Dive Details

Location

Date

Friday 24 August 2018

Time

9:58am - 11:36am

Details

Today I thought I'd try diving on the outgoing tide. A group from Abyss who dived yesterday had said the visibility was much better on the outgoing tide than on their subsequent dive on the incoming.

I got in around 3 hours after high tide but as it wasn't a very high high tide, the water level was quite low. I waded out and then swam on the surface until I was over the edge of the boulders. I descended to the sand/kelp. The first thing I noticed, like yesterday, was how cold it was. It was around 14°C and it made my face hurt. The visibility was probably better than yesterday at perhaps 5 metres. There was still a lot of suspended material in the water column. There was also some surge. I turned right and headed towards Big Rock. I swam along the sand line until I reached the rocks where the orange red-fingered anglerfish has been. As I approached the rock with the overhang, I could see the anglerfish hanging upside down under the overhang, where it was yesterday. I looked at the top of the middle rock in the white honeycomb sponges and the small red-fingered anglerfish that I'd found yesterday was still there.

I continued along the sand line towards Little Big Rock. I stopped at the rock with the sea tulips where the pygmy pipehorses have been. I found the female, "Di" and took some photographs. I then looked for others and was pleasantly surprised to find a male. I think this is another new male but I will have to compare photographs to be sure.

I headed along the top of the reef past Di's Rock and on to the large rock behind Little Big Rock. I looked for the pygmy pipehorses there as I hadn't found them yesterday. I found the male in a spot I've seen him before. I was not able to find the female.

I went a little farther along the top of the reef and found the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish in the same spot it was yesterday, only it was facing in the opposite direction.

I looked around the area behind Little Big Rock for the salmon red-fingered anglerfish but I couldn't find it. I did find both Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranchs that I'd found yesterday but they were no longer together.

I descended to the rock just past Little Big Rock and looked for the pygmy pipehorses there. I found the male first, near the top of the rock. I eventually found the female low down on the rock.

I continued towards Diversity Rock. My juvenile painted anglerfish was in its usual spot. It had its lure out.

I looked on Diversity Rock for pygmy pipehorses but found none. It is still covered in snot algae make it difficult to see much. The male weedy seadragon with eggs was just below Diversity Rock.

I swam up to the basket star and then looked out over the sand in the red algae for pipefish. I also looked around the rocks for the grey red-fingered anglerfish.

I continued on the rock with the one-eyed seahorse just past Sponge Hollow. I found the seahorse low down on the rock.

I went a little farther beyond the seahorse rock towards Big Rock but as the visibility had dropped to only around 3 metres I decided to turn around.

I came back just above the sand line and spotted a female weedy seadragon on the sand in the rocks.

I swam back up to Sponge Hollow and spotted a grey red-fingered anglerfish in a sponge above sponge hollow. I'm not sure if I have seen this one before.

I continued towards Little Big Rock and looked on Diversity Rock again for pygmy pipehorses. I also stopped by the juvenile painted anglerfish and the pygmy pipehorses just before Little Big Rock.

I swam up to large yellow red-fingered anglerfish and then again checked out the large rock behind Little Big Rock for the pygmy pipehorses. The male was there but I still couldn't find the female.

I continued on to the rock with sea tulips and found both pygmy pipehorses.

I headed back past the two red-fingered anglerfish. The small one was still next to the white honeycomb sponge on the upper side of the middle rock. The large orange one was still on the underside of the overhang.

I swam to the boulders and ascended to 5 metres right at Split Rock. I did my safety stop and then swam underwater to the exit. The tide was quite low and I had difficulty swimming into the exit area so I had to do it on the surface.

Seas

Surgy

Visibility

2 to 5 metres

Duration

98 minutes

Maximum depth

14.4 m

Average depth

10.9 m

Water temperature

14°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

1:12am

0.44m

High

7:04am

1.29m

Low

12:39pm

0.55m

High

7:11pm

1.68m