Dive Reports – October 2020
Take a look at our dive reports from October 2020! We’ve detailed what we saw, the temperature and visibility, and surface conditions of the Solitary Islands in Coffs Harbour in October 2020.
Dive Reports October 2020 – Table of Contents:
1ST OCTOBER 2020 – TURTLE THURSDAY
Today we took 2 Wild out to South Solitary for another double dive.
On our first dive, we dropped some divers into Cleaner Station for a drift to Buchanan’s Wall, whilst others stayed at Buchanan’s Wall. They spotted 5-6 Grey Nurse Sharks at Cleaner Gutter, and a few more on North Boulder Wall. They spotted a slipper lobster, and turtles absolutely everywhere!
For the second, we dived from Cleaner Station to South Boulder. On this dive they saw Barney our Loggerhead Turtle, along with massive amounts of other turtles. They also spotted Black Cod, and schooling fish.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 10m-15m
Dive Report by Tara
2nd October 2020 – Grey Nurse City
Today we took 2 Wild out to South Solitary for 2 dives.
The first dive we dropped some more experienced divers at Manta Arch, and we dropped our students in at cleaner station. At Manta Arch, divers were greeted by loads of Grey nurse sharks, large cods, along with a green sea turtle, bull rays, and an orangutan crab (our featured image for today’s post). Divers at cleaner station didn’t have to go far to spot approximately 10 friendly grey nurse sharks at the bottom of the mooring, wobbegong sharks, a large black cod, with also tons of schooling fish.
Dive two, all divers did a drift dive starting from Cleaner Station and finishing up at South Boulder Mooring. Again, divers were greeted by more Grey nurse sharks, turtles, large schooling fish along with an octopus.
Congratulations to Emily for completing her PADI Open Water Course, and Charlotte for completing her PADI Advanced Open Water
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 5m-10m
Dive Report by Tara
3rd October 2020 – Blue Seas!
Today we headed out on a beautiful Saturday morning to South Solitary Island for our Double Dive trip.
For the first dive, we dropped our divers in from Cleaner Station to Manta Arch. They spotted plenty of Grey Nurse Sharks in the arch, along with a Green Sea Turtle. They spotted Nudibranches, Flatworms, and some semicircle Angel Fish here too. They also spotted a Cowl Nose Ray on this dive.
For the second dive, the divers headed to Shark Gutters. Here they spotted more Nudibranches, schools of Tarwhine and Red-Lipped Morwong, and heaps of Black Cod.
Today’s pic is one of the great shots of a Bubble Shell Lindsay took on today’s dive!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 15m
Dive Report by Lindsay
4th October 2020 – Early start helps the divers
The hour earlier start with Daylight Savings helped the divers today as they dived Manta Arch before the wind blew up. As soon as they asended a breeze kicked in. A dozen Grey Nurse around the shallows with only a couple in the Arch.
Morning tea was down at Archies Cave out of the wind and then Cleaner to South Boulder Wall was the path for the seond dive. More Grey Nurse Sharks along with some big Black Cod along with the schools of Tarwhine and Bullseyes mixed with Goatfish. A huge school of Fusiliers also buzzed the divers. A pleasant dive with lots to see, both small and big.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 10m-15m
Dive Report by Tara
5th October 2020 – Seal Visits South Solitary Island
Scuba Diving seems to be the pick for the schools holidays as we have booked boats for the next 5 days!!!
Dive one today was at Shark Gutters, visibility was down a bit with 5-8m and temp was a cool 17-18C.
Lots to see including Grey Nurse Sharks, Octopus, Turtles, Leafy Scorpion Fish, Spanish Dancers and Slipper Crayfish out in the open.
We had a large Fur Seal pop up and pay everyone a visit during the surface interval too, we do seem them very rarely maybe 3-4 times a year!!
Dive two was a drift from Cleaner Station down to South Boulder, visibility was very much the same, we had a huge Bullray on the wall, Grey Nurse Sharks, Fusiliers, Kingfish and big schools of Bulleyes.
Photo taken a few days ago by Lindsay
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 17°C-18°C
- Visibility: 5m-8m
Dive Report by Lindsay
6th October 2020 – Grouper Time!
On a lovely morning we headed out for a Double Dive on 2 wild.
For the first dive we dropped into Buchannan’s Wall. Here our divers saw a Green Sea Turtle, along with our favourite super friendly blue grouper! Today’s photo is featuring our Blue Grouper, taken by Divemaster Cassie! We also spotted a Pipefish, along with a beautiful Spanish Dancer. Unfortunately we did have lower visibility today, but there was still plenty to see!
