North Stradbroke Island · Australia · Wall · Pinnacle
Boat Rock
Near-vertical walls dived four or five times a year
Area photo: Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0
Boat Rock is a rocky outcrop sitting out in the high-current water off Point Lookout, with near-vertical walls dropping straight down to 25 m and a graded profile of 20 to 35 m. Current runs here nearly all year, so divers are usually kept to the lee behind the rock, and the site is dived on average four or five times a year when conditions allow. Large pelagic sharks and barracuda hold in the moving water.
Where it is and how deep
27.4141° S, 153.5580° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Boat Rock sits out in the high current area, and that governs the dive. Current is nearly always running here, so divers are usually limited to the area behind the island in the lee of the current, working the near-vertical walls that drop straight down to 25 m rather than crossing open ground. The graded profile runs 20 to 35 m, deep enough that bottom time is short and the ascent is planned before anyone gets in.
The reward for the conditions is what sits in them: large pelagic sharks and barracuda are common on the rock, waiting in the current for something tasty to swim by. It is not a site anyone dives on spec. The dive centre grades it Master Diver and technical, and a dive-site listing describes a site prone to heavy current all year that needs near-perfect conditions to be dived safely — on average four or five times a year.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows North Stradbroke Island: Mantas work the Manta Bommie cleaning stations Oct–Apr; grey nurse sharks and humpbacks arrive Jun–Oct, when visibility is also at its best. Boats run Friday to Tuesday.
Know before you go
- Current is nearly always running, so groups are usually held in the lee behind the rock rather than out on the exposed side.
- The site needs near-perfect conditions and is dived on average four or five times a year — treat it as a bonus dive, not a bookable one.
Sources
- Dive Sites — Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre — Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre
- Boat Rock — Scubago
More dive sites in North Stradbroke Island
Shore dive timed for slack water at the top of the tide
Deep reef at 28 to 45 m with resident bull sharks
Flat Rock's shallow corner, 4 to 18 m over juvenile fish
Winter sand channel where grey nurse sharks gather
Small cave at 10 m on Flat Rock's northern side
Reef
Shallow cleaning stations that mantas work from October to April
Reef
Decompression depths, strong current, whaler sharks
Reef
The area's shelter dive, 800 m off Home Beach
Similar dives elsewhere
Sheer wall, constant current and two ships draped down the same rock
Great hammerheads rise from the deep for a look, then drop away
Two plateaus on the Red Sea's only atoll, hammerheads at 45 m
A lighthouse on a seamount that climbs from 450 metres of water