Dive at The Steps, Kurnell, NSW on Friday 13 July 2018

Dive Details

Location

Date

Friday 13 July 2018

Time

8:03am - 9:44am

Details

Yesterday's dive at The Steps had been so good I decided to repeat it today. The forecast was for slightly better conditions and as high tide was nearly an hour later, getting in at around the same time would give me some time before high tide and less of the outgoing tide.

The entry/exit was quite calm and it was easy to get it. I swam out on the surface until I was over the kelp and then I descended. The visibility was slightly better than yesterday and was 5 to 8 metres. The water temperature was around 16°C. There was slight surge.

I found a juvenile weedy seadragon before I started swimming towards Big Rock. It was slightly larger than the one I have been seeing in Seadragon Alley.

I continued towards Big Rock and came on the rocks where I have been seeing the orange red-fingered anglerfish. I found it in the spot it was yesterday. Shortly after the anglerfish I found a weedy seadragon.

I swam on to the rock where "Noel" and "Di", the pair of pygmy pipehorses, have been. I found "Di" immediately as she was in the same spot she was yesterday. I looked around for "Noel" but still couldn;t find him.

I headed past Di's Rock and looked for the grey red-fingered anglerfish but didn't see it. I then swam on to Little Big Rock. I looked for the golden male pygmy pipehorse on the rock behind Little Big Rock but couldn't see it there. I found the Nembrotha purpureolineata on the rock where the salmon anglerfish used to be.

On the shore side of Little Big Rock I found the salmon red-fingered anglerfish in the same spot where Cody had found it yesterday. It had changed its orientation slightly. At the base of Little Big Rock I found a weedy seadragon.

I swam on and I found my baby orange painted anglerfish in its usual place on the rock near Diversity Rock.

On Diversity Rock I managed to find the pink female pygmy pipehorse but I could not find the male pygmy I had found yesterday. I searched pretty well for it.

I swam up to the basket star before looking for the grey red-fingered anglerfish I'd found yesterday. It wasn't where I'd seen it yesterday and I swam around the rock multiple times before eventually finding it in the white honeycomb sponge at the Big Rock end of the rock.

I headed up to New Basket Star Rock and started looking for the grey red-fingered anglerfish Mike had shown me a couple of weeks ago. I thought it might have moved back to New Basket Star Rock but I couldn't find it there. I also checked out the rock to the south-east where I'd found it on Sunday but couldn't see it.

I continued past Sponge Hollow to the rock with the one-eyed seahorse. I swam around the rock a couple of times before finding her.

I swam on to Big Rock and looked around the area for anglerfishes and pygmy pipehorses, as well as anything else of interest but found nothing.

I headed to the top of the reef and looked along some of the rocks there, including the rock where Daniela had spotted the yellow/pink red-fingered anglerfish a few months ago.

I came back past the seahorse and then had another look for Mike's grey anglerfish. I visited my grey anglerfish and the basket star before stopping at Diversity Rock again. The female pygmy pipehorse was still there but I still wasn't able to find the male.

I visited the baby orange painted anglerfish and salmon red-fingered anglerfish on my way back before swimming on to the rock where I'd seen "Di", the female pygmy pipehorse. I looked around some more for "Noel" but still couldn't find him.

I swam along the sand line to the orange red-fingered anglerfish before heading for the boulders. As I ascended to 5 metres, I saw a huge ray sitting on one boulder not far from Split Rock. I shot some video of it.

I did my safety stop at Split Rock before swimming underwater to the exit. It was quite calm and the exit was easy.

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 8 metres

Duration

101 minutes

Maximum depth

14.6 m

Average depth

11.5 m

Water temperature

15°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

2:18am

0.20m

High

8:16am

1.49m

Low

1:57pm

0.38m

High

8:30pm

2.10m

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.