Dive Details
Location
Date
Sunday 21 February 2016
Time
7:45am - 9:41am
Details
I had planned a long dive with Chang-Le but unfortunately his twins only had 50 bar so he dived with a single 12.2L tank while I had my 300 bar 12L (with 270 bar of 27% nitrox) and 5L pony. We agreed that Chang-Le would stay with me as long as he could.
The tide was quite high and there was some swell so we were able to jump in from the main ledge. We descended and headed to the sand line at around 30°. We hit the sand line before the area where the Miamira magnifica with emperor shrimp has been. It was quite dark due to the earliness of the day and visibility of only around 5 to 10 metres. I searched the area where I had previously seen the M. magnifica but could not find it. I suspect it may not have "risen" for the day. I did manage to find a Nembrotha purpureolineata which I have previously not seen that far towards The Leap.
We continued past Seahorse Rock. I looked for the robust ghostpipefish that had been there last Monday but could not find it. There was a lot of loose kelp so it may have been there but hidden by the kelp.
I next looked in the gap between the large rocks for the weedy seadragon that is often there but couldn't find it. Chang-Le had to leave me at this time as he was approaching his Non-Deco limit. Shortly after Chang-Le left I found a weedy (PT2015062401). I found another one (PT2013122201) before Seadragon Alley and a third (PT2014030803) right at the start of Seadragon Alley.
I found another weedy seadragon (PT2015122201) in Seadragon Alley before I found the robust ghostpipefish that Noel had spotted last Sunday. I found another weedy (PT2015091101) after the ghostpipefish but still in Seadragon Alley.
After Seadragon Alley I found 2 more weedy seadragons, a juvenile from last year (PT2015051001), and the female with the deformed body (PT2014030901). After passing Big Rock I looked carefully for the other two robust ghostpipefish but hadn't found them when I arrived at the basket star. I swam back towards Big Rock in the hope of finding one of the ghostpipefish but instead found another weedy seadragon (PT2014091301).
I swam up from the sand line to the rock with the pygmy pipehorses. I found the male (IL2016021001) straight say as he was in the same alga he's been the previous times. The female (IL2015072601) was not where I'd last seen her so I had to search the rock. While looking I found 2 other pygmies (IL2016022101, IL2016022102) and then finally found the female.
I descended to the sand line and had one more look for the ghostpipefish before swimming past the basket star and on to Diversity Rock. I stopped at the rock with the chimney sponge for a quick look but could not see any pygmy pipehorses. The surge was quite strong which made even looking a bit difficult.
At Diversity Rock I found "Daniel" in the sea tulips. "Arnold" was in the sponges on the rock behind Diversity Rock and "Noel" was low down on the same rock. He moved up to the sponges. "Rosie" was on the rock behind the rock to the left and above Diversity Rock. I was only able to find the male pygmy pipehorse (IL2016011002). Again the surge was pretty strong and made photography and even looking quite difficult. I then looked for the ornate ghostpipefish but could not find it.
I swam on to the other seahorses. I was hoping to see the other Miamira magnifica nudibranchs on the way but could not see them. I found "Di" and "Mikhail" on their usual rock.
I headed for the boulders and spotted a weedy seadragon in the kelp on the way so I stopped to take photos.
At the boulders I started my safety stop and finished it in line with the exit. I got out at The Steps after a 116 minute dive. My longest at The Leap. The exit was quite easy as the tide was high and I could walk out.
Buddy
Chang-Le Dong
Seas
Surgy
Visibility
5 to 10 metres
Duration
116 minutes
Maximum depth
21.9 m
Average depth
15.2 m
Water temperature
23.6°C
Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand
Tides at Botany Bay AEDT
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
Low
2:00am
0.47m
High
8:24am
1.74m
Low
2:59pm
0.35m
High
8:57pm
1.41m
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.
Nudibranch, Nembrotha purpureolineata. 21.2 m.
Reaper cuttlefish, Sepia mestus. 21.4 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015062401). 20.4 m.
Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, (PT2015062401). 20.2 m.
Eye of a giant cuttlefish, Sepia apama. 18 m.
Robust ghostpipefish, Solenostomus cyanopterus. 17.7 m.
Robust ghostpipefish, Solenostomus cyanopterus. 17.6 m.
Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 13.6 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2016021001). 13 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.9 m.
Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2016022101). 12.9 m.
Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015072601). 12.7 m.
Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2016022101). 12.9 m.
Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2016022102). 12.8 m.
Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 13.4 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Daniel"). 13.7 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Arnold"). 12.9 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Rosie"). 12.5 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Noel"). 12.7 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2016011002). 13.2 m.
Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2016011002). 13 m.
Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Di"). 11.1 m.
Male pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Mikhail"). 11.1 m.