We have south easterly winds of between 30 and 60 km/h spread out over the next few days, and as a result I am not planning any dives for this weekend.
SAS Somerset at the V&A Waterfront
Diver24
Join UCT Underwater Club and the Two Oceans Aquarium for their annual Diver24 event. This year you can enjoy diving-related talks, snacks, and the vibe of the aquarium at night. More info here (facebook).
On your way, you can check out SAS Somerset, pictured above, as she lists slightly in her berth behind the aquarium. She’s the sister ship of SAS Fleur, a deep dive not too far from Seal Island in False Bay.
I’ve got students in the pool on Saturday, and Sunday looks too windy for dives, so we’ll have to wait to get in some salt water until conditions improve.
Turtle time
It’s the start of that time of year when turtles strand on the beaches of the Western Cape. What to do if you find one? Don’t throw it back into the sea. The Two Oceans Aquarium explains how you should proceed. Read more here.
Student dives over the last week have been reasonably good, with 5-6 metre visibility inshore. The visibility remains good, and in fact has improved with the unseasonal north westerly wind. The downside is a 5 metre, 16 second period swell. We won’t plan dives in this as the surge is often harsh.
Keep an eye out for weekday dives during the next week or two – we’ll publicise in this newsletter, on facebook, and via whatsapp. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season.
The forecast for 30-40 km/h winds persists into the weekend. It’s very likely that the Atlantic will be clean – it looks clean already – but the amount of wind is just too much. Sorry (for you and me)!
The weather has certainly started warming up a little as we roll towards summer. A few days of north west winds will have helped improve the visibility this side of False Bay, however there is some swell heading our way. The swell doesn’t always arrive as big as it is forecast, so I am going to plan dives for Sunday (the better day swell-wise at this point). Depending on what False Bay looks like late on Saturday, I will then decide whether we launch the boat or do shore dives. Let me know if you want to join.
See through fish at the Dubai Aquarium
Dates to diarise
Don’t forget about Shark Night at the aquarium this coming Tuesday – details here.
Diversnight this year is on Saturday 2 November, and the dive clubs are hosting. It’s a super fun evening of night diving, and I suggest you put it in your planner. Facebook event details here.
No diving The weekend is too windy for good diving, with strong south easterly winds starting on Friday evening. We won’t be diving, but I’ve got a boat launch tomorrow and I’ll share the conditions on facebook.
Jellies at the aquarium in Dubai Mall
Worth your time
New Moon beach clean
This Saturday at 9am is the monthly new moon beach cleanup at Surfers Corner, run by The Beach Co-Op. Event details (facebook) here.
Shark Night
As part of this year’s Shark and Ray Symposium, there’s a public event on Tuesday 8 October at the Two Oceans Aquarium that’s ALL ABOUT SHARKS. Looks awesome. Get more info and tickets here.
Talking Trash
As part of First Thursdays, on the evening of 3 October there will be a series of short talks about how waste is managed in Cape Town, the social, environmental and economic impacts of waste, and some strategies Capetonians can implement to better assist the City of Cape Town in its sustainability and resilience journey. The event is in central town, and is just one hour long. Find details here.
I had to write a short article about Shark Spotters a while ago, for the quarterly magazine of the company I work for. It was fun to write within the constraints of quite a punitive word count, and to try and emphasise the aspects of the program that I think are poorly understood by the public. Here’s the article:
Shark Spotters developed into Cape Town’s primary shark safety strategy out of two similar, informal initiatives. At Muizenberg and Fish Hoek in 2004, surfers arranged with lifeguards, car guards and trek fishermen to warn them when sharks were sighted. Today, Shark Spotters is a NPO funded primarily by the City of Cape Town, Save Our Seas Foundation, and public donations. It operates year-round at four beaches and during summer at another four. These are beaches that have both many water users and relatively common shark sightings.
A team of 30 spotters equipped with binoculars, polarising sunglasses and all-weather gear watch from the mountainside, and when a shark is sighted they notify colleagues at the beach to sound a siren and raise the appropriate flag. The flags indicate the current or recent presence of a shark, that spotting conditions are poor, or that it is safe to swim.
The spotters, all drawn from local communities, are trained in safety, first aid and shark behaviour. A further 10 team members deploy and retrieve the shark exclusion net at Fish Hoek beach during summer. Unlike the gill nets protecting beaches in KwaZulu Natal, this net does not catch sharks. It provides a physical barrier between sharks and swimmers. It is designed to be retrieved at the end of the day, or, to prevent entanglement, when there are marine mammals nearby. The Fish Hoek shark exclusion net is unique worldwide as an environmentally friendly shark attack mitigation measure.
It is the combination of favourable topography and surface-swimming sharks that makes Shark Spotters’ work possible and effective. The land around many of Cape Town’s beaches slopes steeply towards the sea, providing raised vantage points from which to spot. The sharks which pose the primary danger to water users, because of their size and curious natures, are great white sharks. Fortunately these sharks spend much time swimming on the surface, and their distinctive swimming style is readily recognisable.
Shark Spotters also conducts research on sharks to improve safety measures and provide management and conservation recommendations. As a result, the movements of great white sharks in False Bay are well understood. Sharks visit the beaches year-round, but with a distinct seasonal pattern. During winter the sharks congregate at Seal Island to feed on juvenile seals. During summer, sharks head for the backline of Cape Town’s beaches – probably to feed on the fish species found in False Bay at this time, and to rest in the highly oxygenated water close to shore. This is when they pose the greatest risk to water users.
Why support Shark Spotters?
I love the fact that Shark Spotters combines care for people with concern for the environment. The program takes a scientific stance backed by research, and has attracted worldwide recognition. It also provides training and employment for 40 residents of some of Cape Town’s most impoverished communities. I sit on the non-executive committee as a representative of Cape Town’s scuba diving community, and it’s a privilege to work with fellow water users and ocean lovers, and hopefully to provide a benefit to the greater community through our small contribution.
(Of course, lately white shark movements in False Bay are slightly less well understood than they have been, probably thanks to a pair of orcas whose irregular visits to Seal Island and Millers Point to hunt white sharks and sevengills seem to clear out the neighbourhood a bit! Fear not, Shark Spotters’ research is aiming to understand these changes, too.)
Sunday: Boat or shore dives in False Bay (conditions dependent)
Apologies for the lateness of this week’s newsletter… Blame a very delayed Safair flight from Johannesburg last night!
Lighthouse at Kalk Bay
We have three windless days coming up and hopefully some sun to go with that. There has been a lot of swell in False Bay, and coupled with the rain and run off the visibility is not all that great. If anything, Sunday will be the best diving option so based on what we see Saturday, we will plan for Sunday. Let me know if you want to join in.
There is a fair amount of swell around right now, combined with strong winds. Although False Bay looks a little scrappy, the water colour remains good. Sunday looks like the best, or only, option for diving, but we will most likely shore dive. I will wait until Saturday mid afternoon to make the call. Get in touch if you wish to join.
