Equipment specialty

Newsletter: Sweets on the boat!

Hi divers

Weekend diving

Sunday: Boat dives at 9.00 to Atlantis Reef (5-27 metres) and 12.00 to Tivoli Pinnacles (10-22 metres)

Conditions report

Both the Atlantic and False Bay have been great during the week. We had 8 metre visibility on an Atlantic charter on Wednesday, and today’s offshore winds have flattened False Bay nicely, and cleaned the water significantly. The water temperature on both sides of the peninsula is similar, 10-12 degrees, and the visibility is around 8 metres. I feel that if the water temperature is a single digit the viz needs to be double that, but we don’t always get what we want! False Bay will be the best option this weekend so we will plan to launch on Sunday, at 9.30 for Atlantis and for Tivoli Pinnacles at 12.00.

For the diary

December is starting on Monday and the season gets really busy, really fast. We are going to focus on Open Water, Advanced and Nitrox courses this December. We will add a Nitrox course free to the first 5 people that sign up for an Advanced course during December. We are also able to run the Research Diver, Drift diver and Equipment Specialist courses during December and January. To see the range of courses available take a look here.

Please diarise our open house on Saturday afternoon, 13 December. Proper invitations to follow.

For interest

On Sunday while out on the boat we passed by the prototype shark repellent cable at the end of Glencairn beach. This is a non-lethal approach to keeping humans and sharks separate, and is in the testing phase. You can see how the cable is lying with electrodes on each side of the centre cable, the electrodes marked by orange buoys on risers that stick out at low tide. There’s a description of the cable here, and we’ll have some more photos on the blog next Wednesday.

The risers on the cable are clearly visible at low tide

This is a great project with a potentially significant impact on the relationship between humans and sharks in South Africa. The cable was developed at the behest of the KZN Sharks Board, and is being tested in co-operation with Shark Spotters and the City of Cape Town.

For the history books

Last Friday the wreck of the Clan Stuart turned 100. She ran aground in False Bay on 21 November 1914. We had a little commemoration of our Clan Stuart dives on the blog.

regards

Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/

Diving is addictive!

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Newsletter: Midwinter summer’s day

Hi divers

Wow! is about all I can say for the current summer day-like conditions. A short while ago I installed a weather station at home to help my inadequate weather forecasting, and this is a screen shot of today’s temperatures. Note the high of 26.5 degrees.

Screen shot from our home weather station console

Weekend plans

To complement the great weather the bay is clean and blue ,and the water temperature is 15 degrees. All this good stuff from today is set to continue for the weekend, and we will launch the boat on both days. Neither day will deep dives as I have Open Water students, so we will pick the sites from a range of the following: Photographer’s Reef, Ark Rock, SAS Pietermaritzburg, Spaniard Rock or Caravan Reef. Why the loose arrangement? Well there are a few traces of red tide further north and further out in the bay, so we will dive where we have the best conditions.

If you want to dive, text me. Be quick, because the boat is already quite full!

The past week(end)

We did not really dive last weekend as the weather wasn’t all that great and most of this week has been spent on Divemaster training. Over the weekend there was rather a large swell and lots of wind and rain. We did however get wet on Sunday, above and below the surface, as we did a cage diving trip in False Bay to take a closer look at some of the rather large animals hunting around Seal Island. We had some sun, some rain and some time in a cage, and seeing the white sharks was absolutely remarkable. Despite the swell the experience was most definitely a memorable one and if I won the lotto I would go back every other day for the entire season.

Training

We are working on some detail for a few Specialty Courses not offered much in Cape Town, namely Drift Diving, Research Diver and Equipment Specialty. If any of these courses tickle your fancy send me a mail and I will send you the details.

regards

Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/

Diving is addictive!

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Newsletter: Very little newsletter

Hi divers

Not a very wet week on the diving front. We did a few shore dives earlier in the week (at Long Beach) and had 3 metre viz. I did launch yesterday from Hout Bay and must admit the water was much cleaner than I expected.

Weekend plans

The weekend is again a hit and miss one with (in my opinion) too much wind and too much swell today, and too many people running around the streets on Saturday. Monday has a howling wind forecast. This leaves only Sunday for diving. It will be a windless (almost) day and the swell will have hopefully subsided somewhat. I am inclined to try Hout Bay on Sunday as it will be sunny and warm, and the southeaster has been cleaning it up nicely. Text me if you’re interested in taking a break from eating marshmallow eggs and want a dip in some salt water.

