Bushrangers Bay sits east of Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula, a curved bay with a reef running out to about 14 m. It's a touch more sheltered than Cape Schanck itself thanks to the headland to the west, but still very much an exposed open-coast site. The reef holds crayfish, abalone, weedy seadragons, blue devils and dense kelp cover with sandy patches dropping deeper. Shore access is via the Cape Schanck walking track which is a serious carry — most divers boat in from Flinders. Best on light northerly winds, swell under a metre, tide near slack. Use the live 7-day wind and swell forecast on this page to find your day. Intermediate to advanced — exposed swell, the walk-in is a real workout, and the bay can have a current running on bigger tides.
How far you can see underwater — measured in metres. 10m+ is great, 5–10m is workable, under 3m is murk. Driven by wind, swell, and recent rain.
Long-period waves rolling in from the open ocean. Direction matters more than height — a S swell hits Portsea hard, but an E swell rolls past. Period over 12 s = real ocean punch.
Offshore (N or NE) flattens the surface and clears the water. Onshore (SE through SW) chops it up and stirs sand. Calm or light offshore is the magic combo.
This site faces the open ocean. The exposure caption above shows which directions slam in. Anything from the opposite side gets blocked — that's the safest window.
Slack water — the 30 minutes either side of high or low — is calmest and clearest. Mid-tide brings the most flow. Plan to be down at slack, up before the run picks up.
Bass Strait sits 14–16 °C autumn–winter, 17–19 °C summer. Below 16° a 7 mm hooded keeps you warm for 60 min+. Drysuit if you're going long.