Two SSAC divers headed to Bare Island for an intended dive to the deep wall. After agreeing to postpone the dive to the afternoon on a beautiful sunny Easter Monday holiday, our divers arrived at the car park only to be flabbergasted by the sheer number of drivers competing for parking spaces. On the realization that parking was a futile hope and determined to get in the water, a second decision was made to try our luck on the other side of the bay at The Steps (Kurnell). Thankfully, this decision proved to be much better than the one to delay the dive, despite the additional 45 minutes of travelling time.
In contrast to the scene at Bare Island, The Steps were practically deserted. The expected mass of holiday divers must have come and gone for the drift dive, as we arrived just before high tide and had the whole dive site to ourselves. Once in the water, we experienced variable conditions in an otherwise great dive. Water temperature for the most part was 20C but fell to as low as 18C, and the slightly milky visibility ranged from as much as 10-12m to less than a metre near the exit. We first headed right with only a slight current against us, enjoying the colourful sponge gardens, a restless wobbegong, an adventurous octopus, a seahorse, and massive schools of yellowtail. After 30 minutes and reaching a maximum depth of 15m, we ascended to 10m and returned along the sandier but still impressive ‘top shelf’ between the lower sponge gardens and rock wall.
Already after 3pm when we were finally packed up and dry, we agreed to skip the post-dive festivities and call it a day. Lesson learned: don’t schedule an afternoon dive at Bare Island on a public holiday!
All in all, another great SSAC shore dive!
