The Boot is a large granite spire on the exposed coast at the northern end of the Freycinet Peninsula, described in the Marine Life Network guide as a good second dive after deeper sites. It rates 6 out of 10, with depths of 8-12 m, and the guide highlights its remoteness and the need for skilled boat handling.

Fish life around the spire is good for a shallow site: wrasse, leatherjackets, banded morwong, long-snouted boarfish, long-finned pike and trumpeter, with schools of Australian salmon and mackerel passing through. Bull kelp grows on the surge-swept upper parts of the rock. The spire's shape gives natural navigation - swim around it - and the shallow depth allows a long dive.

Launching from the Friendly Beaches is the main challenge. The beach launch at Friendly Point or Isaacs Point is only practical with a 4WD and a boat light enough to handle through small surf, and in most conditions it is simpler to run down from Bicheno. As there is no dive shop on the peninsula, divers need to be completely self-sufficient.

The Boot suits experienced boat divers exploring the Freycinet coast and looking for a second dive between Bicheno and Coles Bay. It is included here from a single older regional source, so the exact position and name should be confirmed locally.

Some context helps set expectations for all Freycinet diving. The peninsula's pink granite continues under water as rounded boulders, cracks and steep faces, and the area sits where the warm East Australian Current meets cooler southern water, so species lists mix typical Tasmanian fish with more northern visitors. Over recent decades warming water and grazing by the long-spined sea urchin, which has spread south from New South Wales, have thinned kelp beds along the east coast, and descriptions written in the 1990s may not match what you find today.

The Boot is reached by a beach launch at Friendly Point/Isaacs Point on the Friendly Beaches (turn off the Coles Bay road into Freycinet National Park; Parks Pass required), which the Marine Life Network guide describes as challenging - a 4WD and a light boat are needed and surf can make launching impossible. Alternatively come south by boat from the ramp at Bicheno, about 30-40 minutes' run down the coast in good conditions. Skilled boat handling is essential because the site is exposed.

The Boot is exposed to easterly and north-easterly swell and wind, and the beach launch is impossible in surf. Only dive it in westerly or light winds with minimal swell. It is sheltered from nothing, so check the forecast for the return run as well.

Rain washes tannin-stained runoff into Great Oyster Bay, and summer afternoons commonly bring a fresh north-easterly sea breeze, so plan dives for the morning.

Drop beside the spire at 8-10 m and circle it, working around its base and through the kelp before ascending on the spire for the safety stop. 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 dedicated dive operator at Coles Bay or Freycinet. Sites are dived from private boats and occasional club expeditions (Tas Uni Dive Club, TSDC, Launceston clubs); the Marine Life Network guide notes that Coles Bay is the usual starting point for Schouten Island charters. Cruise and kayak operators in Coles Bay do not offer scuba.