Category: Kelp

Dive sites: Atlantis Reef

One of the pinnacles of Atlantis Reef rises to near the surface
One of the pinnacles of Atlantis Reef rises to near the surface

Atlantis Reef was discovered in September 2011 by Steven Benjamin of Animal Ocean. The site was named for the lost city which is (according to legend) submerged now, but was also known as the Pillars of Hercules prior to its rediscovery by Animal Ocean. Atlantis comprises two massive pinnacles that rise to within 4-5 metres of the surface, along with a jumbled collection of enormous boulders strewn about their base. We dived the site in mid-October, in conditions of almost top to bottom visibility. The topography of the site is breathtaking – huge, vertical walls and enormous rocks distinguish it from the lower rocky reef characteristics of the Roman Rock area. The sand lies at about 30 metres on the seaward (eastern) side of the reef, but the average depth is about 20 metres. With a large cylinder full of a nice Nitrox mix, you could dive here for days (water temperature permitting).

We dropped right on top of the pinnacle closest to shore, and the boat skipper hadn’t used a shot line for fear of damaging the pristine and hardly dived reef. Tony and Justin went down to the sand in order to do a compass swim for Justin’s Deep Specialty course, and I hovered next to one of the pinnacles. The pinnacles are about 3 metres across on their tips, but widen out to a large, roughly rectangular base on the sand. Between the pinnacles is a large overhang, and large cracks in which we saw congregations of janbruin. We spotted some very large (more than 30 centimetre long) zebra and Roman between the pinnacles, as well as some white seacatfish also enjoying one of the cracks in the rock. I discovered some fascinating facts about Roman this week, but they can wait…

Massive school of hottentot, fransmadam and other fish
Massive school of hottentot, fransmadam and other fish
Goot inspects the school of fish
Goot inspects the school of fish

To me, the most spectacular feature of the marine life on the reef is the large schools of fish that assemble around the pinnacles. The reef lies within the Castle Rocks Protected Area and no fishing is allowed there, and it obviously hasn’t been discovered by the fishermen – both commercial and amateur – who don’t care about protected areas and enjoy the fact that they aren’t policed at all. Hottentot, fransmadam, and zebra mill around in their hundreds – I have never seen a school of fish like this in the Cape. The strepies at Long Beach last summer were – until now – the most prolific fish I’ve seen here. The fish are quite relaxed and just reshaped their school around the divers.

Divers pass between the pinnacles
Divers pass between the pinnacles

There are also the usual sea fans (plus what looked like a nursery for baby sea fans), massive nudibranchs of several varieties, sea cucumbers, anemones, and a lot of other invertebrate life. The top parts of the pinnacles are covered with huge redbait, interspersed with Cape urchins and several varieties of sea anemone. Lower down on the pinnacles we found orange wall sponges and other sponge species, as well as large klipfish trying to camouflage themselves against the wall.

Blue gas flame nudibranch
Blue gas flame nudibranch

There was some interesting discussion about whether it is right to have an “exclusive” dive site that only you know the co-ordinates to. An argument was put forward that when one finds a pristine spot like this, it’s natural to want to protect it from careless, ignorant or inexperienced divers. Hopefully the boat charters – all of whom now know where this reef is – will put aside financial considerations when taking divers to this reef, and only allow divers who they know can manage their buoyancy and don’t engage in behaviours that are detrimental to the marine life of the locations they dive. Whether this happens will remain to be seen. (I, for one, am not optimistic… Enjoy it now, while it lasts.)

I want to go back to this site tomorrow, or yesterday if that’s possible. I’ve been (irritatingly) ranting about it to whoever will listen since we dived it. It’s wonderful to me that we are still finding new places to dive in our local bay of plenty, and so close to shore, too! Also, seeing how healthy and abundant the fish that call this reef home are, I’m thrilled that (it seems) the Marine Protected Areas are working, despite hopelessly inadequate support from the authorities. It made me so, so happy to see this reef. Can’t wait to go back!

Tony swims past the top of one of the pinnacles
Tony swims past the top of one of the pinnacles

Dive date: 15 October 2011

Air temperature: 19 degrees

Water temperature: 13 degrees

Maximum depth: 21.5 metres

Visibility: 15 metres

Dive duration: 40 minutes

Dive sites: MV Aster

Tripod mast
Tripod mast

Tony has been alternately ragging and begging Grant for the last long while, wanting to dive the MV Aster in Hout Bay. He finally got his wish, along with me, Goot and Cecil, one magnificent weekend in early July. The sea was flat, the air was warm, and after an unseasonal week of southeasterly winds, the Atlantic was fairly clean.

