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Lights / Torches
Scuba diving underwater torches and dive lights can be vital, especially when deep diving or cave diving. As you get further below the water's surface your surroundings become dark due to the depth you are at. A diving torch allows you to see exactly what lies ahead of you when your eyes fail to do so. Crucial in certain dive situations such as diving expeditions without natural light, a dive torch could be the only source to allow you to see your surroundings and help avoid any unwanted accidents when in unfamiliar territories.
Dive lights also come in handy when you need to check your compass or another un-illuminated piece of important equipment. Scuba diving torches can also be used to communicate between buddies and get there attention while exploring the ocean's depths.
We strongly recommend you take a dive light along with you on every dive you undertake. Even if it is just a tropical daytime dive, most experienced divers will have a small pocket torch which allows them to shine it either in a nook or overhang at certain fishes bringing their colours alive!
Some divers prefer a rechargeable torch. Although they are slightly more expensive than the conventional battery torch they do not require new batteries after a couple of dives, so can be more economical in the long run. Some rechargeable dive lights such as the Light and Motion range can be charged without opening the torch eliminating all risk of flooding.
At The Scuba Doctor dive shop we hold a large selection of dive torches and dive light accessories to assist you when diving, from well-known dive brands including: Atorch, Dive Perfect, i-Torch, Finnsub, Intova, Light and Motion, Light Monkey, OrcaTorch, Tektite, Tovatech and Underwater Kinetics.
How do you figure it all out? Give us a call or an email if you have any questions on lighting. We'll be happy to help you sort it out.
Tech Tip:
Rechargeable Battery Chemistry for Dive Lights
— Nickle Metal Hydride vs Lithium Ion
- NiMH Chemistry — Nickle Metal Hydride is a proven rechargeable battery technology widely used in dive lights for years that offers the advantage of lower cost, and most importantly no transport restrictions. The NiMH battery charge must be 'topped up' every 3 to 6 months if idle for extended periods or the battery can self discharge such that it will no longer charge to full capacity.
- Li-ion Chemistry — Lithium-ion is an emerging rechargeable battery technology that offers the advantage of longer burn times and almost zero self discharge, but there are safety concerns with Li-ion chemistry batteries. The transport of Li-ion batteries is sometimes a logistics hassle, especially with near universal restrictions on passenger aircraft.
If you need to travel with your dive light by passenger aircraft we recommend choosing NiMH battery chemistry. Their burn time is more than enough for most diving, they cost less and you don't have to worry about your dive light starting a fire.
The Banks
Reef Dive | 
Boat access
Depth: 10 m (33 ft) to 30 m (98 ft)
Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.
The Banks are located directly off the Hopkins River, Warrnambool on Victoria's Shipwreck Coast. When a big sea is running huge waves can be seen on the horizon caused by the big ocean swells hitting a shallower inshore area known as The Banks.
Diving at The Banks
There are several large drop-offs that fall in two or three steps of 10 metres each from about 10 metres to 20 or 30 metres deep. This makes for great diving but you'll need a good sounder to find the best areas. There is similar dive site out from Stingray Bay.
Location: Warrnambool, Victoria, 3280
Ideal Conditions: Calm conditions and a very flat sea is needed to dive in this area. See WillyWeather (Warrnambool Offshore) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.
The Banks and the reefs in the area are reached by boat from the nearby Warrnambool (Lady Bay) boat ramp.
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Abalone Dive Site
© Mark Norman, Museum Victoria
Divers have the opportunity to catch Abalone at this dive site. Remember your catch bag, legal abalone tool, current Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence, and abalone measure. Please abide by all current fishing regulations if you intend to catch abalone.
See article-catching-abalone for practical abalone hunting advice from The Scuba Doctor, plus melbourne-abalone-dives for a list of other Abalone dive sites near Melbourne.
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.
The Banks Location Map
Latitude: 38° 25.648′ S (38.427467° S / 38° 25′ 38.88″ S)
Longitude: 142° 29.440′ E (142.490667° E / 142° 29′ 26.4″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
Added: 2021-06-06 11:59:21 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-23 19:22:32 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Hopkins Reef, 2,599 m, bearing 33°, NNE
Warrnambool, Shipwreck Coast.
Depth: 10 to 30 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.
![Halcyon Infinity 30lb System [SS Small Backplate]](/diveshop/images/halcyon/Halcyon-Evolve-Wing.jpg "Halcyon Infinity 30lb System [SS Small Backplate]")
