Scuba Diving Perth WA
Shore Diving
Marmion Angling & Aquatic Club
SITE INFO:
- Shore Dive: Reef Dive.
- Max Depth: 6 meters.
- Dive Conditions: All dives north of the river (West Coast Drive) will be considerably effected
with swells greater than 1 meter, swell periods greater than 12
seconds, and anything but a low easterly wind (a gentle southerly may be
dive-able early mornings but really needs to be close to non-existent). I have had a perfect day at MAAC with visibility over 20 meters but only once.
- Dive Flag at site: No
Directions
- Marmion
Angling & Aquatic Club is on West Coast Drive. It is about 15
minutes North of Perth and about 10 minutes South of Hillary's Boat
Harbour, UBD Street Directory of Perth pg 205.
- There is parking either in the car park next to the club or on the main road.
- Kit up wherever you park (keep valuables out of sight) and make your way down either side of the club. Entry directions are for heading in by the boat ramp, do you final checks on the waters edge (BWRAF).
- The chances are you will see the waves rising and breaking over the reef. You can descend here into shallower water or swim out a little further maybe another 50 meters and then descend, the reef should be to you left or in a Southerly direction.
- There are two reef areas, with the second one approx. 80 meters south of your entrance point, this is the deeper and better of the two reefs.
Dive Review: (Dive 1)
- Dived at
the reef just in front of Marmion Angling & Aquatic Club in March
2011 and I have to say that I really enjoyed this shore dive. The vis
was nice and the marine life was abundant, the only problem I had on this
day was that my camera had jammed so I am afraid no pictures for this
site currently but as soon as I do this shore dive it again, I will
place some here. The DM who took us here believes that this is one of
the best shore dives in the Perth area, you will have to decide that for
yourself...... but I would disagree...sssshhhhh.
-
Apart from a little bit of surge and making sure you don't get marooned on top of the reef this is a nice dive for the novice diver. The depth is overall quite shallow around the reef approx. 5 meters, that said if you venture out approx. 10 - 15 meters from the reef there are some sea grass areas and when I dived we managed to log 7 meters.
-
The vis was good approx. 6 meters on this day but I have a feeling on a perfect day it could get a lot better. The DM on that day recommended that you dive after a couple of days of low Easterly winds, with minimal swell, you can dive with low Southerly winds early in the morning but I was advised that by lunchtime the dive site can get a little rough.
-
As stated earlier we dived generally on a very calm day but the effects of the waves and surge were very evident and these had the ability to lift you onto the reef itself. The top of the reef was maybe 0.5 meters below the surface of the water and at one point I was washed on top of it and could feel that my cylinder was exposed above the water, so be a little careful when exploring the reef. That said I just backed up a little bit and swam to another part of the reef.
-
Apart from being pushed onto the reef the other considerations for this site is that, there is a boat ramp just by the entry point, there where people kayaking, also there is a lot of bathers and snorkellers in this area, when we exited we had swam a little further down the shoreline and waves breaking over the reef even on a calm day had some force and at one point I lost my balance and was pushed over into the surf so just be aware of this when exiting.
MARINE LIFE
-
The marine life was quite abundant and felt that what I saw here was very similar to what you get around the other sites in this area and parts of Rottnest Isl. There were schools of Bream, Red Lipped Morwong, Travelly, Scalyfins, Moonlighters or Banded Sweeps and Stripeys to name a just a few. The site is known to have a lot of Weedy Sea Dragons but I was the only one who saw a couple on this dive. There were some beautiful Staircase Sponge and Egg Urchins in the sea grass area, there was lots going on for such a small area and a lot more than I can remember from off the top of my head..... if only my camera had not jammed.
-
The marine life hides in all the nooks and crannies, there are plenty of little inlets to swim in and out of, so have a good look around. I have been told that there is some little holes you can drop into in certain parts of the reef but again be careful that the water is not too shallow.
Dive Two
- Ok well I finally completed a second dive at MAAC, I think it only took me a year to get back here, and that was because I have now got my Solo Diver ticket, as for one reason or another I have not been able to get here with a buddy.
- And I have to say, I think I have disappointed myself, because I am pretty sure a dive site wouldn't change too much in 12 months, but this place looks totally different from what I remembered or imagined I remembered. I am considering due to doing a Solo dive at an unfamiliar site that I just didn't explore as much as I would if I would of been with a buddy.
- I remember lots of reef with areas to swim in and out of, lots of marine life, not so much flora. I will have to give this another go, maybe hold out until I have a buddy with me, possible do a double dive, anyway........
- We have photographs finally....
Handsome Brute
Summary
- I have dived here a few times since these two dives, nothing has compared to the second dive in regards to visibility but I have found some better areas, mainly in the second reef south of the entrance point. I think maybe Mettams is a nicer dive spot, however I think you can get away with slightly larger swells here than at other sites, but only by a point or two at the most.
Video
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