Lorne Pier

Meet the site

Lorne Pier is the Otway coast's one pier dive, and while it is not on the scale of the Mornington Peninsula piers it has the same appeal: easy access, shallow depth and a surprising amount of life on the pylons and the sand. The current concrete pier at Point Grey replaced the old timber structure in 2007; it runs about 150 m out on the southern side of Loutit Bay next to the fishermen's co-op, in water that shallows from about 6 m at the end to 2 m near the ramp. The bottom is mostly clean sand with patches of low reef and weed close to the point, and the pylons carry a growth of kelp, sponges and ascidians that thickens toward the outer end.

What divers come for is the macro life. Big-belly seahorses are the regular find on the pylons and among the weed, along with decorator crabs, spider crabs and swimmer crabs on the sand, thornfish and blennies in the growth, and nudibranchs in season. Smooth rays and fiddler rays hunt over the sand, and there are usually herring, sweep and juvenile leatherjackets schooling under the deck; Shaw's cowfish, globefish and cuttlefish are regular, and weedy seadragons are occasionally seen in the weed toward the point. Water movement is the limiting factor: even on a calm day residual swell curls around Point Grey and sets the sand moving, so the dive is often described as surgy with visibility of 4–5 m in the clearer patches. It is nevertheless a comfortable Open Water dive of 40–50 minutes with no navigation to speak of and a ramp exit, and it is one of the few places on this coast where a night dive is practical. Fishing is heavy from the pier, so a line cutter is essential and it is polite to enter and exit well clear of the anglers.

What you might see

Big-belly seahorses, decorator and spider crabs, swimmer crabs, Shaw's cowfish, thornfish, blennies, nudibranchs, smooth and fiddler rays, herring and sweep, leatherjackets, cuttlefish, occasional weedy seadragon

Location

Concrete fishing pier at Point Grey on the southern side of Loutit Bay, Lorne, beside the fishermen's co-op and boat crane.

Facilities nearby

Large car park, toilets and showers at Point Grey, the fishermen's co-op cafe and Lorne Aquatic Club on site, Lorne shops 1.5 km; nearest air fills Geelong or Torquay area.