Dive Details
Location
Date
Saturday 13 October 2018
Time
9:51am - 11:27am
Buddy
Cody Sheridan, Dan Pritchard
Seas
Strong surge
Visibility
10-15 metres
Duration
96 minutes
Maximum depth
13.9 m
Average depth
11.1 m
Water temperature
18°C
Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1
Tides at Botany Bay AEDT
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
Low
5:32am
0.48m
High
11:59am
1.65m
Low
6:32pm
0.43m
Details
Wednesday's conditions had been fantastic but I was not at all optimistic about today. In addition to a 1.5 to 2.5 metre southerly swell there was a 1 to 1.5m easterly swell. Either on their own would be ok but together they could make things very messy. When we arrived at the site we were very pleasantly surprised that there was a lot less visible swell, the entry/exit looked good and from what we could see from the surface, the water looked clear.
We got in at The Steps, donning out fins before we got into the water, and swam out on the surface. When we were ready, we descended to the kelp. The visibility was 10 to 15 metres just like on Wednesday. The water temperature was between 17 and 17°C. There was quite a bit of surge and the incoming current was noticeable.
I started to look around for the orange red-fingered anglerfish with the dark eyes. It was a matter of locating the rock where I'd found it on Wednesday. It didn't take me long and I found the rock and the anglerfish was still on the rock, although it had moved slightly. I pointed it out to Dan.
I headed down to the anglerfish's original position to look for seahorse when Cody grabbed me to point out a male weedy seadragon with eggs in the kelp. I took some photographs and though Dan had seen it but found out after the dive that he'd missed it.
I looked for the male White's seahorse that had been on the adjacent rock to anglerfish's original position but I couldn't find it.
We started along the sand line and hadn't gone far when I spotted a large juvenile weedy seadragon. I was sure Dan saw this one, but he didn't.
We swam on to the hole where the upside-down and sawtooth pipefishes have been. The surge had stirred up a lot of the sand in front of the hole and while I could make out at least one of the upside-down pipefish there was just too much sand to attempt photography. I had a quick look on the rock above for pygmy pipehorses.
We stayed high on the reef and swam past Di's Rock and other rocks in the area before heading back to the sand line and the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish. It was still in its usual spot. I looked around the area for the salmon red-fingered anglerfish but couldn't find it.
We swam along the sand line to Little Big Rock. I was still looking for the salmon anglerfish. I swam up to the large rock above Little Big Rock to look for the pygmy pipehorses. I looked for ages and couldn't find either of them. Cody swam up and after a short time pointed out the female. She was obscured by algae from where I was looking.
I swam on past the octopus to the rock with the Nembrotha sp. nudibranchs. I could only find the N. purpureolineata.
I checked out Little Big Rock for pygmies but found none and then swam on along the sand line towards Diversity Rock. I spotted the male weedy seadragon with eggs in the kelp. His eggs are still quite pink.
We swam past where the juvenile orange painted anglerfish used to be and on to Diversity Rock. I looked on Diversity Rock for pygmy pipehorses but found none.
As I headed for the basket star and spotted a small octopus hiding in a hole. The basket start was on its usual sponge. Dan swam up and indicated he was at 100 bar and was turning around.
Cody and I continued along the reef. I checked out the red algae on the sand around New Basket Star Rock for red Stigmatopora sp. pipefish. I'm confident there are still around in this area but finding them is not easy.
We continued past Sponge Hollow and on to the rock with the one-eyed seahorse. I looked all over the rock and made 3 or for circuits of the rock but I was not able to find her. This was the first time I hadn't found her. (Roney told me after the dive that he had found her near the top of the rock.)
We continued on a little way towards Big Rock before turning and heading back just up from the sand line. I was checking out rocks for pygmies and anglerfishes all the way to past Diversity Rock. We stopped at the male weedy seadragon with eggs between Diversity Rock and Little Big Rock.
We continued along the sand line past the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish. Just as I came on it, it was yawning but it had finished before was in a position to take photographs. When we got to the hole with the pipefishes, there was still too much surge and sand to attempt photographs.
We swam past "Deep Eyes" original location and I spotted two painted stinkfish on the sand. I wasn't sure if they were two males or a pair but stayed and watched them for a while hoping something interesting would happen but I think they were aware of my presence and did nothing.
We swam up to "Deep Eyes" to find that while it was still on the same rock but had moved. While I was taking photographs it pushed itself up off the rock, turned around once and settled in the same spot. It was odd.
We ascended to the boulders and straight to Split Rock. We did our safety stops and swam underwater to the exit. There were a few waves but the exit was quite easy.