My Recent Dives - April, May and June 2026
Posted by Michael on 01 April 2026 00:00
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:

LOCATIONS 
(Mostly at Bare Island unless otherwise stated - see website pages for locations) 
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

VISIBILITY 

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 April 2026 - Shiprock
Huge seas since last Thursday evening, so no diving anywhere till yesterday. Went in 9 mins before high but the incoming current stopped about 10 mins early and outgoing started about 15 mins early. Actually got quite strong after about 15 mins of changing. Viz 3-4 metres and warm 21.0C. Went in at pool and over wall, only went to last bommie and plaque bommie, then normal. No nudibranchs at all, a few octopus, large numbrays, one medium wobbegong shark, one moray eel. Lots of luderick and seapike, one pineapplefish. Could not look for anglerfish as my right ear would not clear near the end. A very average dive really. Visibility poor.

2 April 2026 - Bare Island Isolated Reef 1
Flat seas but a 15 second period meant a bit of surge even deeper. Viz varied from 2-3 m shallow and 3-4 or more on IR1. Huge seas have destroyed my rockpile at exit, rebuilt it at end. Also huge amount of sand missing from Shark Fin and Outboard Motor, fully visible, as is a large pole. Found the BBSH in normal spot but no PPH at all, Found a RIF past SHR, first one seen since December 2024. for 12 months. Lots of yellowtail on IR1 and cleaner on S side. Back looking for Whites sea horse, not found, but seen by buddy on Tuesday. Back via Cave, more yellowtail here. Saw the USDP and three sawtooth pipefish in same spot as recent dives. Back via normal way. Found another smaller RIF near LR and then found a large spotted RIF back near 44 gallon drum. Back to exit, collecting rocks for pile as I went. A fair dive. Visibility poor.