Dive Details

Location

Date

Tuesday 15 December 2015

Time

11:07am - 12:24pm

Details

We jumped in at The Steps about 35 minutes before high tide. We knew that the water level would be about the same when we would exit. The entry was easy and we descended to the sand line. Visibility was at least 5 metres and approaching 10 metres. We turned and headed towards The Leap swimming past the kelp and low rocks.

When we got to the rock with the white sponges we headed up the reef to the rock where "Di" has been. She was there as was "Mikhail". There was still no sign of "Joseph". I wonder if it was "Di" with "Mikhail" the other divers may have seen on Saturday.

We headed back to the sand line and followed it to Diversity Rock looking for interesting critters. We found two Nembrotha purpureolineata and the large Miamira magnifica on the way.

At Diversity Rock we found "Noel" and "Daniel" in the pink sea tulips. "Arnold" was hiding in the sponges on the rock behind Diversity Rock and the angler was on the rock to the left. "Rosie" was on a sponge behind the rock where the angler was.

We swam along the reef to the pygmy pipehorses. I found the female (IL2015072601) straight away but it took me some time to find the male (IL2015121201) that I found there on Saturday.

We descended to the sand line and swam past the basket star. I was surprised not to see any weedy seadragons. Kim found a new male pygmy pipehorse (IL2015121501) and an Okenia mellita nudibranch.

We looked around Diversity Rock a bit more before heading back to "Di" and "Mikhail" and then on to the boulders for our safety stop. We exited at The Steps which was nice and easy.

Buddy

Kim Dinh

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

77 minutes

Maximum depth

15.3 m

Average depth

12.2 m

Water temperature

17.5°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

5:14am

0.49m

High

11:42am

1.79m

Low

6:24pm

0.30m

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.

Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Mikhail"). 11.3 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 10.9 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 11.1 m.
 

Pygmy leatherjacket, Brachaluteres jacksonianus. 12.8 m.
 

Nudibranch, Nembrotha purpureolineata. 12.9 m.
 

Nudibranch, Phyllodesmium poindimiei. 13.7 m.
 

Nudibranch, Nembrotha purpureolineata. 13.3 m.
 

Nudibranch, Nembrotha purpureolineata. 13.3 m.
 

Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 14.3 m.
 

Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 13.1 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus, ("Kim"). 13.4 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 13.6 m.
 

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 13 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015121201). 13.1 m.
 

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 13.9 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015121501). 13.8 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015121501). 13.8 m.
 

Mating nudibranchs, Hypselodoris bennetti. 14.3 m.
 

Nudibranch, Okenia mellita. 14.3 m.
 

Nudibranch, Okenia mellita. 14.2 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 13.7 m.
 

Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Daniel"). 13.6 m.
 

Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 13.6 m.
 

Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 14.5 m.
 

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 11.2 m.