Dive Details

Location

Date

Sunday 10 March 2019

Time

9:41am - 11:35am

Seas

Slight current and surge

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

113 minutes

Surface interval

Maximum depth

21.5 m

Average depth

15.9 m

Water temperature

18.9°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

5:21am

0.48m

High

11:32am

1.56m

Low

5:44pm

0.45m

High

11:57pm

1.54m

Details

Sheree was going to join me today but was unwell and had to cancel. After the cold of yesterday I decided to wear my drysuit today. I knew it would be warmer as the swell had shifted to southerly but it was cooler in the air so I could be comfortable both in the air and in the water. Plus I didn't have to wear my wetsuit in empathy with Sheree. Nicolas and Lena were going to join me as well on their rebreathers.

I got in from the low platform and swam out to wait for Nicolas and Lena. It was more pleasant floating in the water than sitting on the rocks. When they joined me we descended and started for Amphitheatre at around 60°. We hadn't gone far when I noticed Nicolas and Lena weren't with me. I stopped and turned back. Nicolas swam up and indicated that Lena had a problem with her rebreather and they had to abort the dive. I headed off on my own.

I arrived at the amphitheatre. The visibility was around 5 to 10 metres. It may have been a bit down on yesterday but still good enough for easy navigation. The water temperature was around 19°C which would have been fine in the wetsuit although I would have been cold by the end. There was slight surge and slight current.

There was kelp everywhere around the bottom of the amphitheatre making it difficult to see where the sand line was. I located the first rock with known pygmies in the Valley of the Pygmies. It had kelp all around it like it did yesterday. I looked near the yellow sponge and spotted the original male pygmy pipehorse (IL2018110202) and then spotted the female (IL2018110201) in the branching sponge. She was difficult to photograph as she and the sponge were moving in the surge. At the other end of the rock I spotted the other male (IL2018110301) and female (IL2018110302). I went back to the original pair and the male had moved to the algae on the rock.

I headed to the higher rock closer to the shore. I spotted the pinkish male first and then the greyish female but I photographed her first and had another go after photographing the male.

I continued on to the large flat rock with lots of sponges. I spotted the male I'd seen yesterday and then hunted for the female, finding her after around a minute. I looked around for other pygmies on the rock but found none.

I next stopped at the rock before Bob & Lucy Rock. It's been a few weeks since I saw the pygmies on this rock. I still wasn't able to find any here. I also had a brief look on Bob & Lucy Rock and the adjacent rocks with no success.

I followed the sand line to Ian's Pygmy Rock. There was kelp all along the sand line. I spotted a female pygmy pipehorse on the adjacent rock and a male and a female on the main rock. For a short time the pair on the main rock were hanging out together.

I swam on towards Seahorse Rock and stopped at the rock where I'd spotted a new pygmy pipehorse last weekend. This rock also had kelp lapping against it. I looked for but didn't find the female pygmy from last weekend.

I headed past Seahorse Rock and spotted two Weedy Seadragons on the sand just before the first of the low flat rocks with sponges. It was "Clyde" and a female. While I was photographing them some other divers swam up. One of them told me later there was another one father along on the outside of the low rock.

I continued past the overhang and didn't spot any more weedies. I ascended to the pygmy pipehorses. I spotted the new male straight away. I couldn't see the original female at first so I looked for the other pair. I found the other male, but couldn't find the female. I went back to look for the original female and found her. I then looked for the other female and found her two.

I was getting close to my NDL again and so had to stay high as I continued. I swam over Southern Cross Rock and on to Seadragon Alley. I stayed relatively high through Seadragon Alley but dropped down near the end to look for red sp. pipefish. I looked in the red algae as I swam along the sand line towards Big Rock. I didn't find any.

I went up behind Big Rock to look for George's orange Red-Fingered Anglerfish. It was hanging under the rock as it had been yesterday. I then looked on Big Rock for pygmies but found none. I checked out Hand Rock for the pygmy I have seen there but couldn't see it. While I was looking Mandy swam up so I took her to George's anglerfish. I had so much more gas left than yesterday because I was so comfortable in my drysuit.

I swam along the reef to Diversity Rock. I looked around the adjacent rocks for the Miamira sinuata but couldn't find it. I looked on Diversity Rock itself and spotted the white Red-Fingered Anglerfish. It had barely moved from yesterday. I visited the basket star before continuing.

I headed to the rocks behind Little Big Rock to look for the seahorses. I spotted "Petra" on the sand between her normal haunt and Little Big Rock. Daniela swam up and I pointed Petra out to her. I looked for "David" but could not see him. I wasn't as rushed as yesterday so had more time to look but still couldn't find him. Kylie swam up (she was diving with Daniela) and so I took her to see the large yellow anglerfish (hoping it was still there). It was there and I showed Kylie. We then got caught up in fishing line and I had to cut it.

I continued along the sand line on my own to the rock where the other seahorses had been. I then swam to towards the exit over the kelp to the rock where I saw the small orange Red-Fingered Anglerfish yesterday. It was on the same rock but had moved so it took me a little while to spot.

I headed to the boulders and ascended to Split Rock. I did my safety stop and swam underwater to the exit.