For the second dive we headed down into the Gantry, where we saw another green sea turtle. We saw heaps of baby Nudibranches, big wobbeygongs, and heaps of fish. There were a few different puffer fish, and more Blue Groupers! On this dive we were lucky enough to listen to the sound of Whale Songs whilst diving. What a soundtrack!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 5m
Dive Report by Tara
7th October 2020 – First Giant Cuttlefish of the season!
With calmer winds in the morning, we headed out on 2 Wild for a double dive, both dives today on Buchannan’s Wall.
On the first dive, our divers saw a mixture of turtles – a big hawksbill, Barney our resident turtle, and a Big Green Sea Turtle. We spotted our friendly Blue Grouper from yesterday, along with a whole bunch of his friends, and a Port Jackson Shark on the wall! A giant cuttlefish was also spotted, the first of our cold season!
For the second dive, we spotted a heap of Blue Tangs (Dory!), and a really, really big Bullray! We spotted another Bullray with a Turtle cruising on top of it! There was a lionfish, a leaf scorpionfish, and a pipefish! There were also heaps of big wobbeygongs hanging about.
Conditions Report:
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: A warmer feeling 19°C
- Visibility: 5m-6m
Dive Report by Tara
8th October 2020 – Crested Horn Shark Visits South Solitary Island
Surface conditions today were not the best and underwater was the place to be!
Dive one was at Buchanan’s wall due to the northerly wind but our divers spotted 4-6 turtles along the wall, a Bullray, Wobbegongs, Lionfish and lots of Nudibranchs.
Dive two we decided take the safe approach and stay at Buchanan’s Wall but go in search of new territory!! Cassie’s and Phoebe’s group went to find the illusive “Barry the Buda” and on the way they spotted a Crested Horn shark which is the photo of today from Cassie. We had another few Turtles spotted, Blue Gropers and a large Abbots Moray.
Congratulations to Ned who finished his PADI Open Water Course.
Congratulations to Pat and Lucile who finished their PADI Advanced Open Water Course.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 18°C-19°C
- Visibility: 8m-10m
Dive Report by Lindsay
9th October 2020
Today we headed out to South Sol for another double dive!
On the first dive, we headed to Buchannan’s Wall. Here we had our divers all drop down to see some Wobbeygongs and schooling fish. There were also some more Blue Groupers here, along with a Grey Nurse Shark.
For our second dive we drifted from Shark Gutters to South Boulder. There were more Grey Nurse’s here, heaps of Black Cod, plenty of schooling fish, and a big Bull Ray.
We had Darren and Thi-Cam on their Discover Scuba Experience today, thanks for joining us guys!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 10m
Dive Report by Tara
10th October 2020 – Saturday Solitary!
Today we took out a big group of divers – split across both boats! – To South Solitary for some Saturday Diving. We had teams split up at different sites today, all with plenty to see!
Manta Arch:
Spotted here were around 8 Grey Nurse Sharks, and a Numb Ray. There was a Hawksbill Turtle, some Nudibranches, and Maori Wrasse joined the dive group for the entirety of the dive!
Visibility here was 10m
Cleaner Station:
6 Grey Nurse Sharks were spotted here today among heaps of schooling fish, and some more Nudibranches.
Visibility here was 8-10m
Cleaner Station/ Shark Gutters to Gantry:
On this dive we spotted 6 turtles! There was plenty of Wobbegongs and lots of fish. There was nudibranches along with heaps of Clownfish!
Visibility here was 10-15m
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 8m-15m
Dive Report by Tara
11th October 2020 – Super Sunday
Today we took both Wild Fin and 2 Wild out to South Solitary Island with the same lucky group as yesterday. Our trip out could not of been smoother, as surface conditions were perfect. Groups were split up again amongst both boats, with all divers thoroughly enjoying what South Solitary has to offer.
Dive 1: Divers on Wildfin started off their day by exploring Manta Arch. They were greeted by Grey Nurse Sharks at the bottom of the mooring, along with large black cod, wobbegongs, lionfish, and large schooling fish throughout the dive. The divers on 2 Wild did a drift starting at back gutter and headed through the gap ending up at the Gantry. Divers were lucky enough to have approximately 20 Grey nurse sharks in the back gutter, along with turtles, nudibranchs, huge wobbegongs and lionfish.
Our warm teas and coffees during our surface interval tasted a little bit sweeter as we had Humpback whales tail slapping for the majority of our break.
