Dive 488 – The Labyrinth

By pfuller

Jul

29

Dive Number: 488 29/07/2013 The Labyrinth

Conditions: ?

Visibilty: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 22m

Details: What a day to have strobe issues. I dropped in on a den of about 20+ Port Jackson Sharks. They were everywhere. I had to make do with some ambient light photos. Love this site though.

Also included in this post is a picture of the anchoring solution I’ve come up with for my inflatable to allow the anchor rope to be tied off at any length while the rest of the rope remains on a reel in the boat. The bitter end remains permanently attached to the boat, and a green safety harness and T-bar is used as the tie off point which is permanently attached to the D-ring at the front of the boat.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 487 – Chimney Rock

By pfuller

Jul

26

Dive Number: 487 26/07/2013 Chimney Rock

Conditions: ?

Visibilty: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 23m

Details: A nice dive at Chimney finding that my favourite little cave/overhang had a cuttlefish hanging out in it. Love the expression on this inquisitive Rosy Wrasse too!

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 486 – The Orungal

By pfuller

Jul

19

Dive Number: 486 19/07/2013 The Orungal Wreck

Conditions: ?

Visibilty: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 6m

Details: On other dives of the orungal, it been rushed due to little remaining air. On this dive I dedicated a full tank to the dive, and explored the area of this large wreck site. The conditions were good and it was a very comfortable dive.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 485 – The Ledges

By pfuller

Jul

16

Dive Number: 485 16/07/2013 The Ledges

Conditions: ?

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 20m

Details: The second dive was further down off Buckley Park to “The Legdes”. A bit surgey and dirty on this dive, but a nice place to explore. After such an exciting day though (with a Warty Prowfish and Humpback Whale encounter), this was a bit ho-hum.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Humpback Whale Encounter

By pfuller

Jul

16

After finding a Warty Prowfish on our first dive, I considered myself a lucky diver and a happy man.

On the way to our second dive, I saw a splash off it the distance…”a strange breaking wave”, I thought. I scanned the ocean surface for more signs of movement, and all of a sudden, up rose a leviathan of the sea. A Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) leapt from the ocean, leaving only the tip of its tail beneath the surface…rising triumphantly out of the ocean to body slap the water in an attempt to displace any parasites that had joined it for the ride to the Victorian coastline. Wow…breathtaking. I grabbed the telephoto lens…brought along for just the occasion. It continued to put on a show and leapt from the water 8-10 times. Telephoto from a boat is difficult to get a focus lock, but I managed a couple of keepers.

I was one happy boater…a Warty Prowfish and a breaching Humpback Whale in the one day…

Dive 484 – Warty Wall

By pfuller

Jul

16

Dive Number: 484 16/07/2013 Warty Wall

Conditions: ?

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 20m

Details: This was wasn’t much of a site, more of a bank than any decent overhangs, pinnacles or bommies. That was until I spotted a peculiar looking “sponge” oscilating in the surge after floating down from the top of a boulder. I went closer to investigate and couldn’t believe my eyes…in fact it took me about 10 minutes of thinking I’ve discovered some rare anglerfish or handfish to realise this was the illusive Warty Prowfish- Aetapcus maculatus. The rest of the dive was spent photographing this cool looking critter. The area is now known as Warty Wall ;)

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 483 – Orungal Wreck

By pfuller

Jul

10

Dive Number: 483 10/07/2013 Orungal Wreck

Conditions: ?

Visibilty: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 30minutes

Max Depth: 6m

Details: Phil hass always wanted to check out the Orungal wreck so we stopped off on the way in to empty the tanks. I don’t think he was left disappointed with some nice vis and great fishlife as always. A school of trevally was a highlight.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 482 – Coraline Reef

By pfuller

Jul

10

Dive Number: 482 10/07/2013 Coraline Reef

Conditions: ?

Visibilty: 6m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 20m

Details: This was a site off Ant Spit that had some really lush vegetation and nice structure. The big highlight was gigantic Giant Cuttlefish that came out of nowhere in a bizaar alien encounter. Its clearly the biggest cuttlefish I’ve seen and stuck around for some modelling work.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos: