Dive Details

Location

Date

Saturday 23 July 2016

Time

6:06pm - 7:55pm

Details

I needed a very easy dive so as not to aggravate my leg after a second operation on Wednesday to remove more skin. Camp Cove has no steps with an easy walk in and out from the beach. Additionally, it's a fantastic night dive. It was also a good opportunity to test my new LED head lamp.

Daniel, Emily and I walked in off the beach and descended. We sort of did our own thing but kept an eye on each other's lights in case we found something interesting. The first thing I found was a tiny luminous bay squid but it moved to fast to get any decent photos. I the found a larger one but still couldn't get good photos. It wasn't long before I spotted a striped pyjama squid and got some good photos. I checked on Daniel and had also found one.

We swam around over the sand. I found a tiny dumpling squid and a lot more striped pyjama squid. I also found some southern calamari squid and some sea hares. After one turned I saw a huge stingray (~1.5m wide) bearing down on me. I backed up and it turned at the last minute and its tail passed me less than a metre away.

As I was swimming over the sand near the wheelie bin,ÊI suddenly came on two baby Port Jackson sharks. As I was moving in on one I noticed there was a blue-lined octopus crawling behind it, as if the octopus was stalking the shark. The octopus was quite small. I took a few photos and then started to signal to Daniel by "flashing" my light. I took a couple more photos and left Daniel with the octopus while I took some shots of the Port Jackson sharks.

I went back to the octopus and took some more photos. The octopus was quite accommodating and put on a nice display. Daniel took some more photos, too. I moved on and Daniel and Emily ended the dive as they were cold.

I kept swimming around on the sand and in addition to more striped pyjama squid, I came across a couple more baby Port Jackson sharks. I'm pretty sure they were not the same two I'd seen earlier as I think I was some distance away. I also found a tiny red-lined bubble snail and a couple of common Sydney octopus. I made my way back to the wheelie bin and managed to locate the blue-lined octopus again. The Port Jackson sharks were still nearby. The octopus again performed for me.

More swimming and more striped pyjama squid. I also found a White's seahorse. One more pass by the wheelie bin and the blue-lined octopus and sharks we're still there.

I then headed east to the beach and got out. My leg gave me no trouble at all. The LED head light worked well but I need to keep it on red or just turn it off except when I need it to prevent being mobbed by mysids and other plankton attracted by the light.

Buddy

Daniel Livings, Emily

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 metres

Duration

107 minutes

Maximum depth

4.9 m

Average depth

3.2 m

Water temperature

15.7°C

Site Map

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Sydney (Fort Denison)

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

Low

4:35am

0.27m

High

10:41am

1.48m

Low

4:25pm

0.45m

High

10:46pm

1.80m