Dive at The Steps, Kurnell, NSW on Sunday 5 May 2019

Dive Details

Location

Date

Sunday 5 May 2019

Time

8:04am - 9:44am

Buddy

Nicolas Lim

Seas

Some current

Visibility

10 to 15 metres

Duration

100 minutes

Surface interval

22:33 (hh:mm)

Maximum depth

13.8 m

Average depth

10.8 m

Water temperature

21.0°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

2:28am

0.46m

High

8:28am

1.54m

Low

2:23pm

0.48m

High

8:46pm

1.82m

Details

Nick joined me today for my dive at The Steps. He wanted to see the white male pygmy pipehorse.

The forecast was for a 2-3 metre southerly swell but based on last weekend I figured it would still be fine at The Steps. From my dive yesterday I knew The Steps would be open. When I arrived at The Steps I could see the impact of the southerly swell out on the bay but the shoreline near The Steps was hardly affected at all.

We jumped in at The Steps without our fins on and put our fins on in the water before swimming out on the surface. The visibility looked great from the surface and we could easily see the bottom at 10 metres. We descended to the sand/kelp. The visibility was at least 10 metres as we saw from the surface. The water temperature was around 21°C not that it mattered to me as I was in my drysuit. There was barely any surge.

We hadn't moved at all when I spotted a Weedy Seadragon. I took photographs of it before moving down to the rocks.

Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 9.5m.

I looked all around on the rocks for "Raphael", the yellow Red-fingered Anglerfish with a pink mask. I hadn't found him yesterday but I was hopeful I could find him today. I thought I might have some time at the end of the dive to look more so we moved on.

We swam up over the kelp to the rocks where I saw an orange Red-fingered Anglerfish yesterday. It had moved from the spot I saw it yesterday but it was still on the same rock.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.8m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11m.

We headed past the rocks where the other seahorses used to be and then followed the sand line to Pipefishes Hole. I looked in the hole and spotted both Sawtooth Pipefish. It has been some time since I saw both of them.

Sawtooth Pipefish, Maroubra perserrata. 13 m.

I looked on the rock above Pipefishes Hole for the small orange Red-fingered Anglerfish. It was pretty much in the same spot I'd seen it yesterday. I pointed it out to Nick.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.1m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.3m.

I dropped back to the sand line to look for the juvenile Weedy Seadragon. It was right near Pipefishes Hole. I took some photographs and when Nick had finished with the orange anglerfish, I pointed out the weedy to him.

Juvenile Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 13.1 m.

I headed up to Di's Rock and made sure I could still see Nick so he'd be able to see me. I looked under Di's Rock for the larger orange Red-fingered Anglerfish. It had been there yesterday so I was not surprised to see it again today. When Nick swam up I pointed it out to him.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.2m.

I continued along the top of the reef, slowly so I wouldn't get too far ahead of Nick. I looked for the white Red-fingered Anglerfish as I headed towards the large yellow one. The large yellow had moved to a different rock yesterday. I swam to that rock and looked where I'd seen her yesterday. She wasn't there. Nick swam up while I was looking and then I spotted her on the other side of the rock she'd been on yesterday. I took some photographs and showed her to Nick.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.1m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.2m.

I headed over to the large rock behind Little Big Rock where the seahorses and grey Red-fingered Anglerfish have been. I spotted the grey anglerfish near the top of the north-western side of the rock. I pointed it out to Nick and then went looking for "David", the Pot-bellied Seahorse. I found "David", pretty quickly in the sea tulips on the north-eastern side of the rock. I also pointed him out to Nick.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.5m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.3m.

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("David"). 12.1m.

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("David"). 12.2m.

We headed towards the basket star. I looked on the rocks for the salmon Red-fingered anglerfish that Ron had told me about. I instead found a Dwarf Lionfish and an octopus. I pointed them out to Nick.

Dwarf Lionfish, Dendrochirus brachypterus. 12.3m.

Common Sydney Octopus, Octopus tetricus. 11.9m.

Just before the basket star I saw the small Giant Cuttlefish that has been under the ledge for a few weeks. I pointed it and the basket start out to Nick.

Giant Cuttlefish, Sepia apama. 12m.

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 12.2m.

I headed down to Diversity Rock and I looked around the surrounding rocks for the other white Red-fingered Anglerfish. I couldn't find it.

We continued on to the pygmy pipehorses. The white male (IL2019041201) was with the cryptic female (IL2019041202). Cody and I saw them near each other last Sunday and I saw them yesterday. I took some photographs and pointed them out to Nick indicating there were two there. I then looked for and found the pink male pygmy. I also pointed it out to Nick. This was Nick's main reason for coming so I left him alone with them and checked out some nearby rocks. I found two Okenia sp. nudibranchs together.

Pair of Sydney Pygmy Pipehorses, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019041201, IL2019041202). 13 m.

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019041302). 13.2m.

Nudibranchs, Okenia sp. 12.4m.

After Nick had finished photographing the pygmies we continued along the top of the reef past Sponge Hollow and High Pygmy Rock. We came to the Miamira sinuata nudibranch. I took some photographs and showed it to Nick.

Nudibranch, Miamira sinuata. 12.5m.

I swam on a little farther to look for George's orange Red-fingered Anglerfish. It wasn't on the rock I saw it on yesterday. I looked around the surrounding rocks and then spotted it back on the rock with the Miamira sinuata.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.7m.

The surge had picked up a bit but was still not that bad.

Nick indicated that he was down to 100 bar. I acknowledged and took him to the salmon Red-fingered Anglerfish on the side of Slope Rock. I took some photographs and then let Nick at it while I looked around for the small orange Red-fingered Anglerfish I'd found last weekend.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 13.6m.

We headed back via the Miamira sinuata and George's anglerfish and on to the pygmy pipehorses. I took a few more photographs and then left Nick with them and headed on to Diversity Rock to look for the white anglerfish again.

Nudibranch, Miamira sinuata. 12.6m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.7m.

Pair of Sydney Pygmy Pipehorses, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019041201, IL2019041202). 12.9 m.

When Nick caught up to me we headed back to the large rock behind Little Big Rock, spotted another octopus on the way. I took some more photographs of the grey anglerfish.

Common Sydney Octopus, Octopus tetricus. 11.7m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.4m.

We swam past the large yellow anglerfish and then Nick indicated he was down to 50 bar so we made a bee line to the rocks in front of the exit.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.1m.

We were swimming into a bit of current but it wasn't as bad as it had been near the end of my dive yesterday. I arrived at the large rock in front of the exit where "Raphael" had been. I turned around to tell Nick the direction to the exit and I realised I had lost him. (He told me after the dive he'd stopped to look at a wobbegong and lost me.) I swam back to the first orange Red-fingered Anglerfish we'd seen on the dive to get some more photographs.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.6m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.9m.

I swam back to the rocks out from the exit and spent the next 20 minutes looking carefully on all of them for "Raphael" or any other anglerfish. I found none. Crestfallen, I swam to the boulders and ascended to Split Rock. I did my safety stop and swam underwater to the exit and got out. Nick was already dressed and was watching from the path.

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