The Sentinel outside Hout Bay harbour
The Sentinel outside Hout Bay harbour

The Aster is just outside Hout Bay harbour, fairly sheltered in the mouth of the bay. It was deliberately scuttled – by divers, for divers – in 1997. The ship was cleaned, the interior was stripped of wires and furnishings, and all doors and hatches were removed. Openings were cut into the hull of the ship, and it’s probably one of the most friendly wrecks to penetrate in Cape Town. When we dived it, Peter Southwood was venturing inside to check that his schemes of arrangement on the wikivoyage site are correct and current.

Peter Southwood's line stretches beneath a hatch in the deck
Peter Southwood’s line stretches beneath a hatch in the deck

The top of the wreck is at a depth of about 20 metres, and if you bury yourself in the sand under the ship you might get 28 metres or so. There’s a large tripod mast that extends to within 10-12 metres of the surface, and ascending next to this is a treat. The ship stands upright, alone on a sandy bottom, and the wreck of the Katsu Maru lies about 30 metres away over the sand. The Aster was a crayfishing vessel, and is about 36 metres long. There are gangways, ladders, winches, lots of superstructure, and even a railing at the bow if you want to play Titanic there (Tony did).

Reminds one of a scene from Titanic?
Reminds one of a scene from Titanic?

The Atlantic is nutrient-rich (effluent from the Disa River in Hout Bay probably also helps here) and the wreck is quite heavily encrusted. Tony observed that even though the Cedar Pride, a wreck he dived when living in Jordan, has been underwater longer than the Aster, she’s far less covered with marine life.

Hagfish on deck
Hagfish on deck

I found a hagfish sleeping on deck below the mast, and we were delighted by the many tiny West coast rock lobsters all over the wreck (some large ones too). We found a couple the size of shrimps – adorable (to my mind)! There’s a lot of invertebrate life to enjoy, but I didn’t find any nudibranchs despite looking. Many of the ones found on this wreck are of the “beige with brown spots” variety and having never seen one in real life, it’s going to take a while to train my eyes to find them!

Tiny West coast rock lobster in a mussel shell
Tiny West coast rock lobster in a mussel shell

The marine life is lovely, and can absorb one for ages, but our chief enjoyment was in being on a large, intact wreck with lots of interesting shapes to look at. The tripod mast is spectacular, and there are winches, railings and cut-out compartments with windows that can all be enjoyed by a recreational diver not trained in wreck penetration. There are gangways along the side of the ship which are open on one side, and one or two areas on the deck that are overhead environments but have one whole wall missing, so a wreck penetration could be done in stages.

We dived on 32% nitrox, and I had a fifteen litre cylinder (sheer chance!). When we started ascending I still had 25 minutes of bottom time available, having spent the bulk of the dive at around 20 metres or so, and probably could have reached my NDL on the air remaining in my cylinder. Without buddies though – no thanks! Most of the dive we were accompanied by seals, and they were playing on the surface as we climbed back into the boat.

Tony ascending with his camera
Tony ascending with his camera

We’ve also done a night dive on this wreck – a spooky but thrilling experience.

Dive date: 10 July 2011

Air temperature: 23 degrees

Water temperature: 13 degrees

Maximum depth: 27.1 metres

Visibility: 12 metres

Dive duration: 37 minutes

The BlueFlash boat coming to fetch us after the dive
The BlueFlash boat coming to fetch us after the dive

Dive sites: Windmill Beach

A wedding at Windmill, with divers emerging (James Bond-like) from the sea in the background
A wedding at Windmill, with divers emerging (James Bond-like) from the sea in the background

It’s actually ridiculous that I haven’t written anything about Windmill Beach yet for the blog. It’s probably one of the three most popular shore entry sites on the western side of False Bay, and it’s absolutely beautiful. The beach is also a popular wedding venue – take care not to spoil the photos as you tramp past in your scuba gear!

Blue gas flame nudibranch
Blue gas flame nudibranch

Right next to Boulders Beach, Windmill shares the same type of topography: large, rounded boulders sheltering small inlets. On a calm day with no large swell, it’s paradise. (When there is a big swell, it’s a washing machine and not worth the walk down to the beach.) A huge variety of life colonises the granite boulders around the beach, and the patient observer will find other interesting creatures on the coarse, sandy bottom between the rocks.

