Snorkel at Pt Lonsdale

By pfuller

Jan

27

23/01/2010  18.30  Pt Lonsdale

Tide:  2.5hr before 0.21 low tide at heads

Wind: Southerly???

Conditions: Nice clean water. Seemingly perfect conditions.

Bottom Type:  rockpools

Bottom Time: 60 minutes

Details:  Amazingly quiet on the nudi front. I spent most of the dive looking and not finding a single species. Just before i got out, i spotted a Janolus sp (possibly my most commonly seen species this summer) and a Phyllodesmium serratum. Photos concentrated on thornfish and cleaner shrimp.

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , single SS200 strobe.

Dive 128 – St Leonards Pier

By pfuller

Jan

27

Dive Number: 128 23/01/11  16.10 , St Leonards Pier

Wind:   10-15 knot S’s.

Tide:  2.5hrs before 0.93 high tide at geelong.

Conditions:  Fine sunny day, with people everywhere, and divers everywhere…all kicking up sand into the water, sometimes leaving zero vis.

Visibilty: 1-3m

Water Temp: 22c

Bottom Time: 114 minutes

Max Depth: 3.9m

Air usage: 105bar/1500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:     Visibility was awful, and although i suspected as much and put my macro lens on in anticipation, it  wasn’t real fun diving. I headed out the back were i thought i might be a bit clearer and played around with a snoot. Not a great deal of postable photos from this dive.  I think i was a bit optomistic trying to do 1:1 macro of mysid shrimps with a snoot on my strobe.  

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , dual SS200 strobes and snoot.

Dive Report:

Dive 127 – Curlewis

By pfuller

Jan

27

Dive Number: 127 22/01/11  17.50 , Curlewis

Wind:   10 knot SE’s.

Tide:  0.90 high tide at geelong.

Conditions:    Fine conditions, but a mass bloom of the green hincksii  agae  covered the whole reef and clouded the water.  There seems to be a general lack of marine life around.

Visibilty: 6-8m

Water Temp: 22c

Bottom Time: 73 minutes

Max Depth: 3.1m

Air usage: 105bar/1500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:     I decided to scuba Curlewis and head out the back to see what was around. I was hoping i’d come across a school of blubberjellies, but didn’t see a single one. It was actually the most quiet i’ve seen curlewis and i think the bloom of green algae had something to do with it. The marine life that was around were very skittish.

 Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Dive 126 – Cottage by the Sea

By pfuller

Jan

25

Dive Number: 126 20/01/11  18.09  , Cottage by the Sea, Queenscliffe

Wind:   10 knot E’s.

Tide: 0.5hrs before 0.25 low tide at the heads.

Conditions:    It had been blowing easterlies for the last few days, i suspect easterlies aren’t too bad for cottage because its somewhat swell protected by Point Nepean and the Mornington Pensinsula. It was a light easterly, so i gave it a go, and conditions were pretty good considering the flooding rivers into the bay. Green water and lots of particles but current and surge were fine.

Visibilty: 6-8m

Water Temp: 19c

Bottom Time: 126 minutes

Max Depth: 8.6m

Air usage: 200bar/3000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:     It started out as the usual cottage dive, out to the legdes to the west and along. I tried shooting up into the late evening sun, but it wasn’t really working for me in the heavily sedimented water. So continued along and soon got a bit bored of the usual terrain and critters, so i headed out the back and tried my best to get lost. Cottage is a great place to get lost… you feel like you could be anywhere in the bay, and find some great ledges that haven’t been disturbed by divers.  I ended up along way west on exit and found some Slender Bullseye’s in a small hole. I haven’t seen this species before, so it was a nice suprise. A weedy with eggs put on a show also, so all up an enjoyable dive.

 Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Curlewis

By pfuller

Jan

25

09/01/2011  10.46  Curlewis

Tide:  3hrs after 1.00 high tide at Geelong

Wind: Southerly

Conditions:  Always good on a southerly down here..no matter how strong.

Bottom Type: Sand with reef

Bottom Time: 120 minutes

Details: A snorkel to get some sea urchin shots required for an information sign.   Towards the end of the dive, i thought i’d try some underover shots of a pipefish..didn’t turn out very well though.

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , dual SS200 strobe.

Dive Report:

Dive 125 – Blairgowrie Pier

By pfuller

Jan

25

Dive Number: 125 08/01/11 16.24  Blairgowrie Pier, Mornington Peninsula.

Wind:   15knot  SE’s.

Tide: 1hrs after 1.33 high tide at the heads.

