Saturday, August 11, 2007

Jerrat Drive

A Swan River wreck dive.

  • Rating Moderate.
  • Depth 9m.
  • Viz 2-5m.
  • Access Moderate.
Location
Jerrat Drive
East Fremantle Western Australia

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Description
Two interesting wrecks. One, a WWII landing craft (possibly ALC40), the other, apparently a Chinese junk. The landing craft has many holes, nooks and crannies to peer into, so always take a torch. A nice night dive.
The Site

I am in the process of checking the bearings to both wrecks.
Position
ALC40: latitude 32°01.63848, longitude 115°46.2357
Marine Life
Cuttle fish, western red scorpion cod, Scorpaena sumptuosa, Western Australian seahorse, Hippocampus angustus, stripped cat fish ball, Plotosus lineatus, cobbler, Cnidoglanis macrocephalus, crested morwong, rough leather jacket, pygmy leather jacket, goatfish, flathead, gobbleguts, blowfish, sea pens, tube anemone, sea urchins and sand dollars. Black beam, Acanthopagrus butcheri, often congregate on the barge. For a more detailed description of marine life view this blog: Swan River Marine Life.
Hazards
Always use a dive flag, beware of boat traffic. Cobbler, striped catfish and western rock cod all have venomous spines, which can cause painful injuries. Both wrecks have sharp edges. Strong currents can be deceptive, check tides. Keep off the bottom, the silt is very fine and if stirred up can reduce your visibility. Be aware of Swan River pollution levels. The WA Health Department advises not to swim in the river for 3 days after rain.
Check river pollution levels here:

Swan River Trust Algal Activity Report
Swan River Trust Current Alerts
WA Health Department Healthy Swimming.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

To get to the chinese junk take a 30degree bearing from the boat ramp on the east side of the scout hall and jetty.

Ismi said...

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