The entrance to the beach, seen from the parking area
The entrance to the beach, seen from the parking area

Parking is at the end of Links Crescent, so-called because it runs behind the golf course in Simon’s Town. There’s often a man in a penguin suit standing on the corner of Bellevue Road, which is where you must turn left off the main road. Links Crescent is the first road to your right after the golf course. On weekends the site teems with divers, but during the week it’s advisable to organise yourself a car guard (Happy Valley Homeless Shelter can often oblige). The parking is right next to the golf course – be warned! There are public loos on the way down to the beach, but optimistically the most they can be said to provide in terms of amenities is a modicum of privacy. The well-maintained loos at Long Beach have spoiled us in this regard!

Common feather star
Common feather star

The two coves are very sheltered. The northernmost (left hand) one is very shallow and slopes very gently; the eastern (right hand) cove is the more popular entry point, and is ideal for skills training on the sandy bottom, as it is very protected and one can quickly get 1.5 to 2 metres of depth. There is plenty to see on the rocks around the edge of the cove, and in adverse conditions an entire dive could be conducted without leaving the protection of the rocks. At least one very large octopus lives in the shallows on the right hand side of the cove.

A red sea star... count the legs!
A red sea star… count the legs!

The maximum depth you’ll find at Windmill is about 8 metres – getting deeper requires quite a swim offshore. I think it involves more than a little luck as well as some navigation skils, but it’s possible to enter at the eastern cove, swim out and around the rocks, and exit at the northern cove. There is a narrow gap between the rocks (shortcut into the northern cove) that is terrible when there’s a swell – the first time I dived Windmill, with Fritz (just after I started diving) we got washed through it at a precipitous speed. If you skip the gap, knowing when to turn west and find the seaward entrance of the north cove is also quite an art, and a “surface to look around” may be required.

Blue gas flame nudibranch
Blue gas flame nudibranch

All that said, Windmill is an exceptionally attractive dive site. There are several passages to swim through, and the southern right whales that visit False Bay every year seem to like this spot. I have heard more than one story of divers encountering a jubilant whale in the shallow (for a whale) water. If you are one of the lucky ones who does, remember that these whales are very, very large in comparison to you, and an accidental sideswipe with its tail could well catapault you into next week.

Box sea jellies at Windmill Beach
Box sea jellies at Windmill Beach
A Cape rock crab in the kelp
A Cape rock crab in the kelp

When we dived there recently I found a white seacatfish, but wasn’t fast enough to photograph him as he disappeared into a crack in the rocks. There are lots of klipfish, gorgeous nudibranchs, and a wealth of other invertebrate life. You won’t find a single abalone (but lots of shells) – I think they’ve been poached out. The place is crawling with alikreukel. Fortunately at Photographer’s Reef, a 400 metre swim directly out into the bay from Windmill, there is a reasonably large and healthy population. Like A Frame, we saw many false plum anemones, and the Cape rock crab population at Windmill seems particularly healthy. If you want to see kelp forests, the ones at Windmill are particularly alluring, sloping gently upwards with a vivid scattering of urchins and anemones on the rocks beneath.

Octopus in the shallows at Windmill
Octopus in the shallows at Windmill

Dive date: 15 October 2011

Air temperature: 19 degrees

Water temperature: 15 degrees

Maximum depth: 6.6 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 40 minutes

Gregarious fanworms next to a teat sponge
Gregarious fanworms next to a teat sponge

Dogs of Long Beach: Peanut

Peanut and his owner often come to walk at Long Beach, so that Peanut can perform much-needed beach cleanups.

Sea life: Two tone fingerfins

It’s not a new thing for us to see two tone fingerfins (Chirodactylus brachydactylus) but for some reason these beautiful fish are devilishly difficult to photograph. They are abundant among the wrecks at Long Beach, but never stick around long enough for me to get a decent picture of them.

Two tone fingerfin at Long Beach
Two tone fingerfin at Long Beach

They have distinctive reddish-brown and white markings, with five or six spots down their flanks. Their pectoral fins do look rather like fingers – the webbing is very pale in colour. Members of the fingerfin family have taste buds on the ends of their pectoral fins.

