About the site
Rapid Bay Jetty in South Australia is a known leafy sea dragon spot, and they were the main attraction that had drawn me out for a dive there. The old jetty gets down to 10m deep and there’s masses of life hanging out between the pylons. This includes some very healthy looks seagrass beds on each side which attract a whole array of creatures.
About the photos
For the first 10 minutes of the dive Ken and I had swum under the old jetty itself with eyes carefully peeled for leafies. The vis was fantastic. I was oscillating between being sure I was going to find a dragon and being convinced there was one hidden in plain sight that I had just swam past.
After not finding the object of my desire immediately, I moved out to one side of the pier. I was hoping to be successful in the vivid green seagrass. Instead of leafies, we found something more interesting. Squadrons of squid were dancing out to the side of the pier. They were hanging out in pairs and repeating certain swimming patterns. Periodically a single squid would point its tentacles and dive into the seagrass.
There were a lot of squid. This meant that even after the first few pairs got up and moved away from us noisy bubble blowers I was able to find a more distracted pair to let me get close. The three squid in the top photo are the result of two pairs colliding. The two on the right are displaying colours to each other to defend their mates. I also love the shot down the bottom. Partly for the clear blue water and sunshine beaming through, partly because you can see the swarms of squid about their business in the background, and partly for the interaction between wildlife and diver. The joy of ocean diving is pretty good when the conditions are good – it was a privilege to observe these critters going about their business in a sky blue sea.