Dive Details

Location

Date

Wednesday 7 March 2018

Time

12:54pm - 2:11pm

Details

For my third dive with Martin and Sonja and second dive for the day. I had planned around a 1 hour surface interval but by the time we were ready it was nearly 2 hours. This meant the tide was higher and would change mid-dive. It also meant the entry would be a little more difficult.

We got in at the protected area about a third of the way to The Steps. It wasn't as protected as it should have been because we were about an hour later. The water was a lot deeper as we waded out but we still made it to the drop off. Where we descended and swam at around 30° towards the sand line. At the sand line the visibility was around 5 metres and the water was a pleasant 22°C. There was almost no current and very little surge. We turned left and headed towards the point.

We hadn't gone very far when I noticed a Nembrotha sp. on a tunicate. I pointed it out to Sonja and Martin. We swam on to Block Rock and I looked around for anglerfishes.

We continued on to the wall and I dropped to the sand to look for the juvenile weedy seadragons but couldn't find them in the kelp. Sonja spotted a large tassel-snout flathead under the kelp and Martin and I photographed it.

We went back to the wall and I started looking for anglerfishes along the rocks. As we got to the end of the rocks I spotted one of the juvenile weedy seadragons on the sand. I took some photographs before Martin came down and did the same.

We followed the wall to almost the end and then went up over it to the rocks where the orange painted anglerfish had been. I looked for pygmy pipehorses but couldn't find any.

The visibility was starting to drop and I feared the tide had already changed. I hurried up along the reef as I wanted to get the the anglerfish before the current got too strong. We swam past Split Rock and on to the area where we've seen most of the anglerfish. I looked at all the rocks but couldn't see any. We swam along the wall and past where the white red-fingered anglerfish had been and then up over the reef to the large boulder covered in Carijoa. I was relieved to see the dark orange red-fingered anglerfish was still there. It was on the side of the rock in the Carijoa. I pointed it out to Martin and we took turns in taking photographs.

The current had come up but it was not too strong that we couldn't make an attempt to see "Sunshine", the yellow female pot-bellied seahorse. We swam out over the sand and I navigated to her rock. The visibility had dropped to around 3 metres but was able to find her on top of the rock. We each took photographs and then it was time to go. I thought of the waves to the south-east of the point and also Sonja's leg and thought it would be better for us to swim a but into the current and head for the beach.

We headed up the wall and along the top of the wall until we hit the help. We then swam south-west for a while before turning to the south and heading straight for the beach. We surfaced near the channel close to the beach and walked out through the channel.

Buddy

Martin, Sonja

Seas

Slight

Visibility

3 to 5 metres

Duration

76 minutes

Maximum depth

13.3 m

Average depth

10.1 m

Water temperature

22.4°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

12:54am

1.54m

Low

7:13am

0.54m

High

1:11pm

1.38m

Low

7:12pm

0.57m