Hi divers
Six hundred experimental octopus traps have been sunk in False Bay, in an attempt to create a new fishing sector.
Sea Freeze, a Hout Bay-based fishing company, last month deployed seven exploratory octopus long lines between Simon’s Town and Fish Hoek.
Each line is about one kilometre long, with two main buoys on each end. The buoys have radar reflectors and lights and are visible about 500m from the shore.
Ropes weighed down with cement drag the lines down vertically. The traps are placed horizontally along the lines, far beneath the surface of the water.
The above info courtesy False Bay People’s Post. I can only wonder at the risk of entanglement for whales and other large ocean creatures!
On a lighter note…. Weather and ocean this week have not been too diver friendly and the southeaster blew so hard yesterday I could hardly get out of the harbour in Hout Bay to test the new motors on the boat. The water however was clean and the viz good.
Today I was out in False Bay and the water looked a dark greenish brown colour, very patchy and not great surface conditions. At Photographer’s Reef I could not see the top of the reef when the sonar said it was 4 metres deep. The same at Atlantis and the Brunswick.
There is some northerly and westerly wind coming, but not a lot so I doubt we will have anything better than 5-6 metre viz in False Bay. There is also a little rain in the forecast to contend with. Hout Bay will probably stay clean as the air temperatures for the next few days barely bump the 20 degree mark.
The weekend
There wasn’t much diving last weekend or during this week but there was much boat work to be done and we have replaced both motors, been out twice to test them and I am happy to say all is well again.
We will do a double tank dive on Saturday really early, as I have a family in Stellenbosch expecting me there late afternoon for training. On Sunday we will do two launches, both shallow. Whether it’s False Bay or Hout Bay depends on the conditions we find tomorrow and Saturday.
Travel
We are heading to Durban on the long weekend of 16 June, and staying a few days of the following week. If the weather is favourable we will do a day trip to Aliwal Shoal and if it’s atrocious we will dive the aquarium. We plan to dive some of the interesting wrecks and reefs that Durban has to offer.
We’re booking our Red Sea trip next week. If you’re interested in “accidentally” ending up on the same liveaboard as us, I’ll give you details as soon as it’s finalised…
regards
Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/
Diving is addictive!
* If one wants to be pedantic, the plural of octopus is not octopi… But it’ll do!
