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Dive sites: MFV Orotava

The MFV Orotava was part of the I&J fishing fleet, and was scuttled in Smitswinkel Bay in 1983. She lies alongside the SAS Transvaal, and within a few hundred metres of the SAS Good Hope, the MV Rockeater, and the MFV Princess Elizabeth. She is a steel trawler, 50 metres long and just over 9 metres wide. It’s possible to see the entire wreck in a single dive; she rests on the sand at 34 metres, leaning at a slight angle, and the top of her superstructure is at about 23 metres.

Encrusted wreckage, looking like a garden

We dived this wreck two weekends in a row. The first time we had very good visibility, and to me the ship looked as though it was festooned with flowers. There are lots of steel pipes and other bits sticking up, with arches and door frames and other framing devices that make for wonderful photographic opportunities. The wreck is overgrown with feather stars, sea fans, soft corals, and other invertebrate life.

A masked crab evades my flash on the sand

Most notable to me was the presence of multiple frilled nudibranchs. I saw these for the first time on the MV Rockeater, also in Smitswinkel Bay, but the profusion of these beautiful little creatures on the Orotava has to be seen to be believed. I probably photographed 20 unique specimens on each dive, whilst swimming over several others (with regret).

The interior of the wreck is small, tight and not really suitable for penetration. The next two photos are horrible and have no artistic merit whatsoever (even by my standards), but they are of a hole in the deck. There are vertical steel plates visibile inside the hole that were moving several feet back and forth with each wash of the surge – you can see them in two distinct positions in the pictures. Take care.

Dive date: 27 August 2011

Air temperature: 17 degrees

Water temperature: 14 degrees

Maximum depth: 30.3 metres

Visibility: 12 metres

Dive duration: 33 minutes

We returned to the MFV Orotava the following week to look for a GoPro camera lost by one of the other divers on the boat the previous week. No luck finding it, unfortunately!

On our second visit to the wreck, Tony was below me on the sand with a student doing skills for a Deep Specialty course. I hung about near the top of the hull, trying to take shelter from the surge, which was particularly violent that day. Next to me, on some small sea fans, were two baby basket stars. This is the first time I’ve seen them in False Bay (I think they are found at several of the deeper reefs towards the southern end of the bay, such as Rocky Bank) – we usually see them on deep Atlantic dives such as on Klein Tafelberg Reef.

I thought the Orotava was a very pretty wreck, and look forward to returning there. Anywhere I can see my frilled nudibranchs or basket stars (!!!!) is a happy place for me.

Dive date: 4 September 2011

Air temperature: 15 degrees

Water temperature: 14 degrees

Maximum depth: 32.9 metres

Visibility: 5 metres

Dive duration: 36 minutes

Swimming worm at the safety stop (species ID pending!)

These two heavily-laden divers were busy with an advanced Nitrox course

Dive sites: Roman’s Rest

Roman Rock lighthouse stands near the entrance to the navy harbour in Simon’s Town. In its general (I use the term very loosely) vicinity one finds – amongst other sites – Tivoli Pinnacles, Castor Rock, Wonder Reef, Rambler Rock, and, of course, the Roman Rock reef system, which is right under and around the lighthouse. Grant didn’t drop the shot line right at the lighthouse as one would to dive Roman Rock itself, but at a set of pinnacles called Roman’s Rest which are at the eastern end of the Castor Rock reef complex. Wonder Reef is at the western end.

A flagellar sea fan swaying in the surge

Tami and I agreed that this was one of the most beautiful dive sites we’ve visited in False Bay – it’s comprised mostly of large granite boulders and huge flat, sloping rocks that are rich with invertebrate life. The whole area is populated by various types of sea fan, giving the effect of an underwater forest.

