Dive Details

Location

Date

Wednesday 30 May 2018

Time

10:22am - 11:56am

Details

I was meant to be working today and had tomorrow off but when I saw the forecast for tomorrow and 5-7m swell I swapped my shift for one next week and dived instead. I had planned to dive early at The Leap but Roney talked me into diving at The Monument on an outgoing tide. He'd done it yesterday and the conditions had been really good so we agreed to meet with Mike at The Monument at 9:30am.

We got in from the rocks near the beach and surface swam out to the edge of the wall. We descended to the sand in front of the wall. The visibility was around 5 to 8 metres. There was no surge but the outgoing tidal current was quite strong. The water temperature was just over 17°C. We headed east along the base of the wall.

We hadn't gone far before Mike pointed out a gorgeous yellow female White's seahorse in an orange finger sponge. It looks like a nudibranch had laid eggs on her side.

We continued along the base of the wall to the rocks where "Sunshine", the yellow female pot-bellied seahorse, had been. The pair of banded coral shrimp were still in the gap at the base of the rocks.

We continued along the base of the wall to the large Carijoa covered rock, the rock where the large orange red-fingered anglerfish had been. I then headed south-east to the next rock to the bright orange red-fingered anglerfish. I was able to see it from more than 3 metres away. I went back and found Mike and Roney and showed the anglerfish to them. We then got separated as Roney went deeper and Mike stayed shallow.

I dropped down to the next wall and was swimming along when I bumped into Roney. I asked him about the large orange anglerfish but he misunderstood and took me back to show me a large pufferfish.

We continued on our way towards the main reef. I pointed out the Volva volva cowrie in the Carijoa on the first rock with Carijoa on the sand and the base of the wall.

On the main reef Roney pointed out a grey red-fingered anglerfish on the same rock where one had been for ages last year and early this year. As I was photographing it, Roney disappeared. I assumed he'd gone on but he'd doubled back to look for the large orange red-fingered anglerfish. I continued on alone.

I swam past Split Rock and on to the area below Seahorse Rock. I looked for the brown female White's seahorse but I couldn't find her. I then swam up to Seahorse Rock and looked for the Nembrotha sp. nudibranchs. I found one of them.

I headed back to the main reef and then headed to the deep wall. I swam along the wall hoping the orange red-fingered anglerfish I'd found 10 days ago was still there. It was pretty much in the same spot.

I dropped to the sand line and looked for the juvenile weedy seadragon in the kelp. I found it. It has grown so much.

I headed back to the main reef and bumped into Mike between Slope and Split Rocks. I told him I'd show him the anglerfish and he started to follow me. I hadn't gone far past Slope Rock when I spotted a tiny grey red-fingered anglerfish. I took some photographs and pointed it out to Mike. He looked a little confused as he thought I was going to show him an orange anglerfish.

I took Mike along the wall to the orange red-fingered anglerfish. I then showed him the juvenile weedy seadragon.

I indicated to Mike I was heading for the exit and swam back past the small grey anglerfish before heading up the reef to the exit. I did my safety stop along the way and then got out in the bay area to the south east of the rocks on the point.

Buddy

Roney Rodrigues, Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight

Visibility

3 to 8 metres

Duration

93 minutes

Maximum depth

12.7 m

Average depth

9.9 m

Water temperature

17.1°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

2:54am

0.46m

High

8:47am

1.40m

Low

2:23pm

0.58m

High

8:58pm

1.82m

Camera gear

Camera

Nikon D500

Lens

Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED

Housing

Ikelite 6812.5

Lens port

Ikelite Flat Port 5502.41

Strobe

2 x Ikelite SubStrobe DS161

Photographs

Depth information, where present, indicates the depth of the camera when the photograph was taken and can be used to approximate the depth of the subject.

Female White's seahorse, Hippocampus whitei. 10.6 m.