We had really good conditions last weekend despite the gloomy forecast. Saturday was spent at Long Beach doing dives one and two for Open Water students, and Sunday we dived the Brunswick and then Photographer’s Reef. The visibility was good at the Brunswick apart from liberal quantities of bread in the water (thanks to one of the local grannies feeding the birds!) and around 5-6 metres on Photographer’s but worse in patches.
I dived Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in False Bay, doing Refreshers, some Discover Scuba Diving experiences and Rescue dives, and had 6 – 8 metre visibility with 17 degree water. There are several rays at Long Beach already.
Clare took this picture while chilling on the boat on Sunday
Weekend dives
We are diving Roman Rock and Outer Photographer’s Reef tomorrow but I think that will be it for the next few days as there is a big swell arriving tomorrow evening and it lingers for several days. The forecast wind and swell will turn False Bay a little wild and the only outing available for the weekend will be Dungeons, where the big wave surfers will treat you to some spectacular action. The last time we were out there the speed at which some of those waves build was quite amazing. I will go out on Sunday for a few hours, if you join then warm clothes, cameras and cling wrap are to be packed with the coffee and chocolates… Don’t forget the chocolates.
We had some great diving last weekend, and were on a mission to find the cowsharks and clean water. Our first dive on Sunday was to Ark Rock, a relatively easy but beautiful site with sheer walls, overhangs, ledges and a sort of cave. There is also almost always a handful of very playful seals to start and end the dive with.
Pyjama catshark at Ark Rock
We then went to dive at Atlantis. Our expectations of cleaner water below the murky top layer did not materialise (even at 15 metres) so we hauled into the boat and went to look for the sevengill cowsharks. For some reason or another there have been very few sightings of these animals since mid-September, and we have been trying to find them in several different places over the last week or two. We had a plan, it was dived and I waited on the boat. Happily a few minutes into the dive Clare’s head popped up (still attached) and she shouted they had found them.
Small cowshark at Shark Alley
I launched again on Tuesday and we dropped in on the very same spot and there they were. There aren’t as many to see as there have been on other occasions, and they didn’t seem as curious as they sometimes are, but we were very glad to see that they’re still in the general vicinity of Shark Alley.
Seal convocation in False Bay
On our way back from Shark Alley we were overtaken by a huge group of very relaxed and playful seals. It was an amazing experience – there’s a video here.
Training
We are busy tomorrow and the weekend with Rescue and Open Water, and next week I have two courses running back to back: the Drift and Deep Specialties. We will start these courses on Tuesday. Monday will be a Discover Scuba day most likely, at Long Beach.
This weekend
I think False Bay will be the place to dive and we will do shore dives with Open Water students on Saturday with Rescue in the afternoon. On Sunday we will do two launches for student qualifying dives and some more Rescue training.
The diving last weekend was a bit of a washout. The wind predicted for Saturday arrived at twice the strength and we stayed out of the sea. Sunday was not too windy, however there was not too much clean water around and we went as far as the southern end of Smitswinkel Bay without finding much better than 5 metres. Christo explored an area we have not dived before and found a low reef and nice kelp forest.We did get to see whales on the ride down to the dive site, at the dive site and again on the way back.
Whales can have freckles too
The week has delivered mixed conditions with 6-8 metre visibility on Tuesday and 5 metres today. There are vast patches of different shades in the bay with some having clean water and some not.
The weekend does look reasonably good for Saturday. Sunday is a bit windier than I like but we could possibly have good conditions for shore dives.
Right whale putting on a show for us
So the plan is:
Two launches on Saturday: first launch maximum depth 30 metres, and the second launch maximum depth 18 metres. Where? well I think it best we go and look for the clean patches and decide out there. If you want to boat dive send me a text and the same goes for shore diving on Sunday.
Coming up for air
Training
Nitrox, Open Water and Advanced on the go, with some Specialties in the pipeline. The southeaster will arrive soon and send us off to the Atlantic. I will run Deep, Wreck and Nitrox specialties once we hit the Atlantic as the Aster, the Katsu Maru,the BOS 400,and the Maori all need to be dived again to see what the winter storms and swells have done.
