Bicton
Two wrecks are located among the moorings in front of the Fremantle Sea Scouts Hall on Jerrat Drive. The easiest way to get to the Jerrat Drive car park near the dive site is via Preston Point Road on to Wauhop Drive. The Scout Hall is located in Bicton, west of the East Fremantle Yacht Club. Parking bays are available on the hill and it is a short walk down a slope on bitumen and some stairs to the Scout Hall and grassed area. On the western edge of the grassed area is the seascouts' mast and next to it, an old collapsed boat ramp. This is the easiest entry point although care should be taken walking down the ruins.
The site is relatively easy and the wrecks can be loacted either by bearings or descending down the nearby moorings. Visibility on the site can vary between good at 6 metres and poor at less than a metre. Being located opposite Point Roe on the far side of a river bend and also a bottle neck of the river, the site visibility seems to be greatly effected by tidal movement. Slight currents are almost always noticeable and best diving seems to coincide with neap tides.
Entry Point - Seascouts mast and ramp
Usually the easiest way to locate the ALC 40 is to surface swim the short distance to mooring 567 and continue on the bearing of 050° for around 15 metres to the wreck, usually the first thing you will see is a log on the river bed, this runs for around 8 metres and leads directly to the wreck. Alternatively, the bearing of 050° from the entry point should lead you straight to the same point however the long distance can lead to a greater opportunity for an error in navigation, although the wreck is quite large making it pretty easy to bump into.
About half way along the north eastern side of the ALC 40 a new pole trail can be found leading a short distance east to the wreckage of the "Gay Dragon" a sunken vessel commonly referred to as the Chinese Junk wreck. The Gay Dragon also has a mooring almost right next to it, mooring 251 sits only a few metres north of the wreckage - the mooring chains are featured in the 3D model down the page. Mooring 251 can be easily located if standing at the base of the jetty near the scout hall and looking out on a direct bearing down the first part of the jetty. Between the two wrecks is mooring 784, usually this mooring has a vessel called Shin Ju tied up to it, immediately north of the mooring chains the pole trail can be found within a few metres.
ALC 40 (Australian Landing Craft: Type 40)
Position: S 32° 01.647'
E 115° 46.258'
Nearest Mooring:
576
wreck @ 050° 15 metres from mooring
784
S 32° 01.654' E 115° 47.271'
wreck @ 300° 23 metres from mooring
Entry Point: Scout mast
Bearing at Entry Point:
mast to mooring(576) 050° 55 metres
mast to ALC40 wreck 052° 72 metres
mast to mooring (784) 070° 84 metres
Construction: Steel
Dimensions: 18.5 x 5.5 metres
Depth: 8.5 metres
The World War 2 era Australian Landing Craft belonging to the 43rd Landing Company, Australian Army, broke its mooring in a storm in 1943 and sunk at its present location in front of the scout hall on Jerrat Drive. The wreck sits at a depth of 8.5 metres, 70 metres from the shore directly in front of the sea scouts' mast, it is also 15 metres North East from mooring '576'. The ALC40 wreck rises only a foot or two above the river bed but is a sizable wreck with a lot of life. This is a site that can sometimes experience current. The former military Australian Landing Craft, like the nearby Junk site it is almost a sure place to find seahorses.
Gay Dragon
"Chinese Junk"
Position: S 32° 01.653'
E 115° 46.284'
Nearest Mooring: 251
S 32° 01.649' E 115° 47.282'
wreck @ 155° 7 metres from mooring
784
S 32° 01.654' E 115° 47.271'
wreck @ 090° 22 metres from mooring
Entry Point: Scout Mast
Bearing at Entry Point:
mast to mooring (251) 068° 105 metres
mast to mooring (784) 070° 84 metres
mast to wreck 072° 98 metres
Construction: Wood
Dimensions: 8 x 2 metre (site)
Depth: 8.5 metres
The Gay Dragon wreck is described to once have been a Chinese Junk themed single mast cruiser that was seen around the Swan River. It was a locally owned boat that was used as a privately owned pleasure craft and is thought to have sunk on its mooring sometime in the 80's or early 90's. Very little remains of the vessel besides some upright ribs, the engine block and a fuel tank scattered around a debris feild. The wreckage sits at 8.5 metres and is easily accessible from the Jerrat Rd Scout Hall. The vessel has greatly deteriorated to be almost indistinguishable as a boat however, like the ALC40 wreck nearby, it is almost guaranteed to find seahorses on these wrecks and is regarded as the most popular site to find them in the Swan River.
