How awesome is this? The xkcd store has made this cartoon available for sale as a poster, and I’m all over it. Click on the image to enlarge.
Category: Cephalopods
xkcd: Cuttlefish
Newsletter: Wacky wind
Hi divers
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.
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 Wreck Specialties, but I prefer at least 10 metre visibility for those Specialties.
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.
regards
Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/
Diving is addictive!
Dive sites (Southern Mozambique): Doodles
Doodles is the so-called “house Reef” of Ponta do Ouro. It’s a short boat ride from the corner of the beach where the dive boats launch, and we did three dives there on three different days. These dives were among the most exciting dives of my life – the first time we visited the reef, I felt after ten minutes that I was breathing so much that I’d be out of air in no time.
The depth ranges from 15-17 metres, and the reef has surprisingly little coral. It’s an irregularly-shaped rocky outcrop with plenty of crevasses and small caves in which we found black cheek moray eels, boxer shrimp, paper fish, and resting devil fire fish. Most of the action, however, seemed to be above the reef, where huge schools of maasbanker, dusky sweeper and yellow and blue banded snapper moved around and between each other like so many cars on an intricate network of invisible highways. At times, when we were swimming underneath the maasbanker, it actually got dark as the dense school of silvery fish blocked out the light.
We saw three large potato bass – one who has only one eye, one who is mostly white with large dark spots, and a third of average (for a potato bass) appearance – who moved among the smaller fish and occasionally lunged at them in a desultory manner, clearing a path for themselves. Seeing one of these enormous, gentle fish appearing behind the maasbanker and coming in for a visit was wonderful. They seemed to be constantly circling the outside of the reef, like traffic marshalls or bouncers.
Doodles is also home to several kinds of ray, and we saw so many of them on our dives there that after a while I started to feel a bit jaded about stingrays. Can you imagine? (The ingratitude!) My favourite was a honeycomb ray, whose tail seemed to be nearly two metres long. We spent quite a lot of time watching remoras trying to attach themselves to various round ribbontail rays. These little fish are very persistent and seemed to irritate the rays. I think their task of finding a place to hold on was complicated by the fact that they were trying to attach to the top of the ray, and hence had to swim upside down (their suction pad is on the top of their heads).
On our second dive at Doodles, we were buzzed a few times in rapid succession by a leopard (zebra) shark (Stegostoma fasciatum), an absoulutely beautiful creature that I initially mistook for some kind of thresher shark because of the shape of his tail. The visibility wasn’t ideal, but he passed by several times, complete with attached remora, swimming remora, and a small school of fish sheltering under his belly. Somehow they managed to keep track of his rapid changes of direction. The shark looked as though he was put together from distinct plates with ridges between them, and you can see the spots on his body in the pictures. He’s got really small eyes and a small mouth. These sharks are typically nocturnal (and completely non-threatening to humans) so we were very grateful to have seen him. There’s another photo of him and his entourage here.
The visibility ranged from 15 metres down to about 6 metres on the last day – related, I think, to the spring tides that occurred just before our arrival. As Capetonians, 6 metre visibility makes for an acceptable dive. When it’s combined with a veritable soup of fish, corals and beautiful topography, we’re quite happy.
Dive date: 8, 10, 11 May 2012
Air temperature: 24 degrees
Water temperature: 25 degrees
Maximum depth: 17.3 metres
Visibility: 6-15 metres
Dive duration: 58, 58, 61 minutes
Newsletter: Stormy
Hi divers
Weather, always a difficult topic and sometimes difficult to understand. Last weekend we took the boat out on Saturday unsure of the conditions, and had quite respectable diving at Atlantis and Outer Castle with mist, a bit of rain and about 6 metre visibility. Sunday we were expecting a fair amount of wind and instead had really good conditions at Long Beach. We were out on the boat again on Monday and had heavy mist to start but it cleared and we had good diving in sunny conditions.
This weekend seems set to be a stay at home weekend for Open Water students as there is a 5 metre swell coming into the bay tomorrow and the direction is southerly which means Cape Point won’t diffuse it for us. It rolls straight into the bay and will most likely trash the inshore sites. The shallower sites close to shore will be very surgy and this doesn’t bode well for good diving.
For the more experienced divers the offshore sites could yield good conditions as greater depths reduce the surge and the swell does start to drop off on Saturday, but a southerly wind will make the surface conditions a little choppy. I think Saturday will be touch and go but Sunday may be good as the swell is down to 2 metres and there is little or no wind.
The plan is therefore two launches on Sunday, sites to be decided closer to the time based on Saturday’s conditions. Unfortunately we won’t be getting in the water on Saturday. If you want to be on the list for Sunday, text me and I’ll keep you informed.
Lastly, don’t forget about the Cape Town Dive Festival. The dives for the Saturday are now 70% full, with Friday not far behind. You can find out what’s available and how to book by going to the CTDF website. Íf you want to know what dives we’ll be doing, you can find that list here.
regards
Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/
Ocean Adventurer at the V&A Waterfront
Tony and I seized the opportunity to try out the offering of the Two Oceans Aquarium‘s joint venture with Ocean Adventurer on Valentine’s Day… For reasons of convenience rather than romance! The boat-based marine eco-tour runs three times a day during the day, taking up to 40 passengers out into Table Bay in search of macrofauna such as birds, seals and dolphins, and also microfauna such as diatoms – which are examined on the boat’s microscope and projected onto two screens on deck. Since I work every weekday (and Tony often does too), and Tony works every weekend, it’s hard to find a daytime slot when we’re both available… But fortunately on Valentine’s Day the vessel went out for a special sunset cruise at 6 p.m.
The vessel is very fetching – it’s got twin hulls, very light, powered by two 70 horsepower engines (yup, that’s all!) and has beautiful clean lines and a stunning bright blue octopus writhing along the water line. I don’t know anything about boats but Tony has years of experience fixing, modifying and assembling them and he was impressed!
The cruise we went on was for an hour (the daytime ones last 90 minutes) and because it was evening we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife… But we did pass near the site of the wreck of the SS SA Seafarer (nothing to see). There are some photos of that wreck when it occurred here and here. We also saw the remains of the engine block of the RMS Athens sticking out of the water near the promenade.
We are hoping that Tony has a non-diving day one weekend, or that I can get a morning off work sometime to try out the full eco-tour experience. My great wish is to meet a sunfish, and at certain times of year these giant, gentle creatures are abundant in Table Bay. The guide on the boat recommended the 11 a.m. trip (the first one of the day) as the one on which the most abundant marine life is spotted.
Newsletter: Easter eggs
Hi divers
This being Easter I have a sneaky suspicion that the weather man is going to ensure you eat all your Easter eggs. The conditions in False Bay are currently poor with reports of 1 metre visibility from those who usually give estimates of double what it really is. So you must know it’s really bad. The wind twists and turns all weekend plus Sunday sees the arrival of a huge swell. Our plans to go diving on Monday are out of the window unfortunately. Should the conditions miraculously improve I will text everyone that was planning to dive.
As some of you are aware we have added a boat (and two kittens) to the list of things to wash, take care of and feed. There is much to do to get the boat ready for diving and this is being dealt with on the days when I’m not in the water. It’s a 6.5 metre rubber duck and we plan to use it for a bunch of things, not just diving, but we are looking forward to some good dives when all is ship shape.
Clare and Corne have just completed their Divemaster courses. Luckily Clare is sticking around in Cape Town but Corne has left for the Mediterranean and some warmer conditions where he will work on superyachts. We wish him all the best on his travels! While we’re at it, congratulations to Gerard and Mariaan on the birth of their daughter Mieke. She’s being measured for a wetsuit as we speak.
Don’t forget about the Cape Town Dive Festival which is happening in August and promises to be lots of fun. Some of the dives will fill up quickly – particularly the SAS Fleur – so if you feel like and are qualified for a really special deep wreck dive (or a shallow wreck, or a reef, or seals… there are many options), check out the dive festival website and get booking.
Wishing all of you who celebrate Easter and Pesach a special weekend with family and friends!
regards
Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/
Diving is addictive!
Newsletter: Where’s winter?
Hi divers
This time of year we all seem to be waiting for the weather to switch to “winter” so we can all enjoy improved visibility and more predictable conditions. Last Sunday’s boat dives were cancelled late Saturday afternoon as Grant had been out in the bay on a charter and had looked at the sites we planned to dive, too dirty was the decision. Believe me, you don’t want to waste a boat dive on rubbish visibility!
During the week we have had mild wind with some swell so there has not been too much cleaning up of the water. The bay has consistently been 19-20 degrees on the surface with around 5 metres visibility at most of the dive sites. We have booked for boat dives on Sunday but Grant will again only make the call late Saturday.
Long Beach is seldom if ever “that bad” so we did manage to complete the planned dives on Saturday with a few unplanned there dives on Sunday. I am planning to continue Open Water training on Saturday at Long Beach and Advanced dives from the boat on Sunday. However should the boat again not launch I want to have a better Sunday plan than I had last weekend. For those of you doing an Advanced course we will dive at Long Beach on Sunday and do navigation if the boat plan falls through. There are twelve little doublesash butterflyfish gathered in one spot as well as 40 -50 steentjies guarding nests, not to mention many large short tail sting rays at Long Beach right now so there is a lot to see. There is a swell arriving on Sunday so I don’t feel the Clan Stuart or A Frame will be very good. Windmill on a weekend is very cramped as the parking is so limited.