Curious seal says, “Are you my mother?”
I will also run a Rescue course later this month and we will use the really windy days for pool training.
It has been close on two weeks that we have not dived. At this time of year the wind is meant to blow from the north and west, during winter yet we are having primarily southeast wind and coupled with the weekly large swells from a southerly direction they have been trashing the bay. The visibility on Wednesday was down to around two meters at Long Beach and definitely has not improved since then. Sadly, it is not ideal conditions for training dives.
False Bay has also seen a host of odd shipping events, there was a huge US navy frigate, a cat hull here a few weeks ago and currently there is the Panos Earth, an ore carrier, up for auction as the owners do not have the funds to repair it and more recently a sort of bulk oil carrier of sorts also being repaired.
Seal beating an octopus on the surface
Training
We are currently busy with two Advanced students and a bunch of Open Water students. We will do a night dive for the Advanced course during the next week or two once the visibility improves. You do not need to be an Advanced diver to do a night dive, so if night diving appleals to you teaxt me and I will put you on the list.
Once the real winter weather arrives we will start Deep and WreckSpecialties, but I prefer at least 10 metre visibility for those Specialties.
On the boat at Atlantis the last weekend we dived
This weekend
It’s a tough call but we will schedule boat dives for Saturday and Sunday. If the conditions are not great on Saturday we will cancel Sunday. I had a look at the water from the top of Smitswinkel Bay and the water looks cleaner further south, so we will probably dive Atlantis (4-25 metres) and Batsata Maze (4 -27 metres). Text me if you want to dive.
Saturday will be filled with Open Water training somewhere in False Bay and most likely in Simon’s Town at Long Beach.
Sunday is Advanced training and fun dives, and we will boat out of either Hout Bay or Miller’s Point depending on the conditions.
Anemone on the top of the mast of the MV Aster
Last week’s diving
The past few weeks have delivered some days of stunning dive conditions with a sprinkling of dodgy days. Last weekend we planned to do Open Water training on Saturday but the weather did not oblige, and when we arrived at the beach the conditions were less than optimal. Sunday we did Advanced training and launched out of Hout Bay, and it was a terrific day with really good conditions. That’s the luck of the draw with weather related activities.
Fortunately for me and divers free during the week we have had a lot of week day courses and there have been some really good days in the ocean. The water temperature during the week has plummeted from 21 degrees on Monday to a coolish 13 degrees last night. Seven of us braved the slightly cooler water last night and enjoyed a really good night dive with a display of tentacles from an octopus, small cuttlefish being all “scary” and a host of other sights. With all the torches, cyalumes and flashing strobes it is amazing to see just how big a pool of light seven people can make. Sitting in a circle at the start of the dive we all turned off or buried our lights briefly and it is quite unreal how much light there still is below the surface despite the late hour.
Mozambique
Clare and I are booking plane tickets to Durban tomorrow. I’ll let those of you who are coming or who have expressed interest know which flights we are on so you can get on the same flights or ones with similar departure and arrival times.
Soapbox
If you’re wondering why I sometimes cancel diving in conditions that I deem poor, you can read an explanation here!
Divers ascending in Hout Bay
Winter diving
The winter season has not yet arrived and I am not planning to rush it in but it does usually signify a slowing down of new divers to the sport – isn’t it too cold, they ask. During the winter months we run fewer Open Water courses but there is an increase in Specialty courses such as Deep diver, Wreck diver, Nitrox etc, and this also heralds the “boat season” as most of these specialties are boat dives. Winter diving is in fact some of the best diving the Cape has to offer as we have the best visibility in False Bay during these months.
We did a deep dive last winter on the wreck of the SAS Fleur that lies in the middle of False Bay in 42 metres of water and at 25 metres we could see the wreck clearly below as well as the boat’s hull and shiny propellers on the surface.
