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:

Dive 69 – Black Point, Pt Lowly

By pfuller

Aug

4

Dive Number: 69 18/07/2010 12.05 Whyalla – Black Point

Wind: ??? Westerly aspect

Tide: 1.5hr after 2.43 high tide at Whyalla

Conditions: Light drizzle and reasonable winds from the west. A bit of surface chop.

Bottom Type: Rocky Shoreline with flattened rock covered with green algae, and scatter sponge life. Much more diverse marine life than at the Fenceline

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 55 minutes

Max Depth: 8.9m

Air usage: 100bar/1500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: This was my last dive of the trip, and i got another tank off steve, who also lent me, not one pair of fins….but three!.. all free of charge! I’ve gotta say the locals looked after me well. I was also chatting to Tony Bramley at the fenceline site and he was also very helpful with advice on dive sites and the history of area. Also the one responsible for the protection of the area, so the googlenet tells me. Love your work tony!

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: This was a really interesting dive. Looking over the dive site i expected a fairly shallow, rocky shore dive. However it dropped of into about 10m and probably a lot deeper further out. It didn’t have the concentration of cuttlefish that the Fenceline had but the terrain was much more varied, and although it was dominated by green algea, it had areas of sponge and ascidian, which seemed to make it better for nudi’s. I saw three nudibranch species, all rather large, without particularly looking for them. So i’d imagine it would be a good area to focus on nudibranchs. Here’s two species i photographed:

I’m not sure if these are cuttlefish eggs or not. Port Jackson Shark eggs come to mind, but i have no factual basis for this. I certainly didn’t see port jacko sharks!

In around 4 metres, the cuttlefish became more prominent. They were even lining up for pats! ;) (I dont encourage this by the way, it was just a photography stunt, and they weren’t alarmed by my attempts to touch them.

Dive 68 – Point Lowly Fenceline

By pfuller

Aug

3

Dive Number: 68 18/07/2010 10.05 Whyalla – Point Lowly

Wind: ??? Westerly aspect

Tide: 0.5hr before 2.43 high tide at Whyalla

Conditions: Still overcast, a little bit of rain…seas pretty stable though.

Bottom Type: Rocky Shoreline with flattened rock covered with green algae past the low tide line.

Visibilty: 4-5m

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 39 minutes

Max Depth: 3.9m

Air usage: 50bar/700psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: I had a few camera issues with my previous dive, so i got out to sort them out and then straight back in.

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report:

Dive 67 – Point Lowly Fenceline

By pfuller

Aug

3

Dive Number: 67 18/07/2010 09.05 Whyalla – Point Lowly

Wind: ??? Westerly aspect

Tide: 1.5hr before 2.43 high tide at Whyalla

Conditions: Windy and overcast..a few patches of sunlight but not a lot

Bottom Type: Rocky Shoreline with flattened rock covered with green algae past the low tide line.

Visibilty: 4-5m

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 30 minutes

Max Depth: 3.9m

Air usage: 35bar/500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Got up nice and early (8am – thats pretty good for me ;) ) and searched for a fin a lost last night. I dont know how i lost it…i was talking cuttle shots (obviously) in near to no light and found myself without a fin. I searched for it on the night, but it was just too dark. I didn’t hold much hope in finding it..it was probably 10km away by now so gave up pretty quickly and (after seeing if any of the other visiting divers had any spares) had to just give it a go with one. It worked ok just crossing my legs, and i wasn’t covering much ground so it really didn’t matter, but it was very annoying and did affect my control underwater. After i finsihed this dive, a very nice local from Whyalla gave me his wives old fins..great bloke! Thanks a million if you ever stumble onto this blog!

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: Some shots from a short, finless dive:

There’s nice cuttlefish in this shot.

Getting a bit frisky.

There must have been a bit of a predator in the area, or some domestic dispute going on, as the water was full of ink at one stage.

Dive 66 – Point Lowly Fenceline

By pfuller

Aug

3

Dive Number: 66 17/07/2010 17.10 Whyalla – Point Lowly

Wind: ??? Westerly aspect

Tide: 1hr after 1.15 low tide at Whyalla

Conditions: A very ordinary day, raining and overcast and the sea wasn’t exactly calm with slightly onshore winds.

