Dive Details

Location

Date

Friday 3 August 2018

Time

10:30am - 12:34pm

Details

Dive #3 of my 6 dives in 5 days attempt. This time I was back to The Leap with Mike. The forecast was the same for today and it looked calm at The Leap.

We got in from the low platform and surface swam out. Mike when a long way down the shore line and I had to swim to get to him. We descended and swam at around 30° to the sand line and arrived between Seahorse Rock and the flat rocks with sponges. Starting where we did and with the current we ended up a long way north-west of where we'd normally hit the sand line. The visibility was 3 to 5 metres and the water temperature was between 15 and 16°C. The current was quite strong. We turned left and headed towards The Steps.

I went straight to the Phenacovolva cowrie and found one of the pygmy pipehorses, the male (IL2018080101). I looked for the female but couldn't find it. Again, there was a lot of algae over everything and I pulled off as much as I could. I pointed them out to Mike. Mike was photographing the male weedy seadragon with eggs so I looked around and what looks like a female between the two flat rocks. I then photographed the male with eggs.

We swam past Southern Cross Rock and into Seadragon Alley. I looked for the juvenile weedy seadragon but couldn't find it. We found a male weedy seadragon with eggs.

We continued through and out of Seadragon Alley and stopped at the red Stigmatopora pipefish. The larger one was in the first alga but moved across to the alga with the smaller one.

I left Mike with the pipefish and continued along the sand line to Big Rock. After passing Big Rock I swam up to the rock far back from the reef where Daniela found the yellow/pink anglerfish a few months ago. Apparently, it had been seen there again recently. I couldn't find it.

I came back to the rock with the one-eyed seahorse and saw Mike there. I found the seahorse and then we continued.

We swam past the basket star and on to Diversity Rock. I looked for and found the juvenile pygmy pipehorse which I now believe is a male. I pointed it out to Mike.

I left Mike and went back to look for the grey red-fingered anglerfish. I looked all over the place but couldn't find it. By the time I came back to Diversity Rock, Mike was gone.

I found the juvenile orange painted anglerfish on its usual rock.

I swam along the sand line towards Little Big Rock. I stopped just before Little Big Rock to look for the pygmy pipehorses I found last weekend. I found the female but I could not find the male.

I looked on Little Big Rock for the salmon red-fingered anglerfish. It wasn't there. I looked on the rock I'd found it on Wednesday but it wasn't there, either. I finally looked on the rock it had spent some time on at the beginning of the year (the same rock where the orange painted anglerfish, sea spider and pygmy pipehorses had been) and it was there in the same spot I saw it in February.

I looked on the large rock behind Little Big Rock for the pair of pygmy pipehorses. I found the male (IL2018072002) in front of the yellow sponge and then the female (IL2018072001) sort of above.

I swam past Di's rock and on to the rock where the pygmies have been. I searched and searched and could not find a single pygmy.

I followed the sand line to the rocks where the orange red-fingered anglerfish with one dark eye has been. It was in its usual spot.

I headed for the boulders and ascended to 5 metres. I started my safety stop as I swam to Split Rock and finished it there. I swam underwater to the exit and got out.

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight

Visibility

3 to 15 metres

Duration

124 minutes

Maximum depth

20.6 m

Average depth

13.1 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

6:23am

0.48m

High

12:42pm

1.42m

Low

6:33pm

0.67m