SA Navy – Page 2 – Learn to Dive Today Blog

Newsletter: Dates to diarise

Hi divers

We are off travelling for ten days, so this week’s newsletter is a list of dates to diarise!

The photos in this newsletter are from a lovely deep dive for an Advanced course that we did at Outer Photographer’s Reef on Saturday, followed by a dive at Phoenix Shoal just outside the harbour in Simon’s Town. There are some videos from the Outer Photographer’s Reef dive here. The visibility on both dives was 6-8 metres, but yesterday it had improved to 10 metres at Seal Rock and Shark Alley (no cowsharks though).

Anemones at Outer Photographer's Reef — Anemones at Outer Photographer’s Reef

ScubaPro Day – Saturday 26 October

The ScubaPro Day takes place at False Bay Yacht Club on Saturday 26 October. Discounted boat dives and the chance to try some dive gear (tips on that here) – the participating dive charters will take bookings directly. There are four launch times, starting nice and early. Underwater Explorers is participating if you’re at a loose end!

Diversnight International – Thursday 7 November

November 7th is Diversnight International, sign up here. It is an international event with the aim of having as many divers in the water as possible at 8.13pm (2013 – get it?). If you enjoy night diving, or want to try it out, then you should be there. It’s quite festive. More details about this event will be provided when we get back from the Red Sea!

DAN Day – Saturday 9 November

We attended the last DAN day in Cape Town, which comprised a tour of the SA Navy diving facility, and a series of excellent talks by DAN medics and the NSRI. The next one is on Saturday 9 November, and comes highly recommended. Early booking is essential (the last one was fully subscribed) – more info here.

regards

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

Diving is addictive!

To subscribe to receive this newsletter by email, click here or use the form on this page!

Whale watching in False Bay – the scenery

It is ridiculously exciting to see whales up close on a whale watching trip. Doing the trip in False Bay, which I am ever more convinced is one of the most spectacular natural wonders on the face of God’s green earth, is the cherry on top (if you like cherries). False Bay is about 1000 square kilometres in extent, and supports a remarkable array of wildlife – from worms to whales, and everything in between.

Please enjoy these photographs I took from the whale watching boat. They are mostly of the False Bay coastline, but there are also a few shots of some of the SA Navy’s military hardware thrown in for good measure. Look out for the SAS Mendi (F148) frigate, and one of our Heroine class submarines – not sure which of the three this is, but I’d be surprised if it was the SAS Charlotte Maxeke because I’m not sure if she’s been fixed after her 2012 collision with the seabed.

You can see the big swell in evidence around the base of Roman Rock lighthouse. But I digress. Here are some pretty pictures.

One of the SA Navy's Heroine class submarines — One of the SA Navy’s Heroine class submarines

The boat's wake as we drive away from Muizenberg — The boat’s wake as we drive away from Muizenberg

A SA Navy submarine cruises near Photographer's Reef — A SA Navy submarine cruises near Photographer’s Reef

The coastline around Simon's Town — The coastline around Simon’s Town

More about the wreck of the Brunswick

I attended a talk about the Brunswick, which is wrecked off the end of Long Beach in Simon’s Town, at the Institute for Maritime Technology (IMT), in August. It was given by Jake Harding, who has just completed a thesis on the wreck for his Honours degree at the University of Cape Town. Considering that all I know about the Brunswick (even with reference to Shipwrecks and Salvage in South Africa) can be summed up in two sentences, it was extremely interesting to hear from someone who has researched the ship, and examined the wreck for further information.

The ship

The Brunswick was an East Indiaman, a merchant ship that transported goods between Britain and the East Indies. She was captured by the French vessel Marengo in 1805, and brought to Simon’s Town as a prize of war. She was captured on her sixth voyage and was in quite poor shape. Five or six voyages was considered a good lifespan for an East Indiaman. They travelled very long distances on each voyage and were away from their home ports for over a year at a time, sometimes much longer. During the time she was at anchor in Simon’s Bay, strong winds caused her anchor cables to part, and she ran aground. She was carrying a cargo of sandalwood and cotton, which was sold along with the wreck in an auction. Most of it was salvaged, although archaeologists have spotted the odd piece of sandalwood on the wreck site.

