Tips for Buying a Dive Computer

Do you dive with Nitrox?

If there's even the slightest chance of you using nitrox, or wanting to in the future, then it makes sense to buy a dive computer that supports nitrox diving. Generally, these dive computers only cost a little more, and buying one that can match your pace as you advance through your training and diving experiences will prove cheaper in the long run.

Do you want to show your cylinder contents?

Air-integrated dive computers monitor how much gas you have remaining during a dive, and your breathing rate. They will tell you how much time you have left at a given depth (whether that's limited by your remaining air, or your dive time). The dive computer can also work out, if you're breathing slow, that you've absorbed less nitrogen and therefore can permit you to stay down longer. Longer dives - what's not to love?

Wrist or Console?

Generally this is a matter of preference. Bear in mind that if you choose a console computer and don't plan on taking your regs on your next dive trip, you'll either need to hire and use a dive computer you might be unfamiliar with, or take the dive computer console off of your regs and put it on the hire regs. Some people go for the 'big watch' style dive computers and wear them every day. Our preference, especially for technical and cave diving, is for a large, easy to read wrist mounted dive computer.

Safety Tip

Time-to-fly is the time you must wait between your last dive and ascending to altitude. Most dive computers display the amount of time remaining until residual nitrogen levels drop to the point where the computer considers a subsequent dive to be the same as a non-repetitive dive. This time may be described as a time-to-fly. However, even after considerable study, flying after diving recommendations remain controversial and continue to evolve. Decompression sickness statistics from Divers Alert Network (DAN) make it very clear that no current decompression theory and computer algorithm is able to account for all the complexities of decompression introduced by flying after diving. Instead, we encourage you to follow the May 2002 Flying After Diving Workshop recommendations published by DAN:

For a single no-stop-required dive, a minimum preflight surface interval of at least 12 hours is suggested.

For multiple dives in a single day, or multiple days of diving, a minimum preflight surface interval of at least 18 hours is suggested.

Wait substantially longer (i.e., 24 to 36 hours) if you have done any decompression-stop-required diving.

Beach 10B

Reef Dive | Shore access

Beach 10B Ledge | © Phil Watson

Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft) to 10 m (33 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

Beach 10B is an interesting shore diving and snorkelling location in Queenscliff, Victoria, on the Bellarine Peninsula facing south-south-west into Lonsdale Bay, Port Phillip. It lies between Cottage By The Sea Reef (to the west) and Shortland Bluff (to the east).

Beach 10B Arch | © Phil Watson

There are interesting seagrass beds in the shallows and undulating rocky ground with sparse cover in about 5 to 6 metres. Further out at about 10 metres deep there is an area of barren sand dunes rising up to about 4 metres deep. There is an area of great ledges, deep overhangs, gutters and swim throughs in about 8 to 9 metres. Peter Fuller dubbed it "Friendly Bommie".

Best to use a dive float with a dive flag as there can be a lot of boat traffic in the area.

Beach 10B Steps | © Unknown

Location: Corner The Esplanade & Stevens Street, Queenscliff, Victoria 3225
MELWAY Ref: Page 500 H5
Beach Marker: 10B

Parking: There is a car parking area on the beach side of the road at the intersection of The Esplanade and Stevens Street, Queenscliff. You can make your way down the steps onto the beach.

Warning: Beach 10B is subject to a lot of boat and PWC traffic. Always take a dive float with a dive flag. Always go with a buddy and be extremely careful of the tidal flow.

Ideal Conditions: The beach faces south-south-west so best dived with an offshore northerly wind. Conditions are usually best with no wind or after a few days of northerlies as surface conditions remain calm. The site is protected from northerly and westerly winds. Beach 10B is very current prone and is best dived right on a slack water flood. If you venture out when the current is running you can encounter very fast tidal streams and get into trouble quickly. See WillyWeather (Santa Casa Beach) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

The Rip & Tides Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive within "The Rip" (aka "The Heads"). This is a dangerous stretch of water, where Bass Straight meets Port Phillip, which has claimed many ships and lives. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-the-rip before diving or snorkelling this site.

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

Beach 10B Location Map

Latitude: 38° 16.390′ S (38.273162° S / 38° 16′ 23.38″ S)
Longitude: 144° 39.181′ E (144.653009° E / 144° 39′ 10.83″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2022-03-09 05:39:53 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-07 17:17:54 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Cottage By The Sea Reef, 291 m, bearing 288°, WNW
Queenscliff, Bellarine Peninsula.
Depth: 1 to 10 m.

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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.