Twotone fingerfins on the Clan Stuart
Twotone fingerfins on the Clan Stuart

I was thus very surprised to find this docile trio on a dive on the SS Clan Stuart in May. They appeared to be resting, and although one of them swam away as I approached, the other two remained on the wreck. These fish grow to about 60 centimetres at most (though I have never seen one that big), weighing up to three kilograms. They are also known as butterfish

Twotone fingerfins on the Clan Stuart
Twotone fingerfins on the Clan Stuart

They are found on rocky reefs all the way around the South African coast and feed on invertebrates such as crabs and amphipods. Two tone fingerfins take up mouthfuls of sand, sift out the tasty bits, and expel the remaining sand through their gill slits.

Dive sites: SS Clan Stuart

The Clan Stuart seen from the road
The Clan Stuart seen from the road

If you’ve ever driven to Simon’s Town along the False Bay coastal road, you’ll have passed the wreck of the SS Clan Stuart on your left. The engine block sticks out of the water at low tide, and only the highest spring tides come close to covering it. The steamer ran aground during a summer gale in late 1914 after dragging her anchor. She was carrying a cargo of coal, all of which was salvaged I think.

Tony getting the gear ready before the dive
Tony getting the gear ready before the dive

The site is quite exposed, and will never boast 20 metre visibility, but on a good day with a calm sea, low swell and the correct prevailing wind direction you can be very lucky (as we were)! The entry is quite hard work. The one we usually use is to park on the roadside outside the old oil refinery and naval graveyard, and kit up there. Walk across the road, climb the low brick wall and find a route down the dunes to the railway line. Take care as the railway line is now in use. Cross the tracks and use the large cement walkway/staircase to get down to the beach. The last step is high – I found it easier to go left over the big boulders on the way down, but on the way up this is too difficult.

Once on the beach, you can walk to opposite the engine block. The wreck runs nearly parallel with the shore about 40 metres in each direction from the engine block, so you’ll actually hit it almost certainly, wherever you get in. Watch out for the wave on the beach – sometimes it looks small, but with scuba kit on your back you’re heavy and unstable and in a big swell you can get nicely tumbled. Make sure your BCD is inflated before you brave the breakers – you might even want to go so far as to put your regulator in your mouth before you set out. As soon as you are through the waves, put your fins on and swim out into deeper water away from the surf zone. Don’t mess around here – it can spoil (or prematurely terminate) your dive!

Onefin electric ray
Onefin electric ray

The Clan Stuart was made of iron, and although she’s very broken up, much of her remains. The remains of boilers can be seen next to the engine block, and the ribs of the ship are clearly visible as you swim along her length. There are ragged bits of metal decking, and some bollards are clearly visible on the edges of the wreckage.

A fat peanut worm
A fat peanut worm

There is a lot to see here – beautiful invertebrate life – abalone, mussels, sea cucumbers, nudibranchs, worms – schools of fish (we saw blacktail seabream), shysharks, and of course the pleasure of swimming the length of a shipwreck! There are also ridges of sandstone to explore, and kelp covers parts of the wreck. Particularly around the engine block, the growth is very dense.

Bollards on the hull
Bollards on the hull

This is a good site for night dives, and seals are often spotted here which is very entertaining. The entry and exit can be a bit of hard work, but it’s well worth it and the depth (maximim 9 metres at high tide) makes it very suitable for training dives.

Kate with the buoy line in top to bottom visibility
Kate with the buoy line in top to bottom visibility

Dive date: 22 May 2011

Air temperature: 20 degrees

Water temperature: 14 degrees

Maximum depth: 7.6 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 48 minutes

Handy hints: Kelp diving

Kate stuck in the kelp
Kate stuck in the kelp

Contrary to popular belief, nothing bad will happen to you if you get caught up in a bed or forest of kelp. It may be inconvenient, and slow you down briefly, and you may experience emotion of extreme resentment and sheepishness like those that Kate is clearly experiencing in the photo above (taken at A Frame), but you won’t drown or be trapped forever amid the slippery brown strands.

If you really have a problem with kelp, I suggest that you only dive areas with lots of kelp at high tide. You won’t have as much of a problem with a surface swim through dense kelp forests when the tide is fully covering the kelp stipes, but in a situation when the tide is low (as above), a surface swim becomes a slow and awkward proposition.

Kelp blades (the leaves) are flat and very smooth, and while you may feel that they are wrapping around you, they’re really just sliding over your wetsuit. Move slowly, don’t panic, and use your hands to keep your face clear. Lots of awesome critters live in the kelp – don’t be a hater!