Bottom Type: Rocky Shoreline with flattened rock covered with green algae past the low tide line.

Visibilty: 4-5m

Water Temp: 13c

Bottom Time: 63 minutes

Max Depth: 3.3m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: I didn’t think we’d make it up to Whyalla for a dive after driving up from Edithburgh during the day, but things just fell into place. I needed to get hold of a tank, and called Steve from Whyalla dive adventures. As fate had it he was heading up Pt Lowly Rd as we where heading down it. So we managed to catch him at the turnoff and pick up a tank, all for the bargain price of $15! Some LDS’s charge nearly that for airfills, let alone hiring a tank in a remote area. Champion Steve! Anyway, we made it down to the fenceline right on sunset and got in for a quick dive.

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: I was suprised on arriving the number of cars around, some divers, some tourists. Either way it was good to see that this site is attracting attention which can only lead to the further protection of the area. I didn’t muck around and got into the water ASAP. Wow…cuttlefish everywhere! The stories are true. You dont need to dive this site, since you’ll be able to see 10+ cuttlefish in one view as soon as you enter the water. The cuttlefish pay little attention to divers, and you can see them engaging in natural activity.

One of the most fascinating behaviours i observed, were young cuttlefish playing with a cuttlefish bone. One cuttlefish had a bone in its mouth/tenticles/arms and 2 or 3 others were chasing him. If the cuttlefish released it, the natural bouyancy of the bone meant it would rocket to the surface with all the cuttlefish in quick pursuit. One of the cuttlefish would grab the bone from the surface and the chase would be on again. I watched this happen about 2 or 3 times, and it brought up images of seeing the squid taking the bait from the fisherman at Wool Bay. (See dive log 62). I’m thinking that this ‘play’ that the young cuttlefish engage in, prepares them for hunting in adulthood. All with the assistance of the bones of thier predecessors..perhaps even their own parents who came to these shores to breed, give birth to them, and then die off. Its possibly the most fascinating behaviour i’ve seen in the animal world, and is packed full of symbolism if you want to analyse it. Anyway, here’s some pics of the Cuttlefish playing with the cuttlefish bone.

Dive 65- Edithburgh Pool to Jetty

By pfuller

Jul

29

Dive Number: 65 17/07/2010 09.35 Edithburgh Pool to Jetty

Wind: 10-15 knot NE’s

Tide: 2.5hr after 1.91 high tide at Port Giles

Conditions: A very ordinary day, raining and overcast and the sea wasn’t exactly calm with slightly onshore winds.

Bottom Type: Rocky reef with some ledges, until reaching jetty. Then sandy bottom scattered with old wooden jetty pylons covered in sponges. Pylons themselves were also heavily covered in ascidians, sponge and marine life.

Visibilty: 3-4m Visibility was really bad in the shallows until i got in deeper water around the jetty.

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 67 minutes

Max Depth: 7.6m

Air usage: 105bar/1500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: This was my last dive on the Yorke, since i had to drop back the tank to the dive shop who were holding a class at 11am. I decided to enter at the Edithburgh Tidal pool and work my way up to the Jetty in a last ditch attempt to find a Leafy Seadragon. Vis was aweful and an didn’t see a lot around the ledges. I pretty much v-lined it straight the jetty.

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: I entered at the Tidal Pool and it was pretty rough entry with waves lapping up against the concrete walls. I got out into some deeper water and dropped into about 5m and followed a reef along. there was very little around and i didn’t take a photo before reaching the jetty. Along the edge of the jetty, it gets to its deepest (7-8m)and there were a lot of spider crabs along this deeper section. and clinging to the outer edge of the pylons.

I headed out to the back of the jetty, were the most fish are. Mainly Moonlighters, sweep and zebrafish.

Some general shots of the pylons and growth.

A clutser of fanworms:

A dusky morwong:

This boxfish didn’t seem to mind being photographed.

A dance with a crab before exiting:

Dive 64 – Edithburgh Jetty – Night Dive

By pfuller

Jul

28

Dive Number: 64 16/07/2010 20.20 Edithburgh Jetty

Wind: 10 knot NE’s

Tide: 1.5hr after 2.09 high tide at Port Giles

Conditions: The wind had eased a bit and conditions were pretty good.

Bottom Type: Sandy bottom scattered with old wooden jetty pylons covered in sponges. Pylons themselves were also heavily covered in ascidians, sponge and marine life.

Visibilty: OK

Water Temp: 13c

Bottom Time: 69 minutes

Max Depth: 4.9m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Edithburgh night dive take two. The Cats played Adeliade so i thought i get back for the second half to see the cats thump the crows after photographying Pyjama Squid. Unfortunately niether happened. I’m am though, after this dive, officially known as Underwaterman, after being named by some young kids on the jetty who couldn’t leave until they saw me get out of the water, after watching my torchlight and strobe flash in the darkness.

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: Again i searched for Pyjama squid with no success. I decided to check out the Seahorse area, and amazed to find at least six all clinging to the same piece of weed. I managed to get 4 in the shot.

These Sponge crabs were a constant source of amusement..possibly the least aggressive crab species i’ve come across…they just try to waddle way. This one nearly walked over a dumpling squid hinding in the sand.

A bit of pylon growth:

This cobbler was in the shallows before i got out;

Dive 63 – Edithburgh Jetty

By pfuller

Jul

27

Dive Number: 63 16/07/2010 16.00 Edithburgh Jetty

Wind: 10-15 knot NE’s

Tide: 2.5hr beforee 2.09 high tide at Port Giles

Conditions: The wind had swung around to NE which blew up the bay a bit, but it was still very diveable. It was raining most of the day a glum overcast conditions.

Bottom Type: Sandy bottom scattered with old wooden jetty pylons covered in sponges. Pylons themselves were also heavily covered in ascidians, sponge and marine life.

Visibilty: 6m

Water Temp: 13c

Bottom Time: 73 minutes

Max Depth: 5.2m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Things move slowly in Edithburgh. I needed a tank fill and thank god there is at least one in Edithburgh..the the only one on the Yorke…and they give nice deep fills too. But you have to wait for them. So in the meantime we drove to check out the massive wind farm they have near by. By 4pm, it was fairly dark so i still didn’t get a nice brightly lit look at edithburgh, but it was a nice dive still.

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: This dive was all about the pylons. Here’s some of the colours of the jetty.

Spider crabs everywhere!

Theres not a lot of fishlife around, but at the end of the pier you get a few schools. Here’s a Moonlighter:

A Wavy Grubfish..a species we dont get in victoria as far as i know.

A Nudibranch – Ceratasoma Brevicardum – in a bunch of ascidians.

Dive 62 – Wool Bay Jetty

By pfuller

Jul

27

Dive Number: 62 16/07/2010 11.15 Wool Bay Jetty

Wind: 10 knot N’s

Tide: hr before 0.70 low tide at Port Giles

Conditions: The sun was shining and the water look immaculate. Still. clear and inviting.

Bottom Type: Large beds of seagrass with patches of various brown algaes. Small sand patches.

Visibilty: Beautifully clean…possibly 15m vis.

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 77 minutes

Max Depth: 3.1m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Wool Bay has the reputation of being THE place to see Leafy Seadragons. After seeing none on this dive i was very dissappointed, and even more so on hearing that apparently the resident Leafies were poached about 5 weeks ago.

Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: The main search was for Leafy Seadragons, and the amazing visibility was going to make for some great photo possibilities. The water was full of small shrimp which seadragons love, so i was hopeful some wouldn’t be far away. I snapped off some shots of the clouds of shrimp.

Unfortunately i didn’t come across any Leafies, but it was a great shallow dive anyway. Here’s a few shots of the terrain around and under the jetty.

Not a lot of fish around apart from a large school of juvenile Old wives.

A Bridled??Leatherjacket was pretty happy to stick around for some photos.

There were a lot of squid fisherman on the jetty and looked like they were having a good day. I saw at least two being caught from underwater. Here’s a sequence of one squid taking a live bait, but then getting greedy and falling prey to a looming jig.

A Mosiac Leatherjacket had the right idea stick close to the pylons away from the line of fire.

Not sure what this is..an urchin or something:

This crab blended in beautifully in the surrounding weed:

A bit of a record shot of some type of hulafish that i dont see over in victoria.

Dive 61 – Edithburgh Jetty – Night Dive

By pfuller

Jul

27

Dive Number: 61 15/07/2010 20.24 Edithburgh Jetty

Wind: 10 knot NW’s

Tide: 2.5hr after 2.26 high tide at Port Giles

Conditions: A dark and stormy night…no just kiddding. The skies were clear and little breeze. A small crescent moon. Great conditions for a night dive.

Bottom Type: Sandy bottom scattered with old wooden jetty pylons covered in sponges. Pylongs themselves were also heavily covered in ascidians, sponge and marine life.

Visibilty: Water nice and clean.. Vis was the length of my torch beam.

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 63 minutes

Max Depth: 4.3m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: This was my first ever night dive on scuba. I’d been for night snorkels before, but this was something new. I wasn’t totally prepared with a focus light, but managed to grab a couple of small LED torches off ebay before i’d left and whacked them in a small film UW housing. It worked ok as a light, but not the best as a focus light. I was excited about the possibilty of seeing pyjama squid .

Camera Details: Canon 100mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: On arriving at the pier, the fisherman were telling me that the Blood worms were out and its something that only happens a few times a year. They reckon they have no chance of catching any fish because the fish go nuts for the blood worms. I didn’t know if this was a good or bad thing for me, but i was after macro stuff anyway, so i wouldn’t be able to snap any fish if there were plenty around. Turns out i didn’t see one fish on the dive. But also didn’t see a pyjama squid either..a couple of Bobtails, but that was it. Even the blood worms were too big for my 100mm macro lens..but here’s one burying into the sand.

While searching the sand for exposed pyjama squid eyes, the occassional anemone took my fancy as a practice for the squids.

The many eyes of a scallop:

I do tell a lie..i did see some fish…pygmy leatherjackets..abou the size of a 50cent piece. It really didn’t want to be seen.

These Tasmanian Clingfish were also very shy. I generally felt like an invader on this night dive. Nothing came up for a hug.

I’m not sure what this is…maybe some type of sea squirt???

A small Cuttlefish was close to shore on exit. He was still too big for anything but an eyeshot with my macro lens.

Overall i was little dissappointed not to find Pyjama squid, but i still had a second night dive planned, so all was not lost.

Dive 60 – Edithburgh Jetty

By pfuller

Jul

26

Dive Number: 60 15/07/2010 17.15 Edithburgh Jetty

Wind: 10 knot NW’s

Tide: 1hr before 2.26 high tide at Port Giles

Conditions: Drizzling rain on dusk. A bit of surface chop and slight current but nothing major.

Bottom Type: Sandy bottom scattered with old wooden jetty pylons covered in sponges. Pylongs themselves were also heavily covered in ascidians, sponge and marine life.

Visibilty: 6-8m

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 29 minutes

Max Depth: 5.1m

Air usage: 55bar/800psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: I’d heard a lot about how good Edithburgh is as a night dive, so arriving at dusk, i thought i’d do a quick dive just to familiarise myself with the area and conditions before attempting it in total darkness.

Camera Details: Sigma 17-70mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: The number of different crab species was again impressive at Edithburgh. Here’s a few of the local crab species:

I read there was a small patch of weed that seahorse’s loved to hang out on. I found it without any problems but the weed swaying in the movement of the water made it difficult to get sharp photos, especially in low light.

A seacumber..tasty.

A small sand goby on a shell.

I got my first taste of the great ascidian growth on the pylons.

The night time residents were starting to appear. This cardinal fish looked a bit dazed still.

A suprise visitor to my torch light was a Ringed Toadfish that came over to check me out.