Conditions:    Weather had swung aorund to the south, which suited heaidng over to the bay side of the peninsula. However a bit of a storm was brewing. A bit of side current that i’ve come to expect at Blair and vis was ok..nothing special.

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 134 minutes

Max Depth: 6.3m

Air usage: 200bar/3000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:      I was hoping blairgowrie would be crawling with nudi’s but i was a bit dissappointed. I saw a fair few species, but nothing special apart from a fairly generic orange slug, that i’m not sure if i’ve seen before or not. Lots of vercos, tambja sp’s, mating hedgpethis and flabellinas. Also a nicely positioned seahorse that didn’t fit into my macro lens.  A ring-backed pipehorse with a strange red sack near its mouth, pygmy squid, a blue-ringed octopus and the occassional stinkfish.  

Camera Details: Canon  100mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Dive 124 – Flinders Peir

By pfuller

Jan

24

Dive Number: 124 08/01/11 10.56  Flinders Pier, Mornington Peninsula.

Wind:   15knot  NE’s.

Tide: .5hrs after 0.84 low tide at Stony Point.

Conditions:    Freakin awesome!!!!!! A reasonable north easterly was blowing over the water, slightly onshore, and chopping the hell out of the surface. It didn’t look good and i was considering trying elsewhere. But decided to walk out on the pier and the water looked clear. Once under the water i saw how clear it was….crystal. This is the best shore diving vis i’ve ever had..better than Rapid Bay a few week earlier.

Visibilty: 20+m

Water Temp: 19c

Bottom Time: 147 minutes

Max Depth: 4.3m

Air usage: 200bar/3000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:  What an incredible dive. The water was crystal clear..almost too clear.. and there were too many Weedy Seadragons to count. As soon as i got in, i had two in my restricted mask vision, and there were at least 20-30 hanging around the jetty. They came in all shapes and sizes,  some with eggs, some injured and missing tails, others small juveniles, and some hanging around in pairs.  There were also large numbers of blue weed whiting feed ferociously. If it wasn’t for these guys churning up the bottom, the water would have remained totally clear. Oh and then theres the kids jumping off the pier, oblivious to the seadragons trying to live beneath. Made for some interesting photos anyway. Truly a once in a year dive…conditions dont come around like that very often.     

Camera Details: Tokina  10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Dive 123 – Rippleside Pier

By pfuller

Jan

21

Dive Number: 123 06/01/11 18.00  Rippleside Pier

Wind:   10-15knot  S E’s.

Tide: 1.5hrs before 0.84 high tide at Geelong.

Conditions:     Wind had turned to an easterly aspect and chopped the surface up a bit. Visibility was horrible!

Visibilty: 1-2m

Water Temp: 22c

Bottom Time: 67 minutes

Max Depth: 5.3m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:  This was one of those dives where you say to yourself  “What the hell am i doing???”. The entry to this dive requires about 100m of trudging through shallow calf deep mud since the pier is fenced off. Once i got deep enough to actually swim, i plunged into dirty water of about 2m of vis.  After finally making it out to the first arm i decended to a whole lot of nothing. Swimming around to the main pier i eventually came across ascidian poo hanging off the pylons like christmas decorations,  with all other marine growth covered in a thick brown silt. I was almost going to call the dive, but i ventured out to the second arm. I lay on the muddy bottom and studied the little fish. Many-rayed Threefin were there as expected, but i also came across a goby that i’d never seen before. A Bridled-Goby – (Arenigobius-bifrenatus). Always happy to find a new fish species so it was worth the trudge.  One of the threefin also enjoyed carrying around a small shell. Photos were scarce due to the vis, and came out ordinary. I MAY even try it again when conditions look nice. 

Camera Details: Canon  100mm , single SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Pt Lonsdale

By pfuller

Jan

21

04/01/2010  19.09  Pt Lonsdale

Tide:  1hr after 0.24 low tide at heads

Wind: Southerly???

Conditions: Nice clean water.

Bottom Type:  rockpools

Bottom Time: 60 minutes

Details:  A good snorkel with 10+ nudibranchs found. In display order,  Chromodoris alternata, Discodoris Sp, Doris Cameroni, Doto Ostena, Madrella Sanguine, Phyllodesmuim Macphersonae, Phyllodesmuim Serratum, Polycera Janjukia, Tritonia Sp, another undescribed Tritonia Sp9new for me), Rostanga calumus(new for me), and the last yet to be indentified.

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , single SS200 strobe.

Dive Report:

Dive 122 – Steeles Rocks

By pfuller

Jan

14

Dive Number: 122 03/01/11 14.17  Steeles Rocks – Portarlington

Wind:   10-15knot  S E’s.

Tide: 0.5hrs after 0.89 high tide at Geelong.

Conditions:   Strangely devoid of fishing boats and jetskis. Small chop and surge but generally good vis.

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 108 minutes

Max Depth: 3.6m

Air usage: 140bar/2000psi ????

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: I have a soft spot for steeles rocks…probably because i did a lot of snorkelling here before i started diving and it spun me out what was in the bay. I decided to go on a bit of an explore and found some really nice shallow reefs covered in sponges and ascidians. If there wasn’t so much sediment stirred up by passing boats, and it didn’t cover the marine growth here, it would be an amazing dive site asthetically. Unfortanately alot of the weed is covered in brown muck, but there is some great textures and colours still exposed. I tried to photograph some of these. Also found a new threefin species i’d never seen before. Apparently more common over the other side of the bay.  Its called a Common Threefin –  Trinofolkia clarkei.

Camera Details: Canon  100mm , single SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Curlewis

By pfuller

Jan

14

30/12/2010  ???  Curlewis

Tide:  high tide at geelong???

Wind: Southerly???

Conditions: Again, always pretty good on southerlies..water not the cleanest.

Bottom Type:  Sand and rocky reef lunnette.

Bottom Time: 120 minutes

Details:  I checked out the shallower rocky areas on this snorkel and checked out some of the blenny residents of the rocks. There’s always Tasmanian Blennies and Oyster blennies(feral imports) here.  Out a bit further i stumbled onto a Short-headed seahorse, which i haven’t seen at Curlewis before. A skeleton shrimp taunted the seahorse at one stage, then seemed to conduct an orchestra from a prominent position atop a weed  

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , single SS200 strobe.

Dive Report:

Dive 121 – Portsea Hole

By pfuller

Jan

14

Dive Number: 121 30/12/10 9.18  Portsea Hole

Wind:   15knot  SE’s???

Tide:  Slack Water Flood

Conditions:  Reasonable.. current was ok, but water was pretty dirty.

Visibilty: 10m

Water Temp: 16c

Bottom Time: 56 minutes

Max Depth: 20.1m

Air usage: 180bar/2500psi ????

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Its been a while between boat dives and Chris was pretty keen to do a dive on the wall…and so was i.  But unfortunately the only option was Portsea Hole…which is suppose to be good enough in its own right, but its reputation as a training dive area had me  cringing a bit.  It ended up being an OK dive, but nothing that blew me away. I’m still not use to diving and photographing under 10m, and all my photos just seems to be stark, horrible lighting.  I think diffusers are important with less ambient light.  Anyway, the most impressive sight was some cream/white sponge gardens that sat in about 18metres and covered the top of a large flat bommie giving a sponge desert like appearance.   We also saw a draughtboard shark, large smooth ray and a couple fo cool nudibranchs. naother highlight was when we headed back to Portsea and there was a pod of about 10 dolphins feeding not far from the boat.   

Camera Details: Tokina  10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Dive 120 – Portarlington Pier

By pfuller

Jan

12

Dive Number: 120 28/12/10 15.11  Portarlington Pier

Wind:   15knot  S ‘s.

Tide: 2hrs before 0.19 low tide at Geelong.

Conditions:   People, people..everywhere…tall ships..jetskis…fishing boats..and mussell boats flooding the water with gunk. A pretty standard muck dive at portarlington.

Visibilty: 3-4m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 42 minutes diving…another 60minutes snorkelling

Max Depth: 3.6m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi ????

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Not a lot around. A couple of Polycera Hedgepethi’s mating was the most exciting find.  One shot looks like its going to be consumed in the jaws of a ferocious shark.

Camera Details: Canon  100mm , single SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Pt Lonsdale

By pfuller

Jan

12

28/12/2010  11.52  Pt Lonsdale

Tide:  0.30 low tide at heads

Wind: Southerly???

Conditions: Water was pretty dirty, and the tide was ripping through shark gully, making it a bad idea to try to cross to mushroom rock. ;)

Bottom Type:  rockpools

Bottom Time: 30 minutes

Details: More strobe issues, so just ambient light shot of a sea spider.

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , single SS200 strobe.

Dive Report:

Dive 119 – Pt Henry Pier

By pfuller

Jan

12

Dive 118 – St Leonards

By pfuller

Jan

12

Dive Number: 118 27/12/10 12.51  St Leonards Pier

Wind:   15-20knot  S – SW.