Dive 2: Wildfin had the same idea as 2 Wild for their second dive, as they also started at back gutter, swam through the gap and finished up at the Gantry. Divers had similar encounters as 2 Wild, however a Hammerhead Shark was among the notable additions just as the divers descended down, an octopus was spotted, nudibranchs, a blind shark, and loads of green sea turtles to top it off. 2 Wild for their second dive explored Cleaner Station, with more grey nurse sharks, large black cod, turtles, and a lionfish.
Thanks to In Depth Scuba for coming out the past 2 days, and sharing an enjoyable weekend.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 10m-12m
- Visibility: 19°C
Dive Report by Tara
12th October 2020 – Moray Monday
Today we took 2 Wild out to South Solitary with another lucky group of eager student and certified divers to take advantage of these fantastic sea conditions.
Dive 1: Our first dive today was at Buchanan’s wall, where divers managed to spot two Green Sea Turtles along the wall having a nice little sleep in, along with a Hawksbill having the same idea. Divers also saw a cuttlefish, a Grey nurse shark, nudibranchs, and a resident Blue Grouper. We also had our Advanced Open Water students complete their deep dive as apart of their course.
Dive 2: The choice for the second dive was a drift from Shark Gutters to the Gantry. During this nice drift, we saw Grey Nurse Sharks, Wobbegongs, more Blue Groupers, Bullrays, a Southern Eagle Ray, more colourful Nudibranchs, Green sea turtles, a Loggerhead turtle and also a Hawksbill turtle. We also managed to find both a tiny little Moray eel, and also a huge Moray hiding in the rocks, which is our featured image for today’s dive report. Our two Advanced Open Water students Lani and Sam also completed their Navigation dive for their course, practicing using their compass, and navigating for themselves safely back to the boat.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 10m-12m
Dive Report by Tara
13th October 2020 – A day of sleeping turtles
For the first dive today we headed from the Back Gutter to the Gantry, with our students staying at the Gantry. Here we saw around 10 Grey Nurse Sharks between the back gutter and the gap. There were two sleepy turtles, One Hawksbill and one Green Turtle, along with 3 other Green Turtles cruising around. A few Nudibranchs were spotted, some Wobbegongs, and a Porcupine Puffer fish. There were lionfish, heaps of schools of fish – almost a wall of Surgeon fish and Blue Fusiliers, and we got to see all of this with some Whale Songs as our soundtrack.
On our second dive we did Cleaner Station to South Boulder. On this dive there was huge amounts of Nudibranches, 3 large Bull Rays, and at least 3 Grey Nurse Shark in and amongst the cave and shark gutters.. There were plenty of schools of fish, some Wobbegongs, and a Giant Cuttlefish hiding in the wall (Today’s feature pic, thanks Cassie!), and a curious looking Slipper Lobster. We saw a Pipefish too, along with another napping turtle!
Congratulations to Reina for the completion of her PADI OpenWater Diver Course!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 5m-10m
Dive Report by Lindsay
14th October 2020 – Blue Water At The Top End of South Solitary Island.
After a quick trip out today it was decided dive one would be Buchanans wall, down the wall a large Loggerhead Turtle was seen having a nap, Nudibranchs, a Cuttlefish and Scorpion Leaf Fish was also spotted. After morning tea “2 Wild” made its way up to the Northern end of the island, the visibility had improved overnight. All divers descended down Cleaner station and made their way round to the Gantry, in and around the Cave, and Shark Gutters three Grey Nurse Sharks were seen. Down the wall Black Cod, Wobbegong Sharks, Bullrays, Schooling Tarwhine, were spotted. One group of divers made there way to the Gap, and were excited to see six Green Turtles hanging around.
Congratulations to Ethan on Completing his Padi Open Water Dive Course.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C-21°C
- Visibility: 10m-15m/20m
Dive Report Lindsay
16th October 2020 – Turtle Heaven in the Gap
Today we had both boats go out to the Solitary Islands! Wild fin headed out to Split Solitary to complete a rescue course, while 2 Wild went to South Solitary for a day’s diving.
For the first of the double dive, our divers headed down to Buchanan’s Wall. Here we spotted a few napping turtles, the typical buchanan’s Blue Grouper, some Nudibranches and Black Cod.
For the second dive we headed up to the top end, and our divers headed from Cleaner Station to The Gantry. They saw three Grey Nurse Shark here in the sanctuary zone. Down the wall there were schooling Tarwhine, and more black cod. One group of our divers made their way through the gap and spotted at least 10 Turtles.
Our Rescue Divers did a few scenarios and skills in water at Split Solitary to complete their course. Here visibility was not great at 3-5m – which is perfect for a Rescue! Today’s picture is of our Rescue Students.
