The south face of Cape Woolamai sits on the Phillip Island headland's exposed Bass Strait side, with reef diving out to around 18 m. It catches swell directly from the south and south-west — rarely flat — but on the right day the diving is brilliant: kelp gardens, sponge cover, crayfish, abalone, weedy seadragons, blue devils and schools of sweep moving along the wall. Boat access from Newhaven, San Remo or Cowes. Best window is light north-east winds with swell under a metre and tide near slack. Use the live 7-day wind and swell forecast on this page to find your slot. Advanced divers only — fully exposed coast, current can pick up around the headland on tide change, and the surface conditions can get ugly fast if the wind switches south. Keep a back-up site in your back pocket and plan around the forecast.
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.