Dive Details

Location

Logged dive number

1763

Date

Wednesday 1 April 2020

Time

11:40am - 1:45pm

Seas

Moderate current and surge

Visibility

3 to 8 metres

Duration

125 minutes

Surface interval

 2 days 22:14 (days hh:mm)

Maximum depth

13.2 m

Average depth

10.1 m

Water temperature

20.5°C
                                       

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

2:17am

1.54m

Low

9:12am

0.65m

High

3:09pm

1.18m

Low

8:42pm

0.77m

Details

It is my birthday! I didn't get a birthday dive this year and I wasn't sure if I'd get one this year. With the lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, it hasn't been clear if diving was allowed. I see it as exercise and so I came to The Monument for a dive.

I geared up and walked down to the water and along to my usual entry point for The Monument: along the rocks towards The Step. The tide was still quite low and I waded out against the small waves to the edge of the edge of the shelf and dropped in. I put my fins on, got the camera ready and descended. As I descended I could hear air leaking from behind me. When I got to the sand line I removed my tank and could see quite a lot of air leaking between the tank valve and my DIN regulator fitting. There was no way I could fix this underwater and so I surfaced. I tried to fix it on the surface but I really needed to remove the regulator and put it on again so I put my tank back on and swam to the rocks and got out. I removed my regs, checked the O ring which was OK, and put the regs on again. There was no leaking so I headed back to the entry point and tried again.

I waded out over the shelf again, dropped over the edge and put my fins on. I descended and swam to the sand line. This time I only heard the sound of my own exhaled bubbles. The visibility was around 8 metres and the water temperature between 20 and 21°C. There was a moderate current and a bit of surge. I turned left and headed towards Sutherland Point.

I looked for the rock on the sand line where Mandy had pointed out the little White's Seahorse on Sunday but I couldn't find it. I found a lot of rocks that looked similar, but none of them had the orange hydroids.

I continued past Block Rock and looked on the rocks near the sand line for pygmies. As I was looking on the last rock before the start of the wall I spotted a Lamellaria australis caenogastropod snail. This is only the second one I have ever seen. A nice birthday present.

I swam along the wall to Pygmy Playground. I looked on the side of the square rock and spotted the pinkish male pygmy and the whiteish female. These are the only two I have seen in the area recently.

I headed out over the kelp hoping to find a Weedy Seadragon. I went all the way to Carijoa Rock and back and couldn't find one. I came back to the wall and then up and over.

I looked along the slope for the small white female pygmy that John had shown me on Sunday. I hadn't taken note of exactly where it had been so my search area was a little larger than it should have been. I eventually found it and this time took note of where it was for next time.

I searched the rocks on the reef around Slope Rock for pygmies but found none. I continued to the area where John and Mandy had shown me a pygmy last Sunday. I couldn't remember the exact rock so I looked on all the rocks next to the large flat relatively sponge-free rock just before Split Rock. I wasn't able to find the pygmies from Sunday but I did find a absolutely beautiful purple male pygmy and his equally attractive partner. I have never seen a purple pygmy before. I looked on the adjacent rocks for more pygmies but found none.

I swam over the the crevice above Split Rock where Greg found the Upside-down Pipefish a number of weeks ago. I managed to spot them despite there being a lot of mysids in front of the crevice.

I headed for the sponge where the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish had been on Sunday, looking for pygmies on the way. The anglerfish was in the same spot it had been on Sunday which made me wonder if it might have eggs. I looked closely and sure enough it did.

Just past the anglerfish I spotted a tiny pygmy pipehorse and then a Weedy Seadragon on the sand.

I continued on to Four Pygmies Rock. I looked for the small grey Red-fingered Anglerfish on the way but couldn't find it. On Four Pygmies Rock I spotted the male and the female pygmies I have seen there over the last few weeks. I looked for more on the rock (as Kathy and Wilson had found a third) but instead found a small White's Seahorse.

I swam up to the well camouflaged orange Red-fingered Anglerfish. It still has eggs.

I headed along the reef to Valley of the Pygmies, spotting an octopus along the way. I looked in both the valley and on the rock for pygmies but found none.

I swam along the base of the wall and checked out the three rocks for the grey Red-fingered Anglerfish I'd seen but couldn't find it.

I continued to the two large Carijoa covered rocks out on the sand. I looked on the second rock for the male Pot-bellied Seahorse that John had pointed out on Sunday. I couldn't find it.

I followed the reef around and then cut up to the corner and the large Carijoa covered rock. I then swam on to the shelf where the pair of white pygmies have been. I spotted the male from a ways off but I was not able to find the female at all.

I swam along the base of the East-West wall to the place where I had seen "Tim", "Jose", and "Gracie", the Pot-bellied Seahorses before the storm. I had seen "Jose" twice since the storm but not again and not the others. I found no seahorses in that area.

I continued on to the area where the new Pot-bellied Seahorses have been. I had seen three males on Sunday. I found the first male only a short distance from where I'd seen him on Sunday. I then looked for the other two. One was still in the sea tulips he'd moved to on Sunday when the other divers showed up. The third seahorse was not where I'd last seen him. After a short sweep of the area I found him on a red sponge in a white honeycomb sponge. I spent the next 10 minutes or so looking around the area for the female but I was not able to find her.

I ascended the wall and started my safety stop. I swam west along the top of the wall and then turned south through the kelp. I spotted another octopus along the way.

I continued south until it was too shallow and I waded out through the channel in front of the flagpoles.