Jun
17
Dive Number: 320 17/06/12 16.36, St Leonards Pier
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Bleak day
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 11.6c
Bottom Time: 39minutes
Max Depth: 3.3m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: An ordinary day, and i had some strobe problems, so just a few ambient light wide angle shots.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jun
16
Dive Number: 319 16/06/12 14.20, Ant Spit
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Surgey and dark
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 13.2c
Bottom Time: 27minutes
Max Depth: 13.2m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: I’d heard of some nice areas around Ant Spit but its a big area. We didn’t sound up anything of great interest, so just decided to jump in at a random spot. Not much chop and only a couple of pics.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jun
16
Dive Number: 318 16/06/12 12.20, Charlemont Reef
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 13.2c
Bottom Time: 34minutes
Max Depth: 16.5m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Chris just got a new drysuit so we sounded out some reef on Charlemont Reef and went for a dive. Not a lot of structure or interest at this site, but Chris was loving the joys of drysuit diving…until he found the dodgey zip.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jun
13
Dive Number: 317 13/06/12 12.15, The Arches, Port Campbell
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Overcast but flat.
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 13.6c
Bottom Time: 38minutes
Max Depth: 22.5m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: In hindsight we probably should have done a second dive on the wreck, but we opted to dive “The Arches” a bit closer to Port Campbell. This was a large hole with a maze like system of gullies and swim through arches linking up the gullies. A nice dive, but the Loch Ard had an unquestionable mystique that made it a more unique and unmissable dive when down this part of the world.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jun
13
Dive Number: 316 13/06/12 11.20, The Wreck of the Loch Ard
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Overcast but flat.
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 12.0c
Bottom Time: 49minutes
Max Depth: 20.8m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: We got down to Port Campbell about 9 o’clock and unloaded our gear at the boat ramp.The cove was near motionless and the view out to sea between the cliffs looked just as flat.
We jumped on board the charter and headed out towards Muttonbird Island, passing jaw dropping sandstone cliff faces that led the eye to the 12 apostles on the eastern horizon.
It really set a dramatic stage for diving, and it possibly set my expectations a little too high on what lay below the surface.
On arriving at Mutton Bird island, conditions were pretty much as good as it gets with little backwash off the cliffs. We descended and followed the dropoff scanning the seabed for signs of the wreck. The wall was characterised by large car-sized boulders (chunks of fallen cliff) that staggered outways from the cliff face down to about 20metres. After about 15-20minutes with no sign of the wreck, we were starting to get worried that this dive on Victorias most famous wreck, was just going to turn into a reef dive. But thankfully we started spotting some parallel forms lying across the reef, and then the broken up hull came into view. The wreckage seemed to start around 16m and extended seaward into around 20m. This was the area we explored anyway, which had scatterings of intact bottles, fragments of ceramics, and i even found a well formed barrell… all amongst broken up sections of the hull. Finding bottles with their necks fully intact suprised me for such a high energy environment. From descriptions of the wreck extending from 10m out to 22m and with the anchor out to sea even further, we only touched on a small section of the wreck. Our surface interval was a tour of Loch Ard Gorge and viewing of the beach that the survivors of the wreck scrambled onto. Our boat passed under grand sea arches and through amazing chasms along the way making for a great way to spend a surface interval.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jun
10
Dive Number: 315 10/06/12 14.20, Rye Pier
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 12.2c
Bottom Time: 76minutes
Max Depth: 5.4m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: I made my second visit to the spidercrabs and it was a vastly different experience to the first and really put the puzzle peices together.
My first visit was when the aggregation was at its peak. Of the 10’s of thousands of spidercrabs present that day, i only spotted a few of decent size. The majority were small with a dark brown body, and these were the spidercrabs forming stacks on top of each other. Most spidercrabs on this day were fairly inactive and almost appeared to be resting or sleeping.
On my visit yesterday, numbers had decreased significantly, there were still some of these small, brown shelled crabs around, but the majority where large red/orange shelled crabs. These large crabs were very active, “marching” en-masse within the L-shaped confines of the pier with some climbing up the pylons and over the thousands of “brown-shelled” carapace’s littering the area under the pier.
