West Head at Flinders is the rocky headland west of the Flinders pier, with reef diving out to around 14 m. It's a more sheltered site than the open back beaches further west, with the Flinders coastline tucking in to give some protection from south-west swell. The reef holds crayfish, abalone, weedy seadragons, blue devils, sponge gardens and kelp canopy, with sandy patches dropping deeper. Boat access from the Flinders pier is the easy option, or shore entry from the headland on flat days. Best in light north-east winds, swell under a metre and tide near slack. Use the live 7-day wind and swell forecast on this page to plan. Intermediate divers — gentler than the open back beaches but still exposed enough that bigger south or south-west swell will shut it down.
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.