ALL DIVES IN SYDNEY UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
DIVING ACRONYMS In this log I use some acronyms to make it easier for me to remember where I went and what I saw:
LOCATIONSÂ (Mostly at Bare Island unless otherwise stated - see website pages for locations)Â SHR - Sea horse rock OHR - Opera House rocks STR - Sea tulip rocks SHC - Sea horse corner BR - Block rock (also Big Rock at Inscription Point) RIFR - Red indianfish reef IR1 -Isolated Reef 1 IR2 -Isolated Reef 2 15MR - 15 Metre Reef LR - Long rock AR - Anglerfish rock N, S, E, W, NE, NW etc - compass headings LBR - Little big rock at Inscription Point ER - Exit Rock at Inscription Point SR - Split Rock at Inscription Point
FISH ETC BIA - Bare Island Anglerfish (red fingered anglerfish) PPH - Pygmy pipehorse BBSH - Big belly sea horse RIF - Red indianfish USDP - Upsidedown pipefish PJ - Port Jackson shark
VISIBILITYÂ
Shithouse - less than 2 m Very Poor - 2 to 4 m Poor - 4 to 6 m Fair - 7 to 10 m Good - 10 to 15 m Very Good - 15 to 24 m Excellent - 25 to 30 m Very Excellent - 30 m+
1 July 2026 - Barrens Hut/ The Split Calm seas but very slight E shop which made it annoying coming out of Port Hacking and at anchor as side on. Very slight current from N down to 14 m then nothing. Viz was at least 10 to 12 metres but milky. Anchor was on reef top so had to drop it over wall and then move to a good spot. Then up Split to N end and back outside. Hundreds of mado at the end of the Split. Back to anchor and then thousands of yellowtail. Went to the Tunnel and then to Cave. Bastard trumpeters and red morwong in Cave. Back via the rear crack, some more trumpeters and morwong at the end. A few blue morwong seen but no tiger anemones or donuts. Spent last bit around anchor and then up. No whales seen or heard today. A good dive. Visibility good.
2 July 2026 - Bare Island Deep Wall Went in off W point as millpond seas. A milky 5-6 metres, perhaps a little more. Cool 16.1C. Lots of opera house nudibranchs near The Bubbles. Back via RIF Reef, none of course there. A purple-lined nembrotha on the Deep Block. Then to 15 MR where there was a fine-lined tambja and a Vercos tambja (Parramatta nudi). Back to SHC, the wobbegong shark from Sunday still on top in crack. no sawtooth pipefish but one USDP. The two PPH are still around and another fine-lined tambja on OHR. The BBSH was on STR today. Lots of small leatherjackets from 8 m back shallow. No RIF again. A very good dive. Visibility fair.Â
4 July 2026 - Desalination Plant Inlet Club boat dive, two boats and nine divers. A bit sloppy from the S, wind from W but changed to SSW and picked up once I was back on the boat. Viz 8-10 metres. Anchored on the N side of Number 1 inlet. Went around it and then to 2 and onto 3. It is still missing the grills and roof. Huge numbers of fish here, seapike, yellowtail, silver sweep, one-spot pullers and mado. They were inside and around the outside. The other inlets had thousands of mado mostly. Kyle saw a Moorish idol! We went to 4 and then back to 1 via the others. Last bit spent around 1 and then on the top. An excellent dive. Visibility fair.
11 July 2026 - Whale Watching Plaform/Rockfall Was supposed to be Wedding Cake Island but once again, the WCI VooDoo struck! Larger and more powerful swell than predicted. Tried Bypass Reef but a 2 km/h current. Much better here, swell less and wind protection. Water bluish 10-12 metres. Anchored half way between the two sites. Went N along the deeper wall for about 60 metres and then W to the main wall at the Platform site. Then a bit N before heading S. A blue devilfish here in cave. On the way back a small Moorish idol in same cave. Back shallower at 15 m and then headed E to the Rockfall site. S along the wall and then N back to the canyon before heading E to anchor. Spent the rest of the time here and then on the deeper wall. Second group saw two more blue devilfish in the Rockfall area. I also saw a large kingfish under boat. A very good dive. Visibility good.
