Dive Details

Location

Date

Friday 11 August 2017

Time

8:53am - 10:47am

Details

Another fantastic day with fabulous conditions on the bay and another opportunity to dive The Leap. Mike accidently left his boots at home and had to wear his joggers instead. It was funny to see.

We got in from the low platform even though the waves were gently washing over it. We surface swam out before descending. Mike joked before the dive that he'd be sprinting with his joggers on but he wasn't far wrong as he was swimming much more quickly than usual and I lost him before we got anywhere near the sand line. I arrived at the sand line to visibility of around 10 metres (probably better), water temperature of around 17°C and only slight surge. I turned left and headed towards The Steps.

I followed the sand line past Seahorse Rock and spotted the ball of striped catfish under the rocks before Bent Stick Rock. The juvenile weedy seadragon was back to its usual spot.

I swam past Bent Stick Rock and the rock below it. I expected to see a weedy seadragon on the sand but it wasn't there this time - and I checked twice.

I continued on to Southern Cross Rock and on the way I two weedy seadragons. There was also a small eastern fiddler ray on the sand. I found the pink male pygmy pipehorse but I couldn't find the yellow male.

I swam into Seadragon Alley. At around the midpoint I saw a juvenile Klein's butterflyfish. It was quite late for one to still be around.

I got to the end of Seadragon Alley and checked the rock there for the pygmies. I found the female straight away and then noticed the male nearby. I managed to get a few photographs of both pygmies in the one shot.

I looked thoroughly over the next 15 to 20 metres for the red widebody pipefish with the parasite but couldn't find it. I did come across two more weedy seadragons that were swimming together. I also saw a small reaper cuttlefish and watched it hunting prey.

I stayed on the sand line as I swam past Big Rock. I found the female pygmy pipehorse on the rock below Hand Rock. I couldn't find any pygmy pipehorses on Slope Rock.

I continued on to Miamira Rock. The basket star was still in the white honeycomb sponge. I found the red widebody pipefish in the same alga it was in yesterday on the right side of where the pair were.

I headed for Diversity Rock spotting the Nembrotha sp. nudibranch along the way. I looked for the pygmy on Diversity Rock but couldn't find it. I found the white male on the next rock.

I swam on to Little Big Rock and found two pygmies in the Carijoa, both cryptic, a male and a female. I then headed directly to the boulders. On the way I spotted another weedy seadragon.

At the boulders I ascended to 5 metres and started my safety stop as I swam to Split Rock. I finished my safety stop at Split Rock and swam to the exit.

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight

Visibility

10 metres

Duration

114 minutes

Maximum depth

21.2 m

Average depth

15.3 m

Water temperature

17.3°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

4:33am

0.33m

High

10:41am

1.48m

Low

4:29pm

0.49m

High

10:45pm

1.70m

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.

A pair of Sydney pygmy pipehorses, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 16.5 m.
 

A pair of Sydney pygmy pipehorses, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 16.4 m.