Close-up of the branches of a flagellar sea fan

Flagellar sea fans, cauliflower soft coral, and a palmate sea fan

Close up of a palmate sea fan's branches — Close up of a palmate sea fan’s branches

Lots of cauliflower soft coral on top of the reef

I was a bit cold (it was the second dive I did that day, and I had not put on enough layers of wetsuit to compensate for the freezing boat rides to and from the sites!) so I didn’t manage any half-decent photos of fish. But we saw Roman (of course!), and a large school of hottentot or other nondescript silver fish hanging in midwater over the reef. There were many nudibranchs – contrary to our usual experience of seeing one at a time, we saw several that were often so close together that I could include them all in one photo.

Sea fans stand like small outcrops of trees over the reef

The part of Roman Rock that we dived is a newish area, I think, that Peter Southwood is busy mapping for the Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay wikivoyage site. It’s a very, very special site – highly recommended. With the right equipment and good visibility, lovely wide-angle photographs can be possible.

There are a couple more pictures from this dive in the newsletter Tony put out in the week after we dived the site. The surface conditions were horrible but you can see that the visibility was very good indeed (by False Bay standards!).

Ascidians in the (shallower) red bait zone

Fish schooling in midwater above the reef

Two silvertip nudibranchs flank a blue gas flame nudibranch

Dive date: 27 August 2011

Air temperature: 19 degrees

Water temperature: 14 degrees

Maximum depth: 21.4 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 42 minutes

Floating egg ribbon (?) at the safety stop

Newsletter: Spring has sprung, and another dive trip is in the making…

Hello diving people

Let’s skip the weather.

"Yes you can be my dive buddy, but only if Tony has a wetsuit in your size." — “Yes you can be my dive buddy, but only if Tony has a wetsuit in your size.”

Travel

We are long overdue for a dive trip. The last two trips we did as a group, to Sodwana, were extremely enjoyable but most of the regular trippers are looking for something new.

Mozambique

There are two options currently being investigated. We can go to Ponta Do Ouro, a little over 100 kilometres north of Sodwana, or to Inhambane, a little over 650 kilometres north of the border between South Africa and Mozambique. We’d fly to Johannesburg in both cases. To get to Ponta we’d rent cars and drive to the border, where we’d be picked up by the dive centre and driven the 7 kilometres over the dunes into Mozambique, to Ponta. If we went to Inhambane, we’d fly from Johannesburg to Inhambane with LAM, which costs about R3,500.

Sodwana worked out at around R3,500 per person all in all, but Mozambique is way more expensive. For Ponta we would probably get away with around R5,000-R7,000 all in and Inhambane will be around R7,000 – R10,000 per person, depending of course on how many dives we do, how long we stay (we’re thinking four to seven days), and what sort of accommodation we choose.

Any of these packages would include flights, cars, dives and accommodation. Before you fall over clutching your chest I can tell you that just dives alone are almost twice the price they are here at home or in Sodwana. Everything costs more there and it has a lot to do with the remoteness of the place. I worked in Ponto and there are no Game stores, Woolworths or even 24 hour fuel station shops. Everything is transported from SA on 4×4 trucks so that is the main reason for the higher costs. These remote locations are seldom ever cheaper than Sodwana as some of the operators charge R270 – R350 a dive. However I must say the diving and the reefs are stunning. There are a few videos on my YouTube page that show some of the diving you will experience.

We’re thinking of going during April or May, and we’d try to get low season prices, so it would be outside of school holidays and long weekends. We’d use Simply Scuba in Ponta do Ouro, or Jeff’s Palm Resort in Inhambane – go check out their websites. I’ve attached the list of dive sites close to Jeff’s Palm here, for you to peruse (and drool over).

To get decent prices we need to have some idea of numbers so text or email me if you think you might want to come along.

The MFV Orotava belonged to the I&J fishing fleet

Training

We are busy with Open Water and Advanced courses, and Deep and Nitrox Specialties. Most of these courses still have space so jump on if you want some more experience.

Courses may seem expensive at first but for example if you did five casual dives on your own (with a buddy of course) with rented equipment over three days doing two shore dives and three boat dives you would each spend around R2,000 – R3,000 depending on how many dives you did each day. The average price in Cape Town for gear rental and a boat dive is around R500. Thus by doing a course you also receive a qualification, something that most dive centres around the world will want to see before you can join some of their dives.

