Dive Details

Location

Date

Sunday 20 May 2018

Time

9:05am - 10:40am

Details

My first dive of the weekend was at The Leap. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to put my pony bottle back into the ute after I'd had it in for a service the previous week. I had a choice between my 300bar 12L and my 15L tank. The 300bar tank only had around 240bar so I went with the 15L which had around 225bar. I wouldn't have redundancy so I'd have to stay well out of deco.

Conditions looked pretty good with the surface water looking clear and there wasn't much swell. I got in from the low platform and surface swam out while getting my camera ready. I descended and swam at around 30° to the sand line. The current was quite strong so I arrived at the sand line near Ian's Pygmy Rock. The visibility was a disappointing 5 to 8 metres and there was some surge. The water temperature was around 18°C. I turned left and headed towards The Steps.

I found the first weedy seadragon, the male with an appendage on his snout, just before the flat rocks with sponges. I then swam up the rocks to find the spindle cowrie Mike had spotted the Wednesday before last. I dropped back to the sand line and spotted a weedy seadragon between the two flat rocks with sponges. I also found "Clyde", the male weedy seadragon, not far past Bent Stick Rock.

I swam on to Southern Cross Rock and afetr some searching I found the golden male pygmy pipehorse. I couldn't find the white female.

I headed to Seadragon Alley. I looked for the juvenile weedy seadragon but couldn't find it. I also looked for the robust ghostpipefish but couldn't find any of them.

At the end of Seadragon Alley I found the single red Stigmatopora sp. pipefish in its red alga. I looked around for others but found none.

I followed the sand line for a short time and then went up the reef a bit to extend my NDL and bottom time. I looked on the rock where Mike had spotted the little orange red-fingered anglerfish but it was no longer on that rock.

I swam on to Big Rock and looked for the yellow/pink red-fingered anglerfish. It wasn't on the rock below Hand Rock but I hoped it was nearby. I found out after the dive that Daniela had found it yesterday but I'm not sure where.

I swam up towards the rock where the one-eyed seahorse is and spied the juvenile bridled triggerfish on the way. I found the one-eye female White's seahorse on her rock.

I continued along the reef, past New Basket Star Rock, and looked in the red algae on the sand for red pipefish. I spotted the basket star which is still on the red chimney sponge.

I headed past Diversity Rock and on to Little Big Rock. I looked on the two rocks behind Little Big Rock for pygmy pipehorses. I found none on the first rock but found a cryptic male on the shallower rock.

I swam on to the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish. On the way I spotted a weedy seadragon. The yellow anglerfish was in its usual spot. As I was there, John McKeon swam up with a couple of other divers. I pointed out the anglerfish. I then told them to follow me back to Little Big Rock where I showed them the pygmy pipehorse.

From here I pottered around the rocks looking for anglerfishes before ascending to the boulders and starting my safety stop. I swam to Split Rock and finished my Safety Stop and then swam to the exit where I got out.

Seas

Surgy

Visibility

3 to 8 metres

Duration

94 minutes

Maximum depth

20.9 m

Average depth

13.3 m

Water temperature

17.5°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

6:29am

0.36m

High

12:34pm

1.39m

Low

6:08pm

0.65m