys mosaicus. 12.2 m.
Nudibranch, Okenia mellita. 11.8 m.
Pot-bellied seahorses, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Mikhail", "Di"). 10.7 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Mikhail"). 11 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 10.6 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 10.7 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Mikhail"). 10.7 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 10.7 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Daniel"). 13.7 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 12.8 m.
Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus, ("Kim"). 12.7 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Daniel"). 13.5 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015102401). 13.2 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015102401). 13.2 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.8 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.8 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.8 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015092701). 12.8 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2014092001). 14.8 m.
Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 14 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Daniel"). 13.7 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 13.2 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 13.5 m.
Pot-bellied seahorses, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Mikhail", "Di"). 10.9 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Mikhail"). 11.1 m.