Dive sites: A Frame

Tony surveying the rocks at A Frame
Tony surveying the rocks at A Frame

Shore diving in Cape Town can feel quite adventurous, often requiring as much mountaineering skill (with 20 kilograms of kit on your back) as it does buoyancy control! A Frame (also called Oatlands Point) is one of the most special shore entries on the western False Bay coast, and we visited it on a recent cloudy Sunday with perfect sea conditions. It requires a bit of walking and a tiny bit of climbing, but it’s nowhere near as strenuous as a shore entry at Shark Alley, for example.

A Frame (Oatlands Point)
A Frame (Oatlands Point)

To reach A Frame, drive past Simon’s Town golf course and Fisherman’s Beach, and park – almost immediately after the beach – on the left hand side of the road between the two houses with interesting roof features (one has a solarium vibe going with some British flags, the other has a clock). One used to be able to cross the grass of an empty plot and walk straight down to the rocks, but that plot has been fenced off (with a white picket fence!) now, so one has to use the little path to the right of it, under the No Parking sign.

The entry that we usually use (the northern entry) is over a large piece of rough granite known as “slippery rock”. There’s a conveniently placed rock to hold onto when entering and exiting – basically you inflate your BCD, hold onto your fins, put your mask around your neck, and walk in as far as you can. Then either giant stride off the edge of the rock, or slide down on your bottom until you’re in the water (warning: this can be hard on your suit!). Put your fins on as soon as you are floating – you’ll be in 3 metres of water already so you won’t be able to stand. There’s a lot of kelp there so use it to keep still, and move slowly and steadily. The exit is similar – come as far as you can with fins on, take them off, stand up, watch the waves (if any) and grab onto the rock by the exit as soon as you can reach it.

When you climb in at A Frame you’ll be landing in a sandy basin surrounded by rocks. The depth is about 4 metres, and there’s not a lot on the sand, but it has a peculiar beauty to it and it’s very sheltered. The rocks are to the south and east are where your primary interest will lie, however.

The site is rich with invertebrate life – massive anemones of all colours of the rainbow, abalone, urchins, sea stars, nudibranchs and fairly prolific fish life characterise the area. A Frame is partly inside the Castle Rocks restricted zone which means no fishing or harvesting of marine life is allowed.

There are kelp forests around most of the rocks, and on the day we dived this site in May we had spectacular top to bottom visibility. My favourite part of A Frame is the large swim-through to the north of the big white rock that breaks the surface. This is a dog-leg cave formed by three or four huge rocks that almost meet at the top. There’s a narrow gap where your bubbles can escape (which I am grateful for, because none of the creatures in the cave are drowned in air then!) and three entrances/exits. Inside the swimthrough you’ll find urchins, anemones, nudibranchs, sea fans and lots of fish taking shelter. A torch is recommended. It’s short, not scary, and spectacularly beautiful. A huge orange wall sponge can be found at the spot we prefer to use as an exit – the opening opposite goes out into quite shallow water where you can get tossed about by the surge.

Top to bottom visibility in the kelp forest
Top to bottom visibility in the kelp forest
Tony waiting outside the swim through
Tony waiting outside the swim through

Dive date: 22 May 2011

Air temperature: 20 degrees

Water temperature: 14 degrees

Maximum depth: 7.3 metres

Visibility: 12 metres

Dive duration: 37 minutes

Klipfish outside the swim through
Klipfish outside the swim through

Newsletter: Crystal clear water

Hello everyone

I can confirm, with pictures, that the clean winter water has arrived and to top it all the water has held its temperature well and we had 14 degrees on the weekend. Cape Town is an all year round dive spot and winter is by far the best season as the southeaster that blows in summer is the cause of many cancellations in the dive industry. Winter also opens up the possibility for dive sites like Sunny Cove near Fishoek, the North Battery Pipeline near Simon’s Town and Windmill Beach. Windmill is an amazing dive but seldom if ever with good viz in summer.

Long siphoned whelk with luggage
Long siphoned whelk with luggage

Past dives

On Saturday we started with a dive to the SAS Fleur. A navy frigate scuttled in 1965, it lies on the sand in 42 metres of water. The site is out in the middle of False Bay close to Seal Island. The water was so clean that at 20 metres if you looked up you could see the dive boats on the surface and if you looked down you could see the wreck. I had no idea False Bay could get so clean.