Sunburst soft coral on the MV Aster
Boat dives – the way forward
All dive planning generally happens on a Thursday afternoon or thereabouts. Once the boat charter newsletters go out the boats sometime fill very fast and there is not always time for me to text 20-30 people and wait for responses. I want to try something a little different and it will work like this:
I will text or email you by Wednesday each week about which days we will be on the boat. The text will not have specific info on dive sites but will ask whether you’re available for the boat on the weekend, which days, and what launches. If you then respond with a text it will give me far more lead time to plan and organise a good day of diving. At this point you will only be tentatively committing to diving and once we have Grant’s newsletter I will finalise the details with you and you will then still have a chance to back out.
This way we stand a far better chance of all getting on the boat on the days we wish and if we fill a boat we will hopefully be able to choose the site we dive from the options Grant gives us, dependent on where he launches from. Last winter we had many, many stunning days out on the water – one highlight was a detour we made after a dive to view a pod of a few hundred dolphins off Kalk Bay harbour one sunny winter Sunday.
There are more divers than boats in Cape Town so something to remember for this coming season is that if you book to dive and don’t arrive you are still liable for payment as it is not possible to fill that spot at the last minute.
I am sure most of you are happy that Christmas and New Year parties, expenses and rushing around are now behind you. Often this period is so taxing that a vacation early in the year is required for the purpose of recovery.
Mozambique
Nice visibility on the safety stop in Ponta do Ouro
We are going to Ponta do Ouro in southern Mozambique for a five night/eight dive trip leaving on the morning of Tuesday 1 May, diving twice a day from 2 May to 5 May, and returning on Sunday 6 May.
The primary reason for avoiding the school holidays and long weekends in April is the high costs of car rentals, accommodation, flights and diving over these “peak periods”. Another bonus (hopefully) is avoiding the mad rush of divers from Gauteng who flood southern Mozambique and Sodwana on long weekends (since their other diving options are quarries)!
Turtle in Mozambique
If you joined one of our trips last year you will know how it works. For this trip, it’ll be similar to a Sodwana trip but with some extra considerations:
We leave Cape Town real early on day one and try to all arrive at Durban airport early enough to pick up our rental cars and drive to the border.
The border to Mozambique is around 100 kilometres further than Sodwana Bay (about 5 hours drive) but the border post closes at 5pm so there is time pressure.
There is a safe lockup place for the rental cars and the dive camp send a vehicle to collect us at the border. The trip from the border to the beach (approximately 15 km) is very sandy and requires a 4×4 or hi rider style vehicle (even 4x4s get stuck sometimes).
You will obviously need a valid passport!
Like Sodwana, it’s warm water diving on beautiful coral reefs. The launches are also surf launches, meaning that you help push the rubber duck off the beach into the sea, hop on board, and hold tight as the skipper punches some waves to get you out into the open ocean!
We will do the accommodation and dives booking for the group, but flights and car rental bookings are up to you. If you’re traveling alone, we’ll hook you up with someone(s) to share a car with. We will have different options of accommodation but will aim for small self-catering cabins as opposed to tents (it can be very hot and there are mosquitoes). If you want to keep your costs down or if you have less leave you can join us for part of the time there – Clare and I will do the full trip, but you are welcome to do a four night/six dive or otherwise reduced version.
My favourite moray eel at Ponta do Ouro
Mozambique is more expensive than Sodwana due partly to the remoteness of the coastal sites in the south. For example, dives on our last trip to Sodwana were R220 including tanks and weights, but in Mozambique it will cost about R380 per dive for the same deal. The other extra costs are more petrol, and border transfers. Accommodation costs are about the same as we had at Coral Divers.
Friendly potato bass in Mozambique
We will limit the group to maximum 12 people as this is the maximum number of divers per group. This will mean we have a boat to ourselves and get to choose the dive sites. I worked and lived there so I have photos and videos of the sites and can assure you the diving is amazing. As before we will meet sometime before the trip to see some photos and videos and make plans.
If such a trip interests you please mail me as it will be on a first come first served basis. I’ll then let you have an idea of costs and more details! If you want to see more of what Mozambique diving is about, check out this playlist of videos on YouTube, as well as the photos in this newsletter.
Blue spotted ray
What have we been up to?
During the few free days Clare had during the festive season I had her running me in and out of hospital (3 times) and despite this Clare managed to successfully completely redo the website as well as move both the website and the blog to a self hosted site that makes it far more user friendly.