Weekend plans

There is a swell smacking the bay tomorrow which will cut diving out on Saturday. I will have a pool day with new students so if you want to play the fool in the pool, text me.

Sunday we are on the boat for both launches, the first being a deep dive to the Smitswinkel Bay wrecks and the second will be to the wreck of the SAS Pietermaritzburg.

Railings and other fittings abound on the deck of the MFV Orotava

Last week’s diving

Last weekend we had some good diving on the MFV Orotava, one of the five Smits wrecks, and the second dive to Roman Rock. The visibility was great and the surface conditions not too bad. Tuesday we dived on Photographer’s Reef and had just got out of the water and back to shore when the wind picked up. Diving was great – this is a magnificent site.

Justin and Cindy behind the reef at Roman Rock

Dumb diving

I have been asked what DUMB DIVING is… Well let me give you an example.

Dumb diving is rolling into the water, descending and finding the cover and batteries from your video light lying on the seafloor waiting for you when you get there… And watching another piece of your rig float slowly down in front of your eyes. The word dumb comes to mind! Note to self: tighten video light cover securely before entering the water!

Flagellar sea fan at Roman Rock (and very respectable visibility)

regards

Tony Lindeque
076 817 1099
www.learntodivetoday.co.za
www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blog
Diving is addictive!

Dive sites: Maidstone Rock

Sinuous sea fan with brittlestars on board

Maidstone Rock is an infrequently-dived site in the offshore region of Seaforth and Boulders Beach. The boat rides from Miller’s Point or Long Beach are only a few minutes (shorter from Long Beach). Grant took us to an area of the reef that is newly discovered, so we got to explore some virgin territory.

The reef is characteristic of the others we have dived in the area, with low rocky outcrops heavily encrusted with invertebrates. We found a small anchor and rope, but they had obviously been in the water for a long time and were almost unrecognisable.

I found an old brass valve handle or similar (treasure!), which Tony is cleaning up with diluted pool acid, tartaric acid and lots of patience, and we also came across a large (perhaps one metre diameter) brass or other metal ring that looked a bit like a truck tyre without sidewalls. It is heavily overgrown with feather stars and other invertebrate life.

I also found several well-camouflaged klipfish. Unlike our confident friends at Long Beach, these klipfish were hiding in crevices in the rocks and generally trying not to be seen.

Dive date: 5 June 2011

Air temperature: 23 degrees

Water temperature: 15 degrees

Maximum depth: 25.1 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 39 minutes

Tony at the safety stop with the valve handle on his reel

Dive sites: Tivoli Pinnacles

This is a recently discovered site near Roman Rock, named Tivoli Pinnacles because of its position east of Roman Rock (as Tivoli is east of Rome). It’s a very short boat ride straight out to sea from Long Beach, and the site is very close to the approach lanes for Simon’s Town Harbour.

We started our dive on top of one of the southern pinnacles, and drifted with the current, spending most of the dive at about 18-20 metres. The relief is quite flat away from the pinnacles, but there is a lot to see.

A smooth horsefish, trying not to be noticed

Tony found a horsefish, resting in a gap in the rocks, Andrew found an evil eye puffer fish for me to photograph, and I spotted a wide array of nudibranchs – mostly silvertip, crowned and gas flame.

This was a very easy dive in the conditions we did it in. There are ample opportunities to stop and examine the reef as you pass over it, and the depth is relatively constant. It was my second dive of the day and I actually went properly into deco… During the six minute deco/safety stop that my dive computer demanded a large and friendly seal frolicked around us. When we surfaced, he was leaping about next to the boat.

Papery burnupena and other encrustations on a sea fan (possibly!)

Cauliflower soft coral and mauve sea cucumbers

Grant had received a call that there was a large pod of dolphins off Kalk Bay harbour, probably feeding, so we followed the massive flock of cormorants north, and drove past the pod. There were maybe 500 long beaked common dolphins all together, including a lot of very tiny calves. It was beautiful.

