Dive Details

Location

Date

Sunday 11 November 2018

Time

8:54am - 10:55am

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 15 metres

Duration

120 minutes

Surface interval

Maximum depth

13.9 m

Average depth

10.3 m

Water temperature

17°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

4:54am

0.54m

High

11:25am

1.71m

Low

6:06pm

0.41m

Details

I had planned to take Dave and Elena to The Monument today but they decided to go sailing instead. I decided to still follow my plan on my own. This would at least allow me to check out The Monument in preparation for Steven on Thursday and also have a good look for the pot-bellied seahorses.

As it was an incoming tide I got in at the protected area around halfway from Sutherland Point to The Steps. It was quite calm with the only waves being generated by boats. I waded out until it was deep enough to don my fins and then I swam out past the shelf. I descended and swam to the sand line. The visibility here was 10 to 15 metres and there was no surge and barely any current. The water temperature was around 17°C. I turned left and headed towards Sutherland Point.

I swam along the sand line to Block Rock and then cut in to look at Block Rock and the next sponge covered rock. I keep expecting to see new seahorses.

I continued along the reef to the rock where I found a pair of pygmy pipehorses 3 weeks ago. I looked in the gap next to the white honeycomb sponge and spotted the male. I looked on the other side of the sponge and after a bit of searching I spotted the pink female, although she was not in a good spot for photography.

I headed towards the Deep Wall. I looked on the rocks on the way there for the two red-fingered anglerfish we last saw on 29 September but found neither. I swam along the wall and found the dwarf lionfish in its usual orange finger sponge. In the area where the pot-bellied seahorses have been I found "Gilligan" hiding in the sea tulips. I hadn't seen him the last couple of times I dived here so it was good to see he's still around. It suggests that either "Ginger" is still around or he's got eggs and isn't interested in a female at the moment. I looked around the area for "Ginger" or any other seahorse but found none.

I continued along the wall and looked out on the sand and kelp for weedy seadragons as I swam. I headed up over the wall and spotted a small Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch on an ascidian. I looked on the rock near the top of the wall where we used to see pygmy pipehorses. Last time I dived here with Mike the last pygmy pipehorse was swallowed by the resident blue groper so I didn't expect to find any here. I was surprised to spot a male hiding near the top of the rock. I looked around for a female but could not see one. The blue groper was hassling me and I didn't want him to see the pygmy pipehorse.

I headed along the reef towards the slope below Seahorse Rock. I looked for seahorses and pygmy pipehorses along the way, including "Mark", the male pot-bellied seahorse who I'd last seen 2 weeks ago. On the slope I looked for the brown female White's seahorse. She wasn't in either of the orange finger sponges but I found her next to the red plate sponge.

I continued along the reef looking for anything of interest along the way. I found the grey red-fingered anglerfish in the hole in the side of the rock it has been for a number of weeks.

I followed the reef in front of the NW-SE wall until it ran out and then swam along to the first of the isolated rocks. I started looking for the pair of pygmy pipehorses I've seen on this rock in the Carijoa and as I was looking I found a tube-building amphipod. This was only the second one I've seen. I eventually found the male pygmy pipehorse but could not find the female. I checked out the other isolated rocks but did not find anything of interest.

I continued to the end of the wall and then cut up towards the corner. I swam past the rock where we had seen the small orange red-fingered anglerfish and briefly looked around the area for it. I then swam up to the corner and on to the large Carijoa covered rock. I looked on the northern side of the rock and found the large orange red-fingered anglerfish hiding in the sponges and algae.

I swam over the shelf on the end of the East-West wall where I've seen pygmy pipehorses. I found one of the males immediately but was not able to find any others even after extensive searching.

I was now 90 minutes into the dive. I still had plenty of air left but I had a lot of ground to cover so I sped up as I headed west along the base of the East-West Wall.

I swam past the rock where "Sunshine", the female pot-bellied seahorse, had been at the start of the year and from here to the area where the yellowish White's seahorse has been I looked for the great seahorse. I then looked for the yellowish seahorse but could not find it.

I arrived at the rock out from the wall where Mandy's pygmy pipehorses have been. I found the male immediately in the Caulerpa but I had to search to find the female and eventually found her.

I continued along the base of the wall as far as the basket star and then swam to the top of the wall and headed south towards the beach. I did my safety stop as I swam. I spotted a hole in the sand with a crustacean in it. It looks like one of those tube-building amphipods but sessile. I also saw two very large and one medium-sides Aplysia sp. sea hares. I also saw a large stingray sitting on the sand.

I swam until it was too shallow to swim and then waded out. I made it to the beach just on 11am and paused for respect in remembrance of those who have fought for freedom.