Clare and I have spent many hours driving and diving but on the 1st of January instead of having her talk to me in the car she was in my speakers. Clare was interviewed by Cape Talk and 702 on a nature program (in her capacity as a blogger) on talk radio. Made me very proud.
What are we planning
Well, since the 3 January I have been unable to dive due to the untimely demise of some random body part that it appears we have no use for. I have mostly recovered now and am chomping at the bit to get in the water. Doctor’s orders mean that I have to sit out this weekend, however.
Fortunately… this weekend features a howling southeaster on Saturday which will eliminate diving on both sides of the peninsula for all but the most hardy and desperate. Grant is launching in the Atlantic on Sunday – if you want to be on the boat, let me know if you want assistance with arrangements, otherwise speak to the man directly. I will be back to a full diving schedule next weekend – I am sorry to those regular divers who’ve been sorely neglected the last couple of weeks!
Over the next few weeks we have a number of Open Water and a few Advanced students to dive with so hopefully we will be doing a day of shore entries and a day of boat dives every weekend coming up. The water temperature has been as high as 23 degrees in False Bay over the last few weeks and the current 30+ degree day time temperatures around will most likely keep it high. It is also southeaster winds that prevail this time of year so more often than not the Atlantic is the ocean dived.
We are having a theory evening on Wednesday (25 January) for Open Water students – if you haven’t written your exam or learned how to use the dive tables yet, this is for you. Please let me know if you’re attending so Clare can stock up on snacks in preparation.
Training
Rescue training courses are my plan for February. I am going to try and get a group of six for this as it then brings the cost down dramatically, If you are a regular diver then this is a course that has a lot of value, more so to improve your own level of safety and ability to save yourself from a diving incident as well as assisting other divers. It is a lot of fun and includes the Emergency First Response course (you get to practice CPR by pounding the chest of my dummy, who is called Annie) as well as use of oxygen delivery equipment.
Once we have done Rescue we will focus on Wreck, Deep and Nitrox specialties as I am a firm believer that a regular diver should be comfortable with depth, Nitrox use and wreck diving as Cape Town has some stunning wrecks that lie between 30 and 40 metres.
We’ve had really odd conditions in False Bay this past week – some absolutely spectacular visibility, mixed with some decidedly brown, murky water. Conditions last Saturday were good underwater, but the wind was far too strong and the surface conditions were too bad for new divers so we called off the second Open Water dive that day.
Last Sunday we did two boat dives in False Bay, the first of which featured some truly awful visibility (picture above), and the second of which (picture below) boasted some of the best visibility that one ever sees in False Bay. There’s been an extensive red tide which has been visible from Boyes Drive for over a week, and this is seriously affecting the visibility in certain areas of the bay.
Goot deploys an SMB in the crystal clear water at Caravan Reef
There was a very strong surface current (and current underwater) during last weekend’s boat dives, and we were reminded of the importance of carrying a signalling device such as an SMB, and a whistle on your inflator hose to call the boat. If you need an SMB, Andre in Simon’s Town has some very good ones which are not negatively buoyant, making them much easier to inflate while you’re below the surface.
Colourful reef life at Roman Rock
We had 15 metres of visibility on the Clan Stuart on Monday, which is truly unusual for this wreck as it’s quite exposed. There seems to have been some water mixing going on over the last few days, however, and today there were patches of clean water interspersed with pockets of green, milky water at Windmill and Long Beach. The wind is blowing from a favourable direction, however, so we hope it’ll clean the bay a bit more before the weekend.
Compass sea jellies and fish in the current at Caravan Reef
Weekend diving
Tomorrow I have Discover Scuba divers at Long Beach, and then some time in the pool. The weekend is chock full of Open Water and Discover Scuba Diving dives, so I’ll spend most of the time at Long Beach and, conditions permitting, Windmill, A Frame and/or the Clan Stuart.
If you’d like to tag along give me a shout. A shore dive at a familiar site is the perfect opportunity to hone your skills and test new gear.
