East Cove on Deal Island is rated 7 out of 10 by the Marine Life Network guide and described as a fairly easy dive from the sheltered anchorage near the camping area. Granite boulder headlands slope quickly to more than 20 m; the rock walls are covered in anemones and sponges, and crevices hold tube worms, cup corals and tunicates, with abalone and crayfish and abundant colourful marine life. The guide notes that current sweeping through Murray Pass affects the edges of the headlands. Because it is close to the anchorage, it is the natural first dive of a Kent Group visit and a good check-out before the wrecks. The Marine Life Network guide's descriptions are the only detailed published account, so expect some changes in the decades since and plan to explore.

The Kent Group is one of the most isolated island groups in Australian waters, protected as the Kent Group National Park on land, with the surrounding waters managed as a marine reserve. It sits in the middle of Bass Strait where warm and cool currents mix, and its granite walls and clear water support rich invertebrate growth rarely seen by divers. The historic Deal Island lighthouse (1848), once the highest in the southern hemisphere, overlooks the anchorages.

With no facilities beyond the caretakers' station and a long passage back to the mainland or Flinders Island, any diving injury is a serious emergency requiring aeromedical evacuation, most likely to Melbourne's Alfred Hospital. Diving here is for experienced, completely self-sufficient expedition divers.

The Kent Group (Deal, Erith and Dover islands and outliers) lies in central Bass Strait about 55 km north-west of Flinders Island and roughly 90 km south of Wilsons Promontory. There is no scheduled transport: divers arrive on private yachts or expedition charters from Port Welshpool (Victoria), Flinders Island or north-east Tasmania, a passage of 6-12 hours depending on departure point. Murray Pass, the channel between Deal and Erith islands, offers the main anchorages (West Cove, East Cove); volunteer caretakers live on Deal Island, and landing and camping are managed by the Parks and Wildlife Service.

East Cove is the sheltered anchorage near the Deal Island caretakers' station and camping area; dive the headlands by tender from the anchorage.

Central Bass Strait is notorious for sudden gales: westerly and south-westerly fronts and strong easterlies can arrive with little warning, and Murray Pass runs a strong tidal current that sweeps the headlands of West and East coves. January-April offers the most settled weather; after a gale, strong surface currents persist through the strait. Anchorages in Murray Pass give shelter from most directions except along the pass.

Current sweeping through Murray Pass affects the headland edges.

Drop at the headland, follow the granite boulders down to 15-20 m along the rock walls, and return shallower inside the cove away from the current. 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 operator. Visited only by private yachts and occasional expedition charters (typically from Port Welshpool in Victoria or from Flinders Island); full self-sufficiency required, including compressor or ample cylinders.