Dive Details

Location

Date

Thursday 25 January 2018

Time

12:53pm - 2:27pm

Details

Mike joined us for our second dive which we did at The Monument. It was quite calm apart from a strong wind that was causing surface chop and waves.

We got in at the protected area around one third of the way to The Steps. We waded/swam out to the drop off before descending. We swam at around 30° to the sand line. At the sand line the visibility was only 3 to 5 metres. The water temperature was around 21°C and there was a gentle surge. We turned left and headed towards the point.

We followed the sand line to Block Rock. We looked all around Block Rock for interesting animals but found nothing. We continued this to the wall and along the wall. We got to the rock where I found the orange red-fingered angler on Monday but it was no longer there. I searched all around the area for it and eventually found it further along the rock on the inside towards the wall.

We continued along the wall until it ended and then went up to Slope Rock. I found Dama's red male pygmy pipehorse in his usual spot and pointed him out to Trevor. I then went looking for the other one on an adjacent rock but couldn't find it.

We swam on past Split Rock and I started looking on the rock where Mike and I had found 4 pygmies on Monday. I only found one male. I then looked on the rock where the white pygmy had been and found a brown male and a female. Mike caught up and found 3 pygmies on the previous rock: the male I found, the female and a juvenile.

We continued along the reef. We looked around the area around Four Pygmies Rock for anglerfishes and pygmies but found none. The visibility had dropped to around 3 metres. We swam along the wall checking out rocks and lost Mike somewhere on the wall. We then went along the area where the white red-fingered anglerfish had been. We were still unable to find it.

We swam up to the big rock under which the large orange red-fingered anglerfish had been. It was still there. I took some photographs and pointed it out to Trevor. After Trevor had taken his photographs we moved off.

I headed to the rock with "Sunshine", the female pot-bellied seahorse, and thought Trevor was right with me. When I arrived at the rock Trevor was gone. I waited for a bit but he didn't show up. I looked around for "Sunshine" but couldn't see her on her rock. Mike swam up and spotted her on a rock to the east. We took turns in photographing her before heading back to the big rock with the large orange red-fingered anglerfish. While Mike was photographing the anglerfish I was waiting above the rock and noticed a bright orange red-fingered anglerfish on top of the rock. I pointed it out to Mike after he'd finished with the other one.

We were both low on air so we ascended and started our safety stops as we headed east and then south to the exit. I made it to the little bay area and Mike got out on the rocks.

Buddy

Trevor Howard, Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight surge

Visibility

3 to 5 metres

Duration

94 minutes

Maximum depth

13.0 m

Average depth

10.6 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

3:00am

1.43m

Low

9:02am

0.63m

High

3:03pm

1.37m

Low

9:28pm

0.48m

Species Seen

 

Species

Common name

Number
  Fish

 

 Antennariidae

 

Porophryne erythrodactylus

Red-fingered anglerfish

3

 

 Syngnathidae

 

Hippocampus abdominalis

Pot-bellied seahorse

1

 

Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri

Sydney pygmy pipehorse

6
  Cephalopods

 

 Sepiidae

 

Sepia mestus

Reaper cuttlefish

1