Albany · Australia · Reef
The Cables
An old communication cable tangled through the reef, 8-28 m
Area photo: Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Cables is a 40-minute boat run out from the Albany Town Marina, and the dive spans 8 m down to 28 m. It takes its name from an old communication cable that is now tangled through the site. Scorpionfish, Western blue devils and nudibranchs reward a slow look, and large blue groper cruise the reef.
Where it is and how deep
35.0610° S, 118.0590° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
It is a 40-minute run out to the site, and there is 20 m of depth to work with once you are on it. From 28 m at the bottom to 8 m at the top, the dive steps itself: start deep, come up through the structure as the gas goes down, and finish shallow with enough left to spend real time in the top few metres of the reef.
The cable the site is named for runs tangled through it. The fish reward patience rather than distance: scorpionfish sitting still enough to be swum past, Western blue devils around the structure, nudibranchs on the surfaces. Large blue groper cruise through on their own schedule. Visibility averages 10-15 m.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Groupers
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Albany: Charters run year-round; December to March is the dry, warm half of the year, June to August the wet half with July the wettest month, and the whales are in the Sound July to October.
Know before you go
- The old cable is loose through the site: stay off it, watch trailing hoses and gear near it, and carry a cutting tool.
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Cables in Albany?+
The site runs from 8 m to 28 m, so the profile steps up through the dive: deep first, shallow at the end.
Why is the site called The Cables?+
It is named after an old communication cable, which is now tangled through the site and is still there to be seen on the dive.
Sources
- The Cables (Scubago) — Scubago
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