Types of Scuba Diving BCD

There five basic types of Scuba Buoyancy Compensators.

Vest or Jacket

Rear or Back

Wing

Sidemount

Horse Collar

Only the first four of these are really used in scuba diving today.

We prefer back/rear inflation and wing style BCDs. Experienced divers have learned the rear inflation bladder BCDs are better than a wrap-around bladder jacket/vest BCDs. Rear wings offer very precise control of buoyancy and trim as well as offering a more streamlined profile. A properly fitting back/rear inflation BCD, worn with a crotch strap, will allow you to assume and hold any position under the water, or on the surface.

Putting It All Together

There is a lot to consider before buying a BCD.

On the surface a scuba BCD should fit like a snug jacket. Not too tight under the arms, or across the torso. Women should choose a model designed for them.

But like everything else when it comes to diving, it's about more than just fit and style

You need to consider what type of diving you are doing, and what gear you'll need to carry with you to do it. A BCD is not just an airbag. A good one is like Batman's utility belt.

Consider what features are essential to you, and find the one that most closely fits that profile.

Start reading reviews and manufacturers materials, read forums and ask other divers for their opinions. Or just call and ask us.

Be honest with yourself about the type of diving you'll be doing. Make a checklist of everything you need in a scuba BCD,do your homework, and you should end up with the right scuba BCD for you.

Great Southern Reef

Dive Australia's Great Southern Reef with The Scuba Doctor

Diving the Great Southern Reef from the Back Beaches of the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

Australia is well known for its spectacular tropical coral reefs, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, and Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Less well known is Australia's Great Southern Reef. Its kelp forests contain unique and diverse marine life by global standards, and the Great Southern Reef covers 71,000 square km.

Map of the Great Southern Reef
Map of Australia's Great Southern Reef

Shallow (less than 30 metre) kelp forests define more than 8,000 km of temperate coastline across southern Australia and the reefs of Victoria's southern temperate waters are a part of the truly unique Great Southern Reef. Victoria's long south-facing coastline means we have a huge temperate (or cold water) marine environment.

Australia's many millions of years of geographical isolation means our reefs and marine environment have developed in response to an uncommon combination of environmental forces. Just as the Great Barrier Reef is recognised as an entity made up of more than 2900 individual reefs dominated by corals, Australia's temperate reefs should be considered collectively as an entity made up of thousands of kilometres of rocky temperate reefs, dominated by kelp forests, inter-connected through oceanographic, ecological and evolutionary processes — truly a Great Southern Reef.

In contrast to the domination by corals on tropical reefs, the dominant biota on temperate reefs are generally macroalgae where there is enough light. In temperate systems, the majority of carbon fixed is via these large algae. In tropical systems, the majority of carbon fixed is by the symbiotic relationship of microscopic algae living in the tissue of sponges and corals. Contrary to common belief, corals are common in temperate waters, but they do not build reefs here.

Not surprisingly, the marine life of southern Australia contain a multitude of species found nowhere else on earth. While coral reefs support a huge variety of fish species, it is the temperate southern areas that support a greater diversity of marine life (especially flora and invertebrate fauna). Researchers call this region Australia's Unique South.

Approximately 70% of the Australian population live within 50 km of the Great Southern Reef. Yet most people haven't heard of it!

30 minutes of relaxing rare kelp forest biodiversity of the Great Southern Reef

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Diving the Great Southern Reef near Melbourne

Some of the best Great Southern Reef dives are not far from The Scuba Doctor dive shop, along the Bass Strait coast of the Mornington Peninsula, at what are referred locally as "The Back Beaches". See Back Beaches and Cape Schanck on our Melbourne Shore Dives page for details of the shore dives available. See also Diving the Back Beaches for a guide to diving the Back Beaches. You can even explore shipwrecks while diving at some Back Beach dive sites. Please keep in mind that diving on the Great Southern Reef from the shore near Melbourne can be really challenging and can only be done by experienced divers when weather and sea conditions are appropriate.

Most of the other Great Southern Reef dive sites near Melbourne are accessed as boat dives. It's common to hunt for crays and abalone when they're in season while on these dives.

On our Melbourne Reef Dives page we list lots of reef dives in Victoria, many of which are dive sites on the Great Southern Reef.

Dive the Great Southern Reef cylinder sticker available from The Scuba Doctor.