Meet the site
The Lady Cheryl is the newest wreck at Port Phillip Heads and the most intact. She was a 27 m steel stern trawler of 157 gross tons, built in 1987 as a purpose-designed deep-sea commercial fishing vessel with a forward wheelhouse. On 24 March 2012, entering Port Phillip, her master mistook the landmarks and ran her onto the reef at Point Nepean; she was refloated briefly, but she had been holed below the waterline and 'commenced sinking rapidly', settling on the reef just inside the point. All five crew were rescued. About 30,000 litres of diesel escaped into the bay, and the wreck was left where it lay once the fuel had been dealt with.
A decade on she is a good dive. She sits in 6–14 m on the reef between Nepean Bay and the entrance, upright enough to be readable as a ship, with her wheelhouse, deck and stern-trawling gear still in place and, as the Scuba Doctor listing notes, 'a huge gash along the starboard side giving access to the internals of the wreck' – the hole that sank her, now the way in for divers with the training to enter. The steel has been colonised quickly in the Heads current: sponges, ascidians and zoanthids on the hull, kelp on the upper works, and the fish of the Nepean reefs in and around her – bullseyes and old wives in the hull, blue devils under the stern, leatherjackets, wrasse and magpie perch over the deck, crayfish in the debris and cuttlefish in winter.
Shallow, intact and inside the Heads, she has become one of the Portsea fleet's regular wreck dives and a wreck-specialty training site, dived at slack water because of the entrance tide. The Empress of the Sea lies 590 m to the east in Nepean Bay, and the two make a contrasting pair: a 1853 clipper reduced to keel and ballast, and a 1987 trawler still wearing her wheelhouse.
Research this site before booking Stored site notes may be historical. These questions highlight gaps without turning old instructions into a current dive plan.
Lady Cheryl is recorded as Wreck in Port Phillip Heads. The listed access is boat. Confirm the actual meeting point, route and permission to visit; a map pin does not establish any of these.
Topics flagged by the stored research
These are questions prompted by the existing notes, not a verified or complete hazard assessment.
- Current and timing
- Ask how the operator assesses the current window for the actual route. Historical tide notes are not a departure instruction.
- Other water users
- Ask about vessel activity, exclusion areas and the agreed surface arrangements.
- Lines and obstructions
- Discuss any known entanglement concerns and the suitability of the planned area.
- Overhead environments
- Ask whether the plan stays entirely in open water. A wreck or cave listing is not permission or training to enter.
Historical access notes exist for this record, but have not been independently verified for current use. Request current directions from the operator or site manager rather than following an old entry description.
Questions, answered
Is Lady Cheryl suitable for my certification?
The record lists Open Water. That does not establish suitability for every route or day. Share your training, recent experience and equipment needs with the operator and ask about the specific proposed dive.
Can I book Lady Cheryl through YouDive?
YouDive is an independent research directory. Contact an operator directly to confirm whether it currently runs the trip, the inclusions and the booking terms.
What you might see
Sponges, ascidians, zoanthids, kelp, bullseyes, old wife, southern blue devil, leatherjackets, bluethroat wrasse, magpie perch, southern rock lobster, giant cuttlefish, Australian fur seal
Location
On the reef off the inside of Point Nepean about 600 m north-west of Nepean Bay, 589 m west-north-west of the Empress of the Sea, where the trawler grounded and sank in 2012.
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
scubadoctor.com.auscubadoctor.com.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.
