Fingal Beach lies on the ocean coast between Gunnamatta and Cape Schanck, below a picnic area in the Mornington Peninsula National Park, and it is one of the two shore-dive sites The Scuba Doctor lists on the Cape Schanck stretch. It is best known above water for its stunning rock pools, exposed at low tide across broad basalt and limestone platforms, and the diving begins where the platforms drop into gullies and ledges in 1–10 m. The reef here is a mixture of the peninsula's calcarenite and the harder volcanic rock of the cape, producing more solid ledges and fewer caves than the Sorrento back beaches, with heavy kelp cover and strong sponge and bryozoan growth on the shaded faces.

The fish and invertebrates are the exposed Bass Strait community: schools of sweep and zebrafish, old wives, magpie perch, boarfish, herring cale and bluethroat wrasse over the reef, Port Jackson sharks under the ledges, rock lobsters and abalone in the holes, and weedy seadragons on the kelp margins; the Cape Schanck Cray Reef a kilometre offshore is the deeper continuation of the same reef. Fingal is more exposed than the Sorrento sites and the source is emphatic: it is a dangerous beach, affected by rips, currents, swell and strong winds, where waves often break directly onto the rocks and conditions change very quickly, and it should not be attempted by anyone not experienced and fit. The prescription is swell under 1 m with periods of 10 seconds or more, northerly winds if any, and generally three or four days of north to north-easterly winds beforehand – conditions that arrive only a handful of times a year.

On those days it is a superb, empty dive with a magnificent setting. It suits very experienced divers with surf skills and strong legs for the staircase; the picnic area, toilets and barbecues make it a fine place for the non-divers in the party.

From Rosebud or Boneo take Boneo Road and Cape Schanck Road south toward the lighthouse; the Fingal Picnic Area (Mornington Peninsula National Park) is signposted on the right about 2 km before the cape. Park at the picnic area and take the long, steep staircase down to the beach – the source warns the return climb may not be suitable for everyone, and it is hard with gear. Enter from the sand or the rock platforms at low tide when the pools are exposed and the gullies sheltered.

Exit by the same route.

The back beaches face south-west into Bass Strait and are safe to dive only in rare flat conditions: The Scuba Doctor's rule of thumb is swell under about 1.5–2 m with periods of 10 seconds or more, usually only after three or four days of northerly to north-easterly winds, with light northerly winds on the day. Any southerly or westerly wind, or a fresh swell, makes the entries lethal. Dive around low tide when the limestone platforms are exposed and the gullies are sheltered, and abort if there is white water over the entry.

Rips and tidal streams near The Rip run even on calm days, and conditions change within an hour. Winter high-pressure systems bring the calmest spells; summer sea breezes rule out afternoons.

Enter through a gully at low tide, swim out over the platform reef to the ledges in 5–8 m and follow them parallel to the beach with the reef on one side to 10 m, watching the surge. Turn at half gas, return along the same line and exit through the entry gully between sets.

No regular operator. The Scuba Doctor (Rye) and Peninsula clubs run occasional guided shore dives when conditions allow; otherwise experienced private groups only.