Student news & travel
Congratulations to Gerard and Goot, both of whom have just (about half an hour ago) qualified as Enriched Air and Deep divers. These two courses are a very good idea if you plan to dive a lot in Cape Town, and – as I told them this evening – after finishing them, they’re complete divers who will only benefit from further experience.
Tony chats to Cecil (centre) and Mark before their first Open Water dive (November 2010)
Cecil’s IANTD Introductory Cave Diver card
We also found this picture of Cecil that was taken on his very first Open Water dive, late last year. Compare that to his recently-acquired cave diving qualification… Time flies! This time last year Kate was also with us, finishing her Advanced course and on the way to Divemaster. She’s now a fully-fledged PADI Instructor, having qualified in June in Sodwana.
A root mouth jellyfish eating a compass sea jelly at Caravan Reef
While on the subject of current and former students, Tami, Keren and Nils have just finshed some (apparently wonderful) dives in the Red Sea as part of a family holiday to Israel. We’re looking forward to hearing about their trip when they get home.
Peter Southwood swimming a shallow contour at Caravan Reef (south)
If word of all this dive travel is giving you itchy feet, fear not: we have not forgotten about a dive trip for early next year, and will keep you posted as the plan emerges!
Clare and I visited OMSAC in Pinelands last Thursday evening for a talk on SASSI, and plan to visit again on Thursday 24 November to listen to Alistair Downing from Underwater Explorers talking about West Coast wrecks. OMSAC is a friendly, vibrant little club and we felt very welcome there even though technically we are members of their rivals FBUC! I will remind you of Alistair’s talk closer to the time – it’s a good opportunity to visit the club.
We have had a run of good diving of late, between the ocean and the pool I have been fortunate to be underwater almost every day for the last week and a half and it seems set to continue for the next few days. For this time of year the weather has been relatively mild and we have had half decent visibility and not too cold water. Today the visibility at Long Beach was 5-6 metres and the water 16 degrees. The ocean treated us to a display of the smallest short tailed stingray I have ever seen.
Linda and James meeting some klipfish
I consider myself very honoured right now having been requested to teach a young man who doesn’t have full use of his legs to dive. It is surprisingly easy to take what most of us have – full use of all our limbs – totally for granted. Be warned that the next diver to complain about the weight of their dive gear will be the lucky winner of a lecture from me!!
Two curious klipfish at Long Beach
Most of you know Cecil, and well we wish him well as he starts his cave diving training today in a sinkhole somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Cecil started diving late last year and has to date done Open Water, Advanced, Deep, Nitrox and twin tank diving courses in preparation for his next step. His goal for the end of the year is a cave dive in Borneo!
Hottentot on the Admiral’s Reef at Long Beach
This weekend
Saturday we are on the boat for an early launch… well, early for some… and we will visit a new site called Atlantis. This is a newly discovered site and I dived there last week Monday for the first time. It comprises two stunning pinnacles that start at around 6 metres and drop of to almost 30 metres. I have never seen such big schools of fish or such a diversity of life on any other site in Cape Town as yet.
A box jelly (after a good meal)
After the boat dive we plan to dive at A Frame and then move to Long Beach for a third dive.
Sunday is a little uncertain at this point as a southeaster is forecast but hopefully it will arrive later in the day so an early start will again be required… I hear Clare groaning…
Other stuff
The Dive Site magazine has just changed from being free to being on a paid subscription basis. If you subscribe within the next week you can get it at R120 for four issues, a special discounted price. Even if you have to give up one of your other magazines, diving or otherwise, do it! It’s the best diving magazine in South Africa.
Divers waiting to enter the water on the floating jetty
Bernita in Hout Bay Harbour
Some of the garbage that was retrieved from the harbour
For those of you that did not make it to the ocean last weekend I can truly say you missed out big time!! The OMSAC clean-up dive on Saturday morning was really enjoyable with some amazing articles being removed from Hout Bay harbour. True to form OMSAC ran an excellent event with everything happening on schedule. After the clean-up we dived the Asterwreck. We dived on Nitrox to maximise our bottom time and penetrated the forward hold. Goot and Gerard were doing their Nitrox specialty dives, Goot had a taste of wreck penetration, and Cecil was also test diving his new twin tank setup so we had a ‘’busy’’ dive.