14 July 2026 - Bare Island Deep Wall A great way to celebrate my birthday. Millpond seas but dirty water, 4-5 metres viz at best. Cold, 15.2C. Went off W wall and then to Deep Wall. Reka had problems with buoyancy, new undergarment and was too light. Ended up have to surface and swim back. Did usual route, dozens of opera house nudis near The Bubbles and hundreds of small yellowtail over the wall. Back via RIF Reef, none of course. However, near Deep Block there was a purple-lined nembrotha and on the block a Parramatta nudi (Vercos tambja). Back via 15MR and SHC. A fine-lined tambja on the way. Two sawtooth pipefish and one USDP in normal spot as well as the two PPH we have been seeing for months. One RIF near SHR, no BBSH. Shallow hundreds of mullet near my rock pile. A nice dive to start the day. Visibility poor.
19 July 2026 - Bare Island Isolated Reef 1 In a group of six, but really only dived with Reka. Large E and fairly protected here, but there was still wave action and lots of surge, even at 15+ metres. Quite dirty 2-3 metres mostly but better near IR1 and main reef. A RIF before STR but no BBSH there. Two PPH before SHR, where has the second one come from? No interesting nudis at OHR. I could not find the PPH on AR but apparently the others saw two. Around IR1 anti-clockwise, the tiny orange painted anglerfish still in same spot on SW corner. Back via SHC, very surgy there. Two USDP and two sawtooth pipefish (STP) near Cave. Back normal way. Not the greatest dive, even getting out was harder as swell and wind up from when we went in. Visibility mostly very poor. Â
23 July 2026 - Bare Island Right Millpond seas, no current, no surge but still poor visibility and cold 15.6C. Before we went in thousands of mullet were being herded into the bay by dolphins. Still hundreds near entry point down to before STR. On the way back, some before the Outboard. The two PPHs are still in same spot, no nudis on OHR. Could not find the tiny orange painted anglerfish Nyrelle last Sunday, near where I found the anglerfish months ago. Then to AR but again, no PPH. Two USDP and two STP in normal spot. Down to SHC, a spiny gurnard near there, same one we saw on Sunday. Back via the Caves, a red-lined flabellina and a couple of opera house nudis and a few others. A nice flathead near LR but no RIF or BBSH. Back to exit. My rockpile at the exit is now very large, I add a few rocks each dive. Visibility poor. Â
25 July 2026 - The Monuments A new access track from existing path being built. Very strong W winds and largish SE swell but easy entry and exit. Very, very cold, 13.7C!! Little outgoing tide. Three seals on the surface near entry point, but not seen underwater. Not much around, a few nudibranchs but not much more. Went E first and then W and back to entry spot. A very average dive. Visibility very poor. Â 28 July 2026 - Pizza Reef Club boat dive. First time I have been able to get a crew during the week for four weeks. Flat seas and a bit of NW wind, a bit of current from N and water 17.2C. Viz was 12 to 15 metres I reckon. Anchored on S end and had to move anchor to a better spot, hence with the current had a higher SAC than normal. Went around the reef, some seapike and small trevally near Cave, only one bastard trumpeter but at least six Port Jackson sharks. No donut nembrothas near Cave but two under the anchor rope, one the biggest I have seen. After the dive a humpback whale 60 metres from the boat and another out wide, went looking but saw no more. A good dive. Visibility good.
29 July 2026 - Bare Island Right W wind and calm seas, viz much better than last Thursday but still cold at 15.4C. Heaps warmer than the 13.7C on Saturday across the bay. Went down closer to main reef. The BBSH was there and three PPHs at the first spot before SHR. Saw another two on the larger AR. No fancy nudibranchs apart from some opera house near Main Cave. Went out on the sand after AR and saw a large flathead. Near IR1 a RIF on the sand. Strong outgoing tide in this area. Back closer to wall. One USDP and three STP near First Cave. Still cannot find the tiny orange painted anglerfish Nyrelle found two Sundays ago. Back to exit, lots of silver sweep on the way. A nice dive. Visibility fair at first but poor on way back.
