Staying Home Sucks, home
Sydney (AU), Long Reef Beach -- 2019 -- 2616
Near SS Duckenfield, 2 km away. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

SS Duckenfield

Dive site · Australia

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

65Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 69 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
20°C

Tue 3 · 67 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
10 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
21°C

Wed 4 · 63 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
8 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
20°C

Thu 5 · 59 out of 100

Sea
1.0 m
Wind
13 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
20°C

Fri 6 · 67 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
19°C

Sat 7 · 69 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
7knboats in
Air
22°C

Sun 8 · 40 out of 100

Sea
1.5 m
Wind
20 kn
Gusts
27knboats in
Air
16°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 175, good
  2. Mon 269, good
  3. Tue 367, good
  4. Wed 463, good
  5. Thu 559, fair
  6. Fri 667, good
  7. Sat 769, good
  8. Sun 840, poor
  9. Mon 956, fair
  10. Tue 1065, good

The site in four facts

  • Down to 24 mits deepest
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 21 °C5 mm wetsuit
  • Faces Eswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at SS Duckenfield
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov75, good0.8 m10 kn14kn20°C
Mon 2Nov69, good0.7 m4 kn6kn20°C
Tue 3Nov67, good0.8 m10 kn11kn21°C
Wed 4Nov63, good0.8 m8 kn13kn20°C
Thu 5Nov59, fair1.0 m13 kn19kn20°C
Fri 6Nov67, good0.9 m9 kn11kn19°C
Sat 7Nov69, good0.7 m6 kn7knboats in22°C
Sun 8Nov40, poor1.5 m20 kn27knboats in16°C
Mon 9Nov56, fair1.1 m15 kn26kn17°C
Tue 10Nov65, good0.9 m4 kn13kn19°C
Wed 11Nov64, good1.1 m4 kn13kn19°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 01:48 +0.3 mLow 07:13 −0.4 mHigh 13:53 +0.8 mLow 20:56 −0.6 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 03:03 +0.3 mLow 08:31 −0.3 mHigh 15:02 +0.7 mLow 22:03 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:15 +0.3 mLow 09:54 −0.3 mHigh 16:12 +0.7 mLow 23:02 −0.6 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May5of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun5of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug5of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep6of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov6of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

4 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About SS Duckenfield

A wreck dive. It goes down to 24 m. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces E: swell from the E reaches it, and wind from the W blows out to sea. 2 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 7.0 km away. The sea is about 18°C in August, its coldest month (7 mm wetsuit and hood), and 24°C in February, its warmest (5 mm wetsuit). The town to stay in is Manly. Within 5 km we also list 19 surf spots, 1 wind sports spot, 1 dive site and 2 kayak spots.

  • What it is Wreck.
  • How deep Down to 24 m.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 2 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 7.0 km away.

Water about 21°C: 5 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 10 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Nov and Dec (about 10 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,650–US$3,180 each

about US$1,650–US$3,180 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to SYD, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$925–US$1,920
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$47–US$74
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$355–US$596
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$596
Totalabout US$1,650–US$3,180

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Manly

Closest

Manly

17 min by car · 50 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 50 places to stay in Manly · Booking.com

About Manly its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 27h 35m

About 27h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SYD, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 40 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 20 m, clearer than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.