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Emergency Air Systems
The solution to preventing injury from a failed surface air supply while diving is simple but it costs money — carry an accessory emergency air source and regulator. The money so spent on this life saver may well be your best investment ever!
A suitable emergency air source converts a panic ascent into a leisurely trip to the surface. Compared to the overall cost of the diving, boat and other equipment, the cost is relatively small.
Please ensure your accessory air source has a scuba cylinder of the appropriate size for the maximum depth you're diving to. You should plan to have enough air for around 15 minutes of breathing on the ascent with a decompression stop if necessary. Smaller all-in-one air regulators generally do not contain enough gas for a controlled ascent, although they are definitely far better than no spare air at all.
The Scuba Doctor recommends a triple-redundant air supply system should be used while hookah diving. The primary air supply is a low pressure (LP) hookah compressor. The secondary is the diver carried bailout or emergency air system. Finally, in an emergency requiring additional time for diver extraction, there should be a scuba cylinder topside, suitably configured so that it can be used to provide air to the hookah diver.
Please read Introduction to Hookah Diving for more information about things you need to consider with a hookah diving setup.
D McLennan
Wreck Dive | 
Boat access
Steel Steam Bucket Dredge | Max Depth: 58 m (190 ft) — Graveyard
The D McLennan was a steel dredge, built 1912, and scuttled in the Victorian Ships' Graveyard on 8 June 1949. She rests on a sandy seabed, 58 metres deep.
D McLennan Shipwreck History — Built in 1912
D McLennan
© Melbourne Harbor Trust
The D McLennan was a steel steam bucket dredge of 424 tons gross, built in 1912, by Koninklijke Nederlandsche Grefsmedery, in Leyden, Holland. The overall length of the vessel was 165.5 ft (50 m), with a beam of 29.2 ft (8.9 m) and draught of 8 ft (2.44 m).
The D McLennan was built for the H.A.M. No. 6 and purchased second hand by the Melbourne Harbour Trust from Batavia (present-day Jakarta, Indonesia), and brought into commission in 1925. The dredge was capable of dredging to 59 feet and it worked on various dredging projects within the port until it was condemned in 1949.
D McLennan Sinking — Scuttled 8 June 1949
After being stripped of all items of value, the D McLennan was towed out into Bass Strait and scuttled in the Victorian Ships' Graveyard on Wednesday 8 June 1949.
See also, Heritage Council Victoria: D McLennan, and
Australian National Shipwreck Database: D McLennan.
Heritage Warning: Any shipwreck or shipwreck relic that is 75 years or older is protected by legislation. Other items of maritime heritage 75 years or older are also protected by legislation. Activities such as digging for bottles, coins or other artefacts that involve the disturbance of archaeological sites may be in breach of the legislation, and penalties may apply. The legislation requires the mandatory reporting to Heritage Victoria as soon as practicable of any archaeological site that is identified. See Maritime heritage. Anyone with information about looting or stolen artefacts should call Heritage Victoria on (03) 7022 6390, or send an email to heritage.victoria@delwp.vic.gov.au.
Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait before diving or snorkelling this site.
Traditional Owners — This dive site does not lie in the acknowledged traditional Country of any first peoples of Australia.
D McLennan Location Map
Latitude: 38° 22.104′ S (38.368392° S / 38° 22′ 6.21″ S)
Longitude: 144° 25.983′ E (144.433055° E / 144° 25′ 59″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-12 03:26:34 GMT
Source: Book - Victoria's Ships' Graveyard GPS (verified)
Nearest Neighbour: Bunyip, 716 m, bearing 238°, WSW
Steel Steam Bucket Dredge, 424 tons.
Built: Leyden, Holland, 1912.
Scuttled: 8 June 1949.
Victorian Ships' Graveyard, Bass Strait.
Depth: 58 m.
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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.
