Dive Details

Location

Date

Sunday 21 October 2018

Time

12:18pm - 1:56pm

Buddy

Daniela Stark, Roney Rodrigues, Dom Fretz

Seas

Some surge

Visibility

3 to 5 metres

Duration

98 minutes

Surface interval

Maximum depth

13.2 m

Average depth

10.4 m

Water temperature

14°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

12:53am

0.45m

High

7:02am

1.38m

Low

12:55pm

0.57m

High

7:06pm

1.53m

Details

As I was coming up the stairs after my first dive a bumped into Daniela and Dom who were planning a dive at The Steps. My first dive wasn't bad so decided to join them and do a second dive. Roney also joined us.

The tide was quite low and I was able to get into the water before putting my fins on as it was only around a metre deep. I waded and swam out to the others and then we descended. I was trying my new 7mm hood for this dive to see if I was warmer with the 14°C water. It was making my mask sit funny so it kept leaking. This would not be fun.

The visibility was much the same as the previous dive at 3 to 5 metres. The surge was also much the same and the temperature hadn't changed. My head did feel warmer in the 7mm hood.

We swam around the entry point looking for the orange red-fingered anglerfish with dark eyes. I hadn't found it on the previous dive but perhaps with more eyes we'd do better. We didn't.

I swam down to where I'd seen "Jodi", the female pot-bellied seahorse, on the previous dive. She wasn't in the algae under the kelp where I'd last seen her. I then noticed her on the sea tulips where I'd first seen the male White seahorse a few weeks ago. The kelp getting in the way but Dom held it back for me. I showed "Jodi" to Daniela who had her camera.

I swam along the sand line ahead of the others. I got to the hole where the upside-down and sawtooth pipefishes had been. There was still no sign of them in the hole. I wonder if the rough seas of last week had impacted them. I had a quick look for pygmy pipehorses on the rock above before moving on.

I got to the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish and took some photographs and then swam back to show the others. I found Dom and showed him the anglerfish and he showed Daniela.

I continued along the sand line to Little Big Rock. I took some more photographs of the salmon red-fingered anglerfish which I'd seen on the first dive. When Dom swam up I pointed it out to him.

I swam up past the Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch to the large rock with the pygmy pipehorses. I noticed that the octopus was still missing. I looked on the side of the rock for the pygmy pipehorses. The male was still in the same spot it had been on the previous dive but I was not able to find the female. I found her with ease on the first dive.

I headed back to Little Big Rock and the followed the sand line to Diversity Rock. Dom asked my about the juvenile orange painted anglerfish and I signalled that it was now gone.

I swam past Diversity Rock and down to the male weedy seadragon with eggs. He was still in the kelp. I pointed him out to Dom.

I continued towards Big Rock just up from the sand line and found another two weedy seadragons. One was a male who had the remnants of eggs. The other may have been a female.

I swam past Sponge Hollow and on to the rock where the one-eyed seahorse had been. As I did on the previous dive, I made multiple circuits of the rock looking for the seahorse. If she's there, she's doing a great job of hiding. That's three dives in a row where I failed to find her. Dom indicated to me he was turning around. I'd barely seen the others all dive.

I headed a little farther towards Big Rock looking on the rocks for pygmy pipehorses but found none. I then swam back past the rock to look for the one-eyed seahorse one more time. Just near the rock I noticed a reaper cuttlefish that may have been stalking a painted stinkfish. The stinkfish was able to escape with speed and then camouflage. That didn't work for me as I saw where it went.

I swam back along the sand near New Basket Star Rock and looked in the red algae for red Stigmatopora pipefish. It's been months since I've seen any in that area but they must have gone somewhere.

I passed the basket star and then swam on to Little Big Rock. I took some more photographs of the salmon red-fingered anglerfish and the Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch. I then had another look for the female pygmy pipehorse on the side of the large rock but couldn't find her.

I headed to the large yellow anglerfish and then checked out the pipefishes hole but they still weren't to be seen.

I swam on to "Jodi" but she wasn't on the sea tulips. I lifted the kelp up and found her hanging on to the holdfast of the kelp. She was being hit by the kelp fronds in the surge. She eventually let go and grabbed on to the some algae under the kelp. She'll have to find a better place or she won't hang around.

I had another look for the orange red-fingered anglerfish with dark eyes before heading for the boulders. I found an octopus on the way to the boulders.

I ascended to Split Rock and did my safety stop before swimming underwater to the exit. The tide was still low and the exit was easy.