I’ve put up a series of links on the webpage for Melbourne snorkelling, wind & webcams. These are the pages I most commonly look at to assess conditions the day before deciding where to go snorkelling. You’ll find these on the home page … they are scrollable, so they should be easy to access both on mobile and desktop.
For quick access, bookmark this link: https://simonmustoe.blog/melbourne-and-port-phillip-bay-snorkelling-guide-wildlife/#links
My best advice though is not to be ruled by this. If you get obsessed with trying to read the conditions online, you’ll miss more perfect chances to snorkel, than if you just bite the bullet and go!
Checking the wind
The only exception is wind. No-one likes snorkelling in a heavy sea and it stirs up the sediment in the shallow. That said, I’ve had some fantastic swims at Ricketts Point in clear conditions with waves crashing and the fish going mad.
Remember the simple rule. The conditions are best when the sea is protected from the wind by the land. I’ve included links to Willy Weather for the north and south of the bay. When it’s blowing from the south, head south. When it’s blowing from the north, head north. But most days it blows southerly harder in the afternoon as the land warms up and sea breezes occur. This time of year, it’s often best to be in the water nice and early in the morning.
Snorkelling visibility
It’s almost impossible to predict. If you try to do it, you’ll drive yourself mad and never get out.
But I’ll let you into a little secret. Visibility at this time of year is often quite good south of Black Rock. The fish life isn’t as abundant but there are always other things to find. It’s quite sheltered from southerlies south of Table Rock (see this page on Scuba Doctor) or even further around off the Motor Yacht Squadron. You might also find a fossil shark tooth, if you’re lucky … and keep an eye out for seahorses.
Have fun! Hope these Melbourne snorkelling, wind, water & webcams links are useful for you.
Cheers,
Simon.