Congratulations to Oriane, Myriam, Anthony, and Tara for completing their Rescue Course! Congratulations to Rowan and Nikita for completing their Open Water Course!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 22°C
- Visibility: 20m+
Dive Report by Tara
17th October 2020 – 30 Metre Visibility at South Solitary Island
Conditions today at South Solitary Island were amazing!!!
Dive one was at Cleaner Station and we could clearly see the cave and the bottom which has been a long time coming, we had a few Grey Nurse Sharks, Eagle Rays, Leaf Fish, and schools of Bulleyes. While the divers were down a fisherman had pulled up an endangered Black Cod and as a result from coming to the surface too quick its swim bladder had inflated to a point it could not get down again, We picked it up and then Instructor Lochie took it back down to the bottom where it come right and swam under a rock!!!
Dive two was a drift from Shark Gutters down to The Gantry We had a strong current and lots to see including another two Eagle Rays, Bullrays, Kingfish, Nudibranchs, Lionfish and 10-13 Turtles near the Gap.
Photo taken today by Lindsay
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C-22°C
- Visibility: 25m-30m
Dive Report by Lindsay
21st October 2020 – Sharks Rays and Turtles
We had both Wildfin and 2Wild operating today out at South Solitary Island and both dives were amazing!!
Dive one 2Wild tied up to Manta Arch while Wildfin dropped divers in at Cleaner Station, lots seen on these dive sites including Grey Nurse Sharks, Bullrays, schools of Travelly and some big Wobbegongs.
Dive two was a drift for both boats from Cleaner Station down to The Gantry there were a few Grey Nurse Sharks again, Slipper Lobsters, Black Cod, Nudibranchs, Eagle Rays, and plenty of Turtles near the Gap.
Photo taken today by Lindsay
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C-22°C
- Visibility: 20m-25m
Dive Report by Lindsay
22nd October 2020 – Turtles Galore at South Solitary Island
Yet another spectacular day out at South Solitary Island and we had both Wildfin and 2Wild full with keen divers and snorkellers.
Dive one was up the northern end with Wildfin staying at Manta Arch and 2 Wild putting divers in at Cleaner Station, all divers thoroughly enjoyed the first dive of today and plenty spotted underwater including Grey Nurse Sharks, Travelly, White eyed Eels, Bullrays and a Wobbegong eating a fish.
Dive two had Wildfin dropping divers near the Back Gutter to make their way through The Gap to The Gantry while 2Wilds divers done The Gantry, they had Grey Nurse Sharks again, Black Cod, Eagle Rays, Octopus, Blue Tangs and 6-8 Different Turtles,
Photo today taken by Lindsay
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C-22°C
- Visibility: 20m-30m
Dive Report by Lindsay
23rd October 2020 -Manta Arch and a Drift
We headed out today and were greeted with nice blue water. With signs of a big current, we dived at Manta and were met by a few Grey Nurse out and about at the arch. The current was too strong to venture to the back gutter, but we still saw 8-10 sharks cruising close by. Lockie and the PADI Deep Specialty divers were lucky to have glimpses of a Hammerhead shark in the distance.
On our second dive the certified divers dropped in at Shark Gutter to drift around to the Gantry. Here there were bull rays, lots of turtles including one sleeping under a rock, and some Black Cod at a Cleaner Station area.
The Deep Specialty Divers headed out deep from the Gantry to see a squadron of Cow Nose rays at 30 mtrs and finished with turtles and Clownfish in the shallows
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 22°C
- Visibility: 20m
Dive Report by Tara
24th October 2020 – Nice diving at South Solitary Island
Despite the grim forecast, the weather and sea conditions were quite OK for a trip to South Solitary Island. Diving Buchanan’s Wall and the Gantry on dive 1, both boats were out with divers enjoying the clear water. Turtles were abundant and fish were quite active around the southern point of the island.
Dive 2 had one boat diving with 20 Grey nurses near Manta Arch before drifting through the gap to the Gantry on the other side of the island, whilst the other boat mixed it with the fish and a few turtles at Buchanan’s. Pic today is from Oriane on a Go Pro, of Claire doing her Fish ID dive on the PADI Advanced Open Water Course.
Today’s message: Don’t trust the weather forecast!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C
- Visibility: 20m
Dive Report by Mike
25th October 2020 – Bullrays on Sundays
We had really good conditions again today with only a light breeze from the NW and very minimal swell.
Once at South Solitary Island, Wildfin got the advanced divers in at Manta Arch to explore the Back Gutter while 2Wild dived Buchanan’s Wall with the other divers. Both groups of divers saw loads including Turtles, Grey Nurse Sharks, Moray Eels, Black Cod and Eagle Rays.
