I
never dived between my first Discover Scuba on Magnetic Island in 2001 and my Open Water Course in Vanuatu nine years later as I had no idea how accessible and rewarding temperate diving could be in my home state of Victoria. The Mornington Peninsula - where I have now dived over 1,000 times - is one of Victoria’s mostpopular tourist destinations, serviced by no less than five scuba centres. Many of the piers dotted along its picturesque coast offer easy access to the relatively calm waters of Melbourne’s 1,930 square kilometre Port Phillip Bay. These piers offer exciting underwater playgrounds for divers and underwater photographers of all levels. Current is rarely an issue, and a reliable system of webcams - coupled with weather apps to assess wind speed, direction and swell for each site - assists with dive planning. Year round, and at any time day or night, divers park their cars and within minutes are submerged in water 3m-10m deep, straight off the shore or via giant stride from pier landings. Water temperatures range from 10°C in winter (making drysuit diving, gloves, hoods and thermals a popular choice), to 22°C in summer. Undeterred, divers avail themselves of the relative safety and simple navigation of pier diving, as well as easy access to marine life diversity that rivals the Great Barrier Reef. Because of their close proximity, it’s not uncommon for divers to explore two or three piers across a day - double and triple The blue-ringed octopus is roughly 20cm dives at one pier are also popular (Care must be in length, but it is one of the most taken, particularly in summer when fishing hooks, venomous animals in the ocean. boat and jet ski traffic abound in the same shallow Its bite causes paralysis in the waters).
Blairgowrie Pier
Attached to a bustling marina, the expansive T-shaped Blairgowrie Pier has a dedicated divers pontoon and ladder and is diveable in most conditions. The substrate is comprised of sand, weed and shell, appealing to muck divers searching for nudibranchs, gobies, dragonets, velvetfish, stargazers
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muscles and can easily kill an adult human!
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