Dive Details

Location

Date

Thursday 20 September 2018

Time

12:31pm - 2:06pm

Details

It had been just over 2 weeks since I'd last dived The Steps and 4 days since I'd dived The Leap. I was keen to see "Winx", the male pot-bellied seahorse that Steve Walsh had found. Roney had given me detailed directions so I knew I'd find it if it was still there. There was meant to be a 2m southerly swell but you couldn't tell that by looking at the water which was quite calm. We'd be getting in around 2 hours after low tide so it would be interesting to see what the visibility would be like.

We got in at The Steps and surface swam out. The visibility looked great from the surface. We descended to the sand line. The visibility was at least 10 metres and there was no surge. The water temperature was around 15°C. We turned right and headed towards Big Rock.

We swam along the sand line and kelp until we approached the rocks where the orange red-fingered anglerfish with dark eyes was originally. I then swam up towards the shore to the rock I'd found it on last Sunday. It was still there. I pointed it out to Mike before heading back down to the original rocks. I had a quick look at the base of the white honeycomb sponges for the small red-fingered anglerfish I used to see. It wasn't there and the sponges looked like they had been disturbed. The brown male White's seahorse was still in the sea tulips on the next rock. I pointed him out to Mike.

I swam on to the rock where the pygmy pipehorses used to be. I had seen them both on 1 September but not on 5 or 16 September. I had a good look for them while I was waiting for Mike to catch up but I was not able to find them. When Mike caught up we looked together for a short time before moving on.

We swam on to the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish which was still on the side of the rock where it moved back to recently. I pointed it out to Mike before moving to the next rock to look for the salmon red-fingered anglerfish. It was also in the same spot it had been last Sunday.

He headed on to Little Big Rock and I went to the large rock up from Little Big Rock. I looked for the pygmies and found the female down low on the rock and after a bit of searching realised the male was in the same place it was last time I saw it. I pointed them out to Mike.

As I swam down to Little Big Rock I noticed the Nembrotha purpureolineata on the same rock it was on Sunday. I took some photographs and then headed to the rock after Little Big Rock to look for the pygmy pipehorses. I looked for some time but could not find them. Mike caught up to me and we swam on.

We stopped at my juvenile orange painted anglerfish just before Diversity Rock. We then looked over Diversity Rock for pygmy pipehorses but found none. I had forgotten about the weedy seadragon below Diversity Rock and we went on without looking for him.

We swam past the basket star and I headed for the rock where Roney told me "Winx" had been. I swam straight up to the rock and there in the sea tulips in the middle of the rock was "Winx". He's only a small chap. I wonder how long he'll hang around without a female.

We continued on to the rock with the one-eyed seahorse. I swam around the rock twice before I found her in the purple sponges.

We swam on to Big Rock and looked over Big Rock and the rocks around it. We went a little past Big Rock before coming back just up from the sand line.

We continued heading back towards The Steps just up from the sand line to Diversity Rock. This time I remembered to look for the male weedy seadragon and I found him. He had relatively new eggs. I pointed him out to Mike who nearly sat on him while taking photographs of something else.

We swam back via my juvenile painted anglerfish and I had a look for the pygmies just before Little Big Rock but still couldn't find them. I passed the Nembrotha purpureolineata on the way back, too.

We stayed high and I found a dwarf lionfish before doing a quick check for pygmies on the rock near Di's Rock. We swam on to the orange red-fingered anglerfish with dark eyes before heading to the boulders.

We ascended to 5 metres and did our safety stop while swimming to Split Rock. We swam to the exit and got out.

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight

Visibility

10 to 15 metres

Duration

95 minutes

Maximum depth

14.7 m

Average depth

11.2 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.

High

5:11am

1.19m

Low

10:43am

0.67m

High

5:15pm

1.51m

Low

11:59pm

0.49m