Pearses Beach is the gentlest of the Blairgowrie back-beach sites, a proper sandy beach with rock pools and gullies close inshore and reef ledges and gutters extending offshore into 3–10 m. The Scuba Doctor lists it among its Mornington Peninsula snorkelling sites as well as its shore dives, and notes that the area tends to be slightly less wild than the rest of the back beaches – but not by much. The beach is reached by a walking track rather than a cliff staircase, which alone makes it attractive to divers carrying gear.

From the sand the reef can be explored in either direction: east toward Jessie Kirkwoods Rock and on to Dimmicks Beach, where the platforms break into gullies and ledges, or west toward Prickly Rocks, Glenn Point and Pirates Bay, a longer run of reef with deeper gutters. The rock is the eroded limestone of the coast, kelp on top and sponges, bryozoans and jewel anemones beneath, and the fish are those of the Bass Strait shallows: sweep, zebrafish, old wives, magpie perch, herring cale and wrasse over the reef, leatherjackets and cowfish in the gullies, Port Jackson and draughtboard sharks under the ledges, weedy seadragons on the kelp margin and rock lobsters and abalone in the holes. On glassy days the inner rock pools and gullies are an excellent snorkel.

The requirement for diving is the same as everywhere on this coast – swell under about 2 m with a long period, light northerly to north-easterly winds after several days of the same, low tide for the entry and an abort if white water covers the reef – and the beach's relative shelter should not be mistaken for safety; rips run between the platforms. Pearses Beach suits experienced divers looking for an easier back-beach entry, snorkellers on calm days, and as the first stop for anyone learning this coast.

From Point Nepean Road at Blairgowrie take Pearse Road south to the small car park at its end. Take the track west from the car park, which eventually drops down to Pearses Beach – a few hundred metres of walking, easier than the cliff staircases nearby. Enter and exit from the beach itself; head east toward Jessie Kirkwoods Rock and Dimmicks Beach or west toward Prickly Rocks and Glenn Point depending on conditions.

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 from the sand at low tide, swim out to the first gullies in 3–5 m and choose a direction; follow the ledges and gutters parallel to the beach with the reef on one shoulder to 8–10 m, turn at half gas and return slightly shallower, exiting onto the beach.

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