Tide: 2hrs after 0.30 low tide at Geelong.

Conditions:   Conditions looked fairly ordinary with a lot of surface chop and noticable current running to the north and chopping up over the sandbar. Current wasn’t too bad in the water though.

Visibilty: 4-5m

Water Temp: 16c

Bottom Time: 79 minutes

Max Depth: 3.6m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi ????

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: This  afternoon dive turned out to be a bit more like a night dive, with species like velvetfish and Cobblers out and about. Verco’s nudi’s were out and mating. A nice little dive. 

Camera Details: Canon  100mm , single SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Curlewis

By pfuller

Jan

11

26/12/2010  17.41  Curlewis

Tide:  ?????

Wind: Southerly

Conditions:  Always good on a southerly down here..no matter how strong.

Bottom Type: Sand with reef

Bottom Time: 120 minutes

Details: More pipefish..feeding Fiddler Rays, floating anemones, mysid shrimps using dendrodoris nigra as protection, weedfish, maugen bubbles, gobies and weefish.  

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , single SS200 strobe.

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Curlewis – Pipefish and Pygmy Squid

By pfuller

Jan

11

24/12/2010  19.16 Curlewis

Tide:  ?????

Wind: Southerly

Conditions:  Always good on a southerly down here..no matter how strong.

Bottom Type: Sand with reef

Bottom Time: 120 minutes

Details: Another poke aorund at Curlewis for nudi’s. Not many around, so made do with some pipefish shots, and watched an intriguing battle between a tiny pygmy squid chasing a slightly larger pygmy squid.  

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , single SS200 strobe.

Dive Report:

Dive 117 – Ewens Ponds

By pfuller

Jan

11

Dive Number: 117 23/12/10 12.51  Ewens Ponds, Mt Gambier

Wind:   15knot  SE’s??

Conditions:   Still fairly windy, but a nice sunny day. 

Visibilty: 30m+

Water Temp: 16c

Bottom Time: 122 minutes

Max Depth: 9.8m

Air usage: 140bar/2000psi ????

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details:  We decided to make our way homewards from Rapid Bay and headed back through  Mt Gambier. W gave Ewens Ponds another try, but this time with a macro lens to try to concenrate on some of the marine life.

Species seen included Ewens Pygmy Perch (Nannoperca  variegata), Black Bream (Acanthopagrus butheri), Common Galaxid (Galaxis Maculatus), River Blackfish(Gadopsis Marmoratus), a fish i’m yet to ID (maybe a young australian grayling???) and Spiny Crayfish (Euastacus bispinosus).  Of the smaller variety Freshwater Shrimp  (Paratya australiensis) and  some tiny bright red pod things.

Camera Details: Sigma 17-70mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Dive 116: Second Valley

By pfuller

Jan

10

Dive Number: 116 22/12/10 20.08  Second Valley

Wind:   10-15knot  Ns??

Tide: 0.33 low tide at Port Lincoln

Conditions:   Winds had turned to onshore and chopped up a surface a bit. Still reasonably calm in the water though

Visibilty:  8-10m

Water Temp: 19c

Bottom Time: 29 minutes

Max Depth: 3.6m

Air usage: 35bar/500psi ????

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: A run of bad luck with the car continued when the ignition barrell collapsed in the car at Rapid Bay. This had us stranded for 6 hours, trying to get tools to fix the bloody thing. The worst part was that i only had about 60bar in my tank, so i only got to dive rapid bay jetty once. Once the car was going, we popped around to Second Valley, and i just noodled around the jetty and first bay in hope that i might stumble onto a Leafy Seadragon. No luck, but some nice vegetation.  I was suprised to see zooanthids in less than a metre of water here.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Dive 115 – Rapid Bay

By pfuller

Jan

10

Dive Number: 115 22/12/10 11.02  Rapid Bay Jetty

Wind:   10knot  SE’s

Tide: 1.25hrs after 0.14 low tide at Port Lincoln.

Conditions:   A bit of offshore wind early in the morning, turning to onshore later in the day, but the point in between turned the water perfectly clear. Some surface chop on entry, but generally great conditions. 

Visibilty: Awesome…20m+

Water Temp: 18c

Bottom Time: 104 minutes

Max Depth: 8.9m

Air usage: 175bar/2500psi ????

