Dive Number: 32 26/04/2010 15.03 St Leonards Pier
Wind: 15 knot westerlies
Tide: 3 hrs after 0.90 high tide at the geelong
Conditions: Reasonable conditions…fairly choppy on the surface, but the vis was OK.
Bottom Type: Peir pylons on sand
Visibilty: 5-7m
Water Temp: 18c
Bottom Time: 100 minutes
Max Depth: 3.6m
Air usage: 120bar/1800psi
SAC: 10.7 litres/min
Details: Probably my favorite St Leonards dive yet. Its the first time i’ve seen a cuttlefish here and also found the ellusive Conger Eel that i’ve often heard about. Also found a ver colour flabellina nudibranch..but didn’t have my macro lens on.
Camera Details: Canon 17-40mm , dual SS200 strobe.
Dive Report: I started the dive not really knowing what i wanted to target, but i stayed mid water for a while and started tto check out the pylons rather than going to the bottom and scanning the sand. This ascidian stood out to me.
This little leatherjacket had the same idea as me and just hung close to the pylons .
A lone seastar clung to a pylon remanant on the bottom.
A Spotted Stingaree cruised the seagrass just outside the pylons.
I accidently disturbed this baby cuttlefish that was doing its best to blend into its environment. Did a damn good job too!
Once i disturbed him though he took off in search of another patch to blend into:
As i was photographying the cuttlefish a baby flounder (or is it a sole???), was putting on a bit of a display, rearing up and giving away its position against the sandy bottom.
He didn’t really like being the centre of attention though and took off pretty quick.
My air was getting low and i spotted a critter peaking out from a small metal pipe. It was conger eel, but it was very shy and this is about as far as he came out. I couldn’t stick around long because of low air, but i’m hoping he’ll be there next dive.
