Dive Details

Location

Logged dive number

1223

Date

Saturday 29 October 2016

Time

7:56am - 9:25am

Buddy

John Farrant

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 15 metres

Duration

88 minutes

Surface interval

 6 days 19:24 (days hh:mm)

Maximum depth

22.4 m

Average depth

15.5 m

Water temperature

17.8°C
                                       

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

2:01am

0.41m

High

8:19am

1.58m

Low

2:32pm

0.44m

High

8:31pm

1.48m

Details

John and I got in from the top platform as it was only 30 minutes to high tide and also quite choppy. Despite the water surface being quite rough, the visibility looked quite good. We drifted a fair way out from the shore so that by the time we descended we didn't have far to swim before we reached the amphitheatre. Here the visibility was 10 to 15 metres and it was around 18°C. There was not much current and just a small bit of surge. We turned left and headed towards The Steps.

We followed the sand line to Seadragon Alley. I kept a close eye out for ghostpipefishes but did not find any. I kept getting ahead of John but would stop to let him catch up. I saw the first weedy seadragon just into Seadragon Alley and a second shortly after. I got to the spot I'd seen the juvenile ornate ghostpipefish last Saturday but I could not find it. Shortly after that I found 2 more weedy seadragons just before the end of Seadragon Alley. John got ahead of me here while I stopped to take photos of the weedy seadragons.

I continued on past Seadragon Alley and on to Big Rock where I caught up with John. As I approached Hand Rock I spotted both pygmy pipehorses. I pointed them out to John. John was about to go into deco so he left me to take photographs while he went shallower.

I continued along the sand line hoping to find some ghostpipefishes. I found none. I did find a male weedy seadragon with eggs. He was the same one that had been hanging around Diversity Rock. This was his second brood of the season. At the rock where the basket star used to be I cut up over the reef. The visibility was still good enough that I could see the rock with the Miamara magnifica nudibranchs from old basket star rock. As I got closer to the rock I could see both nudibranchs. I then checked out the basket star and swam on to Diversity Rock. I looked for pygmy pipehorses but found none.

I continued along the sand line hoping to find the ornate ghostpipefish I saw last Saturday but I couldn't find it. I followed the sand line past Little Big Rock and on to The Steps. I ascended to the boulders and did my safety stop at Split Rock. I exited at The Steps. Despite the swell my exit was quite easy.