Dive Details
Location
Logged dive number
1746
Date
Sunday 26 January 2020
Time
8:47am - 10:43am
Buddy
Nicolas Remy
Seas
Some current and surge
Visibility
3 to 5 metres
Duration
116 minutes
Surface interval
Maximum depth
15.1 m
Average depth
11.9 m
Water temperature
18.8°C
Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand
Tides at Botany Bay AEDT
Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.
Low
3:41am
0.50m
High
10:15am
1.80m
Low
4:52pm
0.35m
High
10:46pm
1.34m
Details
For the Australia Day long weekend I had planned a few dives, including The Leap at least once. Unfortunately, I had a cold and didn't want to make it worse so I'd only do the one dive over the weekend and it would be a "quick" one. Nicolas joined me, as did Rob and Dom, sort of.
The conditions looked pretty good considering there was an easterly swell. Nicolas and I were a little slow getting ready so Rob and Dom went on ahead. They were already in the water by the time we got down to the entry. They pointed out a fur seal on the rocks not far from the entry (although I smelled it before I saw it). I managed to get a photograph with my camera in its rig.
we jumped in and swam out on the surface. I told Nicolas there had been an orange Red-fingered Anglerfish on the rocks straight out from the entry and I'd look for it when we first go down. We descended and headed towards the rocks. The visibility was only just over 3 metres and the water temperature around 19°C. There was some surge.
I looked around the rocks in front of the entry and was very pleased to find the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish. I took some photographs and pointed it out to Nicolas.
We swam to the sand line and turned right heading towards The Leap. At the rock where the Pot-bellied Seahorses had been at the end of 2018, I looked for the larger orange Red-fingered Anglerfish. I wasn't able to find it.
We continued along the sand line and around half way to Pipefishes Hole I spotted "Teardrop", the male Weedy Seadragon. He still had eggs. I took some photographs and we continued.
At Pipefishes Hole, Rob was taking photographs of an Upside-Down Pipefish in the hole. It has been some time since I last saw any pipefishes in the hole. After Rob finished I took some photographs and then told Nicolas about it.
I headed up to Di's Rock and then made my way along the top of the reef to the rock with the large green sponge near the seahorses. I looked for anglerfishes along the way but found none. I spotted a Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch on the rock with the large green sponge. I looked for the pair of pygmy pipehorses on the rock but was not able to find them. When Nicolas caught up I pointed out the nudibranch.
I headed over to the seahorses. "George" was low down on the rock where he usually is. "David" was on the side of the rock on a sea tulip. After a bit of searching I spotted "Skye" not all that far from "David". I pointed them out to Nicolas and then looked on the next rock for pygmy pipehorses. I didn't find any pygmies but I did find a tube-building amphipod.
We headed towards the basket star. I looked for the black Painted Anglerfish and the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish that had been in the area but couldn't find them. I also couldn't find the pygmies that Cody had found.
I swam down to Diversity Rock and looked for the pygmy pipehorses I'd found recently. I found a white male and then a white female. Neither of the previous pair had been white. It wasn't obvious if these were new or they'd just changed colour. I took some photographs and pointed them out to Dom and Nicolas.
I swam up to the basket star before continuing along the reef towards Big Rock. At Sponge Hollow I spotted a large Miamira magnifica nudibranch. I headed down to the rock where the pink pygmies have been but I wasn't able to find either of them. I did find an Okenia atkinsonorum nudibranch.
I had expected Nicolas to catch up to me but he hadn't so I headed back to look for him. He was still at Diversity Rock taking photographs of the pygmies. I told him I'd found a nudibranch and he followed me back to Sponge Hollow and I pointed out the Miamira magnifica.
I headed down to Long Rock. I spotted a cryptic female pygmy and a golden male. When Nicolas caught up I pointed them out.
I swam down to Big Rock looking for the large orange Red-fingered Anglerfish that had had eggs and also hoping to see "Ouz", the yellow female White's Seahorse. I found neither.
I swam back to Nicolas and then to Sponge Hollow. I headed up from the sand line and checked out some of the rocks towards New Basket Star Rock. I then went back to Diversity Rock to take more photographs of the white pygmies.
I looked around again for the anglerfishes and pygmies and found a small male on the large rock where the black Painted Anglerfish had been. I pointed it out to Nicolas while I looked for a female. I eventually found a female but Nicolas had gone. Sharon and her friend swam up so I pointed out the pygmies to them.
I looked around for Nicolas but couldn't see him so I headed back to the seahorses myself. All three seahorses were pretty much where they had been earlier.
I had another look on the rock with the large green sponge for the pygmies but couldn't not find them. I only saw the Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch again.
I headed to the sand line to have another look at the Upside-Down Pipefish. On the way, I spotted a Mourning Cuttlefish. The Upside-down pipefish was still in the hole but there was too much sand in the water to get any photographs.
I swam along the sand line hoping to see "Teardrop" again but I wasn't able to find him. I checked the rocks near where the seahorses had been in late 2018 for the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish but could not find it.
I headed for the rocks in front of the entry/exit. I found the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish there again and took some photographs.
I ascended to Split Rock and did my safety stop before swimming underwater to the exit. The exit was reasonably easy even though there were some largish waves coming in. I waited on the rocks for Nicolas and helped him out.