1 August 2026 - Henry Head Club Frenchmans Bay Dive and BBQ day. Three boats, two runs each and 23 divers in all. This was the first run of the day by my boat. A bit more swell than expected but little NW wind and some light rain. No current and bluish 10-12 m viz. Warmer 16.5C. Anchored in normal spot next to the Admiralty Anchor. My housing flooded so had to ascend to give it back to boat watcher, camera is okay. Went S, a bit of surge out at 20 m+, but not too bad. Nothing really special seen here, just usual things. Turned back after 17 mins and came a little shallower. Back past anchor, went back to sand, found a smallish sea dragon. Second dive found two. Went up to 17 m and then turned to head back to anchor. Saw a large moasic leatherjacket on the way. Last bit near anchor. Nice dive despite only sea dragon and the leatherjacket as special things. Great BBQ afterwards. Visibility good.Â
22 August 2026 - Desalination Plant Inlets First dive after trip to Mongolia. Glad to be back in the water! Beautiful day, flat seas, little W wind, warmer water that before I went away. Unfortunately, I anchored off the inlets as the other boat with me anchored first right on my mark. Thought I anchored near No 2 Inlet but turns out I was about 30 m to the N. When I got to the bottom, went S but not fair enough. Then back to anchor and N and NE and then E and back to anchor. Still nothing. Then S again along the small wall and found No 2. Then to No 1 and back to anchor. Lots of seapike in inlet and mado all around. On the reef lots of one-spot pullers, a few PJs and apparently a wobbegong. A nice dive despite taking most of the dive to find the inlets. Visibility good.Â
23 August 2026 - Bare Island 15 Metre Reef Last chance to dive from the island for 12 to 15 months as the bridge is being reconstructed from tomorrow. Swell came up dramatically from yesterday, lots of large waves on both sides of the island, very surgy to 13 metres, then not too bad. Viz was 5-7 metres mostly. Went down relatively quick via SHC and 15MR to the Deep Block. A purple-lined nembrotha and two small fine-lined tambjas here, the two Parramatta nudis seen by others yesterday were gone. Came back via SHC. Two USDP in normal spot near Main Cave, but no sawtooth pipefish. Two PPHs on AR, went back via OHR and SHR. No PPH near there, a shovel-nose ray near STR, the BBSH was there. A nice dive despite the surge. Visibility fair.
25 August 2026 - Bare Island Isolated Reefs Access to bridge is now closed for 12 to 15 months while it is rebuilt. Looked at the Goat Track but too muddy, so went from Larpa Point. Headed SSW by compass but ended up near join of main reef and IR1 instead of between IR1 and IR2. Found the missing bridge pylons on the way! Went around the whole reef anti-clockwise as outgoing tide. Only a little current on the way, perhaps that is why ended up too far E. Lots of yellowtail and bream in spots, Vicki found a small white and orange spotted painted anglerfish on the S side of IR2 near IR1. A few small cuttlefish, a spiny gurnard, some nudibranchs and Vicki saw an eagle ray on the way back. We headed back from between the reefs and headed NE but went too far E into the bay. Saw the boat wreck too. Ended up NDL of 7 mins when leaving the reef. A nice dive, just need to work out the navigation. Visibility poor.
29 August 2026 - Inscription Point First dive with new ring light for camera. Calm seas but lots of surge, little current. Viz was 4-5 m in spots with whale snot, water 16.0C. Saw three anglerfish, a grey BI, a colourful BI and an orange painted one. Only two PPH, a few good nudibranchs including three purple-lined nembrotha. Went down past BR, then back shallower. Saw the new BBSH, Shane, as well as Vic. No sea dragons. A few PJs, nothing other than that special. A nice easy dive, first one here for almost three months. Sore legs after! Ring light worked good, need to modify a few things a little to get best, including an optic fibre cable to fire strobe. A good dive. Visibility poor.
