Dive Details

Location

Date

Friday 19 April 2019

Time

8:02am - 9:25am

Buddy

Matt Smith, Ron Walsh, Mike Scotland

Seas

Some surge and strong current

Visibility

3 to 5 metres

Duration

83 minutes

Surface interval

Maximum depth

14.9 m

Average depth

11.4 m

Water temperature

19.6°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

1:55am

0.32m

High

8:04am

1.78m

Low

2:15pm

0.29m

High

8:32pm

1.84m

Details

I planned today's dive but didn't have any buddies. Matt then contacted me followed by Ron. As I was driving to the site, Mike also contacted me. I went from no buddies to 3. As we were getting ready, others arrived, including Di and Vicki, but we'd get in before them. Matt was set up for shooting video and was mainly interested in Weedy Seadragons.

It was basically high tide when we got in so I waded out and jumped in, putting my fins on in the water. As I was getting my camera ready I noticed the strobe ready light was not coming on in the viewfinder. I played with the strobes a bit and got it to come on but I wasn't sure if the strobes would fire. We descended to the sand/kelp. Visibility was only around 5 metres. There was some surge and the water temperature was around 20°C.

I looked around a couple of rocks near the entry for anglerfish before swimming to the main rock with sea tulips and "Raphael", the yellow Red-fingered Anglerfish with eggs. "Raphael" was in his usual spot. My strobes didn't fire for the first few shots I took. I turned the primary strobe off and on and the strobes worked, at least for the next few shots. I pointed out "Raphael" to Ron and Mike. Matt swam off to look for Weedy Seadragons.

I swam close to the sand line as I headed towards Big Rock. I was looking for Weedy Seadragons for Matt. I got to the pipefishes hole and spotted the male Sawtooth Pipefish. I managed to get a couple of shots before it disappeared. My strobes fired, too.

I looked for the juvenile Weedy Seadragon just along from the pipefishes hole and found it. I took a few photographs and then looked for Matt. I couldn't see him but Ron swam up so I pointed out the weedy to him and went to look for Matt.

I found Matt and he'd found an adult weedy so I left him with it and went to the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish near Di's Rock. I tried to take some photographs of the anglerfish but my strobes didn't fire. I tried different combinations of the pair of strobes on and off and got them working again.

I went back to Matt and waited for him to finish with the weedy so I could take some ID photographs. Again my strobes only fired a few times. I took Matt to the juvenile weedy.

I headed up the reef to the off-white Red-fingered Anglerfish who is now going yellow again. She's in the same spot she's been since last Friday. I looked around the area for the white Red-fingered Anglerfish but couldn't find it. I did find a small octopus.

I headed to the seahorses. I found David in the sea tulips on the lower rock. My strobes only fired some of the time.

I swam on to the basket star and then down near Diversity Rock to look for the other white Red-fingered Anglerfish. I found it quite quickly. I pointed it out to Ron and then continued to the pygmy pipehorses.

I was photographing the white pygmy pipehorse when Mike swam up looking excited. He took us back to the white Red-fingered Anglerfish. I was quite cocky as I had already seen it so when I swam up I pointed to it. But then Mike pointed to a blob near it which was another Red-fingered Anglerfish that was very well camouflaged. If it hadn't been moving I probably wouldn't have seen it.

We went back to pygmy pipehorses. I found the pink male but couldn't find the cryptic female. Ron said he was turning around but I said there was one more anglerfish to see.

We headed off towards Big Rock. The current was quite strong so it was an easy swim to get there. George's orange Red-fingered Anglerfish was on its usual rock. Ron took some photographs and then headed off. I had a quick look on Hand Rock and the rock below it for pygmy pipehorses before heading back myself.

It was tough swimming back. The current was quite strong. I headed to the white Red-fingered anglerfish and the well camouflaged one. I pumped into the others (Di, PJ, George, Paula, etc.) near there so I pointed out the white Red-fingered Anglerfish and the cryptic one. They had a hard time seeing the cryptic one.

I swam against the current past Little Big Rock and the off-white/yellow Red-fingered Anglerfish and then past Di's Rock to the orange one. I was very low on air by now so I ascended to the boulders and did my safety stop while swimming to Split Rock. It was a hard swim.

I finished my safety stop and swam underwater to the exit. My exit was quite easy. I saw Matt on the stairs but I assumed Mike was still in the water so I waited for him. While I was waiting the others surfaced and came out so I helped them. Eventually Mike came out and needed assistance as it had gotten quite rough.