This was the best visibility we have ever seen on a dive in Victoria! Checking the pier in Google Maps showed that we had at least 20 Metres visibility today. Several days of light Southerlies, combined with diving a couple of hours before high tide, certainly helped. The visibility was double what we had two days earlier.

We found lots of Weedy Sea Dragons, including some that we had seen before. Directly below the entry platform we found three, including the one in the print I gave to Kirsty for Christmas. A great start to a fantastic dive!

This time we also saw several Cowfish, both Shaw's and Ornate, although most were still quite skittish. There were lots or Weed Whiting and Dusky Morwong out in the sea grass meadow at the end of the pier, and two two Smooth Rays patrolling the perimeter.

The Polar Pro Sitchblade for the GoPro Hero8 is working really well, with the macro lens providing great closeups when needed. I'm still coming to terms with the white balance options on the Hero8, but when set to auto it seems that the magenta filter is a better option than the red filter for diving under piers in Victoria

{gallery}diving/Flinders-Pier-29-December-2019::::2{/gallery}

Kirsty, Amelia and I had a great dive at Flinders today.

There were lots of Weedy Sea Dragons around, many of the males were carrying eggs. Off the end of the pier I found a female Ornate Cowfish, although she was very shy, and it was hard to get a good photo of her.

This was my first dive with my new Polar Pro Switchblade for the GoPro Hero8. The macro lens did a great job, but the red filter was a bit too strong for the depth and water at Flinders. Next time I'll try the magenta filter. The Macro lens captured fantastic closeups of the Weedy Sea Dragons, even with the slight surge.

A large Smooth Ray came quite close, after circling us earlier in the dive. It was hunting in the sea grass meadows to each side of the pier.

{gallery}diving/Flinders-Pier-27-December-2019::::2{/gallery}

Rye was our alternate dive site, after we checked out Flinders and decided that the visibility was no good. What a lucky decision!

Not long after entering the water we gound two Potbellied Seahorses wrapped around each other, and then, further out along the pier, we swam into a school of thousands of East Australian Salmon. They extended out each side of the pier as well, and was an amazing sight.

Towards the end of the dive we swam out to the wreck of the Eivion, and found a few Old Wives, Zebrafish, two Kastelnau's Wrasse, a Senator Wrasse, and a large Cuttlefish which put on quite a display. The recent bad weather appears to have had quite an effect on the wreck, with more timbers becoming detached from the hull.

{gallery}diving/Rye-23-December-2019::::2{/gallery}

Poor conditions at Flinders meant that we relocated to Blairgowrie for this weekend's dive, where there were loads of divers participating in the Great Victorian Fish Count.

Although we spent a lot of time examining pylons we only spotted a Verco's Nudibranch. There were large schools of small fish mid-way along the pier, and further out there were quite a few Stingarees resting under the erosion matting. A few Moonlighters and Silver Sweep were also found in the gaps under the matting, but there wasn't really all that much that was remarkable in terms of sea life. The beams of light playing over the sides of the pier were quite spectacular.

Kirsty was using the old GoPro Hero4, and used her footage from this dive to make her own video record of the dive.

{gallery}diving/Blairowrie-08-December-2019::::2{/gallery}

Kirsty and I started this dive off the steps half way along the pier, and as soon as we hit the bottom I spotted a Weedy Sea Dragon with very distinctive side markings. The GoPro Hero8 did a great job of capturing the details. Kirsty found a Verco's Nudibranch hanging onto a mass of sponge that was being buffeted by the surge. It was rolling around a pylon, and over a Feather Duster Worm, which didn't seem to mind, as the worm hadn't retracted into it's tube.

A couple of large Smooth Rays were circling the pier, and swam by to check us out. I spotted the tentacles of an octopus in the engine block, but it showed no interest in us at all. There were quite a few Wrasse hiding around the pylons.

{gallery}diving/Flinders-Pier-24-November-2019::::2{/gallery}

First dive for the season. Kirsty and I participated in the Great Victorian Fish Count, with Marine Care Ricketts Point. We didn't spot all that much life close in, but did see some Moonlighters, Dusky Morwong, Fiddler Rays, a Common Stingaree, Six Spined Leatherjackets, Yellow Leatherjackets, Horseshoe Leatherjackets, Scalyfins, Magpie Perch, lots of Southern Hulafish, and a large school of Zebrafish.

This was my first five with the new GoPro Hero8 that Kirsty gave to me. The detail captured is very impressive, even without a colour filter.

{gallery}diving/Ricketts-Point-23-November-2019::::2{/gallery}

We start off by exploring off to the West of the yacht club, where we had been told we might find some ledges where Port Jacksons could be seen, and perhaps even an Eagle Ray or two. Obviously we weren't in the right location, as while we did find some interesting features there was nothing like the ledges we hoped to see. The visibility was fantastic, particularly close in, where we could see over 10 metres. The sun, being a bit higher in the sky than on our last dive here, penetrated much more deeply into the water, and we found that we were able to swim much further apart than usual here.

Eventually we decided to head over to our usual area. It was a long swim, but well worth it, as we found a large school of Zebra fish grazing on one section of the reef, quite a few large Dusky Morwong, Old Wives, and some fairly large Snapper as well. No Banjo Sharks or Port Jacksons today though. Some of the Leatherjackets were occasionally hanging vertically in the water, so perhaps the agregation that we have observed in previous years is about to happen again.

{gallery}diving/Ricketts-Point-17-March-2019::::2{/gallery}

This was a fairly murky dive in a reasonable swell. There were lots of large Dusky Morwong around, and we found quite a few Old Wives, Snapper, and Sweep, but not as many Leatherjackets as we would normally find here.

