Egg laying squid under Rapid Bay Jetty

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Dec 152015
 
Egg laying squid under Rapid Bay Jetty

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 [read more…]

Leafy seadragon under Rapid Bay Jetty

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  1 Response »
Dec 082015
 
Leafy seadragon under Rapid Bay Jetty

About the site Rapid Bay Jetty is a well known dive site in South Australia. On a hot Saturday morning for the first weekend of summer it was busy with divers staggering up and down the pier between the stairs and the car park. Once underwater however we only swam past other buddy pairs occasionally. The jetty is known for its resident leafy sea dragons. Unlike the weedy sea dragons we get in Victoria, leafies have more ornate body decorations. I’d never seen one in the flesh despite a prior dive in this exact location a few years back. I had my fingers crossed for a little more luck this time. About the dive Despite arriving around 9am it was already stinking [read more…]

Blenny central under Mornington Pier

 Macro, Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Nov 252014
 
Blenny central under Mornington Pier

About the site Mornington Pier is currently under reconstruction. In the last 12 months they’ve removed and replaced almost all of the pylons, changing from the old wooden pillars to new steel and plastic contraptions. All of this work hasn’t done much for the underwater scenery with many of the critters that could manage it moving on. The bottom has been scoured down in places and until the greenery grows back there won’t be very many places to hide. On the other hand the local fishing community hasn’t had easy access to the end of the pier either. I spent the dive surrounded by schooling old wives, juvenile sweep and yellow tailed silver thingies. Being on the rEvo made me [read more…]

The top of the pylons at Flinders Pier

 Macro, Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Sep 022013
 
The top of the pylons at Flinders Pier

About the site I was intending to dive at Mornington Pier yesterday, a quick trip out from home. When I got there I discovered the 1m+ swell was breaking under the pier and the car park was empty of divers. With the wind coming in from the bay it was time to move to the other side and I drove over to Flinders Pier instead. Yesterday was also the first day of the Underwater Festival photo competition. Photos have to be taken in September this year to qualify so I have the next 29 days to take the winning shot. It was great to get started early. About the dive Due to the unexpected redirection I got to Flinders about [read more…]

Weedy seadragon portrait under Flinders Pier

 Macro, Ocean diving  5 Responses »
Jun 242013
 
Weedy seadragon portrait under Flinders Pier

About the site Flinders Pier is known for weedy seadragons and it would be rare to dive there and not see one. It can be a very shallow dive – I’ve spent an hour underwater at low tide and not been deep enough to turn my dive computer on. The pier is a great dive when the wind is blowing from the west as it’s on the other side of the Mornington Peninsula and sheltered when Mornington and Rye Piers are exposed. About the dive I dived at Flinders on the long weekend Monday. The conditions were dead flat up top. Underwater the vis was milky but there wasn’t much floating sand, and the water temperature was finally down to [read more…]

Juvenile leatherjackets under Rye Pier

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Mar 112013
 
Juvenile leatherjackets under Rye Pier

About the site Rye Pier is a long sandy swim down to the end. It’s known for seahorses hanging out on the pylons, and once a year playing host to the spider crab migration. Last week I’d heard a rumour the spider crabs were out and about. It seemed a little unlikely especially given last year I dived with them in May. With the weather looking beautiful for any kind of dive, we decided to head down to Rye anyway and see what we could see. About the dive We walked down the beach and into the water, rather than walking along the top of the pier in the very hot sun. After a bit of wading, this meant swimming through [read more…]

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