It all started making sense when i saw one of these small-brown spider crabs actually going through the moulting process and seeing a newly formed red-shelled ‘adult’ spider crab about to emerge from the rear of the brown-shell.
It dawned on me that the intial aggregation were all pre-moult crabs that had come together to provide a ‘safety in numbers’ approach to sheding their old shell and emerging as a new ‘adult’ spidercrab. This process involved a period on non-activity where they were rendered immobile as they formed a new shell within the confines of thier old one, and then had to emerge from their old shell in a gelatenous, soft shelled form. All this makes an individual vunerable to predation, however, as a spider crab undergoing this process, you’re much safer if you can perfrom this process in the bottom layer of a stacked mass of spider crabs. The species as a whole has a much better chance of continuation if they can at least get a few thousand individuals safely through the moult process and into a hardened adult form. Of course, the crabs probably dont have such altruistic goals. Each individual wants to be in the centre of the bottom layer of the stack. In fact, its not the bottom layer of the stack that is the ultimate position, its the centre of the group…e.g. not on the outside flanks. This leads to stacking because all the crabs are climbing over each other trying to get into the centre. (or a positon that is away from the outside edges of the group.)
All the above is well documented and has been said before(and i’ve probably got some assumptions and terminolgies wrong), but to see these two distinct periods of the same event with my own eyes, has really made it all the more amazing, so i’d thought i’d share my experience.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jun
10
Dive Number: 314 10/06/12 14.20, Rye Pier
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 12.2c
Bottom Time: 76minutes
Max Depth: 5.4m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: I made my second visit to the spidercrabs and it was a vastly different experience to the first and really put the puzzle peices together.
My first visit was when the aggregation was at its peak. Of the 10’s of thousands of spidercrabs present that day, i only spotted a few of decent size. The majority were small with a dark brown body, and these were the spidercrabs forming stacks on top of each other. Most spidercrabs on this day were fairly inactive and almost appeared to be resting or sleeping.
On my visit yesterday, numbers had decreased significantly, there were still some of these small, brown shelled crabs around, but the majority where large red/orange shelled crabs. These large crabs were very active, “marching” en-masse within the L-shaped confines of the pier with some climbing up the pylons and over the thousands of “brown-shelled” carapace’s littering the area under the pier.
It all started making sense when i saw one of these small-brown spider crabs actually going through the moulting process and seeing a newly formed red-shelled ‘adult’ spider crab about to emerge from the rear of the brown-shell.
It dawned on me that the intial aggregation were all pre-moult crabs that had come together to provide a ‘safety in numbers’ approach to sheding their old shell and emerging as a new ‘adult’ spidercrab. This process involved a period on non-activity where they were rendered immobile as they formed a new shell within the confines of thier old one, and then had to emerge from their old shell in a gelatenous, soft shelled form. All this makes an individual vunerable to predation, however, as a spider crab undergoing this process, you’re much safer if you can perfrom this process in the bottom layer of a stacked mass of spider crabs. The species as a whole has a much better chance of continuation if they can at least get a few thousand individuals safely through the moult process and into a hardened adult form. Of course, the crabs probably dont have such altruistic goals. Each individual wants to be in the centre of the bottom layer of the stack. In fact, its not the bottom layer of the stack that is the ultimate position, its the centre of the group…e.g. not on the outside flanks. This leads to stacking because all the crabs are climbing over each other trying to get into the centre. (or a positon that is away from the outside edges of the group.)
