Dive Reports – February 2019
Take a look at our dive reports from February 2019! We’ve detailed what we saw, the temperature and visibility, and surface conditions of the Solitary Islands in Coffs Harbour in February 2019.
Dive Reports February 2019 – Table of Contents:
2ND FEBRUARY 2019 – BLUE WATER AT SOUTH SOLITARY ISLAND!
Shortly after leaving the harbour we crossed quite a big current line and instantly the water temp started to rise. By the time we reached South Solitary Island the water was a lovely dark blue and 25 degrees!!! Eagle Rays, Bull Rays, Turtles, Leaf Fish and Grey Nurse were just some of the highlights!
Forecast for the next few days looks great.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C-25°C
- Visibility: 25m
Dive Report by Andy
3rd February 2019 – Manta Manta Manta
Today was one of those days that all the pieces of the puzzle line up and fit! The visibility was an easy 25m at Buchanan’s Wall and with a raging current up the top end we had a good 30-40m visibility there!!!
Buchanan’s Wall had a few Turtles, Wobbegongs and lots of Nudibranchs on the Wall.
Dive two was a extreme drift from Shark Gutters down to the Gantry, Boulder Wall had some beautiful fish including a stunning juvenile Blue Angelfish near south boulder mooring.
The highlights were defiantly the Leopard Shark near the Gap and the THREE Manta Rays at the start of Five metre rock!!! These Manta Rays swam with all of our divers for at least 20mins and come super close!!! Its amazing to get one Manta at South Solitary Island let alone THREE!!!!!
Congratulations to Barry, Garrett, and Joseph who finished their Open Water Course today and to Jame Howard who finished his Advanced Open Water and also spotted the Leopard Shark.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 22°C-26°C
- Visibility: 25m-40m
Dive Report by Lindsay
5th February 2019 – Big Blue Brings Leopard Sharks to South Solitary
Once again, the East Australian Current was quite powerful today, flooding the Solitaries with warm blue water! Shark Gutters and the Boulder Wall were teaming with life! Some of the highlights included Black Cod, Eagle Rays, Kingfish and Leopard Sharks!
Vis 20-30m, temp 24-26c
Still plenty of spots available on tomorrows dive. Come and enjoy the great conditions.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 24°C-26°C
- Visibility: 20m-30m
Dive Report by Andy
6th February 2019 – South Solitary Island keeps its high standard
With South Solitary Island surrounded by that beautiful blue, warm water we have been trying to get out as much as possible and make the most of it.
Dive on had some of the divers do the top end drift to The Gantry while the students stayed at the Gantry in the shallows.
Dive two was a drift again from the top end for everyone because it was just that good!! We had Kingfish, Black Cod, Sweep, Tarwhine, Bullrays, Octopus, a beautiful Leopard Shark near Cleaner Cave and 8-12 Turtles between The Gap and The Gantry mooring.
Photo taken today near Cleaner Station.
Congratulations to Jake for finishing his PADI Open Water Course and to Evelyn and Yvette who completed their Advanced Open Water Dives today aswell.
Visibility 20-30m
Temp 21-25C
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C-25°C
- Visibility: 20m-30m
Dive Report by Lindsay
7th February 2019 – 40m Visibility at South Solitary Island
The comments from the staff today were “we have not seen this visibility in at least two years” It was an easy 40m up the northern end of the island today while Buchanan’s wall you could see up to 30m!!!
We had Leopard Sharks, Bullrays, Toadfish, Nudibranchs covering Nudi Wall, 2 Pipefish down deep at Buchanan’s Wall, Wobbegong’s, Turtles and plenty of colourful fish along Boulder Wall. Today was one of those EPIC dives you hear everyone talk about!!!
Congratulations to Krissy and Bec who finished their PADI Open Water Course today.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 22°C-26°C
- Visibility: 30m-40m
Dive Report by Lindsay
8th Febuary 2019 – Blue Water Still Hanging Around At South Solitary Island
After a quick ride out it was decided dive one would be at Buchanans wall. You could see the bottom from the boat, lots happening on the wall Turtles, Bullrays Nudibranchs, one group were lucky enough to spot a couple of Eagle rays.
After morning tea all divers got in at Cleaner Station, using the current to get around to the Gantry. The top end was buzzing with fish, schools of Tarwhine, Bull eyes, Black cod, Bullrays. Two more Eagle rays were spotted at North Wall and At least a dozen Turtles were spotted at the Gap.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 26°C
- Visibility: 30m-40m
Dive Report by Andy
9th February 2019 – Both Scuba and Freedivers Enjoy the Blue Water at The Solitaries!
With visibility as good as 30 meters and the water temp topping 26 degrees the conditions at South Solitary Island couldn’t get much better today! There was also plenty of tropical life around too! Black Cod, Turtles, Lionfish, a school of 20-25 Whaler Sharks and some very friendly Leopard Sharks added to the highlights!
Making the most of the good conditions 2 Wild made an afternoon trip to Split Solitary for a free dive training course. Congratulations to Chris, Matt, Mitch, Nathan and Jackson on completing their PADI Freediving Course today!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 26°c
- Visibility: 30m
Dive Report by Andy
11th February 2019 – Beautiful blue water but dont forget the macro’s
Yet again South Solitary Island was glowing blue and the warm, clear water was teeming with life!!!
Dive one was at Buchanan’s Wall and we could easily see the bottom from the surface!! We had a large male Green Sea Turtle swim next to one of our groups and plenty of colourful Nudibranchs along the Wall.
Dive two was a drift from Shark Gutters down to The Gantry as the divers rolled in there were two Leopard Sharks straight under the boat!!
Boulder Wall had a huge abundance of life with Tarwhine, Bullesyes, Black Cod, Mantis Shrimp, Blue Tangs, Banded Coral Shrimp and a cute little Yellow Boxfish near Five Metre Rock.
Congratulations to Vicki who finished her Deep specialty on dive one and Peak Performance Buoyancy on dive two.
Photo taken by Nathan Fripp (is there one box fish or is he holding a mirror????)
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 22°C-25°C
- Visibility: 20m-30m
Dive Report by Lindsay
18th Febuary 2019 – Great Way To Start The Week at South Solitary Island
After a smooth trip out to South Solitary Island all divers got in at Buchanan’s Wall for dive one, it certainly didn’t disappoint. Eagle rays, black cod, slipper crays, turtles and a huge bullray was spotted. After morning tea it was decided that dive two would be a drift from Cleaner Station to the Gantry. The boulder wall was buzzing with life. Tarwhine, goat fish, wobbegongs and eagle rays were just some of the highlights. One group of divers were lucky enough to see a Leopard Shark!
Congratulations to Chris on completing his PADI Open Water Course.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 25°C
- Visibility: 20m-30m
Dive Report by Andy
29th February 2019 – Calm Before The Storm as Cyclone Oma Approaches
There is no better way to spend a Wednesday than underwater at South Solitary Island. Our divers saw plenty of action on both dives exploring the north and south sides of the island. Plenty of black cod, turtles, lionfish, moray eels, octopus and bullrays plus lots of macro life too!
Visibility still sitting around 15-20m while the water temp ranged from 20-24c. With cyclone Oma making way down the east coast it could be a few days before conditions are suitable for diving again. Let’s hope Oma runs out of strength before making landfall.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature:
- Visibility:
Dive Report by Lindsay
