Dive Details

Location

Date

Monday 22 January 2018

Time

11:17am - 12:52pm

Details

When I first arrived at The Monument it was very calm, especially in front of the flagpoles. By the time we were ready and had walked down to the water the wind had come up and the water surface was choppy. It was only on the surface and didn't look like it would affect things underwater.

We got in at the protected area around one third of the way to The Steps. We waded out to the drop-off before descending. We swam to the sand line. There was a lot of kelp along the sand line. This was our first dive here since the rough conditions of the previous week so I assume the kelp was brought in by the swell. Visibility was around 5 metres and there was only gentle surge. The tidal current was quite strong. The water temperature was just under 20°C. We turned right and headed for the point.

We came to Block Rock and I looked around for anglerfishes and anything else of interest. A little farther along I looked for the orange red-fingered anglerfish in the spot I last saw it 9 days ago. It was not there and I couldn't see it in the surrounding area.

We swam along the wall. As we approached the rock where the seahorses used to be I spotted the orange red-fingered anglerfish on the leading edge of the rock just below a sponge. It had moved around the same distance as the one near The Steps. I took some photographs and then called Mike back to show him. He said he'd swum over it. Mike pointed out a large octopus that was in poor condition, probably dying of old age.

We got to the end of the wall and I swam down by Carijoa rock before heading up to Slope Rock. I found Dama's red male pygmy pipehorse on its usual rock near Slope Rock. After pointing him out to Mike I went looking for the other male pygmy pipehorse on a nearby rock. I couldn't find it.

I continued along the reef past Split Rock and onto the rock with the white honeycomb sponges where the white female pygmy pipehorse had been. I'd seen 3 pygmies on this rock 9 days ago. I was only able to find one male today. Mike swam up and as I was telling him about the pygmy he spotted two pygmies (a male and a female) on a rock between Split Rock and where I was. As I was waiting for him to photograph them I spotted another pair at the other end of the rock. This just shows that there are so many more pygmies around and it is just looking at the right place at the right time.

We swam farther along the reef and I looked around for the pale orange red-fingered anglerfish but couldn't find it. I swam up to the rock with the orange sponges where the grey red-fingered anglerfish has been. It was no longer there. It has been in that spot for months.

Mike and I swam around the area looking for anglerfishes before continuing along the next wall. At the end of the wall on the point we started looking for the white red-fingered anglerfish. There was so much kelp in the area it was difficult to get our bearings. I swam along the reef there and did not even find the rock I think it was on let alone the anglerfish. I got to the rock where Mike had spotted the pygmies on New Years Day and worked my way back and still couldn't find the rock. I went back to the rock where the pygmies had been but it was covered in kelp. I moved the kelp but couldn't find any pygmies.

I swam up over the reef to the large rocks on the sand. I found the rock where the large orange red-fingered anglerfish that John showed up was and it was still in the same place on the side of the rock. As I was taking photographs Mike swam up.

I continued over the sand to the rock where "Sunshine", the female pot-bellied seahorse, had been. The rock also had some kelp on it and I found "Sunshine" under the kelp. I pulled the kelp away and she moved onto the white honeycomb sponge. As I was taking photographs of her Mike swam up. I waited while he was taking photographs and then he indicated he needed to surface. I did to so we ascended the wall and made our way to the exit.

I headed east and then south east at round 5 metres, doing my safety stop. I was hoping to make the little bay but missed it by 10 metres and surfaced on he edge of the rocks. It was an easy step up the slope and onto the rocks. I waited for Mike who got out a little to the north of where I did.

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight surge

Visibility

3 to 5 metres

Duration

95 minutes

Maximum depth

13.5 m

Average depth

10.8 m

Water temperature

19.4°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

12:29am

1.36m

Low

6:11am

0.56m

High

12:29pm

1.61m

Low

7:03pm

0.41m