Torquay Reef sits off the famous surfing town of Torquay on Victoria's Surf Coast, with reef diving out to around 18 m. The site is fully exposed to south and south-west swell — Torquay is where Bells Beach is — and only dives well on properly settled days. Reef holds crayfish, abalone, weedy seadragons, blue devils, kelp gardens and sponge cover, with sand patches between the bommies. Boat access only, from the Torquay ramp or Anglesea. Best in light north-easterly winds with swell under a metre and tide near slack. Use the live 7-day wind and swell forecast on this page to plan. Advanced divers — exposed open coast, surf breaks active most of the year, current on tide change, plan a flat-day window and don't push it on marginal forecasts. The ramp itself can be tricky on bigger swell — check conditions before you launch.
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.