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Surface Marker Buoys (SMBs)
Being able to let the surface know where you are during a dive is critical in some situations, and highly recommended in most others. The main ways divers use to achieve this are: a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) which stays on the surface, with or without a dive flag; a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB) which can be deployed by the diver from underwater; or a Safety Sausage which can only be deployed on the surface.
We consider the Safety Sausage to be unsafe and don't sell them. After all, how do you safely get to the surface in areas where there is boat traffic in order to deploy your safety sausage. They are usually much smaller than DSMBs, and thus don't do nearly as good a job as a signalling/location device.
Most people refer to a DSMB as just a SMB, which is why this category is called Surface Marker Buoys (SMBs), but technically they're very different.
SMB vs DSMB
A Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) is floated on the surface during a dive to mark the diver's position during drift dives, night dives, mist or disturbed sea conditions. A SMB is absolutely essential kit for diving anywhere you may have surface boat traffic. It allows your position to be known by people watching from shore and watercraft, whether they be the boat you are diving from, or other water users. Typically a SMB will have a dive flag on it as well. See Surface Markers for our range of SMBs.
A Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB), decompression buoy or deco buoy, is deployed whilst the diver is submerged and generally only towards the end of the dive. The DSMB marks the diver's position underwater so the boat safety cover can locate the diver even though the diver may have drifted some distance from the dive site while doing safety or decompression stops. A reel or finger spool and line connect the buoy on the surface to the diver beneath the surface.
Our recommendation is that all divers should carry a DSMB and reel on every dive. In many boat diving situations it's also good practice to also have a Surface Marker with dive flag up on the surface to tell your surface support where you are for the whole of the dive.
SMBs and DSMBs are not intended to be used to lift heavy weights. That's what a Lift Bag is for.
Where to Deploy Your DSMB
Delayed SMBs, such as the AP Diving Buddy DSMB, are designed to be deployed from depth near the end of, or at any critical point during, a dive. Some divers, like us, prefer to shoot their Delayed SMBs from the bottom and thus let the surface support know they're begining their ascent. Other divers shoot from mid-water when they start their safety stop, or decompression stops. We strongly recommend you have a Delayed SMB and reel/spool with you on every dive. On open water dives, waiting until you surface to deploy a surface only safety sausage is dangerous in high boat traffic areas.
Which Colour Delayed SMB Should you Use
There are essentially three choices for DSMB colouring — all Red, all Yellow, or Red and Yellow on contrasting sides.
Studies have shown that Red and Yellow are the two most visible colours at sea. But each colour works better than the other in different conditions. Thus if you look around a dive shop, you will see up to three SMB colours: all Red; all Yellow; and one side Red, one side Yellow.
Recreational Diving
An all Red SMB is far and away the most common SMB colour. This leads some new divers to buy an all Yellow SMB so theirs will stand out more when at a busy dive site. We don't recommend this.
Other divers buy the two-colour SMBs (Red on one side, Yellow on the other side) because these must surely be the ideal for high-visibility over the widest range of conditions. For recreational diving, especially when ocean diving, this is what we recommend. However, it is essential that you let your surface cover know that your combined Red and Yellow SMB is not being used as an emergency signal unless an emergency signal or message is attached to it.
Advanced/Technical Diving
In Australia, and many other parts of the world, there is a convention used by more advanced and technical divers that an all Yellow SMB is an emergency signal, to be responded to by sending down a cylinder of gas, or a rescue diver, or both.
Whilst for the most part recreational divers do not have or need such a signal, it is possible for both types of diver to be on the same dive site. If one group of divers is using Yellow as an emergency signal and the other group uses Yellow as standard, this could lead to confusion and even to a genuine emergency signal being ignored.
For this reason, unless you have a very strong reason for wanting an all Yellow SMB as standard, please don't buy one.
If you decide that you would like to use a Yellow SMB as an emergency signal yourself, two precautions to take are:
- Make sure your surface cover knows this convention
- Mark the SMB with "EMERGENCY", "HELP", "SOS" or some other such message in large, clear black letters to ensure there is no doubt that you are a diver in distress and not just a diver who thought a Yellow SMB looked nicer than a Red one.
Point Lonsdale Back Beach
Reef Dive | 
Shore access
Point Lonsdale Back Beach
Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft) to 10 m (33 ft)
Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.
Point Lonsdale Back Beach (aka Point Lonsdale Back Surf Beach) is a challenging site for experienced divers and snorkellers and the home of the Point Lonsdale Surf Lifesaving Club. The beach lies on the Barwon Coast of the Bellarine Peninsula and faces south-west into Bass Strait.
This 'back beach' is extremely popular over the summer months with locals and visitors alike. However, it also requires respect and caution — strong permanent rips decorate the beach and can catch out unsuspecting swimmers. The entry point is about 150 metres west of the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park, so the chances are some of you dive could be within this area.
Point Lonsdale forms the western side of Port Phillip Heads, with The Rip separating it from Point Nepean. The town of Point Lonsdale has a protected bay beach and more exposed ocean beaches. The main ocean beach is known as the Surf or Back Beach and is the site of Point Lonsdale Surf Life Saving Club. A walking track leads from the surf club over the dunes to the beach. Surf Beach extends for 900 metres from a wide, intertidal rock platform, located just east of the surf lifesaving club, to where more rocks and reefs outcrop in the surf. In fact, low tide rock flats dominate this beach and are clearly visible at low tide. The beach faces south-west and receives waves averaging 1.4 metre, which produce a single attached bar, cut by strong rips every 250 metres. In addition, strong permanent rips run out against some of the reefs, the worst being The Escalator to the left of the club house. These rips have been responsible for many rescues, with an average of 30 each year. There have also been drownings at the beach, so be very wary.
There is plenty of interesting reef to explore south-west out from the beach. You can also head east to check out the Glaneuse Reef area.
Location: Between Laker Drive & Buckley Road on Ocean Road, Point Lonsdale, Victoria 3225
MELWAY Ref: Page 499 J7
Beach Marker: 3W
Point Lonsdale Back Beach Parking
© Google Street View
Parking: From Geelong take the Bellarine Highway (B110) and turn right onto Fellows Road. Fellows Road turns left and becomes Ocean Road. There is parking along both sides of Ocean Road, plus at the Point Lonsdale Surf Lifesaving Club and the Ganes Reserve Playground between Laker Drive and Buckley Road. Before gearing up check out the water. If you see lots of white water, head on home.
Warning: Point Lonsdale Back Beach is a highly hazardous beach owing to the waves and strong permanent and shifting rips, together with rocks and reefs. Beach breaks are common over the numerous reefs, with the best known as Glaneuse Reef, located just east of here and adjacent to The Escalator rip. It offers a good left over the reef. Always go with a buddy and be extremely careful. Experienced divers and snorkellers only.
Entry/Exit: From Point Lonsdale Back Beach at beach marker 3W, the rescue base for the surf lifesaving club.
Ideal Conditions: Conditions are usually best with no wind or after a few days of northerlies as surface conditions remain calm. Diving and snorkelling is best with light northerly winds, a low swell at mid to high tide, as the reefs are exposed at low tide.
See WillyWeather (Point Lonsdale Back Beach) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.
Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait 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.
Point Lonsdale Back Beach Location Map
Latitude: 38° 17.343′ S (38.289056° S / 38° 17′ 20.6″ S)
Longitude: 144° 36.249′ E (144.604154° E / 144° 36′ 14.95″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
| Get directions
Added: 2022-04-07 15:53:55 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-07 17:26:50 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Glaneuse Reef, 395 m, bearing 130°, SE
Point Lonsdale, 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.
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