The Rye Scallop Beds are the third and most northerly of the named scallop grounds The Scuba Doctor lists on the flat sand off Whitecliffs between Rye and Blairgowrie, lying about 2 km offshore and 1.4 km north of Geoff's Scallop Hole. The description is the same as for the other two: a flat sandy bottom at 10–17 m where the aim of a drift dive is to cover enough ground to fill a catch bag with big scallops, the beds moving into deeper, cooler water at 14–17 m in summer and back into 10–15 m in winter. There is no reef, no structure and no photography, and the site's interest is entirely practical – it is where generations of Rye divers have gone for a feed.

The open sand is not lifeless: smooth stingrays and fiddler rays glide across it, flathead lie half-buried, sea squirts and stalked ascidians stand on the bottom like small trees, sand octopus hide in the shell grit, and in late autumn the large spider crabs that migrate toward the piers cross this ground in numbers (inedible, and protected during their aggregation). Being further out than the Whitecliffs beds it is a little deeper on average and more exposed to wind, and it is the one to try when the inshore grounds have been worked over. The dive is a good introduction to boat drift diving and SMB discipline, with mild current and no navigation beyond staying with the group.

Scallop diving in Port Phillip is regulated by Victorian Fisheries – season, recreational licence, size and bag limits, all subject to change – and the rules must be checked before each trip. The Rye Scallop Beds suit Open Water divers with boat access who want scallops and an easy drift; they have nothing to offer anyone else.

Launch at Rye boat ramp and head west and offshore for about 3 km to the marks north of Whitecliffs – 8–10 minutes – or use the Tyrone ramp directly inshore. Run it as a drift: drop up-tide with an SMB, let the gentle current carry the group across the sand, and have the boat follow the float. Nothing marks the site; a GPS position and 10–17 m of flat sand on the sounder confirm it.

Further offshore than the two Whitecliffs beds to its south, the Rye Scallop Beds feel northerly and westerly chop sooner and are best on light southerly to easterly winds and flat water. The tidal drift is gentle – enough to cover ground – and visibility is usually reasonable over clean sand, better in winter. The site lies in open water on the boat route between Rye and the South Channel, so the tender must fly a flag and stay with the SMB at all times.

Drop up-tide of the marks with an SMB, descend to the sand at the season's depth band, and drift in a loose line collecting legal-size scallops while watching for rays and spider crabs. Ascend the SMB line with a safety stop when bags are full or time is up.

No charters; private boats and Peninsula clubs in scallop season. The Scuba Doctor (Rye) publishes the marks.