Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site
Home · Contact Me · Sydney Reef Dive Sites · Sydney Shipwrecks · NSW Dive Sites · Australian Dive Sites · Overseas Dive Sites · Dive Accidents and Incidents · My Yachting Adventures · 4WD Trips · Weather · Search 02 December 2024 21:42
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Dive Related Equipment
Shearwater Predator and Heinrichs Weikamp OSTC 2N
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Purchase of New Dive Boat
My Dive Boat - Mak Cat
My Old Dive Boat - Le Scat
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Make Your Own Car Tank Rack

Marine Life
Rarer Sydney Marine Life
Bare Island Pygmy Pipe Horses
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Bare Island Nudibranchs
Bare Island Marine Life
Encounter with Southern Right Whale and Calf

Other Dive Info
How Weather Affects Diving in Sydney
Visibility and Wave Averages in Sydney
Waves and Diving
Diving Weather and Sea Conditions
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Dive Accidents and Incidents
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Noel Hitchins 1951-2005
Lloyd Bridges - Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt
My Yachting Adventures
Below is a list of links to the main pages about my yacht, Catlypso and My Yachting Adventures:
  • Purchase of Catlypso
  • Details about Catlypso
  • Cleaning/Repairing Catlypso
  • My Yachting Adventures.
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    Michael's 4WD Trips
    Click here for a list of my Four Wheel Drive and Camping Trips.
    Home Brewing
    Click here for an article about Home Brewing.
    Sydney Dive Site Hints
    "Tiny baby Port Jackson sharks can be seen in October at Bass and Flinders"
    The Gap - South Head
    Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving - The Gap One of the busiest tourist sites in Sydney is The Gap. This notorious place is visited by virtually every Japanese tourist that comes to the City, with bus after bus dropping them off for a few minutes to see the spectacular views of the ocean and North Head. The Gap gained its notoriety as Sydney's number one suicide location, a place where people jumped off the high cliffs to meet their maker (I was once on a boat in the Harbour and we pulled a body aboard - we later learnt that the poor girl had jumped from The Gap a few days earlier).

    The Gap is also the location where the ship Dunbar was wrecked in August 1857 while trying to enter Sydney Harbour. Every single person on board bar one (James Johnson) was killed when the ship ran straight into the cliff during a gale.

    A cave at The Gaptwo nudis at The Gap
    One of the many caves at The GapTwo nudibranchs mating at The Gap

    Despite the notoriety, The Gap has a better side, its diving. Leaving Sydney Harbour, turn south and run along the shore for a few kilometres till you see the lower cliff of The Gap (the cliffs are far higher north and south, hence the name, The Gap). Anchor at 33° 50' 44.0"S 151° 17' 08.6"E when the bottom comes up from the sand at about 23 metres to a rocky reef at 16 metres. Note that all the GPS Readings on my Web Site are taken using AUS66 as the map datum. If you use another datum you may be about 220 metres off the wreck. See my GPS Page for more details and how to convert readings.

    The reef here runs north-west to south-east, maximum depth all along is 23 metres. The reef has a lot of small and large boulders on the edge and in places, a shear wall. The depth comes up to 16 then 10 metres in most locations. The boulders create a lot of swim-throughs and there are also a lot of small caves. Some of the large boulders are quite huge, as big as a room. The boulders are covered in sponges, ascidians, sea squirts and small gorgonias. While I have not seen any sea dragons here, I would not be surprised to see some along this section of the coast.

    On the wall there are a lot of fish, including black drummer, luderick and sometimes blackfish. There are also a lot of one-spot pullers, leatherjackets (black reef, six-spined mostly) and bream here as well. I have also seen a huge school of yellowtail kingfish which swarmed around me.

    This site is partially protected from southerly seas and can often be dived when other ocean sites cannot be dived. A very good dive site.

    Copyright © Michael McFadyen 1990 to 2024
    Non-commercial use of an article or photograph is permitted with appropriate URL reference to this site.
    Dive shops, dive operators, publications and government departments cannot use anything without first seeking and receiving approval from Michael McFadyen.
    This web site has been wholly thought up, designed, constructed and funded for almost 30 years by Michael McFadyen without any help from the Australian Dive Industry.
    Website created 1996!