All the above is well documented and has been said before(and i’ve probably got some assumptions and terminolgies wrong), but to see these two distinct periods of the same event with my own eyes, has really made it all the more amazing, so i’d thought i’d share my experience.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jun
9
Dive Number: 312 09/06/12 14.20, Prince George Bank – North Stick
Wind: Westerlies
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 12.2c
Bottom Time: 76minutes
Max Depth: 5.4m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: I’ve started to scope out all the reefs on Prince George Bank for fall back dives when the winds are westerly and the swell is too much for anywhere on the coast/heads. Hyeonji joined me for exploring around the area and there was some nice colourful reef. Fishlife was again low with the cold water, but a nice little dive.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Jun
2
Dive Number: 312 02/06/12 14.22, Chimney Rock
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 6m
Water Temp: 14.0c
Bottom Time: 43minutes
Max Depth: 23.1m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: A dark, surgey, eerie, scary dive at Chimney rock…it was great! :D
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
20
Dive Number: 311 20/05/12 15.33, The Pipeline
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Rainy
Visibilty: 6m
Water Temp: 13.2c
Bottom Time: 93minutes
Max Depth: 3.3m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Pipeline
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos: Phil and Hyeonji were coming out west and were headed for the Springs. I suggested to come over to the end of the bellarine since the winds were strong westerlies and the Springs would probably be pretty dirty. We ended up at the Pipeline, a site i hadn’t done in ages and one i was keen to show off. Phil and Hyeonji were pretty impressed with the site, despite Phil falling for my sinister horsehoe swimthrough diver trap…mwahahaha. Fishlife was down, but plenty of rays around.
May
19
Dive Number: 310 19/05/12 11.57, Spider Crabs at Rye Pier
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Rainy
Visibilty: 7m
Water Temp: 14.0c
Bottom Time: 70minutes
Max Depth: 6.5m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Word was out that a spider crab aggregation was happening at Rye Pier, so me and Chris jumped in the boat and headed over. It was a cold, wet day and vis was pretty bad, but an amazing event to witness. The numbers were incredible…well into the thousdands. They were doing thier “stacks-on” behaviour, and forming pyramids of crabs. Alan and Mary showed up with Rani and Shannon, so i snapped a few shots of them photographing and playing with the crabs. On the way back, i just had to try an underover rainbow shot.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
17
Dive Number: 309 17/05/12 13.00, Victoria Towers
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Overcast again
Visibilty: 8m
Water Temp: 14.4c
Bottom Time: 98minutes
Max Depth: 7.6m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Another dark and surgey dive to find the Victoria Towers. I’m beginning to think this place is permanently under cloud cover. I didn’t find the wreck till very late into this dive again. Some nice ledges and sponge growth around though.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
14
Dive Number: 308 14/05/12 15.18, Lake Purrumbete, Camperdown
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Windy, cold, rainy
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: 14c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 10m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Dive number two in Lake Purrumbete. Phil leaked on this dive, so had to spend it in the car. We took a shallower route on this dive, and the vegetation was much more lush, with fishlife to match. Another sighting of a red fin school…amazing. Another great dive that ended with crawling through knee deep mud to get to shore.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
14
Dive Number: 307 14/05/12 12.47, Lake Purrumbete, Camperdown
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Windy, cold, rainy
Visibilty: 10m
Water Temp: 14c
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 10m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: The forecast for the weekend was horrible with big swell and strong winds. So we headed inland and gave Lake Purrumbete a try. After finding a suitable entry point (which is nearly the only entry point), we geared up and walked through crystal clear shallows(inhabited by eels) to the edge of the dropoff. At this point reeds extended down to about 6-7m, forming a towering wall of reeds to explore along. The vis was great for a fresh water lake, but there was still large particles in the water, perhaps some type of algae, that made photography difficult. I thought i was hallucinating at one stage when a school of about 10 red fin swum past..i knew i was in a fresh water lake, but it felt like the ocean. A really interesting dive.
Camera Details: Canon 60mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
13
Dive Number: 306 13/05/12 16.53, Andersens Reserve, Indented Heads
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 14c
Bottom Time: 80minutes
Max Depth: 3m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Took the macro lens out for a spin at Andersens Reserve. Nothing too exciting about.
