Black Patch Bay is one of Schouten Island's best topographic dives. The Marine Life Network guide rates it 6 out of 10 and describes fantastic topography where boulders up to 10 m high have fallen from the cliffs, with banded morwong, butterfly perch, small crays and large abalone. Visibility is described as excellent.

The boulder field creates a maze of gaps, overhangs and caves between 10 m and 25 m, and the fallen rocks are covered in sponges and encrusting life on their shaded faces. The site requires low swell for the boat to anchor safely, and it is exposed to north-easterly weather.

It suits Advanced Open Water divers comfortable with a remote boat dive.

Schouten Island is part of Freycinet National Park. Its granite and dolerite peaks rise to over 400 m, and the island has no permanent residents, jetty or facilities apart from a Parks hut and campsite at Moreys Bay, so divers visit with self-contained boats. The island's sites were described in detail in the Marine Life Network regional guide, but few have been documented since; with no operator currently running trips, they are among the least-dived good sites in Tasmania.

A typical Schouten day combines one deeper dive on the exposed eastern or southern side with a shallow second dive in a sheltered bay, choosing sides according to the swell. Because the island is at least 45 minutes from the Coles Bay ramp and more than four hours by road and boat from the Royal Hobart Hospital chamber, conservative profiles, oxygen on board and a reliable weather window are essential.

Coles Bay is 30 minutes south of the Tasman Highway via the C302 (turn off 12 km south of Bicheno), about 2 hr 45 min from Hobart and 2 hr 30 min from Launceston. The main public boat ramp is at Coles Bay township; boats reaching the ocean side of the peninsula or Schouten Island need a seaworthy vessel, as the run around Cape Degerando or through Schouten Passage is exposed. Schouten Island lies across Schouten Passage from the southern tip of the Freycinet Peninsula, roughly 25-30 km (about 45-60 minutes in a fast boat) from the Coles Bay ramp via Promise Bay and the western shore of the peninsula.

Swansea's ramp on the western side of Great Oyster Bay is an alternative. Schouten Passage can run hard with wind against tide. Black Patch Bay requires low swell for anchoring; the boat usually anchors in the bay and divers descend on the anchor line.

Black Patch Bay is exposed to north-easterly weather, including the common summer sea breeze, and needs low swell for anchoring. Southerly and westerly winds leave it sheltered. Visibility is usually excellent.

Rain washes tannin-stained runoff into Great Oyster Bay, and summer afternoons commonly bring a fresh north-easterly sea breeze, so plan dives for the morning.

Descend the anchor line, explore the fallen boulders at 20-25 m and their cracks and overhangs, then work back towards the cliffs and ascend along the rock face. Turn the dive at half gas (thirds where current or overhead sections are involved), deploy an SMB before surfacing for the live-boat pick-up, and complete a 3-minute safety stop at about 5 m where depth allows.

No dedicated dive operator at Coles Bay or Freycinet. Sites are dived from private boats and occasional club expeditions (Tas Uni Dive Club, TSDC, Launceston clubs); the Marine Life Network guide notes that Coles Bay is the usual starting point for Schouten Island charters. Cruise and kayak operators in Coles Bay do not offer scuba.