Dive Details

Location

Logged dive number

1719

Date

Saturday 26 October 2019

Time

8:34am - 10:06am

Buddy

Vicki Swinnerton, Martin Lipa, Greg Ryan

Seas

Strong current at times

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

92 minutes

Surface interval

 5 days 18:44 (days hh:mm)

Maximum depth

18.1 m

Average depth

12.4 m

Water temperature

16.7°C
                                       

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

1:18am

0.21m

High

7:30am

1.62m

Low

1:32pm

0.32m

High

7:44pm

1.78m

Details

There was a moderate north-easterly swell and high was 7:30am. Bare Island was the logical place to dive. I didn't have a buddy but decided to get there early to miss the heat and crowds and to get in as close to high tide as I could. I bumped into Martin and he told me that Vicki and Greg were coming so I tagged along with them.

It was calm on the western side of the island so we were able to get in there without much trouble. We swam out on the surface before descending. We headed south towards the Deep Wall. The visibility was over 5 metres and the water temperature was around 17°C.

I followed the others to the top of the wall. Visibility was around 10 metres here and we could easily see the bottom of the wall from the top. As we dropped down the wall I noticed a grey Red-fingered Anglerfish from quite some way away. I have a bit of a blind spot for grey anglerfish and so wasn't sure until I got closer. By the time I was on it and sure of what I had seen the others were out of range and I couldn't show them. I took some photographs but what I didn't realise at the time was that it had orange amphipods on it. The photographs I took of the anglerfish were not detailed enough to identify the amphipods but they look like Icilius sp., similar to the ones I seen on Capnella sp, colonies and red finger sponges.


Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 17.6m.


Close-up of Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus, showing Icilius sp. amphipods. 17.7m.

I caught up to the others who had headed west along the base of the wall. I checked out the rocks for anglerfishes and pygmy pipehorses. We followed the wall around to the north and then at the northern end of a rock on the sand off from the wall. Vicki pointed out a male Pot-bellied Seahorse ("Garry") in the sea tulips. We looked around for my seahorses but found none.


Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Garry"). 17.1m.

We followed the wall until it ended and the continued along the reef to the west. We'd gone some way when Greg pointed out a Sawtooth Pipefish under a ledge. I had seen Sawtooth Pipefish at Kurnell but not at Bare Island.


Sawtooth Pipefish, Maroubra perserrata. 17.7m.

We headed north over the sand and picked up the shallower reef, following it west to the corner and then north. We swam to the area on the northern side of the reef just above where there had been a white male and a pink female pygmy pipehorses in March 2015. Greg pointed out a pair of Upside-down Pipefish under a large ledge. I was the last in to see them and wasn't able to get any photographs.

We headed east along the reef to the caves and then around the corner to the bottom of the slope. Vicki pointed out the large brown male pygmy pipehorse (IL2019063002) on the other side of the ship shaped rock. I stopped to take photographs and the others continued.


Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019063002). 13.1m.

I headed slowly up the slope checking out all the spots where I have previously seen pygmy pipehorses but found none. I got to the rocks with sea tulips and had a look for the large white male pygmy pipehorse that was here last time I dived here in July. I didn't find the white male but I found the other pair (IL2019063004, IL2019063005) I'd seen in July.


Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019063004). 9.7m.


Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019063005). 9.6m.


Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019063004). 9.7m.


Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019063005). 9.8m.


Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019063005). 9.7m.


Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019063005). 9.7m.

I looked around for more pygmies and then headed up the slope. I swam along the top of the slope and saw Kim and Mandy swimming the other way.

I ascended to 5 metres and started my safety stop as I swam to the exit. I got out near Carol's plaque.

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(s)

2 x Ikelite SubStrobe DS161