The Devon was a shallow-draught steamer - ideal, the Marine Life Network guide says, for the West Coast trade - that struck the Hells Gates bar on 19 September 1894 while trying to leave with a light load. She had lost propeller blades on the same bar a few weeks earlier; this time her propeller and rudder broke off and she grounded on the South Spit. The wreck is now mostly buried by sand that accumulated behind a breakwater built over her bow, but the stern is clearly visible and the steering gear breaks the surface at low water.

The guide rates it 5.5 out of 10 as an interesting snorkel in 2-3 m, warning of strong currents that occasionally sweep the bay. It is the easier of the two Hells Gates wrecks, and can be combined with a look at the Kawatiri on the opposite spit if the sea is flat.

Tasmania's west coast faces the full Southern Ocean, and the Marine Life Network guide notes that most of it is diveable only after easterly winds have flattened the swell - an uncommon event largely confined to summer. Macquarie Harbour and Cape Sorell provide the only reliable shelter from south-westerly swell. Crayfish grow large here, abalone are common and fish life is thin on exposed reefs, which are battered by constant swell.

There is no dive shop, air station or chamber anywhere on the west coast; the nearest hyperbaric chamber is the Royal Hobart Hospital, about 4 hours from Strahan by road. Every west coast dive should be treated as remote: carry oxygen, a radio and an EPIRB, and have a realistic evacuation plan.

Strahan is on Macquarie Harbour, about 4 hours from Hobart via Queenstown or 3 hours from Devonport/Burnie via the Murchison Highway. Boats launch at the Strahan ramp and run about 30 km (45-60 minutes) down the harbour to Hells Gates, the narrow, tide-swept entrance at the harbour mouth. The entrance is notoriously dangerous: strong tidal streams, a shallow bar and freak waves.

Cross or dive it only in calm conditions, near slack water, with a seaworthy, preferably self-draining boat, and check MAST advice. The Devon lies on the South Spit inside the entrance behind the breakwater.

Hells Gates faces the open Southern Ocean to the west; any westerly or south-westerly swell produces breaking waves across the bar and entrance. Tidal streams run hard through the 120 m-wide gap and outflowing tannin-stained harbour water reduces visibility, especially after rain and on the ebb. Only dive in rare easterly weather with minimal swell, at slack water.

Snorkel the exposed stern and steering gear at low water in calm conditions, watching for the current that occasionally sweeps the bay. Turn the dive at half gas (thirds where current or overhead sections are involved), deploy an SMB before surfacing for the live-boat pick-up, and complete a 3-minute safety stop at about 5 m where depth allows.

No dive operator on the west coast. Air and gear must come from Launceston, Burnie/Devonport or Hobart (the regional guide notes locals sent tanks overnight to Burnie for fills). Sites are dived only by self-sufficient private boats and abalone divers.