Air fills when diving rapid bay & edithburgh jetty

[chris kippax]

Hi all

I am planning a trip to dive Rapid bay then moving to Edithburgh after that. Is Adelaide the only place to get reliable fills? We have two tanks each and are planning to do 4 dives at each location. If I can not get fills locally should I rent 4 tanks on the way through Adelaide and then get them filled on the way back through Adelaide to get to Edithburgh?
Thanks for your replies.

 

[diver257a]

Hi,

Rapid Bay - the nearest filling station is at an industrial supplier in the suburb of Lonsdale in the southern Adelaide metropolitan area about 50km away. However, I would suggest one of the dive shops further north towards the Adelaide CBD such as Diving Adelaide on South Road or The Dive Shack on Richmond Road as the fills are cheaper and as other diving-related services are available if needed.

I would agree with hiring extra cylinders for Rapid Bay because it is a large site where a swim to the far end and back will take about 1.5 to 2 hours over a total distance of about 800m (i.e. 400m each way) in a maximum depth of 10m if starting from the end of the new jetty. I do not think you will need extra cylinders for Edithburgh as the site is not as large - I easily get 2 hours out of a 10 litre cylinder by swimming very slowly which is the best way to have an enjoyable dive on this site.

Edithburgh - you can get cylinder fills from the BP petrol station at 55 Blanche St, Edithburgh, SA 5583. Its phone number is 08 8852 6067. It is located about 500m by road from the jetty. Fills were selling for 10AUD each when I was last there. I would suggest that you phone in advance to confirm when filling can be done.

Rapid Bay - I would watch the weather if you are diving there in the near future because during the winter months, the site is exposed to north-westerly winds which can make the site too rough and too dirty to dive.

 

[chris kippax]

@diver257a
Thanks for your reply! Great detail and it is much appreciated