She had 30 guns, which is apparently quite a small number – warships of the time would have had hundreds of guns. At the time when the Brunswick was constructed (late 18th century), iron was used instead of hardwood for the braces or “knees” that held the hull of the ship out in its characteristic shape. She was about 40 metres long and 13 metres wide with three decks. Her hull was sheathed in copper, and the drift bolts holding the parts of the ship together are copper and iron.

The wreck

The wreck was officially discovered and identified as the Brunswick in 1993, although her rudder was found and salvaged in 1967. It can be seen in the courtyard of the Slave Lodge in central Cape Town, formerly the South African Cultural History Museum. It used to be covered with copper sheets, but those were mostly stripped off. It’s huge – over 4 metres long, but with all the original fittings it was likely over 5 metres in length.

It’s clear when you dive the site that there’s quite a lot of wreck hidden under the sand, and even in the few times we’ve dived her we’ve been able to see how the sand shifts and covers and uncovers various parts of the ship. The Simon’s Town harbour wall has led to a lot of sediment build up in the area. When the wreck was surveyed in 1994-1995 for Project Sandalwood, a survey done by IMT and the South African Cultural History Museum, they recorded pieces three metres high sticking out of the sand. There’s nothing like that today. Longshore currents also cause periodic sediment build up and removal, and the cryptic little fish called steentjies annually uncover huge areas of the wreck during their mating displays.

According to Jake, the keelson (like a keel strip), part of the copper strap attaching the rudder to the boat, and a large number of iron knees (we have only seen a couple), and one or two pieces of sandalwood are still on the wreck site. We will be looking carefully for these elements next time we dive there.

Newsletter: Night night

Hi divers

Last Saturday we did a night dive at Long Beach. Four of the eight divers were doing their first night dives ever: Craig, Tamsyn, Dinho and Liam. Conditions were excellent and we had a great time. Photos in this newsletter are from that dive.

Weekend plans

As the days grow longer and summer beckons (it’s called positive thinking) we do still need to get through August, which according to the weather sites is the stormy month. There has been little sign of winter during the week and most days have been fairly pleasant. False Bay is quite clean and blue.

That all changes starting late tomorrow as a long period 6.5 metre swell rolls into the bay. That coupled with some rain will make diving a bit surgy and unpleasant, and my feeling is that it best be left alone for this weekend. If you’re at a loose end please pop down to Glencairn Beach or the far end of Long Beach to support the OMSAC Finathon, or take part if you feel up to it! Sponsorship of the divers/swimmers/paddlers can be directed towards Shark Spotters, a cause close to our hearts!

DAN Day

Last Saturday we attended the DAN Day at the Simon’s Town navy base. We had a tour of their dive training facility (this is most likely where you’ll end up if you need to use a recompression chamber after a dive accident), and then a series of very informative talks.

DAN or Divers’ Alert Network is an international organisation that provides a form of insurance whereby they will pay for any expenses related to diving accidents that your medical aid and travel insurance don’t cover. They will also pay for you to be evacuated if necessary, and these costs can be severe. However, if you choose not to take out DAN cover, they are still the people to call if you or your buddy has a suspected case of decompression illness. They have doctors on call who will guide you as to what to do, and they will arrange a chamber and evacuation if necessary (however the costs will be for your account). You don’t have to know where your nearest chamber is and whether it’s operational, because DAN keeps that information for you.

Please visit the DAN SA website, check them out, put their number into your phone (0800 020 111 in SA or +27 (0) 82 810 6010 if dialling from outside SA), and let me know if you have any questions (I might be able to help, or I can refer you to someone at DAN who can). Clare and I have cover, and it costs us about R175 per month for both of us. You can also take out cover specifically for a dive trip, if you don’t feel you dive enough to justify year-round membership. For an interesting story about someone who really needed their DAN membership, read this.

Diving and exercise

One talk at the DAN Day that was particularly interesting was about diving and exercise. Studies have found that light exercise a few hours both before and after a dive can be beneficial in reducing gas bubble formation, which is a good thing (too many bubbles cause the bends). The speaker also reminded us that one must keep fit to dive; diving isn’t going to make you fit, but being fit before coming diving will keep you safe and healthy.

regards

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

Diving is addictive!

