The Coolooli

The Coolooli is one of the largest vessels scuttled on the Long Reef Wreck Site. Built in 1955 at the NSW Government State Dockyard at Newcastle (NSW), the Coolooli was an unpowered dredge. She displaced 150 tonnes and was 50 metres long and 10 or 11 metres wide. During her working life she was mainly used to keep NSW ports navigable. In 1980 the Coolooli was sunk as part of the reef and now lies on its starboard side on sand in 48 metres of water. 

Once picked in, you decend down the anchor line and head North on the shore side where you will see the superstructure. You can penetrate this part of the wreck in places as it is very open. After you reach the stern, head back to the south on the outside and follow the buckets right to the bow.

This is the tip of the Bucket Bar, have a good look around here. This is also a great place to take photos. From here you can go back around or over to where you started.

The maximum depth is about 50 metres, but a dive probably averages 44 to 46 metres. 10 to 20 minutes bottom time is optimum

Keep a watch out for groups of pelargic fish as you head up the anchor line to your Deco stops. This is a great wreck to dive, one of the most intact in Sydneys Waters. The Visability on this wreck is usually very good and it rarley suffers from currents, but as always, check before you dive and Bail out if the conditions are to much for you.

This is a deep dive at 48-50 Mtrs, You must have the appropriate rating and equipment to do this dive, Sydney Dive Academy recomends at least Decompression rated and at least one redundant air source.