Mar
30
Dive Number: 570 30/03/2014 Popes Eye
Conditions: Perfect
Visibilty: 20m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 70minutes
Max Depth: 12m
Details: Lovely visibility at Popes Eye. We dived the southern side and had a very tame cuttlefish allowing me to stroke it on the head…itonly batted an eye lid to show how much it was enjoying the treatment. Loads of fish around as usual.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
23
Dive Number: 556 23/02/2014 Bell Reef off Shortlands Bluff
Conditions: Green and horrible
Visibilty: 4m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: This was a slack dive off Shortlands Bluff. The visibility was horrible, but the murky green water gave a certain sense of atmosphere that made it a fun dive still.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
18
Dive Number: 554 18/02/2014 Orungal
Conditions:
Visibilty: 5m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 30minutes
Max Depth: 6m
Details: On the way back in, we had a quick splash at the Orungal. The vis was cloudy and it was dangerously surgey. Some big schools of Luderick were getting around, but difficult to photograph in the conditions.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
18
Dive Number: 553 18/02/2014 Ant Caves
Conditions:
Visibilty: 20m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 22m
Details: Another cracker of a dive at Ant Caves. After descending we were surrounded by large numbers of fish…sweep, perch, leatherjackets… Close to the anchor position was a wobbegong shark under a ledge. The resident Blue Grouper put in another show but still no photos to prove it. It likes to keep its distance. Phil got a couple of ID shots though. On ascent the large schools of Barber Perch formed again beneath us.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
8
Dive Number: 550 08/02/2014 Ripbank – The Rip
Conditions:
Visibilty: 20m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 40minutes
Max Depth: 30m
Details: I keep on jumping on Divevic boats destined for Spec Reef, but shipping always changes the plans. The dive was diverted to Ripbank this time and i buddied up with a French Bloke who was chasing crays. The dive got off to a bad start when we dropped in over the deep water, and with great vis and no sign of the wall at 20+ metres we decided to surface, reboard the boat and drop in again. Good option, straight onto the wall this time. Ripbank is a fairly exposed part of the wall receiving the full brunt of ebb tide. So the sponge growth doesnt seem as prolific as the sites running paralell with the flow. A good sight to keep your eye on the blue though with rumours of shark activity in the area.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
17
Dive Number: 546 17/01/2014 The Ledges
Conditions:
Visibilty: 15m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: Wonderful visibility at The Ledges today. The dive finished with a large Wobbegong.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
16
Dive Number: 545 16/01/2014 Mouth of Barwon River
Conditions:
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 30minutes
Max Depth: 12m
Details: This was a short dive just out of the mouth of the Barwon River. The vis can usually get pretty bad here, but i made the best of the good conditions to check out the area. There are some good reef sections out around here, but this dive didnt turn up much reef, just your usual kelp species, crayweed, bull kelp etc.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
16
Dive Number: 544 16/01/2014 Ant Caves
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 21m
Details: I spent most of this dive in a cave that gives this site its name. A pretty amazing sight with schools of yellow-tailed pike swimming in and out of the cave. Very nice.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
15
Dive Number: 543 15/01/2014 The Labyrinth
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 22m
Details: Sandy and Phil joined me for a dive and i showed them the Labyrinth. Sandy made made some big statements throwing around words like ‘word class reef structure’ and i couldn’t disagree with such a well traveled diver. I had some focus issues on this dive, but tried my best to get a sharp shot of a unique formation of hard coral.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
10
Dive Number: 541 10/01/2014 Cod Cave, Ocean Grove
Conditions:
Visibilty: 12m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 22m
Details: Cod Cave is a really nice small dive site with tons of interest. This time around the cod weren’t home. The big highlight of the dive was on ascent when i spotted a family of leatherjacket using a Jellyfish as a good way to travel under protection.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
1
Dive Number: 539 01/01/2014 Beady Boulders, Barwon Heads
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 40minutes
Max Depth: 14m
Details: This was a dive just out of the mouth of the Barwon River Esturary. The area consisted of a field of boulders, but not many overhangs or crevices. Not much of interest except the algae cover boulders themselves…hence the name..Beady Boulders.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
31
Dive Number: 538 31/12/2013 Tourch Reef
Conditions:
Visibilty: 15m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: Tourch Reef is a slack dive in Port Phillip Heads back towards Shortlands Bluff. Although not dramatic like the wall, the colours and sponges in this area are brilliant. It was a great photography dive…Check out the photo of the blue devil..see the tiny baby blue devil to the right? The tide really rips through this area and we travelled a fair way on the safety stop, but the skipper had keen eyes (and a sweaty brow) so we survived the pickup..thanks Dad!
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
30
Dive Number: 536 30/12/2013 Seals at Chinamans Hat
Conditions:
Visibilty: 12m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 40minutes
Max Depth: 18m
Details: The water looked crystal clear on the surface, but the strong sunlight and sand content in the water made photographing the seals difficult. The seals weren’t in the most welcoming mood with the large alpha male making some close barking passes and barking at us creatures carrying strange-looking apparatus.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
28
Dive Number: 535 28/12/2013 Dales Arch, Point Addis Marine Park
Conditions:
Visibilty: 15m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 40minutes
Max Depth: 18m
Details: Conditions were so good i had to head back to the boat to convince Soph to come for a dive and check out the arch. A unique purple algae was common at this site.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
28
Dive Number: 534 28/12/2013 Dales Arch, Point Addis Marine Park
Conditions:
Visibilty: 15m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 40minutes
Max Depth: 18m
Details: Based off some of the Lidar scans that Parks Vic had produced of the Point Addis Marine Park, i picked out an interesting looking area and sounded around. The results was a great little site sitting in about 16-18m and rising to 5m. The large bommie was covered in lush kelp and the water clarity and sunny conditions really set off the colours of the kelp. The bommie was teaming with reef fish together with crays, blue devils, rainbow cale and all the common local species. The biggest feature of the site is a big archway which joins the east and west bommies. This was just such an easy and beautiful dive in ideal conditions.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
26
Dive Number: 533 26/12/2013 Grassy Point, Indented Heads
Conditions: Strong Southerlies
Visibilty: 7m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 4m
Details: About 2km off Grassy Point at Indented Heads is a couple of sticks marking shallow reef. This area had some nice sponge life but not a lot of fish life..a couple of rays and a flathead. Southerlies had picked up to about 25-30knots after i finished my dive making a very bumpy return to shore.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
22
Dive Number: 531 22/12/2013 The Vortex
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 35minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: Sometimes the ocean scares me…probably a healthy thing, but this was one of those dives. I sounded up a new site off 13th Beach on a day where the swell was slightly up. It seemed reasonably innocent and well-behaved on the surface but under the water was a different story. There seemed to be an even mixture of steady south-westerly and south-easterly swells moving through the area which, as a result, created surge that wasn’t just in one direction, but two. As that interacted with the reef rising from 20m to 15m, it created a truly bizaar dive experience. A washing machine at 20m!!! It was actually a pretty cool site, so perhaps i’ll try this again when conditions are better and hope it doesn’t live up to its name (The Vortex).
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
19
Dive Number: 530 19/12/2013 Barwon Bluff Caves
Conditions:
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 10m
Details: This was a dive on dusk from the boat out off Barwon Bluff. The area was scatter with caves and swimthroughs and the light underwater was just magic. It was one of those days where the sea was flat with no wind only the sunset skimming across the surface.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
19
Dive Number: 529 19/12/2013 Chimney Rock
Conditions:
Visibilty: 7m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 45minutes
Max Depth: 23m
Details: A fairly dark and gloomy dive at Chimney Rock with Chris and Jarrod.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
15
Dive Number: 525 08/12/2013 Chinamans Hat, Port Phillip Bay
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 30minutes
Max Depth: 6m
Details: After diving Blairgowrie for a macro dive, i switched to wide angle and dropped in on the Seals at Chinamans Hat. They just weren’t that playful today, and vis was ordinary, so i kept the dive short.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
8
Dive Number: 525 08/12/2013 The Ampitheatre
Conditions:
Visibilty: 7m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 6m
Details: After a free dive at the Bluff with Chris, Kerry and Sophie, i went to check out the Ampitheatre. A catshark was the best subject and an interesting sighting of the uncommmon Banded Morwong.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Dec
8
Dive Number: 524 08/12/2013 The Labyrinth
Conditions:
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 23m
Details: Went out to the Labyrinth with Chris where he had a close encounter with a large Smooth Ray that passed inches above his head. A great photo opp for Chris!
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Nov
29
Dive Number: 521 29/11/2013 Head and Tail Reef
Conditions:
Visibilty: 5m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 45minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details:
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Nov
29
Dive Number: 520 29/11/2013 Ocean Grove Reef
Conditions:
Visibilty: 5m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 30minutes
Max Depth: 8m
Details: This was a quick splash to see if there were any Wobbegongs in the shallower reef off Ocean Grove. The vis was ordinary and it was very surgey. The highlight was an unidentified eel with a yellow stripe along its back. Unfortunately i didn’t manage any photos of it.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