To subscribe to receive this newsletter by email, click here or use the form on this page!

Dive sites: Brunswick

Tony and students on the surface over the wreck of the Brunswick

The Brunswick is a historical wooden shipwreck that lies a few hundred metres off the northern end of Long Beach in Simon’s Town, directly opposite the northern end of the white apartment buildings overlooking the Main Road. Like HNMS Bato, she is infrequently dived. Having lain underwater since 1805, she is heavily overgrown and much of her decking and hull is covered by sand. She used to be a shore entry (with a precipitous climb over the railway line), but in recent years a large number of boulders have been added as a breakwater between the ocean and the railway line, and climbing over in dive gear is no longer possible. For this reason we do the dive from the boat. Close to shore and in shallow water, the Brunswick is an ideal site to get used to boat diving.

The Brunswick was a British East Indiaman, which means she carried men and goods between Britain and the East Indies – (south)east Asia and India. She was carrying a cargo of cotton and sandalwood from China back to Britain when she was captured by some French vessels off Sri Lanka, and brought to Simon’s Bay. In September 1805 her anchor rope parted, and she ran aground during a south easterly gale. Most of her cargo was salvaged, as she lies in shallow (less than six metres deep) water.

Tags on the wreck from a prior archaeological survey

Some of the metal is worn smooth or recently uncovered

Side view showing how thick the planks are

Christo approaches the boat after the dive

We found the dive site to be similar to HNMS Bato, which was also a sturdily built wooden ship of similar vintage. The Brunswick was 1,200 tons, and her wreckage is spread out quite extensively. There are many thick, wooden planks, laid out as they would have been to form her decks, as well as much evidence of the bronze bolts that secured parts of the ship together. There are also many copper bolts, rivets and what could be small amounts of rolled up copper sheathing in evidence on the site.

Anemone among feather stars and papery burnupena

The highests parts of the wreck are covered with feather stars, anemones, sea cucumbers, and kelp. There are many octopus, and peering under the wreckage with a torch yielded a couple of very large pyjama catsharks. We were lucky to dive the site most recently on a day with lovely visibility, and the shallowness of the water means that there’s a lot of light penetration which improves things enormously.

The highest parts of the Brunswick wreck

Before diving this site, you should call the SA Navy Ops Room on 021 787 3818, to ask for permission and to tell them how long you’ll be. Same procedure as at Long Beach.

Dive date: 13 July 2013

Air temperature: 19 degrees

Water temperature: 15 degrees

Maximum depth: 5.4 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 42 minutes

Mark helps Christo at the boat after the dive

A Day on the Bay: Naval escort

Date: 25 April 2013

Leaving Simon's Town harbour with a navy patrol boat escort — Leaving Simon’s Town harbour with a navy patrol boat escort

Now and then the navy like to practise shooting. When that happens, boat traffic needs to proceed with caution in order to stay afloat. On this particular day it wasn’t clear exactly who was firing where, so I was the lucky recipient of a patrol boat escort out of the harbour and out into the bay.

Once out there, I was keen to check out the visibility, which had been dismal for some time. Unfortunately at three metres my little testing device disappeared almost completely.

I also met some lovely seabirds, following the fishing boats back to Kalk Bay. It was a magnificent day to be out on the boat, but unfortunately the conditions underwater were somewhat less pleasant.

Newsletter: Cannon ball run

Hi divers

The seasons’ change has had us diving in mixed conditions, clean one day and dirty the next. Last weekend we dived Hout Bay on Saturday (the Maori and Die Josie) and had mediocre viz, but on Sunday diving in False Bay was far better. We visited the cowsharks and seals at Partridge Point.

At three metres my visibility testing tool is all but invisible

This weekend is again a mixed bag as the water colour and temperature are not promising. Hout Bay has green water and the temperature there today was 15 degrees. The temperature in False Bay today was 17 degrees and I went from Simon’s Town to Cape Point and back as well as far out into the centre of the bay (looking for the orcas) and did not find any clean water anywhere. The picture above is of my visibility testing tool (patent pending) three metres underwater near Atlantis Reef. It’s almost invisible.

