Boat Bay

Reef Dive | Shore access

Bay of Islands | Source: Visit Victoria

Depth: 2 m (6.56 ft) to 20 m (66 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

Boat Bay is a shore diving and snorkelling site, located between Peterborough to the east and Warrnambool to the west, off of the Great Ocean Road (B100) on Victoria's Shipwreck Coast.

Boat Bay forms a part of the Bay of Islands Coastal Park, a 32 kilometre stretch of coastal reserve on the Shipwreck Coast of Victoria along the Great Ocean Road between Peterborough and Warrnambool. It's an irregular, semi-circular bay that faces south-west and has several large sea stacks or islands dotted about the bay, together with rocks and reefs. Most of the bay shore is made up of steep, 10 to 20-metre high limestone bluffs. However, tucked in the eastern corner of the bay and right next to the bend in the Great Ocean Road, is a gorge containing a 70-metre long beach. The beach is used for boat launching and there is a steep ramp and steps descending from the bluffs to the beach. The beach itself is narrow, with deepwater offshore, particularly at high tide. The reefs filter out most waves, with usually calm conditions at the beach.

Diving and Snorkelling at Boat Bay

Bay of Islands Boat Ramp

You can dive the Boat Bay site as a shore diving and snorkelling adventure, where there is a boat ramp and plenty of parking. However, there are much better dives to be had if you head out by boat to explore the Bay of Islands more fully.

There is plenty of interesting structure to explore and marine life to see at Boat Bay. The site faces south-west, and is a very protected bay. It's shallow with a sandy bottom for a long way. Eventually you'll reach the reefs.

At low tide there is an accessible beach, but high tide prevents access to the beach. Boats launch here, so make sure you tow a dive float with a dive flag for safety.

The Boat Bay and Bay of Islands look to be a similar dive site to Crofts Bay. However, it's not as sheltered a dive location and is subject to currents, especially when there are big breaks on the outer reefs.

Location: Boat Bay Road, Peterborough, Victoria 3270

Parking: There is a car and boat parking area on Boat Bay Road, off the Great Ocean Road (B100). Before gearing up check out the water. If you see lots of white water, head on home.

Safety Warning: Boats launch here, so make sure you tow a dive float with a dive flag for safety.

Entry/Exit: From the boat ramp or the beach.

Ideal Conditions: Boat Bay is best dived at high tide when the reefs are covered. See WillyWeather (Bay of Islands) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Boat Launching: The nearest boat launching facility is right here at the Peterborough Bay of Islands Boat Ramp, or you can venture out from the Peterborough Curdies River Dorey Street Boat Ramp.

Eastern Maar country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Eastern Maar people of south-western Victoria between the Shaw and Eumerella Rivers and from Yambuk in the south to beyond Lake Linlithgow in the north. This truly ancient Country extends as far north as Ararat and encompasses the coastal townships of Port Fairy in the west, Warrnambool, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Lorne, and Airies Inlet in the east, including the Great Ocean Road area. It also stretches 100 metres out to sea from low tide and therefore includes the iconic Twelve Apostles. "Eastern Maar" is a name adopted by the people who identify as Maar, Eastern Gunditjmara, Tjap Wurrung, Peek Whurrong, Kirrae Whurrung, Kuurn Kopan Noot and/or Yarro waetch (Tooram Tribe) amongst others. We wish to acknowledge the Eastern Maar as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

 

Boat Bay Location Map

Latitude: 38° 34.860′ S   (38.580996° S / 38° 34′ 51.59″ S)
Longitude: 142° 49.688′ E   (142.828125° E / 142° 49′ 41.25″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2022-05-22 06:38:38 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-23 19:40:52 GMT
Source: Goggle Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Bay of Islands, 577 m, bearing 253°, WSW
Peterborough, Shipwreck Coast.
Depth: 2 to 20 m.

DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.