The Severance is Lady Elliot Island's only diveable wreck, a 16 m yacht that was wrecked on the island's eastern side during a tropical storm in 1998. The damaged vessel was then towed to the western side and sunk on a sandy bottom at about 21 m, where it has been colonised by hard and soft corals and has become a small artificial reef. Sources differ slightly on the date, with some giving 1999 for the scuttling.

When first wrecked, the yacht retained much of its rigging, and remnants of the sails were visible for years. Today it is encrusted with coral and populated by sweetlips (often found beneath the bow), trevally, moray eels, pipefish, blennies, moon wrasse, Moorish idols, red emperor and lionfish. Larger visitors include Queensland grouper, cobia, stingrays, leopard sharks, wobbegongs, turtles and shovelnose sharks, and manta rays sometimes pass overhead.

The wreck is small and intact enough to see its shape clearly, and the dive typically combines a circuit of the hull with time on the surrounding sand and nearby reef sections. The Oceanity guide notes that visibility at the wreck can be hit and miss. At 21 m, the Severance suits Advanced divers or experienced Open Water divers under guide supervision.

Penetration is not appropriate: the hull is small and fragile. It adds variety to a Lady Elliot stay and is a good way to combine wreck, sand and manta possibilities in one dive, since it lies close to the Scattered Bommies and Lighthouse Bommies.

Lady Elliot Island is the southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef, about 80 km north-east of Bundaberg, and is reached only by the resort's light aircraft from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Brisbane (Redcliffe) or the Gold Coast (baggage limit about 15-16 kg, extra dive-gear weight bookable). From the airstrip, walk to the resort dive shop; boats are launched from the western beach or the lighthouse side and all dive sites are 10 minutes or less by boat. The Severance lies on the western side, a few minutes by boat, dived from a mooring.

The island has a western (lee) side and an eastern (windward) side. Under the prevailing south-east trades the western sites (Lighthouse Bommies, Coral Gardens, the Severance) are sheltered and dived most days; the eastern wall sites (Blowhole, Tubes, Hiro's Cave) need light winds or a westerly/northerly. Swell over about 2 m from the south-east closes the eastern side, and strong northerlies (spring/summer) make the west choppy.

Tidal range is about 2-3 m; currents are strongest at the southern tip. Summer brings warmer water but more plankton and occasional cyclones (November-April). Western sites are the default in the prevailing south-easterlies; they become choppy in strong northerlies or westerlies.Visibility at the wreck can be hit and miss compared with other western sites.

Descend the mooring to the wreck at about 19-21 m and circle it from bow to stern, looking under the bow for sweetlips and around the hull for grouper and pipefish. Do not enter. Then move off along the sand towards the Scattered Bommies, ascending gradually for the safety stop.

Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort's PADI dive shop is the only operator: guided boat dives twice daily (early morning and afternoon, bookings open the day before), plus courses; boat rides are 10 minutes or less and all sites are moored. Day-trip packages from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and the Gold Coast include diving. The resort does not offer shore dives.