Dive Details

Location

Logged dive number

1723

Date

Sunday 3 November 2019

Time

11:32am - 1:27pm

Buddy

Jason Cockayne

Seas

Current and surge strong at times

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

115 minutes

Surface interval

Maximum depth

13.7 m

Average depth

10.3 m

Water temperature

14.9°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

1:49am

1.18m

Low

7:12am

0.71m

High

1:45pm

1.57m

Low

8:50pm

0.52m

Details

Just like yesterday my planned buddies for today were now unavailable but I I was happy to dive The Monument on my own. Shortly after I arrived at the site, Jason arrived and was keen to dive with me so I ended up with a buddy after all.

We geared up and walked down to the shore and along the rocks to the easy entry point (marked as Inscription Point on Google Maps). We waded out, descended and swam to the sand line. The visibility was between 5 and 10 metres and there was some suspended particulate matter. The water temperature was around 15°C. There was no surge and just gentle current with the incoming tide. We swam to the sand line and turned left towards Sutherland Point.

I checked out the rocks for pygmy pipehorses, anglerfishes and anything else of interest. I found a Tritonia sp. nudibranch on one of the rocks with Carijoa.

Nudibranch, Tritonia sp. 11.5m.

I swam up to Pygmy Hollow and looked around for pygmies but found none. We then swam along the deep wall. I kept an eye out on the sand for Weedy Seadragons. I did spot a Reaper Cuttlefish on the first rock along the wall.

Reaper Cuttlefish, Sepia mestus. 11.4m.

I checked out the orange finger sponge half way along the wall for the dwarf lionfish that has been there for years. I found it in the sponge although it was not a great spot for a photograph.

Dwarf Lionfish, Dendrochirus brachypterus. 12m.

As we swam along the part of the wall where the Pot-bellied Seahorses had been a little over a year ago, Jason was buzzed by a school of kingfish. While I thought that was cool, I was determined to find some more seahorses so I kept looking around the rocks. Not only were there the Pot-bellied Seahorses of the middle of last year but there was a family here just before the storm in 2016. My search was rewarded and I found a male ("Jason") in the sea tulips on the wall. While I was taking photographs I was hassled by the Blue Groper that lives in the area. He's very aggressive and demands to be fed because other divers feed him. He is also the one that Mike saw eat a pygmy pipehorse Mike was photographing. I suspect he has also eaten seahorses and anglerfishes after people have photographed them. Jason wanted to feed him but I told him not to and to be careful of him while photographing the seahorse.

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Jason"). 11.1m.

We continued along the wall. I wanted to find the area that Mandy calls Pygmy Playground so I checked out all the rocks at the base of the wall and on to Carijoa Rock. I did not find one pygmy. I haven't seen any pygmies at The Monument since before my surgery in July. Even in July, the only ones I saw were on the shelf at the start of the East-West Wall.

We swam up to the reef area up from Carijoa Rock. I was still looking for pygmies. Jason spotted a Red-Lined Bubble Shell and pointed it out to me. I was also looking for Red-fingered Anglerfish. I'd seen one here last time I dived at The Monument.

Red-lined Bubble Snail, Bullina lineata. 10.8m.

While I was looking, Jason spotted a Weedy Seadragon down near Carijoa Rock so I swam back down for some photographs. I think it was a female.

Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 12.5m.

I headed up to Seahorse Rock and looked for the White's Seahorses others have seen but could not find them. I found Nembrotha sp. nudibranch on the sand. I have been told that even those with the fine red/brown lines are N. purpureolineata but I'm not convinced. I pointed the nudibranch out to Jason before heading back down to the main reef.

Nudibranch, Nembrotha sp. 8.7m.

I kept searching for pygmy pipehorses. I saw quite a few bryozoa and remembered that Lou had mentioned yesterday that she hasn't seen any so I took some photographs for her.

Bryozoa. 10.7m.

Bryozoa. 10.9m.

We got to Split Rock. I looked around for the orange scallop with blue eyes I'd seen here in July but couldn't see it.

We swam on a little farther and Jason indicated he was down to 50 bar and would head for the exit. I still had 100 bar so I continued on alone.

I looked carefully along the reef for pygmy pipehorses and Red-fingered Anglerfish but found neither. I hadn't gone far when I spotted another Weedy Seadragon at the bottom of the reef. I think this was another female.

Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 13m.

I continued on to Valley of the Pygmies. I still call it this even though it has been months since I have seen any pygmies here. I looked around the usual spots but found none. I then spotted a male weedy with eggs not far out on the sand.

Male Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 13.5m.

Eggs on the tail of a male Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 13.6m.

I headed along the sand at the base of the NW-SE wall and spotted another male weedy with eggs.

Male Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, with eggs. 13.6m.

I followed the base of the NW-SE Wall to its end and then cut up over the reef to the corner near the start of the East-West Wall. I looked on the large rock covered in Carijoa for Red-fingered Anglerfish but found none.

I headed over to the shelf at the start of the wall and looked carefully for pygmy pipehorses. I found none.

I swam west along the base of the East-West Wall until I got to the area with the large number of colonies of orange finger sponges. Last time I dived here I spotted a new male Pot-bellied Seahorse ("Tim") and a female White's Seahorse ("Jordann"). Neither were where I'd seen them 2 weeks ago so I expanded my search. I found a male Pot-bellied Seahorse but it wasn't "Tim". I will name him "Jose".

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Jose"). 10.9m.

I continued along the base of the wall to the area where "Naomi", the yellow White's Seahorse lives. I looked around the sponges in the area but could not find her.

I was getting low on air so I headed to the top of the wall and started my safety stop while I swam west along the top of the wall. When I got to the break in the kelp I turned south and headed for the beach. I got out in front of the flagpoles.

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