Dive Details

Location

Date

Thursday 14 June 2018

Time

8:20am - 9:53am

Details

Today's dive is dedicated to Noel Conlon who we lost on Tuesday morning. Noel was a dear friend and enthusiastic diver who loved diving Kurnell. I will miss him!

Mike suggested we do what he calls "the short Leap". Instead of getting in at the usual spot we walked along the rocks towards The Steps which shaves off around 20 minutes of the deepest part of the dive giving more time for the latter part of the dive. Unfortunately, it was a bit rougher than it should be for getting in at the entry point so we had to be very careful and time our entry. I got knocked over once by a wave but then made it in. Mike made it in cleanly but is regs freeflowed and he lost around 100 bar of air.

We descended and swam at around 30° to the sand line. On the way we saw a small reaper cuttlefish and a small crested horn shark. We arrived at the rock just after Southern Cross Rock. Visibility here was around 10 metres and there was almost no surge or current. The water temperature was around 18°C.

I headed back to Southern Cross Rock while Mike headed to the left. I looked on the side of Southern Cross Rock for pygmy pipehorses but found none. I then swam on to Seadragon Alley.

I caught up to Mike near the start of Seadragon Alley. We were both looking for the juvenile weedy seadragon but I found it first, just. We then found two more weedy seadragons in Seadragon Alley.

At the end of Seadragon Alley I found the red Stigmatopora sp. pipefish. I pointed it out to Mike and we headed on.

We got to Big Rock and Mike had to leave as he'd lost all that air getting in. I looked around for anglerfishes and pygmy pipehorses but found none. I found the one-eyed White's seahorse in the same spot she was yesterday.

I swam past Sponge Hollow and the basket star and on to my tiny orange painted anglerfish near Diversity Rock. As I swam on to Little Big Rock I spotted a Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch and then a second larger one directly behind Little Big Rock. I also found the golden male pygmy pipehorse behind Little Big Rock.

I headed along the sand line and spotted a weedy seadragon not far past Little Big Rock. I took some photographs of it and then headed up the reef towards Di's Rock.

I found Roney's tiny painted anglerfish pretty much exactly where he showed it to me yesterday. I then found the grey red-fingered anglerfish that was in its usual spot.

I swam around the area looking for the yellow red-fingered anglerfish. I then spotted a female pygmy pipehorse on a rock towards the sand line. I looked for a male and found it. I was so pleased to find this pair on my dive I'd dedicated to Noel.

I continued on towards The Steps, still lookig for the yellow red-fingered anglerfish when I bumped into George and PJ swimming the other way. I told them to follow me and I took them straight back to the pygmy pipehorses, then the grey anglerfish and finally Roney's tiny painted anglerfish.

I swam to the boulders and started my safety stop as I swam to Split Rock. I finished my safety stop at Split Rock and then swam to the exit and got out.

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight

Visibility

5 to 10

Duration

93 minutes

Maximum depth

19.5 m

Average depth

12.5 m

Water temperature

18.0°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

Low

2:31am

0.27m

High

8:30am

1.52m

Low

2:14pm

0.42m

High

8:45pm

2.07m