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The term "face mask" includes cloth masks, plus single-use face masks (commonly called surgical or medical masks), and N95/P2 respirator face masks. All of them, manufactured properly, are suitable for use to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). We strongly recommend you buy Australia Made face masks so as to ensure an effective, quality product.
Fabric or Cloth Face Masks
Fabric or Cloth face masks are any nose and mouth covering made of washable fabric. It's recommended a cloth mask made of three layers of a mix of breathable fabrics to ensure adequate protection. It does not need to be surgical quality to be effective.
You can even Make Your Own Cloth Mask.
Fabric/Cloth Face Mask are reuseable and should be washed after each use. See How to Wash Cloth Face Coverings.
We have available the Australian Made range of Sharkskin Envirus advanced technology fabric, antimicrobial face masks. (See below.)
Surgical or Medical Level 2 and Level 3 Facemasks
Surgical or Medical masks are made with a non-woven melt-blown polypropylene layer and available in various levels of protection. These are single-use, disposable masks only so can't be washed and used again.
Medical or Surgical Face Masks should be manufactured to Level 1, 2 or 3 according to the Australian Standards. Revised in December 2015 the standard AS 4381:2015 for Face Masks are now performance-based on 3 tests:
- Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) with Differential Pressure (Delta P) & Synthetic Blood Penetration Resistance. Fluid resistance is measured mm Hg, masks are rated according to performance.
- L1-80 mm Hg. L2-120 mm Hg. L3-160 mm Hg.
- Fluid Resistance: The ability of the mask to limit the passage of blood or body fluids from the outer facing through the mask layers to the inner facing.
Level 1. Applications: For general purpose medical procedures, where the wearer is not at risk of blood or body fluid splash or to protect staff and/or the patient from droplet exposure to microorganisms (e.g. patient with upper respiratory tract infection visits General Practitioner).
Level 2. Applications: For use in emergency departments, dentistry, changing dressings on small wounds or healing wounds where minimal blood droplet exposure may possibly occur (e.g. endoscopy procedures).
Level 3. Applications: For all surgical procedures, major trauma first aid or in any area where the health care worker is at risk of blood or body fluid splash (e.g. orthopaedic, cardiovascular procedures).
In general surgical/medical face masks are way more comfortable than the N95 respirator style face masks. However, because these surgical masks are in short supply for medical professionals and emergency service providers, the government is suggesting you use a non-medical fabric face mask.
P2 or N95 Respirator Face Masks
A P2 mask, also known as a P2/N95 mask or P2/N95 respirator, is a disposable face mask that is specially designed to filter the air and block particles above a certain size, including smoke and fine dust. The only difference between P2 and N95 is the region of classification and its testing requirements — P2 is European and N95 is the USA equivalent.
P2 or N95 respirator face masks are not recommended for use in the community and not advised to be used outside of healthcare or specific industries under health advice. We should prioritise the use of N95 respirators for those personnel at the highest risk of contracting or experiencing complications of infection.
Yellow Rock Beach
Reef Dive | 
Shore access
Yellow Rock Beach, Nelson Bay
Source: Portland Tourist Association
Depth: 5 m (16 ft) to 10 m (33 ft)
Level: Open Water and beyond.
Yellow Rock Beach (aka Nelson Bay 3 Beach) is a shore diving and snorkelling site on the western side of Nelson Bay, five kilometres south-west of Portland on Victoria's Discovery Coast.
Nelson Bay is a 4 km wide, south facing, rocky bay lying between Cape Sir William Grant to the east and Cape Nelson to the west. Deep inside the bay are three remnants of a once larger beach. Today the bay consists of 50 to 90 m high cliffs, composed largely of dune calcarenite sitting on top of basalt bases and rock platforms. Behind the beaches, the cliffs rise steeply to heights of 30 to 40 m and are capped with a veneer of dune sand. The dunes were deposited when a larger beach and backing sand ramp occupied the back of the bay, probably about 6 000 years ago.
The beaches are difficult to access. Norman Wade Scenic Drive (off Cape Nelson Road) runs above the western beach (Yellow Rock Beach or Nelson Bay 3 Beach) and there is a car park, walkway, viewing platform and steps down the bluffs to this beach. All three beaches receive waves averaging about 1.5 m, that break over a 200 m wide surf zone. An inner, rip dominated bar is usually detached from the beach, and the outer bar has larger rips. Rocks and reefs also dominate the inner surf. In addition, the narrow, high tide sand beaches are often awash at high tide. These are backed by cobble beaches at the base of the cliffs.
Diving and Snorkelling at Yellow Rock Beach
Off Yellow Rock Beach you'll discover a world of ledges, swim throughs and a vast array of marine life. Take your catch bag just in case you spot Black-lipped Abalone or Southern Rock Lobster (aka Crayfish).
Yellow Rock Beach Parking
© Google Street View
Location: Norman Wade Scenic Drive, Nelson Bay, Portland, Victoria 3305
Parking: There is a car park off Norman Wade Scenic Drive. It's roughly 200 metres from the car park down the steps onto the beach. Before gearing up check out the water. If you see lots of white water, head on home.
Entry/Exit: Enter and exit from Yellow Rock Beach.
Ideal Conditions: Best dived in good conditions with a low swell with light offshore winds. See WillyWeather (Nelson Bay) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.
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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.
Crayfish Dive Site | © Ian Scholey
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.
Gunditjmara country
Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Gunditjmara people of far south-western Victoria which continues over the state border into a small part of south-east South Australia and is bordered by the Glenelg River to the west and the Wannon River in the north. This truly ancient Country extends 100 metres out to sea from low tide and also includes Deen Maar (aka Lady Julia Percy Island) where the Gunditjmara believe the spirits of their dead travel to wait to be reborn. We wish to acknowledge the Gunditjmara as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.
Yellow Rock Beach Location Map
Latitude: 38° 23.289′ S (38.388155° S / 38° 23′ 17.36″ S)
Longitude: 141° 34.918′ E (141.581961° E / 141° 34′ 55.06″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
| Get directions
Added: 2022-05-20 20:24:41 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-23 16:19:22 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Flat Rock, Cape Nelson, 1,371 m, bearing 223°, SW
Nelson Bay, Portland, Discovery Coast.
Depth: 5 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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