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 into the ocearn floor. I promise it's much much louder underneath the water!

Lightbulb Tunicates 

Orange Feather Star

Globefish

Brain Ascidian

On the way back, we ran into a Shaw's Cowfish.

Shaw's Cowfish

After the dive was over, we had lunch at a cafe by the pier. I was able to wander over, get a look at the pier from the other side, and see what was making all of that noise underwater!

Portsea Pier

Location: Melbourne, Portsea, Australia

Dive Number:   292 Bottom Time: 1h 6m Time In: 10:43 a.m. Tank In: 208 PSI Max Depth: 5.70 ft Table Used:

Mix:   Air Safety Stop: Time Out: 11:49 a.m. Tank Out: 94 PSI Average Depth: 3.60 ft Start Pressure Group:

Surface Interval:   End Pressure Group:

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