Mozambique
Clare and I have booked our flights for this trip. Mail me for the details if you are joining us. We have found a shuttle bus that seats minimum 8 that will do the return trip from Durban to Mozambique border for R800 per person which is much cheaper than renting cars, so we may use this option. We are all taking gear (excluding tanks and weights) so if you are coming along and need gear from me let me know as soon as possible as I only have 12 sets.
Training
Rescue course starting in the next few weeks. Tami, Maurice, Goot, Cecil and Gerard are mandatory candidates so if you want to join them text me.
Excitement
The pelagic trips are still happening and the white shark cage diving season in False Bay is in full swing. These trips are almost always full on weekends and often need to be booked weeks or even months in advance. The best way to do either of these trips is to do a weekday trip as the boats are not always full and therefore you get more time in the water. I have a short list of people that can take a day off at short notice, text me to get on this list. We will do the cage diving trip in winter when the visibility is a bit better. This and the pelagic trip is two dives you just must do in your life!!
Getting a day off work is easy… Just google “how to fake an illness for your boss” (not from your work computer). I am sure you will find something useful.
Shark nets
The city is in the process of investigating a barrier net for a section of the beach in Fish Hoek. Many many people are against this and if you visit Shark Spotters facebook page you can comment and voice your approval or disapproval. The nets are not the same as the nets deployed in KZN and should not be harmful if deployed as they propose or if the net is in fact the type they describe. Read all the for and against arguments before you decide where you are on this issue. Personally I do believe there is a strong possibility this could work, if researched correctly, however the City of Cape Town have in my opinion not been all that open about information on the area in the past so I am still skeptical – what do you think? You can also comment on our facebook page.
Next weekend
Joy of joys, next Sunday is the Argus Cycle Tour. This means that any diving on the Cape Peninsula is out of the question unfortunately, no matter how amazing conditions are. If we do dive on Sunday, we’ll head out to Gordon’s Bay and ask Elmi to take us shore diving!
regards
Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/
Diving is addictive!
P.S. The photos in this newsletter are from the night dive we did last week. Clare was away on the weekend so I have no documentary proof of the dives we did!
Newsletter: The luck of the draw
Hi divers
This weekend
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.
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!
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.
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.
regards
Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog/
Diving is addictive!
Newsletter: Cleaning up
Hi divers
Things have been extremely busy (I am not complaining!) and I’ve been in the water (sea or pool) every day for the last two weeks or so! Last weekend False Bay and the Atlantic were very dirty – we had 2 metre visibility in Smitswinkel Bay, and a deep dive in those conditions is no joke. This week I’ve been very pleased to see the bay slowly getting cleaner and cleaner – today and yesterday we had 5 to 8 metre visibility at Long Beach and the French visitors who did DSD‘s and a casual dive had a wonderful time.
When I arrived at the beach this morning I could see a large, buoyant object floating near the big yacht that has been moored off Long Beach for a couple of weeks now (its owner is circumnavigating the world and taking a break in Cape Town). Fearing the worst (what if the yachtsman had fallen overboard after a few sundowners?), I called the SA Navy and very quickly they sent out a patrol boat. The patrol boat skipper approached the beach and asked me to point out the object, and when I did they went over to check it out. It turned out to be the very bloated body of a dead seal, which they promptly hauled onto their boat (I did NOT envy them this job) and drove far out into the bay before dumping it. This was an excellent response by the Navy and it certainly made Long Beach much safer for our planned dives today.
Weekend diving
We will be completing Open Water courses at Long Beach on Saturday, if the wind plays along. On Sunday Grant is launching out of Hout Bay and we plan to be on board. If you’d like to join us on either of the days, and I haven’t been in touch with you yet, please give me a call.
I’ll be diving next week during the week, weather permitting. If you are available to carry on with your course or feel like a midweek fun dive, just let me know and I will slot you into the schedule.
I’ve got a Nitrox specialty about to start, as well as Rescue. Open Water and Advanced courses are on the go.
Odds & ends
I’d like to encourage those of you regular or soon to be regular divers who aren’t already DAN members to think carefully about signing up. Divers Alert Network provides top up insurance cover for divers – when your medical aid refuses to pay or doesn’t fully pay for the expenses arising from a diving accident, DAN steps in. It costs around R90 per month and is well worth the peace of mind. You can read this article about someone who needed assistance from DAN… If you need forms, I have some that I can give you, otherwise you can sign up online.
Please also cast your eye over your MPA permits to check whether they’re still valid. If not, a trip to the post office is in order…
Mozambique
We will be going to Ponta do Ouro from 7-12 May for some warm water forget-about-it-all diving. We plan to book plane tickets late next week – I’ll let those of you who’ve expressed an interest know what flights we’re on. It doesn’t matter who you fly with, as long as you arrive in Durban by about 1030 on Monday 7 May.
Regards
Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog
Diving is addictive!