30 August 2026 - Barrens Hut/The Split Club dive, two boats and nine divers. Calm seas but a little more swell than expected. Little wind and current. Went down and anchor came off normal spot and was on sand, had to drag W to reef about 15 metres. Viz was awful, 2-3 metres except for a couple ot spots maybe a metre better. Worst on a boat dive for many years I reckon. Went to Split and N and then outside. Lots of seapike and yellowtail above Split and outside. Headed S back to anchor. More fish, including mado. Back at anchor went S to Cave and then back to anchor. A small wobbegong shark, some PJs, lots of red morwong and some bastard trumpeter near cave and back near anchor. More seapike and yellowtail as well as a large blue morwong. Moved anchor to S a bit as where I put it first time would have been impossible to pull up. Back up, viz heaps better at safety stop. An awful dive, didn't even turn on my camera. Visibility shithouse.Â
1 September 2026 - Bare Island Isolated Reefs Eric and Tanya are visiting again from Hawaii. Started from Larpa Point and went SW. Lost them and Garry when Eric found a blue-ringed octopus. Waited for a few minutes, then headed to reef. Hit it at 10 minutes right near IR1/IR2 join. Went E looking for them as we had a slight current from W despite it being an outgoing tide. Did not see them so headed back and found them just entering the gap. Saw a nice octopus here, then the white and orange spot painted anglerfish from last week, in a sponge. Went W on S side of IR2 and around to N side and then E. Saw lots of yellowtail and old wives on the first corner. A blue groper followed us for a bit and then a PJ went up over the reef. Lots of pink okenia. Took photos of starfish with ring-light on flash mode. Then back NE. Ended up back at starting point, perfect navigation. A good dive despite start and very poor visibility.Â
3 September 2026 - Bushrangers Bay - Shellharbour Took Eric and Tanya down here to see the grey nurse sharks. Nice new road in but already looks old! They could have tarred the parking areas, but no. Very hot day, very strong W wind, 15 to 20 kts. Headed out on S side, viz about 8-10 metres. Saw at least three sharks, perhaps four. Two or three small ones and a larger one. Also saw two giant cuttlefish, a horned shark, two swimming anemones, blue groper and all the usual fish. Lost Tanya somehow and she ended up ahead of us, we had no idea how she passed us. A nice dive. Visibility fair.
5 September 2026 - Bare Island Isolated Reefs Tried to do a boat dive but only one person interested, so decided to do a shore dive. Went off Larpa Point again, headed SW, ended up just W of the IR1 and IR2 join. Went over to S side, saw a nice flathead on the way. Looked for painted anglerfish but could not find it. Lots of yellowtail around this area. Then went E and around IR1. Back to starting point and a little W. Back to where we met the reef, then back to shore as Simon low on air. The others saw the electricity cable on the way out, I did not. A few nudibranchs, but nothing really special. Visibility poor.
9 September 2026 - Inscription Point Last dives for Eric and Tanya before they head back to Hawaii. Went left and found two sea dragons, one with eggs. Then back to E, looking for anglerfish, but none seen. Found a PPH which they had never seen before. Some other nudibranchs, Didn't get as far as the BBSHs though. A few opera house nudis as well as pink okenias. A nice dive. Visibility fair.
13 September 2026 - M & K Reef Took the boat out, a bit sloppy on the way but it calmed down near dive site and was okay once there. A seal was swimming around the boat before we got in but not seen. Viz was about 20 metres, 16.3C, whales heard the whole dive. Anchored on the top of the reef and moved to bottom. Went N and soon saw a blue devilfish. Lots of seapike and then hundreds of luderick near the corner. Went to the back cave and then returned. A medium cuttlefish in a cave, saw the blue devil again. Then S past anchor. A bit deeper for a while, back to anchor and then under the boat and ascended. A really good dive. Visibility very good.
15 September 2026 - La Perouse Wharf Went in at the old slipway, then to NW and N. Jumped over to to N across sand and then E to the wharf, hit it at the end. Went to the corner and then back, then SE to reef and back to slipway. Viz not good and worse under wharf. We were looking for a turtle and an anglerfish seen on Sunday but no luck. A numbray, the head of a shovel-nose ray under wharf, some chairs, a few small cuttlefish but not a great deal more. The pylons have heaps of growth on them since we dived did our only other dive on it 18 months ago when it first opened. A couple of nudibranchs on the reef, found a nice Reschs bottle but lost it under the wharf and an old cough mixture bottle. A poor dive, poor to very poor visibility.
