Dive Details

Location

Date

Sunday 9 July 2017

Time

11:16am - 12:55pm

Details

For the second dive Roney and I were going from The Steps to Big Rock and back. We jumped in at The Steps and descended to the sand line. Visibility was still around 15 metres, the temperature had improved slightly and there was still barely any surge.We turned right and headed towards Big Rock.

We followed the sand line, or just up from the sand line, to the area where Roney had seen the grey angler last week. We scoured the area but couldn't find it. We swam on to Little Big Rock and I looked for the salmon red-fingered angler but could not see it. Roney then pointed it out. IT was out in the open but there's something about the colour which makes it difficult for me to notice it. We then looked for pygmy pipehorses in the Carijoa on Little Big Rock and I found one hidden amongst the open polyps.

We headed on to Diversity Rock. I found a pygmy on the rock before Diversity Rock and challenged Roney to find it. Roney found a large white male pygmy pipehorse that I missed completely but he didn't find the one I found. At Diversity Rock I found two pygmy pipehorses and challenged Roney to find them.

I was heading towards Old Basket Star Rock when Roney signalled to me. I swam up to a rock up from Miamira Rock and the basket star and he pointed out a grey red-fingered angler. After memorising its location I continued on towards Big Rock via the top of the reef.

Near High Pygmy Rock I spotted a juvenile Sufflamen chrysopterus triggerfish. I looked on High Pygmy Rock for pygmies but found none. I dropped down to Slope Rock and found the pink male pygmy pipehorse. I then found cryptic male pygmy on the rock below Hand Rock.

We swam to the other side of Big Rock and I found the well camouflaged red-fingered anglerfish. It had moved from where I was first shown it.

We came back along the top of the reef. Along the way I spotted Tambja tenuilineata nudibranch which are not rare but just rarely seen.

I found the rock with the grey red-fingered angler again just to make sure I knew where it was. I briefly visited the pair of red widebody pipefish before checking out the white male pygmy pipehorse on the rock after Diversity Rock. Finally I check on the salmon red-fingered angler before heading off to the boulders to start my safety stop. I finished my safety stop at Split Rock before exiting at The Steps. I waited for Roney who wasn't far behind me.

Buddy

Roney Rodrigues

Seas

Slight

Visibility

10 to 15 metres

Duration

99 minutes

Maximum depth

14.1 m

Average depth

11.1 m

Water temperature

16.6°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

2:35am

0.44m

High

8:26am

1.35m

Low

1:59pm

0.57m

High

8:33pm

1.81m

Camera gear

Camera

Nikon D7000

Lens

Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED

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.

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.1 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.4 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.6 m.