Camera Details: Canon 60mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
9
Dive Number: 305 09/05/12 17.34, Victoria Towers Wreck
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 16c
Bottom Time: 80minutes
Max Depth: 7.9m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Ok, i can see this wreck turning into a compulsion for me. The weather was bleak and overcast, but regardless i wanted to explore this wreck further and try to get some pics. After 10minutes or so i was onto the wreck and it gave me plenty of time to poke around. It really is a massive wreck and there’s plenty of holes in the hull, an impressive bow, and other odds and sods to explore. A bit of rigging was nice find. It was sad to find a draughtboard shark with a fishhook in its mouth and the attached line snagged amongst some weed. Unfortunately i made the mistake of untangling the line before taking the hook out, and it swam off dragging a heavy sinker behind it.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
9
Dive Number: 304 09/05/12 11.06, Pt Lonsdale Platforms
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 15c
Bottom Time: 80minutes
Max Depth: 5m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Another gloroius dive in the point lonsdale giant kelp forests ending at the pier.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
7
Dive Number: 303 07/05/12 17.26, Victoria Towers Wreck
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 16c
Bottom Time: 80minutes
Max Depth: 7.9m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Attempt Number Two at trying to find the Victoria Towers Wreck. This time i was going to do a more systematic search after closer study of maps and gps coords. I walked down the beach about 500m from the path and swum out about 200m. I then worked my way back towards the path searching the reef for signs of the wreck. At one point, two pitted eye cavities stared up at me from the reef – a large skull shaped rock that seemed like the remains of a prehistoric primate – King Kong’s ancestors perhaps. Was this a bad omen? A portent of my impending death? Naa…a sign of adventure, shipwrecks and…. treasure lol I knew i was close ;) Sure enough i came across a hole littered with bottle bases, then just out the back i came across the sweeping hull of Victoria Towers sprawled across the sand. As always, i was nearly out of air when i found it, so i surfaced and tried to burn the location into my brain for next time.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
6
Dive Number: 302 06/05/12 14.12, Andersens Reserve, Indented Heads
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions: Cold wintery day..
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 14.2c
Bottom Time: 70minutes
Max Depth: 3m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Hyeonji came down for a dive and we headed to Andersens Reserve which i checked out on snorkel a couple of weeks ago. The bay was getting icey cold and there weren’t many fish around, but there was some nice colourful sponge life around. We watched a Banjo Shark munching away on its lunch.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
May
1
Dive Number: 301 01/05/12 17.23, White Beach – Torquay (Nudist Beach)
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 16.0c
Bottom Time: 80minutes
Max Depth: 7.9m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: I’ve been tempted to try to find the Victoria Towers wreck for a long time, and today was the day to start the search. I headed out but didn’t find any signs of the wreck. The terrain was fantastic though, so failing to find the wreck wasn’t a big issue. At least i know where not to look next time.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Apr
29
29/04/12 13.34, Snorkel at Curlewis
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty:
Bottom Time: 90minutes
Max Depth: 2m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Return to Curlewis to photograph the many Elysia Expansa that are currently in the area,
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Apr
28
Dive Number: 300 28/04/12 2.13, Ozone Wreck
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: 5m
Water Temp: 16.0c
Bottom Time: 80minutes
Max Depth: 3m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: Some of the BSAC crew were diving the Ozone, so i tagged along and shot some under overs. The vis was pretty ordinary.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Apr
19
Dive Number: 299 19/04/12 12.23, Collendina Reef
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 17.2c
Bottom Time: 80minutes
Max Depth: 7.9m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: A surgey dive at Collendina..i couldn’t find any of the critters or areas that made this dive so good a few months ago.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Apr
15
Dive Number: 298 15/04/12 15.31, Point Lonsdale Platforms
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 17.2c
Bottom Time: 57minutes
Max Depth: 4.2m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: I’ve never ventured out to Mushroom Rock before, the currents are pretty hairy usually, but today i thought i’d give it a go. Heaps of fishlife out here but the terrain was generally pretty similar to the inner reef..lush and colourful. I did get to nearly 8m in one whole. I finished the dive under the pier where i saw a Banded Morwong..a fish i’ve never seen before and uncommon in the bay…point lonsdale always throws up something new!
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
Apr
14
Dive Number: 297 14/04/12 15.31, Point Lonsdale Platforms
Wind: ???
Tide: ???
Conditions:
Visibilty: -m
Water Temp: 17.2c
Bottom Time: 57minutes
Max Depth: 4.2m
Air usage:
SAC: ???? litres/min
Details: When the opportunity arises to dive in the kelp forests off Pt Lonsdale i’m there. Its always an exciting dive with the strong currents, but swimming amongst the Giant kelp stands(Macrocystis pyrifera) is always memorable. In the heavy current area i spotted a Blue Groper. It was tough to get a photo of with the current and with a fisheye, but managed an ID shot.
Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , SS200 Strobes
Photos:
