Tech Tip:
Finger Spools Are Not Guideline Reels

The skills required to deploy a finger spool are different than those required to use a typical guideline reel. At first glance the simple spool looks easier, but compared to guideline reels the finger spool requires specific techniques for successful use. If this is your first finger spool then seek advice, get a demonstration, and most importantly you should practice under controlled conditions.

A common usage mistake is rewinding a finger spool in a manner that applies a lot of tension to the line, such as when hanging under a lift bag, causing the line to be very tightly wound on to the spool. Upon re-use the line doesn't smoothly unwind and sticks, causing the entire spool to be jerked out of the fingers or disappear with the lift bag.

Another consideration is the method used to rewind the line on to the spool. Hold the line loosely and use the spool to take up the line; if you hold the spool in a fixed position some wrapping motions with your hand will put a 'twist' in the line with each wrap around the spool. Depending on how you later unspool, you might wind up with a tangled mess of line (aka 'birds nest') if you hold the line in your hand while it unspools.

Although your finger spool is not a guideline reel the basic care is very similar. You should rinse your finger spool with fresh water following each dive. We recommend pulling some or all of the line off the spool before each dive, then rewinding it neatly but not too tightly, so as to help prevent problems during line deployment. If the line on your finger spool is new or very dry, we recommend pulling the line off into a bucket of water. This will moisten the line, precluding it from swelling on the spool and causing further issues or damaging the spool.

Finally, too much line on the spool can cause tangles during initial deployment, if you are having a consistent problem deploying your finger spool try removing a few metres of line.

The Blowhole, Flinders

Shore Dive | Shore access

The Blowhole | © Alexey Lapkis

Depth: 3 m (9.84 ft) to 11 m (36 ft)

Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond

The Blowhole, Flinders dive site lies on the southern coast of the Mornington Peninsula, between Cape Schanck (to the west) and West Head (to the east), Flinders. The site faces south into Bass Strait.

The Blowhole Dive | © Phil Watson

A cave cuts through the headland at sea level and in big seas creates an impressive blowhole. Reefs and bommies lie off the headland and to either side along the shore where the depths get to 11 metres. The whole area is very exposed to southerly swells. Very calm conditions are required for safe diving. When conditions permit you can explore the coastline to the east and west of The Blowhole.

Location: Flinders, Victoria 3929
MELWAY Ref: Page 261 D11

Parking: There is a car park at the end of Blowhole Track, south off Boneo Road (C777) opposite Razorback Road.

Entry/Exit: You can enter and exit the water either from the small craggy bay on the eastern side, or from the more sheltered area on the western side of the headland.

Ideal Conditions:
The sea needs to be flat with no swell. Light north-westerly to north-easterly winds are okay. See WillyWeather (Flinders Ocean Beach) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

See also, Parks Victoria: The Blowhole, and
The Blowhole in "Shore Dives of Victoria" by Ian Lewis, 3rd edition pages 126–127.

Abalone Dive Site
© Mark Norman, Museum Victoria

Divers have the opportunity to catch Abalone at this dive site. Remember your catch bag, legal abalone tool, current Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence, and abalone measure. Please abide by all current fishing regulations if you intend to catch abalone.

See article-catching-abalone for practical abalone hunting advice from The Scuba Doctor, plus melbourne-abalone-dives for a list of other Abalone dive sites near Melbourne.

Divers have the opportunity to catch Southern Rock Lobster (aka Crayfish) at this dive site. Remember your catch bag, current Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence, rock lobster measure, and cray tags. Once you get back to the dive boat, or shore, make sure you clip the tail and tag your Crayfish as per Fisheries requirements. Please abide by all current fishing regulations if you intend to catch crays. See article-catching-crayfish for practical cray hunting advice from The Scuba Doctor, plus melbourne-cray-dives for a list of other crayfish dive sites near Melbourne. For tips on cooking your Crays, please see article-cooking-crayfish.

Back Beach Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any dive on the Back Beaches of the Mornington Peninsula. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-the-back-beaches before diving or snorkelling this site.

Boon Wurrung / Bunurong country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes parts of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson's Promontory in the south-east, including the Mornington Peninsula, French Island and Phillip Island, plus Western Port. We wish to acknowledge the Boon Wurrung 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.

The Blowhole, Flinders Location Map

Latitude: 38° 29.101′ S (38.485013° S / 38° 29′ 6.05″ S)
Longitude: 144° 59.434′ E (144.990563° E / 144° 59′ 26.03″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-05 10:13:57 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Lady Face Point, 1,842 m, bearing 250°, WSW
Flinders, Back Beaches, Mornington Peninsula.
Depth: 3 to 11 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.