Chidley Point - Swan River

• Dive Type: . . . . . . . . Shore

• Max Depth: . . . . . . . .13m

• Visibility: . . . . . . . . . . 2-5m

• Dive Rating: . . . . . . . Open Water

• Access: . . . . . . . . . . . Easy

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Most people living in and around Perth and indeed the state probably think of the Swan River as Perth's main river system where our great capital was founded. Some would even say that it is a water playground for people to take some well deserved R & R on their yachts and speed boats. Perhaps do some wind surfing or take the tinny out for a spot of fishing.

Little do these scuba challenged people realise the beauty of what lies beneath them in a world that is far removed from anything that they may experience on terra firma. The looks and the screwed up faces I get when I tell these people that I dive the river is somewhat comical if not a sign of ignorance. Comments like, "Ooooo yuk isn't the river all polluted and stuff" or the odd chuckle followed by. "What do you see, stolen cars and old tyres?" I know some people who won't even let their kids swim in the river for fear of some life threatening disease they will certainly contract once contact with the water is made.

In fact the Swan River is one of the cleanest rivers in the world, it has an abundant and diverse marine environment and has probably never looked as healthy. I know the Swan has had some negative publicity in the past thanks to the algae blooms but It certainly hasn't had a substantial effect on the marine life.

This blog is centered around my last night dive in the river at a location called Chidley Point, Mosmans. It was a fairly mild night with very little breeze which is always a bit of a plus when diving in the Swan. Although the Swan is pretty much a safe bet all year round when diving in the ocean is not viable. However, diving here in winter the water gets a bit chilly at a teeth chattering 13 degrees.

Maximum depth here is about 13 meters and on this particular night the water was very clear.

Location

How do you get there ? Well best way is to pull out your UBD or use Google Maps to find it. There is a small carpark located at the end on Chidley Way, which you can enter left off Caporn St.

You can suit up in the car park and then head down to the shore via a small set of stairs. There is an L shaped jetty here that you can either jump off or hop in from the shores edge.

Head in a North Westerly direction towards The Coombe and enjoy the dive.

Marine Life

If your after a feed of prawns or crabs then remember to bring your net as there are some decent size crabs and prawns in this location.

If you are like me then take your camera as you are bound to see the usual critters like Flounder, Flathead, Anemone's, Bream, Leather Jackets, Decorator Crabs and my personal favourite the Hippocampus subelongatus or more commonly known as the Western Australian Seahorse or Tiger Snout Seahorse.

These creatures are extremely shy and appear to get somewhat bashful when they have a camera pointed in there faces. Be careful not to silt it up too much as you will end up with more backscatter in your photo than pixels. Despite these challenges they do make excellent photographic subjects for both the novice and hardcore photographer.

There are quite a number of moorings here with alot of growth on them be sure to look up as you may just find a seahorse or three. For the relatively small area we covered I don't think I have seen such a large concentration of seahorses. On some of the old ropes we found as many 8 or 9 seahorses on the same length of rope.

Final Thoughts

All in all this is one spot I'll have to return to, very easy entry and exits into the water so for the new divers amongst us looking at getting into some night dives this is an ideal spot. Very little navigation required and not much current to speak of.

It probably goes without saying and sometimes I have been guilty of it, make sure you do your buddy checks prior to entry and keep your buddy insight as once there is a bit of silt floating around it is easy to lose each other and an inexperienced diver my find themselves in a bit of a panic. Just remember your lost buddy procedures and all should be sweet.

This is something we tend to get complacent about and when this happens the best laid plans can become unstuck rather quickly. So remember to dive safe and most of all enjoy it.