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 14 October 2024 17:14
Navigation
Home

General
About Me
My Diving
FAQ
Downloads
Web Links - Dive Clubs
St George Scuba Club
Some of my Best Photos
Contact Me

Dive Sites
Sydney Reef Dive Sites
Sydney Shipwrecks
Sydney Dive Visibility, Swell and Temps
Kelly Talking on ABC Sydney about Shipwrecks
NSW Dive Sites
Sydney Shipwreck Summary
NSW Shipwreck GPS/Marks
Australian Dive Sites
Overseas Dive Sites
Aircraft I have Dived
Old Bottles
Free Shipwreck Books

Dive Related Equipment
Shearwater Predator and Heinrichs Weikamp OSTC 2N
Uwatec Aladin Dive Computers
Apollo AV1 Underwater Scooter
Bauer Compressor
DIY Oxygen Stick - Nitrox
GoPro HD Hero Video Camera
My Camera Setup
Purchase of New Dive Boat
My Dive Boat - Mak Cat
My Old Dive Boat - Le Scat
My Dive Gear
GPS and Diving
Make Your Own Car Tank Rack

Marine Life
Rarer Sydney Marine Life
Bare Island Pygmy Pipe Horses
Bare Island Sea Horses
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
Tide Tables
Dive Accidents and Incidents
Dive Book Reviews
Site Map
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.
  • Login
    Username

    Password



    Forgotten your password?
    Request a new one here.
    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
    "The Monuments is a great place to find sea dragons"
    Harrys Bommie - Heron Island
    On my second trip to Heron Island in October 1989 for the Heron Island Dive Festival, I dived only one dive on the western side of the Heron Island reef. This was Harrys Bommie.

    Harrys Bommie is located to the south of the entrance to the small harbour at Heron Island. As such, it is one of the closest dive sites but is not dived all that often as most of the diving is on the eastern and northern sides of the reef.

    The site consists of a huge coral bommie that is located just off the main fringing reef which runs in a roughly south-east to north-west direction.

    Harrys Bommie
    A very rough map I drew of Harrys Bommie in 1989
    Note depths are in feet

    There is a mooring on top of a smaller bommie a few metres to the east of the large bommie. Once on the bottom, head to the large Harrys Bommie. This is quite shallow on the top, perhaps five metres from memory. The bottom of the bommie is 10 to 12 metres deep. Circle it and check out all the marine life on and in it. From the bommie head north to the main wall.

    You will gradually rise to six metres at the bottom of the main reef wall. The bottom is sand with some small isolated coral outcrops. The wall runs in a ~~ sort of direction, with at least five small bays or inlets along its length right adjacent to Harrys Bommie.

    Go up on the top of the reef and you will see that it is very interesting. The coral here is (or at least was) very colourful. There were lots of small gorgonias and seawhips. The inlets were home to lots of fish like fusiliers.

    Follow the reef north-west for a short distance before turning around and heading south-east. As you go, drop over to the reef bottom and check out the overhangs for more life. Things like firefish and flutemouth can be seen in these spots.

    As you go along, all the inlets and between the third and fourth ones you will see five smaller bommies. This is near the mooring. Keep going and after the fifth one come back to the smaller bommies and spend the rest of your time here and around the main Harrys Bommie.

    Other fish seen here include parrotfish and unicornfish. I also saw lots of nudibranchs and starfish. This site also had the best visibility of all my dives at Heron Island, perhaps 30 metres. Not a bad dive from memory.

    Note this article was written in 2008 so my memory may be a bit out with some aspects of the dive site and things may have changed in the almost 20 years since I last dived there.

    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!