I came back the next week to D'Arcy Island on the Inde charter boat to have a look at the area North of where we dove last time.
Visibility was a bit worse than last time, maybe 10-15'. Above 30' or so, everything was covered with bottom kelp. Below that, there was a slope of boulders, small rocks and some more solid rock reefs. The main rocky slope bottomed out at about 50-60'. The topography and marine life seemed similar to last time, except today the bottom was full of orange burrowing cucumbers. Last time, their orange arms must have all been retracted.
Up close, I could see that many of the rocks were covered with tiny purple tube worms. I don't think I've noticed this anywhere else before.
Near the bottom of the slope I saw a large chain. I followed it, hoping it would lead to an old anchor, but it ended at a concrete mooring block.
So far I assumed that I was seeing a different area than last time, but I came across a small rock face that I remembered from near the end of my dive last time. Like last time, the current was extra strong here so I was swept past it, only managing to take a few quick photos.
I continued to drift North into new territory that I hadn't seen before. The topography and marine life was similar to the area farther South except there were less rockfish than the area around the middle of the island. The base of the rocky slope seemed to be getting a bit shallower too, maybe 45-50'. I saw a dead dogfish shark on the bottom.
As I swam around the North-West corner of the island, the bottom turned to a sandy slope with some bottom kelp. It was shallower here (30' or so) and the current was too strong to swim against so I drifted with it to the area North of the island. Visibility had dropped even more here (probably less than 10') because of all the bits of kelp and sediment being swept along in the current.
My opinion of this place is the same as last time. It's always interesting to explore somewhere new, but for me, I don't think this spot is worth coming back to.
