Dive Details

Location

Date

Monday 26 June 2017

Time

8:53am - 10:38am

Details

Mike and I jumped in from the low platform and surface swam straight out from the shore before descending. The surface water was quite calm and the visibility looked good. We descended and I immediately lost Mike. I looked around for a while and eventually made out his light around 20 metres to my east. I caught up with him and we headed to the sand line, arriving in the amphitheatre. Visibility was 10 to 15 metres (and perhaps even better), the temperature around 19°C and there was basically no surge. We turned left and headed towards The Steps.

While there was little surge the current was quite strong and it was difficult to stay in one spot. I swam up a bit from the sand line until I spotted Ian's Pygmy Rock and then looked for the orange red-fingered angler on a rock just before and higher than Ian's Pygmy Rock. The angler was still on the rock. Each time I see it it is facing in a different direction from the last sighting.

I checked out Ian's Pygmy Rock for pygmies. This was a challenge due to the strong current pulling me away from the rock. I didn't find any.

I continued along the sand line past Seahorse Rock and on to Bent Stick Rock. I looked for the juvenile weedy seadragon but couldn't find it. I caught up with Mike who was photographing two weedy seadragons on the flat rock just past Bent Stick Rock. I started looking for the Ceratosoma brevicaudatum nudibranch and initially couldn't find it. I found a Nembrotha sp. nudibranch that had accidentally been kick up off its perch. I then found the C. brevicaudatum upside-down on the sand beside the rock. It had probably been accidentally kicked there. I moved it back to the rock. After Mike had finished with photographing the weedies I took ID shots of each.

I continued on towards Southern Cross Rock and spotted another weedy on the sand and took ID shots. At Southern Cross Rock I spotted the yellow/white pygmy pipehorse in the Carijoa. I find any other pygmies.

I headed on towards Seadragon Alley and spotted a fourth weedy just before the start of Seadragon Alley.

I swam through Seadragon Alley and didn't see a single weedy seadragon until the very end where I saw one swimming around the red algae where the latest red widebody pipefish has been. I quickly spotted the red widebody pipefish before taking ID photos of the weedy. I then went back to the pipefish and took photos. The current had dropped by now and the almost lack of surge made photographing the pipefish a little easier than on previous occasions but even the small surge there was washed the alga back and forth.

I continued on my way and stopped at Big Rock to look for the ornate ghostpipefish. I could not find them just like yesterday and I suspect they have gone.

At the sloping rock along from Hand Rock I looked for and found the pink male pygmy pipehorse. I looked for others but found none.

I stayed up from the sand line as I swam to Old Basket Star Rock and then cut into Miamira Rock, the basket star and the pair of red widebody pipefish. It is good to see these guys are still around.

I looked around the area for the Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch but could not find it. I checked Diversity Rock for pygmies but found none. I also couldn't find the pygmy I found yesterday on the large rock just past Diversity Rock.

At Little Big Rock I found two cryptic pygmy pipehorses in the Carijoa. I then found the pink red-fingered angler on the adjacent rock.

I needed to pee so I made my way to the boulders and started my safety stop as I headed to Split Rock. I finished my safety stop and swam to the exit. It was so calm I was able to stay underwater until I was right at the exit. It was very easy to get out.

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight

Visibility

10 to 15 metres

Duration

104 minutes

Maximum depth

21.7 m

Average depth

15.8 m

Water temperature

18.0°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

4:05am

0.19m

High

10:08am

1.50m

Low

3:46pm

0.46m

High

10:14pm

2.05m