Point Franklin Reef
Reef Dive | 
Shore access
Point Franklin Reef | © Phil Watson
Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft) to 15 m (49 ft)
Level: Open Water and beyond.
Point Franklin Reef marks the eastern end of Weeroona Bay, Port Phillip on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria to the east of Portsea Pier. The reef runs north-north-east out from Point Franklin and reaches 15 metres in depth about 200 metres out from shore.
Diving and Snorkelling Point Franklin Reef
Franklin Point Reef is easily one of the most interesting and relatively easy access diving and snorkelling sites you will find around the southern Mornington Peninsula area. Best dived on slack going to an ebb tide. This will allow for at least a 60-minute dive. When you feel the current head for shore.
It's also possible to dive Franklin Point Reef on slack for a flood tide, but best to start at Portsea Pier and head towards Point Franklin. If you overshoot head for shore and exit at Shelley Beach on the eastern side of Point Franklin.
There are at least three dive options to take:
- First, just dive the point and even go down to the reported 15 metres depth at about 150 metres offshore;
- Second, start the dive at Franklin Point, go out about 50 to 100 metres until you get to a set depth and then change course for the pier;
- Third, start your dive anywhere along the beach, head out and return either to Portsea Pier, the point or back to the beach. This last option is probably the safest if diving the site the first time until you become familiar with it.
Remember to plan your dive with compass directions recorded first. Note that this is a high boat traffic area, particularly during the summer months, so always carry an SMB and launch it prior to surfacing. You can also carry a dive marker buoy.
See also, Point Franklin Reef and Drift in "Shore Dives of Victoria" by Ian Lewis, 3rd edition pages 106–107.
Location: Point Nepean Road, Portsea, Victoria 3944
MELWAY Ref: Page 156 E2
Ideal Conditions: Best at slack water, but experienced divers often work out the tides and tidal flows and plan a drift dive. Tide times for Point Franklin are about 30 minutes behind the Rip / Heads times.
Weather Required: This is an exposed site to any wind with a northerly component and best dived in southerly winds. This is a tide affected area so arguably dived best on slack going to an ebb tide. It's also possible to dive on slack going to a flood but requires more planning in case you're swept eastwards by the current.
See WillyWeather (Portsea Pier) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.
Entry/Exit: Easiest from the eastern end of Portsea Beach. There is also access from Shelley Beach to the east of Point Franklin, but this requires walking down (and up) stairs. Note that the beach walk is tiring and is about 430 metres from the pier. Stop frequently and rest before entering the water.
Facilities: The car parking near Portsea Pier is unrestricted from May to November and is 2 or 4 hourly from December to April. Showers and toilets (showers are warm unless it's a busy day and people have used up the hot water). There is a dive shop within easy walking distance from Portsea Pier so air is easily available. There are also a few shops for eating plus BBQ facilities in a park.
Franklin Point Reef is just a 15-minute drive from The Scuba Doctor Dive Shop. Please drop in and catch up with us before and/or after your dive.
Boon Wurrung / Bunurong country
Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes parts of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson's Promontory in the south-east, including the Mornington Peninsula, French Island and Phillip Island, plus Western Port. We wish to acknowledge the Boon Wurrung as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.
Point Franklin Reef Location Map
Latitude: 38° 19.104′ S (38.318393° S / 38° 19′ 6.21″ S)
Longitude: 144° 43.166′ E (144.719436° E / 144° 43′ 9.97″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
| Get directions
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-15 14:15:16 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Portsea Pier East Reef, 252 m, bearing 302°, WNW
Portsea, Mornington Peninsula, Port Phillip.
Depth: 1 to 15 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.