After a pleasant surface interval Wildfin’s divers started a drift dive at Cleaner Station and ended at The Gantry, as 2Wild’s divers dropped in the Back gutter and agian, ended at The Gantry via the Gap, These dives finished of the day perfectly with Octopus, Grey Nurse Sharks, Wobbegongs, Nudibranchs, a huge female Logger Head Turtle near Five Metre Rock and a very playful Bullray next to the Gantry mooring.
Congratulations to Thibault and Thomas who finished their PADI Open Water Course today.
Congratulations to Claire who become a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 20°C-21°C
- Visibility: 12m-18m
Dive Report by Lindsay
27th October 2020 “25 Metre Visibility At South Solitary Island”
With a small group of divers, “2 Wild” made its way out to South Solitary Island for today’s double dive and on arriving the divers were greeted with 25 metre vis. One group of divers dropped in at Manta Arch, and the remaining divers made their way round to Cleaner Station. At least twenty Grey Nurse Sharks were seen in the Back Gutter at Manta, along with some Black Cod, Wobbegong Sharks, Nudibranchs, and a Large Green Turtle. The Divers at Cleaner Station spotted 3 Grey Nurse Sharks, Eagle Rays, Moray Eels, and two Loggerhead Turtles.
After morning tea, all the divers descended down Shark Gutters Mooring and made their way round to South Boulder Wall. On this dive, a couple More Grey Nurse Sharks were sighted, along with Schooling Tarwhine, Blue Fusiliers, Goatfish and Bullseyes. The dive ended down the wall with 5 Turtles, and another Eagle ray cruised past.
Thanks to our DM trainee, Alicia, for the video.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C
- Visibility: 25m
Dive Report by Lindsay
28th October 2020 – Happy Hump Day
Today we travelled out to South Solitary Island with a boat full of keen divers, that were eager to take advantage of the warm blue waters that we have been having the past week.
Our first dive, we decided to dive Manta Arch, where we could see the bottom from the surface even with cloud cover. Divers descended down and headed straight to the back gutter to be greeted by approximately 20 Grey Nurse Sharks. After being entertained by the friendly Grey Nurse Sharks, divers swam back to the arch, where there was large schools of Travelly, a large Green Moray, and also a large Loggerhead Turtle.
For the second dive, 2 groups of divers did a drift from Shark Gutters to the Gantry, and one group just dived at the Gantry, where they were doing the Navigation Dive, as apart of the PADI Advanced Open Water Course. During the dives, more Grey Nurse Sharks were present in Shark Gutters, allowing divers to have an even closer look. Along the boulder wall, Green Sea Turtles were spotted, large schools of Fusiliers, Black Cod, Wobbegongs, Bull Rays, and a Slipper Lobster.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C
- Visibility: 20m-25m
Dive Report by Lockie
29th October 2020 – Great Conditions At South Solitary Island
Two boats steamed out to South Solitary Island this morning, “2 wild” had research divers on and “wildfin” had a mixture of certified divers and student divers. Dive one was at the northern end of the island. All divers dropped in at Shark Gutters, and were greeted with at least 25 metres of visibility, four Grey nurse sharks were spotted, Lionfish, Black Cod, Wobbegong Sharks, and a Hawksbill Turtle. After morning tea certified divers did a life drop in the back gutter making their way through the gap, to South Boulder. Student divers dropped in on Cleaner Station finishing at South Boulder. The Back Gutter was packed with Grey Nurse Sharks at least twenty were counted, also seen on dive two were nudibranchs, Slipper lobsters, Bull rays, and two Loggerhead turtles were seen down the wall.
Congratulations to Oscar and James on completing their Padi Advanced Open Water Dive Course also Taal on completing his Padi Open water Dive Course.
Vis 25 Metres.
Water temp 21 degrees.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C
- Visibility: 25m
Dive Report by Lindsay
30th October 2020 – Still good vis at South Solitary Island
Despite a bit of Northerly wind, conditions at Manta Arch and Shark Gutter moorings were great for the first dive today. Manta Arch had a few sharks around the gutters near the arch and at least 15 in the back gutter.
Dive 2 had “Wildfin’s” divers check out the Gap after mixing it with the mass of Grey Nures sharks in the back gutter. “2 Wild’s” divers drifted from Cleaner Station to the Gantry and enjoyed a few Grey Nurse Sharks as well as the usual mix of schooling fish. They also had a special viewing of a big Wobbygong with a mouthful of a poor little Wobbygong. (Pic by Deb)
Congrats to Lou in becoming a PADI Deep Diver and Ray and Iveta completing the PADI Shark Awareness Specialty.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C
- Visibility: 15m-20m
Dive Report by Tara