Dive date: 5 June 2011

Air temperature: 23 degrees

Water temperature: 15 degrees

Maximum depth: 21.9 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 42 minutes

Common long beaked dolphins on the surface

Dive sites: Wonder Reef

I think Wonder Reef (or Wonderful Reef) used to be considered separate from the Castor Rock reef. Survey work by the indefatigable Peter Southwood has revealed that it is in fact connected to Castor Rock by a thin neck of rocks. If you look at this map of the area, Wonder Reef is to the south of the Castor Rock area, in the top left hand corner of the map.

Blue gas flame nudibranch with feather stars

Blue gas flame nudibranch with cerata visible

We dived this site with Kate and Andrew, who was doing a photography dive for his Advanced course. The water was very green – the colour of an Appletiser bottle and in some of the pictures I took it looks distinctly like a night dive – but I had fun getting some close-up pictures of the very lush and colourful reef life.

The rocks are covered with anemones, feather stars, sea cucumbers, and nudibranchs. I also found an huge octopus – I don’t often spot them anywhere other than Long Beach!

Kate was my buddy, and I kept thinking I’d lost her when in fact she was swimming just above me, looking over my shoulder at the things illuminated by my flash. On the way up, Tony and I were visited by a sea jelly. This picture shows you how dirty the surface layer is – it was taken at the safety stop.

Dive date: 2 May 2011

Air temperature: 21 degrees

Water temperature: 13 degrees

Maximum depth: 16.8 metres

Visibility: 5 metres

Dive duration: 38 minutes

Exploring: Ark Rock Boiler Wreck #3

We did two short exploration dives around Ark Rock on 21 March. The first was to a small wreck roughly east of the rock itself, and the second one was to check out a pair of boilers lying on the sand s short distance apart. There’s nothing else around except for some rocky reef, which Tony and I explored for a while after we were done with the boiler.

The boiler looks quite imposing – for the technicalities on fire boxes and things visit the Wikivoyage page for Ark Rock, but it’s solitary and impressive. There are no other bits of wreckage lying around. Most of the boiler is very overgrown, and we found a huge roman hiding in one of the holes in the boiler.

Front of the boiler with holes at the bottom

The rocky reef close to the boiler is covered with sea cucumbers, Stephens codium, brittle stars and feather stars.

Tony and I were fascinated with the sea pens sticking out of the sand, and I spent quite a while watching a warty pleurobranch trying to walk over a brittle star (who fought back).

Warty pleurobranch walking over a brittle star

We took a slow swim around the reef and back to the boiler and the shot line, which was on the sand nearby. The water was very green, but the visibility was fairly respectable!

Dive date: 21 March 2011

Air temperature: 25 degrees

Water temperature: degrees

Maximum depth: 16.4 metres

Visibility: 6 metres

Dive duration: 21 minutes

Dive sites: Castor Rock

Tony had three students who needed to finish their course, so we took them to Castor Rock. This is a large granite reef, a short distance from Long Beach in Simon’s Town where we were fetched by the boat. It’s just on the other side of the spectacular Roman Rock lighthouse.

Like Partridge Point, the Castor Rock area is a large maze of scattered boulders and pinnacles. Different marine life can be seen depending on the depth. This makes for an interesting dive from start to finish, because you can do your safety stop next to a shallow portion of the reef.

Sea cucumbers, urchins, anemones, sea squirts and feather stars

There are the usual sea cucumbers, urchins, feather stars and sea stars, but this site seems to be a particular haven for handsome striped pyjama sharks and catsharks. We saw six or eight pyjama sharks, some sleeping in crevices and others swimming around. A night light sea jelly greeted us as we started the dive, and bright orange sea fans are abundant.

The place is also nudibranch paradise – I found silvertip nudibranchs the size of hotdogs, and there were also gas flame nudibranchs in abundance.

