Navy Pier

Entry is from the shore, into water that never gets deeper than about 15 m, with most of the dive spent around 14 m and shallower. Dives are timed to slack tide because the currents around the pier run hard between them, so in the water there is usually little or no current to work against. Visibility runs from about 3 m to 10 m, which sounds poor until you are under the boards and find that everything worth looking at is within arm's reach anyway.

The pier is 110 m long and still used by navy vessels, and its pylons make the whole dive: rows of growth-covered steel standing on the seabed. Wobbegongs are the animal most divers come for, and grey nurse and whitetip reef sharks are seen on the same dive. Schools of barracuda and trevally move through alongside the usual reef fish, so the site swings between macro and open-water fish in the space of a few metres.

Working slowly along the pylons is what pays. Nudibranchs and flatworms sit on the growth, and frogfish, scorpionfish and stonefish are all part of the standard list here, which is why photographers get more from the site than sightseers do. The pier is also rated as a night dive, and the same short, shallow, low-current profile makes the after-dark version of the dive straightforward once the trip is booked.