Tiny basket stars on the Aster
Knobbly anemone on the Aster
Horned blenny hiding on the Aster
White-edged nudibranch on the Aster
The mast of the Aster at night
Back on dry land we waited out the sunset and then went back out to the Aster for a night dive. The conditions were great, visibility 10 -12 metres and cold water (11 degrees) on the bottom. Night dives to the deeper wrecks are more challenging than shore night dives so a big well done to the guys and girls that joined.
Goot, Tami, Tony, Clare, Gerard and Cecil, ready for a night dive on the Aster
Talks
On Tuesday evening we attended a talk and slide show at Dive Action. Barry had done some diving in a fjord in Norway and recounted the trip with a lot of info and photos of the dive centre there and the wrecks. He also talked us through the logistics of diving far from home with a few hundred kilograms of dive gear. As you know I have absolutely no knowledge of rebreathers so if you want to know more about diving with a re-breather then Barry is the man to see.
The Fernedale and the Parat side by side
As you can see in this photo (courtesy of Gulen Dive Centre, kindly shared with us by Sarah from the Dive Action team), the visibility in the fjords is something else. It was taken at around 30 metres and the wreck on the right sits on the sand at over 55 metres.
This evening we attended a talk at the Save Our Seas Shark Centre by George Branch… He is one of the authors of the Two Oceans book and is an almost legendary figure in South African marine biology. The talks at SOSSC are always very good and are always ocean related so you should make an effort to attend a few… You are never too old to learn something new!!! Visit their facebook page and like them and this way you will be informed of their activities. Their page is constantly updated with some stunning photos and lots of info on sharks.
Hyperbaric chamber
Clare and I were taken on a tour of the hyperbaric medical facility in the Kingsbury Hospital in Claremont today. It is the only chamber of its kind in Cape Town and is used for many forms of medical treatments not related to diving, but should you have a problem on a dive and get DCS, this is the place you will go! This centre is also home to one of the most respected diving doctors in South Africa. As a diver you should have DAN Medical Insurance and you should know where the nearest chamber is, how to get there and who to call. All of this information should be in your log book. Their website is here. We will post a detailed report of this visit on the blog soon. This is a fully equipped medical facility and a lot different to the chamber we did our 50 metre chamber dive in!
What we are going to get up to
Training
Saturday is pool day and if you want to join and play with your gear and buoyancy text me before 2pm Friday. The cost to scuba dive in the pool (if you’re not on course) is R50, and if you just want to swim it’s R7. We are still busy with Deep and Nitrox Specialties which we will continue with early Sunday morning, launching out of Hout Bay at 7.30am. The boat takes 14 and we are already confirmed for 10 people so text me quickly if you are in.
After the boat dive we will move to False Bay and then do dive 3 & 4 for a few Open Water students. If the conditions are good we will try the Clan Stuart or A Frame. The visibility in the bay at the moment is 10 – 15 metres and despite some southeaster for the next two day I doubt it will do too much harm so diving will be good.
Scubapro Day – 1 October
Scubapro are having a ScubaPro Day in the Simon’s Town yacht basin on 1 October. They will allow you to test dive the latest gear from their range. There will be food, drinks and goodie bags plus lots of divers and other kinds of people. Boat dives are going to cost R100 and R25 gets you a goodie bag and registration at the event. I have booked 12 places on two dives on the boat, big brother to this boat.
Ruby Runner’s little cousin, spotted in Germany
If you want to participate you need to book and you need to do this soon. Boat dives at R100 don’t come round too often so book this week or lose out. You will need to book and pay by Tuesday next week for this event. The dives are at 8.00am and 2.00pm.
Travels
There is a trip to Mozambique on the weekend 4-6 of November. It is a five dive/three night package that starts at R1850. You will need to mail me for more info as it is a trip shared with a dive centre in Durban and will need some quick decisions.
Reminders
A diver is currently in jail in Cape Town for diving without a permit… Don’t let it be you… Get a permit if you don’t have one.
Book for the boat for Sunday and October 1 (ScubaPro Day) NOW!