Anemone at A Frame
Anemone at A Frame

We dived the Clan Stuart wreck and A Frame on Sunday and the pictures below tell it all. Clean water with great visibilty.

Hull of the Clan Stuart
Hull of the Clan Stuart

Whilst on the wreck Clare found a small onefin electric ray. Besides give us a chance for a few good photos before burying itself in the sand I also had a chance at making a short video and discovered that as soon as I came within a metre of the ray my screen developed a series of lines on the video and these cleared when I moved away. I moved closer again and had the same thing, so clearly they send out some strong electrical charge… They are called numbfish locally, I now understand why!

Onefin electric ray at the Clan Stuart
Onefin electric ray at the Clan Stuart

Boat dives

The weather this weekend does not look as great as it should and Grant will only launch tomorrow and Sunday. Tomorrow’s weather looks really great so take the day off and get some aquatic therapy. Remember with boat dives the spots fill up very quickly so it is important we book early.

Kelp forest at A Frame
Kelp forest at A Frame

Training

I am often accused of not being very aggressive with marketing of training courses. When I started diving I remained an Open Water diver for 10 years before I did another course and this was partly due to the feelings I always had that the dive schools I dived with tried to shove a course down my throat every time they saw me and every time I went diving. I resisted this and had done almost 100 dives before I did an Advanced diver course. Now that I make a living from this industry I am meant to be pushy in selling courses but I still feel that divers should make the decision to do a course on their own. There is a link at the bottom of this mail to our blog where you can read all about the different Specialties and types of diving if you want to know more or you can just mail me with any questions.

Anita at A Frame
Anita at A Frame

Once you feel its time to do something then I will be there like a shot to tell you what I believe the next best step to be given the type of diving you enjoy, until then I really enjoy the fun dives I do with many of my ex-students and casual diving is also very appealing to me as I can then take my camera. So if you just want to get some diving done to expand on your experience then the casual shore dives, night dives and boat dives we do every week are a good way to do this.

Blue gas flame nudibranch inside the swim through at A Frame
Blue gas flame nudibranch inside the swim through at A Frame

Yours in diving

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

Diving is addictive!

FAQ: Diving in Cape Town

Tony and I recently had to put together some material for an advertising brochure, and were invited to submit a 400 word advertorial on diving in Cape Town. It has some salient points in it, so we thought we’d include it here for your reading pleasure.

What is there to see while diving in Cape Town?

The waters around the Cape Peninsula are extraordinarily rich with marine life found nowhere else in the world. The clean, cold waters of the Atlantic and the warmer waters of False Bay are host to countless fish species, giant sting rays, beautiful sea plants, and extremely diverse invertebrate life such as nudibranchs (colourful sea slugs), molluscs and brightly coloured sea anemones. Diving in Cape Town is colourful and always exciting.

There are many wrecks to explore, easily accessible either on a dive boat or from the shore. Some of these were deliberately sunk as artificial reefs, and others fell victim to winter storms and now have a permanent home on our coastline. There are also rocky reefs and mysterious kelp forests that hide a multitude of fascinating inhabitants. You can even do dives with seals or with remarkable sevengill cowsharks if you want to – the options are endless.

What’s the best time to learn to dive?

Summer is an appealing time to learn to dive because the weather is sunny and warm, and this is a busy time for diving in the Cape. However, the best water conditions in False Bay are in winter: the water is clean, clear, and not too cold. Cape Town is a year-round diving destination and there’s no bad time to sign up for a course. If you’re planning a tropical holiday where you hope to dive, we’d recommend getting your dive qualification before you go so that you can have the best possible experience on your holiday.

Which diving course is right for me?

There are a couple of options for a beginner diver. The first is called Discover Scuba Diving. You will learn some very basic skills, and then do a proper sea dive under instructor supervision. It’s not a qualification, but gives you a chance to decide if diving is for you.

If you do decide you want to become a qualified diver, the course to start with is the PADI Open Water course. This course qualifies you to dive to 18 metres, anywhere in the world – all you need to do is show your PADI certification card to book a dive or rent equipment. The course takes about four days to complete, and can be done part time and over weekends to suit your schedule.

Where can I get more information on diving in Cape Town?

Check out www.learntodivetoday.co.za, and our blog at www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog. We’re happy to answer any questions you have!