The Pinnacles on Phillip Island's south coast is a series of dramatic granite spires rising from around 15 m of water, on the open Bass Strait side of the island. The pinnacles are encrusted with sponges, gorgonians and zoanthids, and the site holds crayfish, abalone, weedy seadragons, blue devils, big bullseye schools and kelp cover between the towers. It's a stunning landscape dive when conditions allow but it's exposed to swell from south through south-west. Boat access only, out of Cowes or Newhaven. Best on light northerlies with swell under a metre and tide near slack. Use the live 7-day wind and swell forecast on this page to plan around the conditions. Advanced divers — current rolls between the pinnacles on tide change, swell builds quickly on the seaward side, and surface conditions can pick up faster than you'd like. Plan a flat day.
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.