The highlight of the dive was a large school of Zebrafish grazing around the reef, being buffeted by the surge.

{gallery}diving/Ricketts-Point-06-April-2019::::2{/gallery}

We went down to Rye on the off chance of a dive today. The weather forecast hadn't been good, but the winds were not anywhere near as strong as they were supposed to be, and the showers disappeared, leaving an ovdrcast sky with the sun trying to break through from time to time,

The entry platform on the pier was closed, so we had to do a short entry - a long walk through shallow water just after low tide. We found several Seahorses hiding in the growth on the pylons, and a small Cowfish out in the rubble at the end of the pier. There were quite a few Squid off to the side of the pier again.

{gallery}diving/Rye-11-March-2019::::2{/gallery}

Murky dive at Ricketts with lots of particles in the water, and low light from the early start, made for an interesting dive!

Lots of Banjo Sharks, bu no Port Jacksons. Schools of Snapper getting bigger, and there were a few skittish Blue Throated Wrasse around. We managed to find the ledges where we last saw the Port Jacksons, but nothing in there toiday.

We spoke to a snorkler who suggested trying off to the right of the entrance markers to the yacht club channel. He said that he had seen Port Jacksons and Eagle Rays in that area, so we'll have to give it a try.

{gallery}diving/Ricketts-Point-09-March-2019::::2{/gallery}

When we first entered the water I thoug that this was going to be a mediocre dive! the viz wasn't great, and there didn't seem to be all tha muc to see, but by the end of the dive it was a completely different picture. We had spotted a couple of (Lomg nosed?) Weedfish, two Maori Octopuses out hunting, a number of Seahorses, and a couple of Kastelnau's Wrasse swimming around in their typical bobbing motion. Another Smooth Ray put in an appearance, and Barber Perches, Featherduster Worms, and several differnt species of Leatherjackets were also seen. No luck in finding any more Blue Ringed Octopuses though.

{gallery}diving/Rye-Pier-24-February-2019::::2{/gallery}

Started off as a mucky dive in the shallows, but once we got out past the midpoint of the pier the visibility improved dramatically. Only a few Weedies around today, but lots of Cowfish. Found a Swimming Anenome anchored to some grass, and also saw a large Blue Throated Wrasse. A couple of large Smooth Rays made several passes to check us out. There were lots of Whiting and Old Wives out in the sea grass meadows, and a couple of large schools of juvenile Toothbrush Leatherjackets. Kirsty found several worms that we are yetto identify.

{gallery}diving/Flinders-Pier-17-February-2019::::2{/gallery}

Another fantastic dive at Ricketts Point, even though the visibility was pretty poor. The viz was partially due to muck in the water and also because of the large amount of fry we could see. Lots of Zebras about, feeding on weeds, and some Yellow and Horseshoe Leatherjackets. There were a few very large Dusky Morwong swimming around. Kirsty found a good sized Sweet Ceratasoma Nudibranch.

We also saw a few Stingarees and perhaps five Banjo sharks, but the highlight of the day was finding ten Port Jackson sharks scattered along under a ledge. The ledge was situated along a line from the white house with a tall tree behind it, and the green pile, with the yellow pile slightly to the right of a right angle to this line. One of the sharks was swimming around, but the rest were just hanging out under the ledge.

{gallery}diving/Ricketts-Point-28-January-2019::::2{/gallery}

Another surprising dive at Rye!

After a lacklustre start we saw a large school of small Leatherjackets being chased by a Cormorant, and then saw a massive school of Squid keeping station off to the West of the pier. More Hermit Crabs were found at the end of the pier, and Kirsty had a close encounter with a Blue Ringed Octopus whilst we were heading out to Elsa's Reef.

On the way back in we were surprised by a large Smooth Ray. Will practised a mask and regulator retrieval, and whilst he was doing that I spotted a large Shaw's Cowfish - the largest one I've ever seen, and the only one I've seen at Rye!.

There were lots of Moonlighters, Old Wives, and Wrasse out at the Eivion wreck, as well as Stingarees and Banjo Sharks.

{gallery}diving/Rye-Pier-27-January-2019::::2{/gallery}

This was a great dive at Rye! We started out in fog, and ended the dive in brilliant sunsine. Spent some time watching a couple of Maori Octopuses - one at the end of the pier, and one on the shore side of the entry platform. This one was very active, hunting crabs on the pylons, and put on a fascinating display for us.

There were quite a few Seahorses around. Some of them were males, perhaps carrying young, as their bellies were quite distended. We saw one large Smooth Ray, without a tail, and on the way out to Elsa's Reef we must have spotted a couple of dozen Sparsely-Spotted Stingarees. There were a few small groups of Squid off to the side of the pier, a single Zebra, and massive schools of juvening Leatherjackets. Hidden amongst the weeds at the base of one pylon we spotted a very well-dressed Decorator Crab.

Kirsty was able to dive with one less weight than previously, which I carried just in case it turned out that she did need it. I think that she can probably get rid of perhaps another kilogram, which would make walking up the pier easier.

{gallery}diving/Rye-15-January-2019::::2{/gallery}

First dive for the New Year, and the first time we've seen Lions Mane Jellyfish at Ricketts.

Somehow we managed to miss the main reef - we swam in a large circle all around it. Saw another Fiddler Ray, but no Port Jacksons. Not the same quantity of fish life that we've seen here before, but quite a good variety of species.

{gallery}diving/Ricketts-Point-1-January-2019::::2{/gallery}