Dive Details

Location

Date

Thursday 15 November 2018

Time

10:43am - 12:09pm

Buddy

Mel Wu, Steven Walsh

Seas

Some surge

Visibility

10 to 15 metres

Duration

86 minutes

Surface interval

Maximum depth

13.1 m

Average depth

10.6 m

Water temperature

16°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

2:38am

1.16m

Low

8:00am

0.77m

High

2:27pm

1.44m

Low

9:30pm

0.56m

Details

Today I was taking Steven Walsh and Mel Wu from Melbourne to see pygmy pipehorses. We would do two dives at The Monument to maximise the time with the pygmy pipehorse and also to cover more ground to see the pygmy pipehorses at both ends of the dive site. It would be an incoming tide for both dives so we'd go anti-clockwise for both.

For the first dive we got in at the protected area around a third of the way to The Steps. This would allow us to see the pygmies at Pygmy Hollow and then still make it to the Valley of the Pygmies.

We waded out from the shore which was a little difficult due to the tide being quite low. When we got to the edge of the shelf we descended and swam to the sand line. The visibility was 10 to 15 metres and there was no noticeable current. The water temperature was around 16°C. We hit the sand line and turned left towards Sutherland Point.

We swam past Block Rock and the sponge covered rock and on to Sponge Hollow. At Sponge Hollow I was only able to find the male pygmy pipehorse next to the white honeycomb sponge. I couldn't find the original pink female nor the ones I'd found on the adjacent rock on Sunday. I pointed the male out to Steve and Mel.

We swam along the Deep Wall to the area where the pot-bellied seahorses have been. I looked for the seahorse but was not able to see any of them.

We continued along the wall and I kept my eye out for weedy seadragons. At the end of the wall we swam up and over to the rock at the top of the wall. I spotted the small Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch and pointed it out to Mel and Steve. I then looked for the male pygmy pipehorse I'd found last Sunday. It was not on top of the rock. I was careful with it as the blue groper was hanging around.

We swam along the reef to the slope below seahorse rock. I looked for "Nia", the brown White's seahorse, on the slope and found her at the base of the red plate sponge. I pointed her out to Steve and Mel.

We continued along the reef past Split Rock and on to the grey red-fingered anglerfish. It was in its usual hole. I wonder where it has eggs which is why it stays in the same place for so long. I couldn't see any there.

We swam down the reef to the Valley of the Pygmies. I warned Steve and Mel to be careful with their fins because there as so many pygmies around. I found the reliable male on the slope first and pointed him out. I then checked out the Carijoa covered rock for the pair there. I found the male first and then the female. While Steve and Mel were looking at the pygmies on the rock I went back to the slope to look for the others. I found the green/pink male and then the partner for the reliable male. I pointed them out to Steve and Mel and then took some more photographs of the pair on the rock.

We swam along the NW-SE Wall and then up over it to the eastern end of the East-West Wall. I had a look for the large orange red-fingered anglerfish on the underside of the large Carjoa covered rock. It was no longer there.

I had a quick look for the pygmies on the shelf and the end of the wall before we ascended and started our safety stops. We swam west to get beyond Sutherland Point and then ascended to the surface. We swam to the rocks and waded out on the western side of Sutherland Point.