Dive Details

Location

Date

Friday 5 January 2018

Time

11:26am - 1:00pm

Details

John joined Mike and me for our second dive. He knew where some anglerfishes were and was going to try to find them again to show us. We'd be getting in around 15 minutes before high tide so we started in front of the flagpoles and went around the corner with the outgoing tide.

We got in at the beach and swam out on the surface until we were past the kelp. We descended down the wall onto the sand. Even though we were quite some way into the bay, the visibility was at least 5 metres. It was very calm and there was no current. The water temperature was around 22°C. We turned to the right and headed towards the point.

As we swam along below the wall we found some interesting things. I found an eastern frogfish and a eastern cleaner clingfish. Mike found a dwarf lionfish. There were a few pairs of mourning cuttlefish along the way.

We got to the rock where "Sunshine", the female pot-bellied seahorse, has been and we initially didn't see her. Eventually I found her in the gap between her main rock and the one next to it.

We continued towards the point and John took us a little shallower to one of the big rocks on the sand. He pointed out a large orange red-fingered angler on the side of the rock.

We headed over the ledge to the rock where Mike and I found two pygmy pipehorses on Monday. I was only able to find the male today. I looked around for the female without success.

We followed the reef around the corner. John was looking for a white red-fingered anglerfish when Mike found it. It was quite a large fish. I looked around the area so I might be able to remember where it was next time.

We came right around the corner and followed the next wall along. We were now heading towards The Steps. Eventually we came to the rock with the orange sponges where I have previously seen a grey red-fingered anglerfish. It was still on the same rock. I showed Mike and John. Nearby, John pointed out a pale orange red-fingered anglerfish hiding near a Capnella colony.

We continued towards The Steps and just before Split Rock I looked for the white female pygmy pipehorse on the rock with the white honeycomb sponges. It was still there. I pointed her out to Mike and John.

I continued on to Slope Rock and found a male pygmy pipehorse on an adjacent rock. Mike and John caught up and John found Dama's red male pygmy pipehorse in its usual spot. John told us he was heading for the exit but Mike wanted to show me another red-fingered anglerfish he'd found a day or so ago so we headed along the deep wall.

We got to the rock where Sheree and I first saw "Honey" and Mike pointed out the orange red-fingered anglerfish on the other side of the rock. Mike then told me he was heading for the exit. I still had some air left so I swam back along the wall to Slope Rock and took some photographs of the two male pygmy pipehorses we saw there.

I then headed up past Seahorse Rock, had a quick look for seahorses, swam along the sand looking for the little dragonfish, checked out the Capnella colonies for egg cowries before swimming to the exit myself. I did a 3 minute safety stop along the way and got out in the bay the the south-east of the point.

Buddy

Mike, John

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

94 minutes

Maximum depth

14.1 m

Average depth

11.0 m

Water temperature

21.8°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

5:15am

0.38m

High

11:42am

1.96m

Low

6:23pm

0.18m