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.
There is not much doubt that the best option for weekend diving activities will need to be from Oceana Powerboat Club in Granger Bay. The next two days of southeasterly wind should clean things up there after the really insane (almost 9 metre) swell that passed through last night.
The swell, if it lingers at 3 metres won’t be great so I will decide late on Saturday whether we launch or not. The water temperature is currently around 16 degrees so some cleaning by the wind is still required.
Octopus at the Two Oceans Aquarium
Diversnight
One more reminder to put Saturday 2 November in your diaries. The dive clubs are hosting this year, and it’s going to be a great event with lucky draw prizes, the works. Here’s the facebook event. Not sure what Diversnight is? Read this.
False Bay is currently a frothy mess from very strong south easterly winds today. The wind dies down for the next two days but I very much doubt the visibility will get better than a metre or two, so we have no dives planned. On the plus side, there are several days next week that look like decent diving days.
It is still winter – time for lots of swell, and sometimes odd wind directions. There is all of that this weekend, with too many “maybes” at play to make a diving plan. Hout Bay may work on Sunday but the same could be said for False Bay. I don’t think the odds are too good so we have nothing planned.
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.
Given the time of year, the large swells we are having are not all that unusual. Neither is the odd day or two of south easterly wind. Friday and Saturday feature both these gremlins, so conditions won’t really be great. Sunday’s forecast is a little rosier, however I doubt the visibility will have recovered and the surge will still be a lingering factor. This weekend my choice is to stay home.
The weather forecast predicts that we are soon to be lashed with 50 km/h winds, a 7 metre swell, and no small amount of rain. It seldom is as bad as the forecasts claim, however the swell size and direction will hammer False Bay. Despite Sunday’s weather looking peachy, I don’t think the ocean will be, so we will plan for a dry weekend… It is winter after all.
Shark Spotting at Fish Hoek beach
Shark Spotters supporters program
We are proud to announce that we have signed on as official supporters of Shark Spotters. We are Silver partners, and for larger businesses there are higher levels of support on offer. (We are hoping to encourage some of the other dive centres to consider supporting Shark Spotters, too…) Individuals can also sign on to the supporters program, or donate in many different ways.
We’ll write a blog post with more information soon – but in the mean time, we’re very happy to be contributing to the important work of Shark Spotters. If you’d like to as well, visit their website to find out how to lend your support, or drop me an email and I’ll connect you with the right people.
We have had extraordinary diving conditions in False Bay this past two weeks, with up to 20 metre visibility (and correspondingly chilly water) on some days. The conditions on Wednesday got a bit rough, and the wind and big swell that rolled in were a challenge.
But weekend conditions look very good. I won’t be launching, but if you do get a chance to dive, you should take it!
A submarine and Roman Rock in the distance
I listened in awe to the radio chatter on Wednesday while the NSRI searched for two small boats, calling on their boats from Gordons Bay, Hout Bay and Simons Town, and even helicopter support. Read all about it here.
The weekend is filled with neither fantastic nor terrible conditions – there’s some wind, a little swell, and very little sun. I plan to launch from Simon’s Town jetty, on Sunday, once I have seen Saturday’s sea state. Want to dive? You know what to do.
The weekend forecast looks really spectacular… If you are a surfer. A nice six metre swell rolls in on a 15 second period, meaning the big wave surfers are busy waxing their boards as we speak.
I think that Friday, Saturday and Sunday should offer a few really good photo opportunities at Dungeons as well as Sunset Reef. The wind will be a factor so I will most likely launch on Friday and Sunday. Let me know if you want to hitch a ride.