Travel

Red sea dates: 17-26 October

Durban dates: 17-21 June

Training

Open Water, Advanced, Rescue, and Divemaster are currently on the go. The arrival of our dining room table is IMMINENT, and with it will come the SDI Equipment Specialty that I’ve been dangling like a carrot for months…

regards

Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/

Diving is addictive!

Newsletter: Changing seasons

Hi divers

As the seasons change so does the wind and swell. We had good conditions last weekend in False Bay and have had several good days on the bay this week. The highlight must be a dive at Pyramid Rock on Tuesday, with lots of cowsharks and a truly magnificent huge diamond ray chilling in the sand in Shark Alley. Long Beach has also produced a few stunning ray sightings this week.

Kate, Craig and Mark on the jetty at the yacht club

Diving this weekend

The wind today and for the next few days is making it difficult to call for the weekend. The Atlantic, Hout Bay in particular, looks incredibly dark green and I think it is going to take more southeaster than is forecast to clean it up. The temperature off Kommetjie peaked at 19 degrees yesterday so I think the plankton bloom there is going to require some serious wind to clear.

There is a 3.5 metre swell in the bay today and although it drops off from tomorrow the combination of swell and wind don’t bode well for the diving on Saturday. We’re going out for Clare’s birthday lunch on Sunday, so I reckon we will have a dry weekend.

Training

I’ve got Open Water, Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster on the go at the moment, so a full suite of courses. I haven’t forgotten about the Equipment Specialty, but am waiting for things to slow down a bit and for us to get a dining room table at home so I don’t have to drag you all into the garage…

Travel

We are planning (slowly) a trip to Durban with a day trip to Aliwal Shoal (if conditions justify it) for a six dive/four night package from 14-18 June. We will leave Cape Town on the Friday afternoon or early evening, and dive Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and fly back on the Tuesday. Monday 17 June is a public holiday.

We will stay at Anstey’s Beach Backpackers which has a range of self catering options ranging from about R120-R200 per person per night.

The dives in Durban with Calypso are R260 per person per dive (there’s a surcharge for far sites) excluding gear. Rental of tanks and weights is R100. You can read more about the Durban dive sites here. The Aliwal Shoal dives are R435 per dive including tanks and weights. We will only pop down the coast if conditions are truly special, as the dives are a bit pricey to waste on unpleasant weather and water. If the weather is really bad everywhere and you’re desperate to get wet, we have the option of diving in two of the tanks at the aquarium in Durban.

There’s also return flights to Durban (for you to book), meals, and car hire to factor in. Cars can be shared among the group once we know how many people are coming. If you’re interested let me know and we’ll set the ball rolling. For this trip you’ll need your own SMB, and an Advanced qualification. Nitrox would be an advantage.

Also a reminder that we’ll be booking our Red Sea trip at the end of March. We’re looking at the Northern Wrecks and Reefs itinerary with Blue O Two, sometime in October. You’ll need a dive computer and an SMB of your own if you plan to join us on this trip as well as minimum Advanced.

regards

Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/

Diving is addictive!

Newsletter: This is how we roll

Hi divers We launched in Hout Bay on Tuesday and had good viz, lots of seals and did some “myth busting” underwater with eggs and golf balls. It has been reported that there is currently 20-30 metre visibility on some sites in the Atlantic. Sadly the howling southeaster forecast for the weekend means we will have yet another dry weekend. I can’t in good conscience take either students or paying divers out when the wind is so strong; the potential for accidents is huge, and the boat ride and surface conditions are unpleasant and dangerous.

Training

Gary and Oscar are very close to completing their Divemaster training. We have also done some Open Water and Advanced training in the last few weeks but have not had too many good weather days. Tomorrow I’m doing a DSD and Open Water training at Long Beach.

Night Diving

We are planning a night dive for next week, conditions permitting, mid week. We will meet at 7 pm at Long Beach and start the dive at around 7.30 or 8.00 pm. Let me know if you want to be notified of the day.

Bad weather days

There are options for bad weather days or evenings if your DSTV is dysfunctional. I am going to run an SDI Equipment Specialty for few evenings over the next month. Learn all about how and why your gear works, how to service it and give it the required TLC for it to outlive you. We will cover cylinders, pillar valves, inflators, regulators, BCDs and a whole lot more. After this course your corroded regulator will not get stuck half on a cylinder just before a dive! The Nitrox course is also theory-based and is fantastic to have if you plan to do any warm water diving, particularly.

Trips

We’re still working on the Aliwal Shoal trip, and it looks as though we might switch it to Durban and spend some time diving with the guys at Calypso Diving. More information next week… The Red Sea trip is still quite far in the future but we are saving already! regards Tony Lindeque 076 817 1099 www.learntodivetoday.co.za www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/ Diving is addictive!