Checkpoint Charlie is one of a string of named anchorages along the outer, ocean-facing cliffs of North Head south of Bluefish Point that the Manly boats use when the swell allows, and Vizzbud gives the clearest description: 'a sharp wall that rises from around 12 metres up toward the surface, then rolls over and slopes away' into a boulder maze of gullies, overhangs and swim-throughs, to a sand line at 26 m. It is the same geology as Bluefish Point and Runway – collapsed sandstone cliff – but arranged as a shelf and drop rather than a slope, which concentrates the fish along the wall and gives photographers a vertical backdrop. The animals are the outer North Head cast at their best.

Very large bull rays are the site's signature, resting in the gullies and cruising the sand; wobbegongs and, in winter, Port Jackson sharks pack the overhangs; eastern blue groper follow divers; weedy sea dragons live in the kelp beds on the shelf; giant cuttlefish court along the wall in the cooler months; and schools of reef fish hang under the lip. Sea tulips, sponges and soft corals coat the shaded rock. Grey nurse sharks from Bluefish Valley pass along this face.

It is rated Open Water for the shelf and Advanced for the deeper boulder maze; the overhangs and short swim-throughs need a torch and good buoyancy, no-decompression time at the sand line is limited, and current and surge are the routine hazards of the ocean side. Checkpoint Charlie suits divers on a Manly double who want structure and big rays, and it is normally paired with a sheltered inner-North Head site. Documentation is a single Vizzbud page; position and depths are approximate and the name may not be used by every operator.

Boat only, on the ocean face of North Head between Bluefish Point and the tip of the head, 15 minutes from Manly Cove or Little Manly ramp and 20 from Rose Bay; Blue Moon and Runway lie within a kilometre. Dived by the Manly operators as part of their outer North Head rotation when swell allows. DSMB ascent to the boat.

Exposed ocean face: surge in the shallows and along the wall in any swell over 1.5 m from the south or east, current along the wall, and afternoon north-easterly chop; charters move inside the Heads when it is up. Winter gives the best water (7–9 m typical, more in clean current) and temperatures of 15–18 °C; summer is low 20s with a thermocline.

Descend onto the wall top at 8–12 m, drop over the edge and work through the boulder maze of gullies, overhangs and short swim-throughs down to the sand line at 22–26 m, then return along the wall base and up onto the shelf for a safety stop against the wall; torch for the overhangs, DSMB for the ascent.

Dive Centre Manly, Pro Dive Manly and Sydney Dive Charters cover this face on their outer North Head boat dives, under this or other names; not separately scheduled.