Scuba Diving Perth WA
Shore Diving
North Mole Directions
Fremantle
Gareenup Wreck
- Shore Dive: Groin Dive: Wreck Dive.
- Max Depth: 8.5 meters.
- Visibility: Average 4 meters. This is the only slightly sheltered site north of the river.
- Dive Flag at site: No.
Considerations
- The most difficult part of this dive has to be the entrance and exit, other than that this is a simple enough dive, with a straight swim out, a look around the wreck and a straight swim back in. Getting down to the water is a matter of taking your time and watching your step and balance, sitting on the rocks (at low tide) and waiting for the next wave to carry you into the water. The real difficulty comes from getting out and this is when a rope (suggested by loads of websites) would and does come in handy, the use of a rope is in my eyes essential equipment for this site (more details about this later).
- Some risks to consider: Obviously after there has been a recent landing of another craft on top of it may have made the vessel less sturdy but how this has impacted on the overall structural integrity I wouldn't have clue. The vessel is penetrable and distances between entry and exit is approx 10+ meters with a open section in the middle. This ship is iron by design and sharp rusty edges are evident so be careful not to snag yourself on the jagged edges. Make sure you take a flag with you as this area will and does get boat traffic, kayaks and fishermen. Entry and exits.
Directions
- North Mole is at the end of North Mole Drive (how convenient), however getting in here is a little bit of a maze due to it being part of the dockland and ferry terminal areas. Main suggestion is to get a map or a sat-nav, if you haven't got one of these then Rockingham DT is lovely this time of year.
- Seriously it is lots of little turns and twists (and they are in the middle of changing it all around), you need to get into North Fremantle docks and head towards the beach eventually you will be able to turn left heading towards the docks and look for signs for North Mole Drive.
-
There is loads of parking at the Mole, but you want to park up as close to the disabled bays as possible but, don't be an ass and park in the disabled bays unless you have a permit.
- These are situated immediately to your right on entering the Mole, you will see a break in the wall and the fishing ramp designated for the disabled is here and so is your entry point.
-
Kit up wherever you park (keep valuables out of sight) and make your way down to the ramp. Don't forget your rope you will need approx. 10 - 15 meters of rope, I kid you not.
- Getting to the wreck is easy enough 355 degrees from the centre of the ramp for 180 meters, approx 5 - 8 minutes swim depending on conditions. The wreck is only about 20 meters long, it is basically just iron ribs/shell, the vessel is penetrable.
A little bit of extra help getting to the wreck
- Ok, well you are now in the water and hopefully you didn't slip, trip or fall, and all your precious bits and pieces are all still precious and still in one piece. After all this effort I am guessing you want to get over to the wreck. Here are a couple of maps to hopefully help.
- Now there is some
small marker buoys sunken into the sand, unfortunately these are not so
obvious when you start your swim. We came across a series of about 4 of
these half way to the wreck, which is nice actually, as it gives you some confidence you are going in the
right direction.
- We did see some people completing surface swims to the wreck, but I am unsure if it is visible from the surface or whether there is some kind of visual marker that lets you know you have reached the wreck.
- This diagram to the left is not mine and I am not sure where it came from, however as you can see this map shows additional wreckage just off the main site.
- I am unsure if these additional parts are worth a 50m swim. We did not dive these on this day so I am unable confirm their existence at this point.
- There is some varying sea grass surrounding the wreck and what little gems of marine life reside in here maybe worth taking a look. We concentrated purely on the wreck on this dive.
- Also there is the Mole itself, my only advice would be to dive here when the area is clear of people fishing, we dived on a Sunday and there was plenty of people on the Mole doing just that.
PLEASE REFRESH THIS PAGE IF FACEBOOK LIKE BUTTON DOES NOT WORK
IF YOU'RE NOT GOING DOWN: THEN WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING
