Hi Folks,
I've been doing a few dives at Flinders Pier lately partly because of these damn northerlies and partly because I'd
love to see a mythical Seadragon of the Leafy type in Victorian colours. No luck with the aforementioned but as always
Flinders amazed me as usual with its mix of stunning regulars and surprising one offs. The Westernport waters are very
nutrient rich, sometimes a bit too rich as far as vis goes but this stimulates some amazing invertebrate growths covering
the pylons and in some areas even the sea bed. I tried to capture some of this using the WA lens.
There's one pylon with a nice colony of the hydroid
Ralpharia magnificawhich I usually stop to check out.
At the piers end there are some monster sized ascidians
which have some colonial ascidians blanketing them.
Bumped into a large Melbourne Skate, Dipturusa whitleyi.
This is only the 3rd time I've seen one of these beautiful
and placid rays. I was fortunate to spend a bit of time
with it as it foraged amongst the weed.
Lots of juvenile Weedy Seadragons about in one area I visited.
As always I hope you've enjoyed my offerings!
Cheers,
Jim 