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Wow..what a dive site. Sometimes you hear a good wrap about a site and you just dont see it. But Rapid Bay blew me away…almost seemed like a tropical pier dive with the great vis and amount of marine life.  It seemed to have all the same fish species we have in Port Phillip Bay but in much greater numbers, and  with its own unique mix of other temperate species.  The main reason i visited though, was for the Leafy Seadragon, which i unfortunately dipped on.  There was just too many other distractions to do a thorough search.  Anyway, another trip is on the cards for the future. 

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Dive 114 – Ewens Ponds

By pfuller

Jan

6

Dive Number: 113 21/12/10 16.59  Ewens Ponds

Wind:  ??? Strong winds..possibly 15-20 SE’s

Conditions:  Windy conditions..overcast with patches of sunlight when clouds cleared. 

Visibilty: Awesome…maybe 30m+

Water Temp: 16c

Bottom Time: 64 minutes

Max Depth: 9.8m

Air usage: 140bar/2000psi ????

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Well..if Piccaninnie ponds gave me a taste for this sinkhole stuff, being able to scuba in Ewens Ponds took that craving to a new level.  It could only be described as diving some other planet…maybe a moon of Jupiter, except your guaranteed to see life on this dive. The first pond puts you straight into 10m ampitheatre witha pure white sand bottom which the springs feeds out. The springs bubble away beneath and the walls of the ampitheatre are lined with bolders cover in mud and bizaar weed structures.  A small shallow channel leads you through vibrant green and yellow vegetation  to the second pond,  contrasting amazingly with the unearthly blue and grey hues of the first pond. The second pond is shallower than the first and you quickly get lead into the second channel, again with vibrant reeds and vegetation. The last pond is another deep one, and has a small cave under the exit point which is a good place for sheltering bream and blackfish.   

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobes

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Piccaninnie Ponds, Mt Gambier

By pfuller

Jan

5

16/12/2010  Piccaninnie Ponds, Mt Gambier

Wind:  15knot South-easterly

Conditions:  Some surface chop but nice and clear in the water.

Bottom Type: Freshwater spring-fed  creek with mud edges lined with vegetation. Lots of reeds in the shallow section and one section has a ‘chasm’ which drops to over 60 metres.

Bottom Time: 100 minutes

Details: After a late night arrival after driving across from Geelong, we arrived at Piccaninnie Ponds to camp for the night.  The start of our adventures began. We must have left the lights and stereo on too long as we set up camp and got a flat battery. It was a cold and windy night…very unseasonal…we didn’t think we’d run into many souls in the wee hours so tried to get some sleep to rest up for the next day of snorkelling at diving at the ponds. (which were about 500m walk from the campsite..walkable with gear). About 3am in the morning, we heard a car in the distance…some guys cruising around doing some 4wd’ing on the beach. We managed to get a jump start off them, and after sharing a six pack with them for their trouble it was about 4.30….time for sleep. I think we slept till about 10am and then hit the ponds.  They were amazing with colourful vegetation and crystal clear water. Hovering over the ‘chasm’ the light penetrated through the surface, travelled 60 metres down and sent an eerie, yet beautiful blue glow back to the surface. It was very tempting to dive here, but you need cave training here due to some deaths in the past. It definently wet the appetite though. A bit of life aorund…pygmy perch, yabbies, and schools of galaxias.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobe.

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Curlewis

By pfuller

Jan

5

18/12/2010  ????  Curlewis

Tide:  ?????

Wind: Southerly

Conditions:  Always good on a southerly down here..no matter how strong.

Bottom Type: Sand with reef

Bottom Time: 120 minutes

Details: Attempt three at the pipefish…this time with the macro lens again. I almost got the shot  i wanted, but they are so hard to photograph. Also lots of larger nudis around..the abundant Ceratosoma brevicaudatum, as well as the second most common Dendrodoris nigra.  Found a few of these little Maugen Bubbles too: Haminoea maugenensis.  


 

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , single SS200 strobe.

Dive Report:

Snorkel at Curlewis

By pfuller

Jan

5

16/12/2010  ????  Curleiws

Tide:  ?????

Wind: Southerly

Conditions:  Always good on a southerly down here..no matter how strong.

Bottom Type: Sand with reef

Bottom Time: 120 minutes

Details: After finding the breeding pipefish, i had to make another visit with a different lens to try to capture the sheer numbers. I wasn’t very successful with a fisheye … and planned a return visit to get the shots i wanted. Of course when you have a fisheye lens, your always going to find some good nudi’s.  Gymnodoris alba (a 8mm species!!)  and Hoplodoris nodulosa ( a big mother).

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , dual SS200 strobe.

Dive Report: