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
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:
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
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:
Sep
8
Dive Number: 495 08/09/2013 Popes Eye
Conditions: ?
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 11m
Details: Second dive for the day at Popes. Not much happening…the usual wrasse and leatherjackets.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Sep
8
Dive Number: 494 08/09/2013 Boarfish Reef
Conditions: ?
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 19m
Details: A dirty slack dive with Chris and Phil on Boarfish reef.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Jul
9
Dive Number: 481 09/07/2013 Popes Eye
Conditions: ?
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 12m
Details: A very fishy dive at Popes.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Mar
10
Dive Number: 449 10/03/2013 Castle Rock
Conditions: Significant Current
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 50minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Details: I always thought Castle Rock was far enough from the heads to not be affected by currents. I was wrong. Exercise caution if not diving on a live boat. The benefit of the current though, was that i saw a big school of Kingfish from the surface, sending the sounder nuts. They didn’t stick around for the dive though unfortunately. I do love this site… the ascidians are a big feature for me, but it has a great wall too.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
23
Dive Number: 442 23/02/2013 Popes Eye
Conditions: ??
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 10m
Details: Nice fishy dive at Popes. Plus a cuttlefish.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
9
Dive Number: 438 09/02/2013 Chinamans Hat Seals
Conditions: ??
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 30minutes
Max Depth: 5m
Details: A quick stop off at Chinamans Hat on the way over to Rye to dive with the seals. They weren’t as responsive as other visits.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
9
Dive Number: 437 09/02/2013 Popes Eye
Conditions: ??
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 55minutes
Max Depth: 12m
Details: A nice dive at Popes with great vis. Kerry pointed out a sea mouse..a creature i had no idea existed. Lots of fish as usual.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
28
Dive Number: 434 28/01/2013 North Wall Corner, Port Phillip Heads
Conditions: ??
Visibilty: 15m
Water Temp: ??c
Bottom Time: 40minutes
Max Depth: 24m
Details: Conditions were great and vis was good. A good day to fork out for a charter trip for a wall dive in the heads. Some lovely terrain and colours.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Sep
15
Dive Number: 353 15/09/12 16.02, Popes Eye
Wind: Light
Tide: Ebb
Conditions: Calm surface, but strong ebbing tide
Visibilty: 7m
Water Temp: 12.4c
Bottom Time: 55minutes
Max Depth: 10.0m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Second dive at Popes. I usually find Popes abit ho-hum, but i really enjoyed this dive. Spent lots of time hassling a cuttlefish. There’s always plenty of fish at Pope’s..even in winter.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-70mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Sep
15
Dive Number: 352 15/09/12 13.51, Symonds Channel
Wind: Light
Tide: Slack
Conditions: Calm
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 12.4c
Bottom Time: 62minutes
Max Depth: 11.1m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Andrew Newton kindly shared some marks to a site in Symonds Channel of a sponge garden dive. I’d just got two new strobes, so it was going to be a fun dive to test them out. It was a really interesting area with mounds of sand covered in sponges with patches of ascidians, hydroids, etc..not much fish life around by it would be a cracker of a summer night dive. The area seemed like it would be perfect for cryptic critters like frogfish. We saw a small weedfish, but not a lot else fish wise. An interesting dive though.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-70mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes
Photos:
Sep
9
Dive Number: 350 09/09/12 13.22, South Channel Fort
Wind: Light
Tide: Slack
Conditions: Nice Day
Visibilty: 7m
Water Temp: 11.6c
Bottom Time: 41minutes
Max Depth: 11.9m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: We decided to do the second dive at Shortlands Bluff and on arrival the streams had stopped. We jumped in and circumnavigated the small island, exploring old jetty pylons on the other side of the island. About 3/4 around, the flood kicked in and it was a matter of clinging to the rocks and dragging ourselves back to the boat. Chris had a better idea and climbed up the rocks and walked it. I was still tsting my split fins to see how they perform in strong current! ;) They passed…good swimmers, but not the best for stability for photography. Believe it or not, this was a rare dive that i didn’t take my camera.
Camera Details: None
Photos:
Apr
12
Dive Number: 294 12/04/12 14.19, 18m Reef Area
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 16.0c
Bottom Time: 49minutes
Max Depth: 17.2m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: This was the second dive after the J4. Nothing to blog home about..some really coloured up Horseshoe Leatherjackets were the biggest highlight.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Mar
25
Dive Number: 283 25/03/12 13.30, Popes Eye
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 17c
Bottom Time: 53minutes
Max Depth: 11.3m
Air usage: 170bar/2500psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: We headed to Popes Eye for the second dive, and Harry came for a dive after skippering the Kelp Beds Reef dive. We found an old bottle which was pretty interesting..must be from the William Salthouse.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Mar
25
Dive Number: 282 – 25/03/12 11.30, Kelp Beds Reef
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: 16c
Bottom Time: 51minutes
Max Depth: 20.3m
Air usage: 170bar/2500psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: This dive started off with adventure and generally felt a bit dicey. The swell was up and the boat felt small sitting in the middle of the heads, but there were a flurry of dive charters turning up to the same area, so we felt assured of a rescue if anything went wrong. ;) My dive started with a backroll from the boat (usually its an in water gear up). Before i hit the water i realised Harry’s regs were coming for a dive with me, as they hitched a lift on my flippers and sunk into about 18m of water. Chris was already in the water so was straight off after them. I followed shortly but could find neither Chris or the regs, despite a 20 minute search of the area. Luckily Chris spotted them on the way down and managed to bring them back up to the surface. The dive turned out to be ok, but the current was ripping at the end, and it felt pretty hairy on ascent getting swept into the bay. Luckily it was in and not out.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
25
Snorkel at Popes Eye 25/02/2012 13.30
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: ???
Visibilty: m
Water Temp: 20c
Bottom Time: 30minutes
Max Depth: 2m
Details: After the torpedo reef dive we popped over to popes eye just to chill out. I tried some under over shots of the gannets.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
25
Dive Number: 272 25/02/12 11.30, Torpedo Reef, Shortlands Bluff
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: ???
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: 20c
Bottom Time: 57minutes
Max Depth: 18.1m
Details: This was a cracker of a dive site. Lush seafans and sea pens, with species i’d never seen before. The site lay about a 1km off Shortlands Bluff in an area roughly know as Torpedo reef. Harry skippered the boat, while me and chris dived. Thanks Harry! We dropped in on a cuttlefish and weaved our way through scattered bommie covered in colourful sponge life. Chris came across a large admiralty anchor..one of many apparently scattered in the area. We stopped off at Pope’s Eye afterwards and i tried some under-over shots of the gannets.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Feb
4
Dive Number: 267 04/02/12 10.46, Portsea Hole
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: ???m
Water Temp: 22c
Bottom Time: ???minutes
Max Depth: 20m
Air usage: ???
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: First slack dive from the boat with Chris and Phil and my old man as surface support.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS400/SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
6
Dive Number: 247 06/01/12 13.45, Popes Eye
Wind: ???
Tide: Ebbing
Conditions: Strong Current
Visibilty: 10m+
Water Temp: 20.0c
Bottom Time: 42minutes
Max Depth: 10.7m
Air usage: 170bar/2500psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Second dive at Popes Eye. A nice day to get some shots of the Admiralty anchor.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS400/SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jan
6
Dive Number: 246 06/01/12 11.01, Boarfish Reef
Wind: ???
Tide: Missed Slack
Conditions: Strong Current
Visibilty: 15m
Water Temp: 18.8c
Bottom Time: 37minutes
Max Depth: 17m
Air usage: 170bar/2500psi
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Myself and Chris were going to take the boat out, but Divevic called him into work as a deckie, so somehow i managed to sneak a couple of free dives. Boarfish reef was the first dive, and it was sensational. The water was very clear however somehow we missed slack and the current was running hard. Some really colourful life on this dive.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS400/SS200 Strobes
Photos:
