There was some discussion as to when was the optimum time to do the Swansea channel drift dive. The local high water was at 8:14 pm (so around 4ish should in theory would be maximum flow) . The oracle (McFadyen) said anytime between 1 hr before and 2 hrs after Sydney high water (5:29 pm) was fine. In the end we settled for meeting up around 3ish. By the time we had done the car shuffle, had a snack, go the the loo (nearest toilets are in the Woolies) and generally phaffed around the current was really picking up. We kitted up in the RSL car park, and then at 4:30pm it was a stride entry from the wharf and we were off on an express ride to the boat ramp (1.5km away)!
The visibility could have been better, but it made trying to dodge the bridge pylons all the more exciting. The max depth was 11m, with most of the dive at 4-6m. There was rather a lot of boat traffic which also adds to the excitement – it would be wise to have a dSMB on hand for the latter half of the dive. When the current eases off and the number of beer bottles increase (~35 min) you know you are nearing the boat ramp and it is time to head to the shallows and carefully ascend.