Silvertip and gas flame nudibranchs at Castor Rock

The visibility was good, but the water in False Bay is still very green. We’re looking forward to winter diving!

Dive date: 2 April 2011

Air temperature: 24 degrees

Water temperature: 14 degrees

Maximum depth: 21.1 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 30 minutes

Dive sites: Partridge Point

The first boat dive I ever did, and my first dive after my Open Water course, was to Partridge Point, where we cruised around Seal Rock and enjoyed the antics of the local inhabitants. It was on that dive that I met Fritz (“Borrels”) and Justin the Silver Fox, who was Divemastering. Here’s a picture Fritz took of me that time, with a chubby seal above my head. Look ma, no gloves! And did I mention how irritating snorkels can be?

My fifth dive, at Seal Rock near Partridge Point

I’ve dived the site twice since, the most recent time being on 6 February. We’ve had a couple of months of totally awful visibility in False Bay, but a little bit of north westerly wind and some big swells cleaned out the bay in record time and we were able to have a beautiful weekend’s diving. This time, when Tony told Cecil we’d be going to Partridge Point and that we’d probably see seals, Cecil said matter of factly, “Sharks eat seals.” Fortunately the great whites prefer to hang about near Seal Island in the middle of False Bay!

The Partridge Point reef system is extensive, and new areas are constantly being mapped. The most recent addition to the site (it was always there, but has only recently been discovered!) is Peter’s Pinnacles, named after Peter Southwood of wikitravel fame.

Grant dropped us on a pinnacle that rises to within 12 metres of the surface, and we descended on the shot line. The site is made up of an extensive scattering of granite boulders and rocky outcrops, separated with sandy strips that look very much like staircases or runways. Dropping down close to the sand at one point to photograph a four-legged starfish, I was delighted to discover that the area I was hovering above was covered with tiny striped brittle stars.

Stripy brittle stars on the sand at Partridge Point

The site is incredibly diverse and teeming with brilliantly coloured life, including large numbers of sea cucumbers (surprise!) and sea urchins. Giant gorgonian sea fans inhabited by sponge crabs (resembling nothing so much as coconut-dipped vetkoek) wave gently in the surge, in orange, red and every shade in between.

And it is nudibranch paradise. I took a personal census of every single nudibranch on the part of the site we traversed – mainly gas flames and black nudibranchs – and felt it my duty to photograph every single specimen. I never, ever get tired of these creatures. They are so extravagantly beautiful!

There are also sea anemones in bright, bright red and orange, gregarious white ones with curly tentacles, and elegant feather stars in abundance.

We saw a number of very frisky dark and puffadder shysharks, zipping around with a sense of purpose we never see in their relatives at Long Beach. We usually see them on the sand at Long Beach, and I was surprised, seeing one lying on a rock, at how well camouflaged he was.

We weren’t particulary close to Seal Rock, but we were visited by three or four friendly seals who probably heard us from a mile away and came to investigate. They swam around us, checked us out thoroughly – I must say looking a seal in the eye at 20 metres as he circles me like a puppy is enough to put me in a good mood for a week – and returned once or twice for a further look. They are so graceful in the water, and have such large, soulful eyes and cute little ears sticking out at 90 degrees from their heads, that I just want to cuddle them. But I’ve seen their teeth, and know that this is a bad idea!

Towards the top of some of the pinnacles is the red bait zone, with sea squirts of prodigious size surrounded by feeding hottentot. While we were doing our slow ascent we looked up into the sunlit, shallow water above the rock closest to us, to see a cloud of fish swimming slowly around the top of the pinnacle.

Dive date: 6 February 2011

Air temperature: 26 degrees

Water temperature: 8 degrees

Maximum depth: 21.9 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 38 minutes

The Partridge Point site is inside the Castle Rocks restricted zone in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area (MPA), and for many years no fishing has been allowed there. I like to think that the sheer profusion of life we observed is a result of this – MPAs can work, if they’re administered properly and the permit money we pay as scuba divers is put to good use enforcing conservation policies, instead of buying BMWs for government stooges.