19 September 2026 - Middle Ground Club dive, changed from The Balcony to here as longer period swell forecast. Was windier than predicted but swell generally good but some bigger long period ones too, some surge on bottom at times. Anchored SW corner. Whales heard most of the dive, but faint. Not a huge amount of fishlife, but a few hundred yellowtail on N and NW corner. No wobbegongs or PJs seen, but second group did as well as tiger anemones. A spiny gurnard near anchor. When we surfaced, wind was over 15 kts W but dropped a little to 13 kts. Okay trip back. A better dive than I expected. Visibility fair.
20 September 2026 - Bare Island Isolated Reefs Went off Larpa Point and headed SW, but a current from E pushed us so we ended up halfway along IR2. Viz quite poor. Went E to near SHC and then to The Cave. The two upsidedown pipefish are still there but no sawtooth pipefish. Then to AR but the two PPH are nowhere to be seen. From here to OHR, nothing special there. Then headed NE and then N across sand. Hit mainland E of LP and headed W. Ended up a bit past the normal exit spot and got out there. Saw a couple of sole, a few PJs, some yellowtail on IR1. Not a great dive. Visibility poor.
24 September 2026 - Bare Island Isolated Reefs Went from Larpa Point again, headed SW but ended up again near last dive, 12 mins. Saw the witches hat I stood up last dive. Decided to go to the W end of IR2 and then on the S side. Refound the small painted anglerfish from 25 August, a bit bigger now. Some yellowtail and silver sweep over parts of the reef. Went towards main reef and then back on N side of IR1. Lots of PJs, not much other special stuff. Went back to near where we met the reef. Headed NE and saw a sole again. Came across the electricity cable and then the other smaller tinny wreck. Dive only made good because of the anglerfish. Visibility poor.
26 September 2026 - Pizza Reef WOW, WOW, WOW!!! What a dive! Fairly calm, very slight current from N. Anchored just NE of Cave. Viz 20 metres. Started off as a pretty good dive and just got better. Six donut nembrothas near Cave, another S and then three more on the S low reef. Then, I heard Kelly screaming, she was on main reef, I went over and saw a shadow and she signalled to me she had seen a sunfish (mola mola). She said it headed N up the crack, so we went back towards the anchor and I saw not one, but two sunfish over to the W. They were tiny, perhaps one metre long at the most. I think they were dwarf sunfish. They just stayed a few metres off the bottom, we spent about 7 minutes with them before we had to leave and ascend. I got some great video and photographs as the circled around, coming so close we could have touched them. An amazing dive, far better than the three other sunfish experiences I have had in Sydney before. Visibility very good.
29 September 2026 - Bare Island RIF Reef A little bit of wave action but easy in at Larpa Point. Exited around the corner on the flat ramp like area. Went S this time, actually a bit of SE towards the end. Ended up between SHR and STR, 10 mins. No PPHs at the normal spot, went past SHC to OHR, then quickly to AR. Still no PPHs here either. Then one USDP but not sawtooth pipefish. Went to SHC and then to 15MR and then to the Deep Block. A purple-lined nembrotha still here. Then to RIF Reef and went around the edge to the NW and then N from there. Back to the gap between IR1 and main reef. Back to OHR, then headed N across the sand. Hit reef at 9 mins and then went W up on top doing safety stop as we went. Around the corner (reef edge NW) and exited easily. Nothing really special at all, a few pink okenias and some other nudis. Visibility poor.
30 September 2026 - Middle Ground North Two boats and eight divers. A bit sloppy outside, must have blown NE overnight. Anchored on reef near normal spot. Viz about 5-7 metres, very slight current from N. Anchor only on sponge, so I had to move about 7 metres, very hard as G&S were anchored very close behind me and I could not move it downwind. Used a lot of air. Buddy never came down (he forgot to put inflator hose for drysuit on reg) so dived alone. When I moved anchor I saw a donut nembrotha but could not find it after. Eventually went SE to sand edge and then a bit further. Came back along one of the cracks to anchor. Lots of tiger anemones on sea whips and some jewel anemones. Back at anchor I found the donut. Other pair came down and after a while I ascended, 2 mins deco. A good dive. Visibility fair. |
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