Valve handles in dodgy visibility on the SAS Fleur
Last weekend we dived the SAS Fleur. This rates as the best wreck dive in Cape Town, in my book. It is closely followed by the MV Aster which we plan to dive and penetrate this weekend. Back to the Fleur: we did not have exceptional visibility (about 6 metres – Clare apologises for the dodgy pictures), and the current was quite strong at depth. But as we were doing a Deep Specialty, on Nitrox, this was a perfect site. We had lots of seals during the dive and many stayed with us during our deep stop and the extended 5 metre safety stop.
Being photo-bombed by seals at the safety stop on the Fleur
After the Fleur we did two dives at Long Beach, being dive 1 & 2 for Open Water students. We visited the new Lady Long Beach reef project being built by Pisces Dive Centre.
Slightly beaten up cuttlefish at Long Beach
Many have heard of the sardine run, well Steve Benjamin from Animal Ocean will be doing a squid run, in Cape St Francis. Diving 25th Oct – 29th Oct (5 days), this is just as the Commercial squid season closes. Visit his website for more info and look at some of the sardine run photos.
Tami approaching a swarm of box jellies at Long Beach
This weekend
This weekend we are diving in Hout Bay harbour on Saturday morning as part of the clean up dive organised by OMSAC. Diving starts at 9.00 am and even if you are not diving come along and join the fun. The harbour will be alive with divers, boats and humans. This is also a very photogenic part of Cape Town so bring your camera.
If you plan to participate in the cleanup dive, you must register beforehand – visit the OMSAC website for more details.
You must ensure you have your dive card AND your MPA permit with you on Saturday.
Compass sea jelly at the deep stop on the Fleur
We have booked two dives for the afternoon with Underwater Explorers (you may remember Alistair from this post). At 2.00 pm we will do a dive to the Aster wreck, lay lines and do some penetration. Entering the wreck is not for everyone and some of the divers will stay outside while a few of us are inside. We will also attach a few cyalumes as we are doing the second dive there at 6.30 pm.
There is still space on the afternoon dive but the night dive is almost full… Speak up quickly if you want to join. We will be making a day of it so bring chairs, braai stuff and chocolate. We have also ordered sun so bring sunscreen.
There are a lot of people doing these dives on Saturday so it’s important you mail me to book any gear you want to rent. I have bought a few more wetsuits, BCDs, cylinders and regulators so I am sure we will manage but don’t wait until Saturday to let me know what you need – I’ll pack on Friday evening and leave home very early on Saturday. I also only have 6 torches to rent. You can of course go and buy these things from Andre‘s shop in Simon’s Town – email him here!
Sunday we are doing dive 3 & 4 for Open Water and if conditions are good we will dive the Clan Stuart or Windmill. Meeting time will be 10.30 as all my cylinders will be empty from the night dive and I only have one bicycle pump.
Bits and pieces of the Fleur
Travel plans
The planning of a Mozambique trip is taking shape and within a few weeks we will have a solid plan. We will most likely go to Ponta Do Ouro and will do the same thing we did for the Sodwana trips: fly to Durban, rent cars and have cheap tents or upmarket chalet options for accommodation. Car sharing, tent sharing and sleeping bag sharing… are all options. If you missed the last two trips then you won’t know how much fun we had but you can read all about it here.
Salps at Long Beach
(For more information on exactly what a salp is, check out Wikipedia. They’re alive!)
Talks
There is a talk by Barry, the owner of Dive Action, at the Dive Action shop next Tuesday evening on diving in Norway with stunning pictures. Free, starts at 6.30pm.
On Wednesday night there is a talk at 7.00pm by George Branch, author of the classic The Living Shores of South Africa and expert on all things marine biology-related, at the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Centre in Kalk Bay. The topic is evolution, and the cost is R50. (It’s for a good cause and you also get soup and rolls.) Save Our Seas foundation does many things but the Kalk Bay centre focuses on shark conservation. They also have a marine tank that is amazing… You get to see that too. The talks here are always very good and worth the money.
Text me if you are coming to either talk (booking is essential for the Save Our Seas talk) and I will book for you and send you directions. (Well actually Clare will!)