The orcas were most likely terrified by the naval canon firing… I know I was! The navy patrol boats escorted us past the vessel that was firing. Just before taking the boat out of the water I cruised slowly north of Long Beach and when the sonar read 2.5 metres I could barely see the bottom. There is/has been a plankton bloom of some sort and I think that has been a big factor. There is also a surprising amount of garbage in the water. There is a 3-4 metre swell predicted for the weekend.

Having said that its likely to be a good weather weekend as there is little wind and lots of warm sunshine. Luckily I will not have to put my forecasting skills to the test as we are off to Knysna for a spell of houseboating and seahorse hunting (the little ones that live in the lagoon).

Christo holding the reel while Craig adjusts his weight belt on the SS Maori

Training

We have both SDI and PADI Open Water courses running, as well as PADI Advanced, SDI Nitrox and PADI Rescue.

Our training pool is in and full, not quite crystal clean yet but will be soon and we will run a Discover Scuba Diving special during May so if you have a friend that needs to experience scuba get in touch.

Travel

We’re off to Durban in June for three days of wreck diving with Calypso at uShaka Marine World. Durban has warm water like Sodwana, a well known balmy climate, and all the coral reef critters as well as some spectacular shipwrecks. Plus there’s lots to do if the weather doesn’t pan out every day. We’re going in the week of 17 June (a Monday, and a public holiday). If you’re interested let me know and I’ll forward the details.

Our Red Sea trip still seems frustratingly far away, but October creeps closer. The Red Sea is a must visit destination for any scuba diver, and what better way to do it with some non-threatening semi-nice people like us? As Gob from Arrested Development would say, come on!

regards

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

Diving is addictive!

To subscribe to receive this newsletter by email, click here or use the form on this page!

A Day on the Bay: Target practice

Date: 16 November 2012

The navy's target just outside the harbour — The navy’s target just outside the harbour

Simon’s Town is a naval harbour, and as a result we often encounter navy exercises, training drills, and personnel when we dive or boat in the vicinity. I took the boat out one day not too long ago, and found this curious orange structure just outside the harbour. You can see Ark Rock in the background.

Big ol' seal at the yacht basin — Big ol’ seal at the yacht basin

A former student, Lukas, who is working his way up through the ranks of the SA Navy, once told me that these strange looking objects are for the trainees to practice shooting at. There wasn’t any firing going on when I passed by, fortunately!

Newsletter: Look out for Batman

Hi divers

March weather has not been too kind and we have had very few days of good conditions. Two long weekends of no diving and we once again head into a weekend that does not look promising. Last weekend a pod of false killer whales beached on Noordhoek Beach and again on the Simon’s Town side of the peninsula. More on that here.

We dived Shark Alley today and had around 3 metre visibility. On the trip there and back I stopped and looked at a few sites and found only dark green and brown water. There is not too much wind around to clean that up. Plus the Navy festival that happens every year around now brings traffic in and out of Simon’s Town to a grinding halt. Parking, even at Long Beach, becomes very scarce. Hout Bay and Table Bay have a similar dark tinge to the water and in fact the water temperature tonight off Kommetijie at the CSIR buoy is just under 15 degrees, the same as False Bay. Warm Atlantic most often means dirty water.

It unfortunately means a dry weekend unless you try Indigo Scuba in Gordon’s Bay or the Two Oceans Aquarium.

Veronica, Kate‘s mum, arrived a few days ago from the UK and brought me the most amazing piece of dive gear ever. I know you will all want to try it out but the answer will be no so don’t ask!!!!

regards

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

Diving is addictive!

A Day on the Bay: Naval exercises at Long Beach

Date: 7 March 2013

Sometimes you don’t even need to get on the boat to see something entertaining. Earlier this month, while working with Advanced students at Long Beach, we were privy to some very entertaining activities. The SA Navy was conducting a training exercise involving disembarkation from a boat, running up the beach, and assuming a combat stance.

They carried on for hours. Clare and I ate dinner at the beach around 7pm that evening, and they were still busy. In fact we were asked to leave at one point because it had “become an operational area”.