The Emily S is a 30 m steel-hulled stern trawler with a long working history: built at Mort's Dock in Sydney in 1946 as the tug Freda, renamed Vigorous by the Melbourne Harbour Trust in 1947, later KD and finally Emily S when converted to a fishing trawler. On 1 September 1991 the Portland Dive Club scuttled her as an artificial reef about 350 m north-east of Lawrence Rocks, choosing the sheltered side of the rocks so that she could be dived when the exposed sites were not. She settled, in the Scuba Doctor's words, beautifully upright on her keel in 24 m of water between two rocky reefs, and more than thirty years later she remains intact, with the hull, wheelhouse and deck fittings in place and some easy penetration opportunities for those with the training. She is the only purpose-sunk dive wreck in western Victoria.

The wreck has become a reef in its own right. The hull and superstructure are coated in the sponges, ascidians, hydroids and jewel anemones that the cold Portland water grows so well, schools of butterfly perch, sweep and bullseyes hang over the deck, boarfish and wrasse patrol the sides, crayfish have moved into the hull, and a family of weedy seadragons is regularly found near the propeller. Seals from Lawrence Rocks pass through and gannets from the colony dive on baitfish around the site. At 24 m to the sand and about 16 m to the top of the wheelhouse it is an Advanced Open Water depth dive, but the layout is simple, the lee of the rocks keeps conditions manageable, and Visit Portland describes it as suitable for novice to advanced divers – the caveat being that penetration should be left to those with wreck training. It is the most regularly dived boat site in Portland and combines with The Nursery caves 234 m away for a two-dive day. No charter operates from the port; access is by private boat or arrangement with a fishing charter, twenty minutes from the harbour ramps.

Boats launch at the Portland Harbour ramps on Lee Breakwater Road (North Ramp and South Ramp), both with trailer parking, inside the harbour breakwaters. Run south past Point Danger to the north-eastern side of Lawrence Rocks, about 8 km and 20 minutes; the wreck lies about 350 m north-east of the rocks on the sheltered side and is found with a sounder between two rocky reefs. The Nursery caves are 234 m to the south-west.

Portland SCUBA in town supplies air; no dive charter operates from Portland, so the wreck is dived from private boats and fishing charters by arrangement.

The wreck lies on the sheltered north-eastern side of Lawrence Rocks and is, in the Scuba Doctor's words, best dived in good conditions with a low swell and light northerly winds; because it is in the lee it is workable in a south-west swell up to about 1.5 m, but northerly and easterly winds put chop and swell onto it. At 24 m the surge is slight except in big seas. The Bonney Upwelling brings cold, sometimes green water in summer, and thermoclines at depth are common; autumn is clearest.

Current is generally mild. One of the more reliable boat dives in Portland.

Descend the shot or anchor line to the deck at about 20 m, circle the hull at 22–24 m past the propeller, where the weedy seadragons live, and back along the other side, then explore the wheelhouse and the easy penetration points on the deck. Ascend the line with a 3-minute stop at 5 m; bottom time at 24 m on air is limited to about 30 minutes without decompression, so EAN32 is worth using.

EAN32 recommended for bottom time at 22–24 m; easy penetration of the wheelhouse and deck spaces for wreck-trained divers – lines and lights for anything beyond the light zone.

No dedicated dive charter operates from Portland. Portland SCUBA (PADI centre) runs courses and occasional day trips; local fishing charters take divers by arrangement; Portland dive club members use private boats. Warrnambool Diving visits occasionally.

The Emily S is the Portland Dive Club's own artificial reef and its most regularly dived boat site.