Dive Details

Location

Date

Saturday 9 March 2019

Time

11:52am - 1:19pm

Seas

Some surge and current

Visibility

3 to 5 metres

Duration

87 minutes

Surface interval

 1:14 (hh:mm)

Maximum depth

14.9 m

Average depth

11.5 m

Water temperature

18°C
                                       

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

4:42am

0.46m

High

10:57am

1.63m

Low

5:12pm

0.41m

High

11:20pm

1.53m

Details

I had been so cold on the previous dive I used up my air more quickly and didn't have time to find all the animals near The Steps. A second dive would give me the extra time to look. Hopefully, I wouldn't be so cold this time. It would be an outgoing tide but I also hoped the visibility would not be too bad.

I got in at The Steps and swam out on the surface before descending. I reached the sand/kelp area to visibility that was down a bit from the first dive but still 3 to 5 metres. The water temperature was around 19°C do that was an improvement from the first dive.

I started looking on the rocks straight out from the entry and as I swam by the familiar large rock where I've seen anglerfishes before I was surprised to spot the familiar shape of a red-fingered anglerfish. It was upside-down but my brain recognised the shape. It was quite small and I think a different individual from the one I found nearby on 10 February.


Red-Fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11m.

I swam to the sand line, turned right and headed towards Big Rock. I checked out the rocks along the way for more anglerfishes. I stopped at the rock where the other seahorses were and looked a little more closely.

I headed up away from the sand line and checked out the rocks for anglerfishes. I stayed high until Di's Rock and then made my way down to the sand line to the large yellow Red-Fingered Anglerfishes rock. It was still there, which wasn't surprising as I'd seen it there less than 90 minutes earlier.


Red-Fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 13.1m.

I followed the sand line to Little Big Rock. I looked for Dama & Roney's Sawtooth Pipefish but could not see them in their usual crevices.

I headed up to the seahorses and found "Petra" on the sand below the smaller rock. "David" had moved to the larger rock behind since the first dive.

I started on my way to Diversity Rock and spotted a Reaper Cuttlefish under an overhang behind Little Big Rock.

I looked around Diversity Rock for the Miamira sinuata nudibranch but couldn't find it. I swam up to the basket star and then checked out the red algae on the sand near New Basket Star Rock for pipefish.

I swam on to Big Rock looking for interesting organisms along the way. I found George's orange Red-Fingered Anglerfish hanging under the rock behind Big Rock. I had a look on Big Rock for pygmy pipehorses before going back to Hand Rock to look for the one there. I found it! I couldn't find it 2 hours earlier but it was exactly where I had been looking.


Red-Fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.3m.

I swam back just up from the sand line. I stopped near Diversity Rock to look for the Miamira sinuata nudibranch again. I extended my search to Diversity Rock itself and was surprised to see the white Red-Fingered Anglerfish I'd spotted last weekend on top of Diversity Rock between two colonies of Carijoa. As I was there Sharon and Ben swam up so I pointed out the anglerfish to them.


Red-Fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.9m.

I continued back to Little Big Rock. "Petra" was still on the sand and "David" was on one of the sea tulips. I showed the seahorses to Sharon and Ben. I checked again for the sawtooth pipefish but couldn't see them.

I swam to the large yellow Red-Fingered Anglerfish and pointed it out to Sharon and Ben when they caught up.

I continued along the sand line and spotted a Chaetodon guentheri on the way. I stopped at the rock where the other seahorses had been and looked around it. I spotted a Weedy Seadragon on the sand line just past the rock.

I headed back to the large rock where I'd seen the small orange Red-Fingered Anglerfish at the start of the dive. It was still there.

I swam to the boulders and ascended to Split Rock and started my safety stop. Once I finished my safety stop I swam underwater to the exit.

Camera gear

Camera

Nikon D500

Lens

Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED

Housing

Ikelite 6812.5

Lens port

Ikelite Flat Port 5502.41

Strobe

2 x Ikelite SubStrobe DS161