A nice warm up dive into the wonders of Edithburgh Jetty, and staying directly accross the road was going to make for easy access for the night dive.

Dive 59 – Stansbury Jetty, Yorke Peninsula

By pfuller

Jul

22

Dive Number: 59 15/07/2010 15.40 Stansbury Jetty

Wind: 10 knot NW’s

Tide: 3.5hr after 0.68 low tide at Port Giles

Conditions: Dull and overcast conditions had set in , with some rain during the dive.. Water was fairly mucky, as was the dive in general. Possibly due to incoming tide and rain though.

Bottom Type: Thick carpet of seagrass with small patches of shell grit base. Jetty pylons with cvery little growth.

Visibilty: 5m

Water Temp: 12c

Bottom Time: 51 minutes

Max Depth: 4.2m

Air usage: 70bar/1000psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: Stansbury Jetty was the next stop on my way down south to Edithburgh. Again this was another jetty i read very little about but i though i’d give it a go. This was basically a muck dive with very little around apart from a lot of Razorfish shells.

Camera Details: Singma 17-70mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: I entered the water and soon spotted fishing rod. maybe a bad omen. I started to turn on my camera and strobe, only to realise that i hadn’t flicked the auto focus switch on my camera, so i had to make my way back out, which was a good opportunity to grab the fishing rod and return it to the car. Take two: i reentered and swam about half way out. I noticed small fish ‘parachuting’ from the pylon and dropping to the sea floor. I roughly saw where he landed, so descended and tried to locate him. Bingo! An Anglerfish sitting motionless next to a Razorfish shell. A great find at a jetty that seemed to promise so little.

A pylon was just to the left in the above shot and it made it very difficult to get close and get a nice composition. This was the best i could manage, but i’m glad i decided to take off the fisheye and put the sigma 17-70 on. James Peake reckons this is a Spinycoat Anglerfish, Trichophryne mitchellii, a pretty rare species, so i consider myself lucky lucky to spot this guiuy the way i did.

After leaving the anglerfish i headed over to the break wall, but there were only a few zebrafish. If it wasn’t for the anglerfish i wouldn’t recommend this dive at all.

Dive 58 – Ardrossan Jetty, Yorke Peninsula

By pfuller

Jul

22

Dive Number: 58 15/07/2010 13.00 Ardrossan Jetty

Wind: 10 knot NW’s

Tide: 1hr after 0.68 low tide at Port Giles

Conditions: Still conditions being protected from the westerlies. Water was very clear.

Bottom Type: A white clay bottom under the jetty.

Visibilty: 8-10m

Water Temp: 13c

Bottom Time: 47 minutes

Max Depth: 4.5m

Air usage: 55bar/800psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: After arriving in Adeliade early in the morning, i got picked up by my parents who were travelling through on there way inland, and kindly allowed me to hijack thier plans and drive me down to the Yorke for some diving. We picked up a tank for a dive shop in Adeliade, and headed up to POrt Wakefiled and onto the Yorke Peninsula. I hadn’t heard much about Ardrossan, but i thought it was worth getting in a dive up the north of the Yorke, since i wouldn’t have a tank on my way back through, as i was dropping it off at Edithburgh, as the dive shop were running a class the morning i left. Ardrossan was a quaint little place with red cliffs and a small little jetty. It was a shallow dive, but the water was so clean, and it was unique diving on a white clay base.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm fisheye , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: The jetty pylons where fairly sparse and not richly covered with sponge growth but there was some nice growth.

There were signs up about the Blue Swimmer Crabs all along the Yorke, but Ardrossan gave me my best views in shallow well lit water. They are very cool crabs, and as the name suggest, can swim like nothing else when you get too close. I though this one wanted a hug, but i think he just wanted to nip me!

I was very impressed to see one had managed to score a squid to munch on. Not sure if it was self-caught or maybe a fishermans scraps???

I’d have to call the Yorke Peninsula the Crab crab centre of Australia. I saw at least 8 different species of crab without looking very hard. I came accross a small family of three hermit crabs, and one was particularly photogenic.