Dive Details
Location
Date
Monday 28 January 2019
Time
10:55am - 12:38pm
Seas
Slight
Visibility
10 to 15 metres
Duration
103 minutes
Surface interval
Maximum depth
20.9 m
Average depth
15.7 m
Water temperature
19.7°C
Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand
Tides at Botany Bay AEDT
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
High
3:11am
1.48m
Low
9:23am
0.60m
High
3:20pm
1.35m
Low
9:38pm
0.52m
Details
Rachael and Mike joined me for the dive today, well, at least for the start. Rachael and Mike were both diving on air and so wouldn't be able to stay deep as long. Rachael and I had agreed before the dive that we'd do our own dives anyway.
Rachael jumped in from the main shelf and Mike and I from the low platform. Roney, Fred, and Eduardo were also diving at the same time but separately from us. We swam out on the surface and then descended. I led the way to he sand line at around 60° arriving in the amphitheatre. Visibility was down a but from Saturday at around 10 to 15 metres but it was still calm. The water temperature was around 20°C which was much more pleasant than Saturday.
We hit the sand line just near the sponge covered rock next to Pygmy Rock so we turned left and headed to the first rock in the Field of Pygmies where I've found pygmy pipehorses recently. I went straight to the western end of the rock and looked for the pair there. The male (IL2018110301) was in his usual spot and the female (IL2018110302) was close by. I took some photographs, pointed them out to Mike and then headed to the north-eastern end of the rock to look for the original pair. I found the male (IL2018110202) where he was on Saturday, next to the sponge. The female (IL2018110201) was just below him and a bit to the left.
I looked on the rock to the north for the reddish male that Matt Smith had found and the female I found the following day. I couldn't find either of them.
I went to the next rock to look for the cryptic pair. I found the male (IL2018121101) but could not find his partner.
I swam over to the rock closer to the shore. I looked around the blueish sponge and spotted a whitish male. I'm not sure if it is the red male (IL2018122602) that has changed colour or a new one. I looked for the female (IL2018122601) and found her nearby. I pointed them out to Mike. I didn't see Mike again for the rest of the dive.
I swam on to the rock with a lot of sponges and looked for the juvenile pygmy I have seen there. I found it quite quickly despite its small size and cryptic colouration. Rachael swam up to me and indicated she was cold and was moving on.
I headed to the rock before Bob & Lucy Rock and looked for the two pygmy pipehorses I saw there on Saturday. I found the pink male first and then the pink female.
I next stopped at Bob & Lucy Rock and found the red male (IL2018110204) straight away. I looked for some time for his partner but was not able to find her.
I swam on slowly to Ian's Pygmy Rock looking for more pygmy pipehorses along the way but I didn't find any. I stopped at Ian's Pygmy Rock and looked on the adjacent rock first. I found the dull red male (IL2018120101) in his usual spot on the but I could not see his partner. I looked on the main rock and spotted the cryptic female (IL2018122301). I looked for her partner and eventually found him (IL2018122302).
I continued on slowly towards Seahorse Rock. I looked on a few more rocks for more pygmy pipehorses but did not find any.
I headed past Seahorse Rock and on to the flat rock with sponges. I spotted the female weedy seadragon under the overhang. I found the male weedy seadragon with the remnants of eggs. I hadn't been able to find him on Saturday. There was another male there as well but this time "Clyde" was not there.
I ascended to the pygmy pipehorses. I found the pink male (IL2018080801) in his usual alga but I was not able to find his partner. She wasn't in her usual alga. I looked for the lower male and found him (IL2018092903) in the alga he was in on Saturday. I looked for the lower female but couldn't see her so I looked for the upper female again and found her (IL2018080802) lower down on the rock. I then looked for the lower female again and found her (IL2018110303).
I headed along the sand line towards Southern Cross Rock and came across "Clyde", the male weedy seadragon. He was almost all the way to Southern Cross Rock.
I swam over Southern Cross Rock and on to Seadragon Alley. I looked for weedy seadragons in Seadragon Alley but did not see any.
After Seadragon Alley I had a look in the clumps of red algae for the red Stigmatopora sp. pipefish, including the spots I've seen them before. They must be somewhere but where? I also looked for the small orange red-fingered anglerfish but I couldn't find it.
I continued on to Big Rock. I found both of Ron's pygmy pipehorses (IL2019010401, IL2019010402).
I checked the base of the rock below Hand Rock for the pygmies that have been there. I was not able to find any of them. I looked on Hand Rock and found the juvenile female there.
I swam along the top of the reef to the basket star. I looked around Diversity Rock for the weedy seadragon with eggs but could not find it.
I headed to Little Big Rock and looked for "Petra", the pot-bellied seahorse. She'd been on the sand near the base of Little Big Rock when I last saw her on Saturday but I was not able to find her today. The large yellow red-fingered anglerfish was on its usual rock. I also found "David", the other pot-bellied seahorse, in the purple sponge on the large rock behind Little Big Rock. I also found another Atagema intecta nudibranch on the same rock.
I checked for Dama and Roney's sawtooth pipefish and found the male with eggs. I couldn't find the female.
I swam along the sand line to the hole where the other pipefishes have been. I spotted the one of them but couldn't see any eggs so I assume it was the female.
I headed to the rock where "Jodi", the pot-bellied seahorse had been. I looked around the rock but could not see her.
I swam over the kelp towards the exit. I ascended to Split Rock and did my safety stop before swimming underwater to the exit.