We are planning to go for two dives at the Scottish Prince wreck and Palm Reef, both of which are suitable for Open Water divers. 

The Scottish Prince was an iron hulled barque ship with three masts, built in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1878. It was a passenger and cargo ship that operated between the UK and Australia. It ran aground at the end of a voyage from Glasgow to Brisbane in 1887, without loss of life, and now lies 800 metres off the Southport Spit. Now, what remains of the 64 metre ship is covered in soft corals and sponges, and is a haven for crayfish, shovelnose rays, catsharks and wobbegongs, as well as plenty of tropical fish.

Palm Beach Reef is the largest coral reef system on the Gold Coast and ranges from 5m to 24m, with lots of different environments to explore. There are many different sites here that can be explored, depending on the conditions and the time of year, as different sites are better suited to different wildlife. In the summer, leopard sharks frequent the reef and grey nurse sharks are occasionally seen in the winter. Stingrays, eagle rays, wobbegongs and turtles are frequently seen, and the site is well known for nudibranchs. Large schools of tropical fish are common and the shallower parts of the reef offer a good variety of tropical fish.

We will do two dives with a commercial boat and the cost will be $125, including tanks and weights, and the operator will be providing a guide. Gear hire is your own responsibility. Fuel costs will be shared across the participants.

Every diver must come to the shed the Thursday before the trip (4 July) for a pre-dive briefing. On Saturday, we will need to get to the public jetty at the corner of Dry Dock Road and Minjungbal Drive by 6.30 am, but we'll discuss the logistics during the briefing.

We have only 14 spots available so be quick to sign up!

If you have any questions about the trip, please email dive@unidive.org.