Dive Details

Location

Date

Saturday 27 April 2019

Time

12:26pm - 2:02pm

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

96 minutes

Surface interval

Maximum depth

14.2 m

Average depth

11.0 m

Water temperature

20.7°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

High

1:58am

1.52m

Low

9:04am

0.64m

High

3:14pm

1.22m

Low

8:33pm

0.87m

Details

The forecast for today was big and dangerous seas. It was meant to be a southerly swell of over 3 metres at 7am and dropping to 2 metres around noon. A true southerly swell doesn't affect Kurnell much but I was wary and arrived at The Steps just before noon. I was pleasantly surprise to see that it was actually very calm and other divers who had already dived said conditions were quite good. I could have come earlier and even dived The Leap. I was hear now so I dived The Steps.

Yesterday, I'd dived The Leap with Ron and I saw nine Red-fingered Anglerfish. One of those anglerfish was early in the dive and beyond the reach of my dive today. I was hopeful to just see the other eight that I saw on Thursday - and on Thursday I'd found two new ones. My strobes were still playing up which would add some frustration to my photography.

I got in from the shelf without my fins and donned them in the water before wading/swimming out. Once I was ready I descended to the sand/kelp. The visibility was over 5 metres and far more than I had expected given the forecast. It was a little warmer than yesterday at just under 21°C. There was some surge but not very much.

I headed straight for the rocks in front of the exit. I wanted to find "Raphael", the yellow Red-fingered Anglerfish who used to have eggs. When he was guarding his eggs he stayed put but now he'd be on a different rock each time I found him. I swam to the rock I'd seen him on yesterday but he wasn't there. I swam around for a while and eventually found him. He was actually in an obvious position and I'd swum over him at least once. I then looked for the small pale orange one I'd found a couple of weeks ago. I looked in the spot I'd seen it yesterday but couldn't see it. I looked a bit more closely and it was actually there but hiding better than it had been yesterday.

I headed towards Big Rock. I swam past the rock where the seahorses had been and then spotted the juvenile Yellow Boxfish I have been seeing lately.

I swam down to Pipefishes Hole. I spotted one of the Sawtooth Pipefish in the hole but it quickly swam off. I then checked the nearby kelp for the juvenile Weedy Seadragon that Georgia spotted a few weeks ago. It was still hanging around in the kelp.

I headed up to the rock near Di's Rock where the large orange Red-fingered Anglerfish has been hiding. It has been in the same spot for weeks and I suspect it is male and has eggs. It was there again today. I then looked on the next rock for the small orange Red-fingered Anglerfish I'd found on Thursday. It had been hiding yesterday but was out in the open today.

I continued along the top of the reef to the large yellow Red-fingered Anglerfish. It was in the same spot it has been for the last 2 weeks. I looked around the area for the white Red-fingered Anglerfish. I'd seen it last Saturday and a few dives before than but not since. I still couldn't find it.

I swam on to "David", the Pot-bellied Seahorse and the grey Red-fingered Anglerfish. The anglerfish was on the large rock behind Little Big Rock in the same spot it had been yesterday. "David" was in the sea tulips on the smaller rock below the large rock.

I headed past the basket star and on to Diversity Rock. I looked around the surrounding rocks for the other white Red-fingered Anglerfish. I'd last seen it on Monday but had not been able to find it again. I still couldn't find it.

I stopped at the white male pygmy pipehorse and took some photographs. I looked for the pink male pygmy but couldn't see him.

I followed the sand line at around 14 metres looking for an orange anglerfish that Mike had told me he'd spotted a few days ago. I hadn't found it by the time I got to Slope Rock. I looked on the side of Slope Rock for the salmon Red-fingered Anglerfish I'd spotted on Thursday. It was still there.

I continued to the large rock near Hand Rock to where George's orange Red-fingered Anglerfish has moved. It was still there. I had a quick look on Hand Rock and the rock below for pygmies but found none.

I started to head back towards The Steps. I had just passed Slope Rock when I spotted a small orange Red-fingered Anglerfish. This was my third new small anglerfish in 3 days.

I looked around the neighbouring rocks when I spotted a Miamira sinuata nudibranch. I doubt it was the same as the one that was near Diversity Rock because it was so far away.

I followed the top of the reef back to the pygmy pipehorses. This time I found the pink male. I took some more photographs of him and the white male.

I was getting low on air so I moved quickly. I headed past Diversity Rock, the seahorse and the grey Red-fingered Anglerfish, and then the yellow Red-fingered Anglerfish, before swimming to the boulders, ascending to 5 metres and doing my safety stop while continuing to Split Rock. I did my safety stop and swam underwater to the exit.