Bypass Reef was discovered in mid-2010 by St George Scuba Club divers a few hundred metres off Cape Banks and named by John Beddie's buddies after the heart bypass he had shortly afterwards. It is the deepest of the reefs around the Botany Bay entrance and one of the most colourful. The reef peaks at about 20 m but the dive happens between 26 and 31 m: on descent you land among a bunch of large boulders that form swim-throughs and small caves beside a sheer wall to the west.

The main wall is heavily undercut with large overhangs and caves; heading south there are more, including one large cave that shelters dozens of red morwong, and further on the deeper 30 m+ wall intersects the main one. North of the anchor are more swim-throughs and overhangs, and to the east a secondary wall drops onto the sand at 32–33 m with low overhangs along its foot. Every surface carries small gorgonians and sea squirts, which give the site its colour, and the deep, clean water of the entrance means visibility is frequently 20–30 m.

Fish life is good: red morwong and bastard trumpeters in the caves, yellowtail over the reef, eastern blue devilfish and big-belly seahorses in the cracks, one-spot pullers in clouds, weedy seadragons on the edge, and from August to October Port Jackson sharks in large numbers. The depth makes it a short dive – 17 to 20 minutes on air – and it should be the first dive of the day on nitrox, followed by something shallow inside the bay such as Henry Head or Bare Island. It is a St George Scuba Club and private-boat site with no charter access, remarkable for being a genuinely deep, pristine wall within fifteen minutes of a suburban boat ramp.

Private boat only. Head out of Botany Bay keeping a few hundred metres off Cape Banks and run to the GPS mark just outside the heads – barely 10–15 minutes from the Kyeemagh or Foreshore Road ramps. Anchor on the 20 m reef top and descend the line to the boulders at 26 m.

Found by St George Scuba Club in 2010; no charter service.

Sits in open water off the Botany Bay heads and is exposed to all swell, but with the reef top at 20 m surge is not an issue; the constraints are current, which runs through the entrance area, and the bay's ebb tide carrying dirty water out after rain – dive on the flood. Seas under 1.5–2 m and westerly winds are ideal. Visibility is often superb (30 m in June 2025) but the bottom is dark under overcast and rain, so carry a torch.

At 26–31 m no-deco time is 17–20 minutes on air – use nitrox and make it the first dive.

Descend to 26 m at the base of the sheer western wall and the boulder pile; go south along the wall past the caves (one holds dozens of red morwong) to where the 30 m+ deeper wall meets it, return north past the anchor to the swim-throughs and overhangs, and if gas allows look east at the secondary wall dropping to 32–33 m. Ascend the line with an extended safety stop. Nitrox 32.

Nitrox 32 recommended (MOD 33 m); good extended-range site for decompression divers.

No regular charter – private boat or dive-club (St George Scuba Club) only