Dive Details

Location

Date

Saturday 3 November 2018

Time

12:24pm - 2:25pm

Buddy

Nicolas Remy

Seas

Some surge and current

Visibility

10 to 15 metres

Duration

121 minutes

Surface interval

Maximum depth

20.9 m

Average depth

14.2 m

Water temperature

14°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bat AEDT

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

High

5:40am

1.39m

Low

11:28am

0.55m

High

5:45pm

1.63m

Details

I had planned to do a double dive today, starting with a dive at The Monument on the outgoing tide and then diving The Leap with Nicolas on the incoming tide. I realised that my non-decompression limit would be compromised and just did the dive at The Leap. If I'd thought about it, I would have filled my tanks with 32% oxygen instead of 27% to ease the problem.

Conditions looked good again. There was a bit of wind chop but not much swell. It was hot again and actually felt hotter than yesterday. It seemed a bit counter intuitive to be putting on a dry suit with layers of undergarments but if the water was cold it would be needed. Nicolas was on a rebreather so wouldn't be as limited for dive time as I would be. He had his camera set up with a fisheye lens and wanted to take some artistic shots of weedy seadragons and seahorses.

We got in from the low platform and swam out. After I had my camera rig ready we descended. The visibility looked a little down from yesterday but was still OK. We swam at around 45° and ended up at the amphitheatre. The visibility was 10 to 15 metres and there wasn't much swell or current. The water temperature was 14°C which made the discomfort of the drysuit in the air worth it.

We swam down to Pygmy Rock. This is the first time I'd been there in months, perhaps even a year. I had a pissweak look at the rock as I didn't want to spend too much time. I'll have to come back for another look soon.

We swam along the sand line towards The Steps. I was looking for the weedy seadragon I'd seen yesterday but didn't find it. We got to the rock on which I'd found a pair of pygmy pipehorses yesterday. I found the male (IL2018110202) almost immediately. I looked around for the female but couldn't see her. I searched for some time in the area I'd seen them yesterday. I then looked towards the other end of the rock. I was surprised to find another pair (IL2018110301, IL2018110302) at the other end. I still wanted to find the female (IL2018110201) from yesterday so I went back to the male and looked near him and found her only a few centimetres away. I showed them all to Nicolas they were were too small for his fisheye lens.

We continued on to Bob and Lucy Rock. I saw the pair of pygmy pipehorses that I had found yesterday as soon as I reached the rock. They had barely moved. I showed them to Nicolas.

We swam past Seahorse Rock and I spotted a weedy seadragon on the sand. I took a few quick ID shots and left Nicolas to take photographs.

I swam on to the flat rocks with sponges. As I approached the overhang I saw the same two weedy seadragons I'd seen for the last few days. One looks like a female and the other is a male with relatively new eggs. I pointed them out to Nicolas when he caught up.

I swam up to the pygmy pipehorses on the next rock after the overhang. I have been seeing three pygmies there of late, two males and a female. I was surprised to find a different female who was near one of the males. I then spotted the other female and other male. This made 4 at this location, and 10 so far on the dive. I showed them to Nicolas but again they were too small.

The current had picked up a bit so we were able to swim less and drift more. We headed past Southern Cross Rock and on to Seadragon Alley. I wanted to see the juvenile weedy seadragon and found it near where I'd seen it yesterday. I took a few shots and let Nicolas have a turn while I looked for the adult I'd seen yesterday. I found her (I think it is a female). I took some photographs and the waited for Nicolas to show him.

I drifted on ahead to the end of Seadragon Alley. I spotted the dwarf lionfish in the red chimney sponge.

I continued on to the new location for the red Stigmatopora sp. pipefish. The current was quite strong here and I had trouble staying put. I looked through the alga for the pipefish but couldn't see them. Nicolas swam up at I indicated what I was looking for. We then looked around the the surrounding algae but I was not able to find them. This is not all that unusual for these pipefish and I hope to see them next time I dive The Leap.

We drifted onto Big Rock. I had a bit of a look on Big Rock for pygmy pipehorses before heading down to the rock below Hand Rock. I looked on the sand for the pygmy pipehorse I'd seen a week ago. I hadn't seen it on the last three dives but I found it today.

I looked around the surrounding rocks for other pygmy pipehorses but found none. We slowly made our way to the rock where the one-eyed pipefish had been and I had a quick but unsuccessful look for her.

We swam over sponge hollow and along the reef towards Diversity Rock. I was looking for pygmy pipehorses and anglerfishes but found none. As we approached Diversity Rock, we headed up to the basket star and I pointed it out to Nicolas.

We dropped back down to Diversity Rock. I looked for pygmy pipehorses but found none. I spotted the weedy seadragon with older eggs in the kelp below Diversity Rock. I took a few photographs and then turned him over to Nicolas.

I continued on to Little Big Rock again looking for pygmy pipehorses along the way. At Little Big Rock I found the salmon red-fingered anglerfish where it has been for the last week or so. I waited here for Nicolas and pointed it out to him.

I swam up to the large rock behind Little Big Rock to look for the pygmies there. I found the male straight away and then I found the more illusive female. I pointed them out to Nicolas.

We went back to the sand line and swam towards The Steps. I was looking for the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish which had moved but I was not able to find it even after a couple of passes.

We continued on past the hole where the upside-down and sawtooth pipefishes have been. I looked in the hole but couldn't see them.

We stopped at the rock where the pot-bellied seahorses have been. "Stephen" was on one of the sea tulips but I couldn't see "Jodi". I looked under the kelp for some time and eventually spotted her floating around. She drifted over to the sea tulip that "Stephen" was on and latched on. Unfortunately, the battery in Nicolas' camera had died so he wasn't able to take any photographs.

We headed towards the exit. I looked around for the orange red-fingered anglerfish but I was not able to find it.

We ascended to 5 metres and stared our safety stops. The water warmed up and the visibility dropped significantly at around 5 metres. I missed Split Rock and had to swim around a bit to find it. We finished our safety stop at Split Rock and then swam underwater to the exit. I jumped out, put my fins and camera down and helped Nicolas with his camera.