The wreck of the SS Catterthun....The SS Catterthun is a very unique piece of Australian Maritime History. Built in England in 1881, she was one of the first Australian ships to have electricity! The SS Catterthun was carrying a cargo of gold onboard when she went down on the night of August 8th 1895. This 92.5 metre vessel struck a reef situated behind Little Seal Rock and is now lying on a sandy bottom in 55- 60 metres of water.  It is said that there is still gold onboard the SS Catterthun, with only 7 of the 10 boxes of gold coins being recovered in a salvage operation that took place less than a year after she sank. This once majestic vessel has been surprisingly well preserved considering she has spent more than 100 years in her watery grave, with most of her body still perfectly intact.

BOTTOM TIMES: As this is a decompression dive, your bottom time will depend on your profile.

SAFETY STOPS: Run your dive plan (the boat skipper should have a copy of your dive plan onboard)

DANGER: Current can be running hard, so you should hold the anchor line all the way down to the wreck. Visibility can sometimes be down to 2 metres or so but having said that, it can be up to 25 metres+ Depth can also be a danger as you could run low or run out of air Nitrogen Narcosis can be a problem due to the depth.

IF YOU: Can’t get back to the anchor line then deploy your lift bag on your reel and do a normal ascent to your stops then run your plan.

NOTE: The SS Catterthun is a dive for only the fully qualified and equipped in Deep/Wreck diving, with recorded experience of diving at such depths.

ENTRY: You can get in to the water by a giant stride from the stern then swim to the bow.

DESCENT: Descend  the anchor line holding the line all the way down. It’s a good idea to check your gear whilst you are on the anchor line.

DEPTH: Your average depth will be around 58 metres.