COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

Strong winds and choppy seas have hampered our efforts to explore the area offshore from Bowen so we ventured again to Horseshoe Bay which offers some protection from the south easterly winds. Our main aim on this dive was to show Sue the underwater sculpture erected near the southern headland in Horseshoe Bay. After missing it on the way out due to the limited visibility we decided to continue across the bay to complete the exploration we had begun on our previous dive here. Halfway across the bay visibility dropped substantially and it was clear that conditions on the northern headland, which is less protected from the south easterly winds, would make navigation difficult so we headed back to the south. Eureka! We stumbled across the sculpture and after exploring the images of the wobbegong, butterfly fish, coral trout, mangrove jack, etc. we continued to the headland to search for nudibranchs. The surge prevented any exploration to the south so we opted to follow the rocks back to the shore. No doubt we would have found more Samla bicolor had we searched for longer but conditions were poor and coffee was on the menu.

Taxonomic Diversity:
Both species were nudibranchs comprising: 1 x phanerobranch dorid & 1 x aeolid cladobranch.

Our Historical data:
The low number of dives on this site precludes presentation of meaningful historical data.

Guide to Symbols:
+++ New Species
+ First time sighted at this site
# Most commonly sighted at this site with %

TOTAL SPECIES SIGHTED: 2

DIVE IMAGES GALLERY

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