Welcome to Total Bottom Time!
Total Bottom Time is my online personal dive log. A place where I can share my dives with friends, family, other divers, and the world. You can find out a bit more about me and see my full log of dives by clicking on my profile on the right. Feel free to subscribe to my dives via email or RSS.
Below are just some of my latest dives.
Latest Dives
Portsea Pier |
October 30, 2026 |
A trip to Melbourne for work and to get a some dive in too. My mate Tom and I drove from the Melbourne CBD down to Portsea to chat to the good people at Bayplay about the local dive spots, where to go, what to see, and hire a couple of tanks.
We got pointed in the direction of Portsea Pier. It was under construction so we had to enter the ocean from a beach maybe 1 km away from it. We had no real idea what to expect and it turned out to be absolutely incredible.
Portsea Pier in the distance
It started out by running into weedy seadragons within the first 5 min of the dive. The area is known for them but it still felt very lucky. These are fascinating creatures.
Weedy Seadragon
On the way to the pier, we saw more wildlife.
Senator Wrasse
Bluespotted Goatfish
Spotted Stingaree
Weedy Seadragon
We finally got to the pier and I was blown away by how it was teeming with life. I was also blown away by how loud the construction was. In the videos, you can clearly hear the hammering of the machine that was driving replacement posts ...
Click here to continue reading...Freedive - Kia Maanu Kia Ora |
May 30, 2026 |
I'm taking a course from Water Safety NZ called Kia Maanu Kia Ora from Dive Wellington.
Kia Maanu Kia Ora
The first session was on 23 June, 2026. It was a pool session that was a good refresher for much of what I did in my PADI Freediving Course.
The second session was on 30 June, 2026. It was a sea session at the Island Bay Snorkel Trail, where we practised more freediving and water safety skills. At the end of it, we did do some freediving but the visibility was awful, although we did see some crayfish. It was barely 2 metres so it was hard to keep track of our buddies and we left the ocean sooner than later.
My progression throughout the session.
| Freedive | Time (seconds) | Depth (metres) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | 5.5 |
| 2 | 39 | 3.7 |
| 3 | 36 | 4.0 |
| 4 | 45 | 3.2 |
| 5 | 49 | 3.4 |
| 6 | 42 | 3.6 |
| 7 | 39 | 3.1 |
| 8 | 53 | 3.3 |
Xi-Ji Fault |
May 17, 2026 |
Final dive of the trip and back to Dongji Island for our final surface interval.
Dongji Island
We walked to the top of a hill to see the goats.
Goats
For the final dive, we went to Xi-Ji Fault.
Xi-Ji Fault
The final dive of the trip didn't disappoint. Lots of great wildlife.
Painted Spiny Lobster
Emperor Angelfish
Semicircle Angelfish
Angelfish
Streaked Chromodoris
Maskrays
Pustulose Wart Slug
Bluestriped Snapper
And that was it for the Taiwan trip!
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