The camera I use most often is a Bonica Snapper HDDV 1080. It took me a while to come to terms with the camera (keeping it steady) but the camera is amazing and the picture quality is exceptional.
The dome port before modification
I have long been a fan of over/under or split shots but have had very little success with any of the cameras I have owned. This has been due to the lack of a dome port. I decided I would fit a dome port to the Bonica using one that I had purchased some years ago but never got to use due to the theft of the housing it was purchased for.
The housing with the wide angle lens attached
Using the Bonica wide angle lens I had the outer edge of the lens machined with a thread.
Wide angle lens with the adaptor screwed onThe adaptor screwed into the dome port
I then had the mounting tube for the dome port removed (it screws out) and had a boss turned with the same outer thread as the dome port mounting tube on the outside and the inside was machined with a thread matching the one on the outside of the wide angle lens.
The adaptor to connect wide angle lens and dome port
The machining was done by Brian Murray, a regular at False Bay Underwater Club who is brilliant at precision tasks like this one (although I had to beg him to do it – he doesn’t like working on camera gear)!
The wide angle lens screwed into the dome port
The wide angle lens now screws into the adaptor which in turn screws into the dome port. Each step is sealed with a O ring to keep the water out.
Top to bottom: wide angle lens, machined adaptor, dome port, lens hood
Due to the weight of the dome port I decided on a small support bracket underneath as I was concerned the dome port, if bumped, could snap off the nose of the housing. The support screws into the same mounting hole for the video light arm.
Diving, in my opinion, is one of the most rewarding sports on the planet. Breathing underwater, interacting with the myriad of creatures you can and do always encounter and the total tranquilty below the surface cannot be achieved easily in any other sport. If it is an adrenaline rush you need, diving can give you this too. Having raced cars, bikes and go-karts I know what an adrenaline rush does for you, but believe me an encounter with a whale shark, a pod of dolphins, a tiger shark, hammerheads or a great white shark give you a rush unlike anything else, so diving gives you the best of everything.
As with any sport or recreational activity diving has a few inherent risks. Besides regular maintenance of your gear, the air you breathe underwater must be clean and pure. A cylinder filled with contaminated air will harm you quickly and quietly. Unless you test each and every cylinder you breathe from with a sophisticated analyser for air quality you have no idea of how good your air is.
Charcoal, used felt pads, new pads, and drying agent
All dive centres have a strict policy on compressor maintenance and filter changes or services but occasionally you will have a fill from an operator who is not that scrupulous. You may also have a fill from a privately owned dive compressor and again the same regulations regarding maintenance apply. If you are unsure, ask the compressor operator for his certification card and the compressor service records. This is your right, it is you that is going to breathe that air. A rule of thumb for me is that if the owner dives and breathes that air then it is most likely safe, but if the owner is seldom breathing from the cylinders he supplies then there may be a risk.
Components (felt pads etc) from inside the filter tower
I often fill my own cylinders, for my students, divers and myself. I am a stickler for the quality of the air I want in my cylinders so I am careful of the places I will fill my cylinders and just as careful of the quality of the air I pump. Our compressor has a service interval of 15 hours and this is what is involved.
Bleed valve on filter tower
Bags of charcoal and drying agent
Exterior of the filter tower
The filter tower is made up of a few components. Felt pads between the water separator, charcoal and drying agent. The filter tower also has a bleed valve and bleeding the moisture off every few minutes helps in reducing the moisture the filter must remove. The compressed air passes through the water separator, a felt pad, a drying agent, another felt pad, charcoal, and finally another felt pad before it enters the cylinder. This ensures dry clean air is pumped into the dive cylinder.
Water separator inside the bottom of the filter tower
There are other considerations.
Air intake
The intake of air to the compressor needs to be clean so a particle filter on the intake pipe is important as is the location of this filter This prevents bugs, sand , dust and paper entering the compressor. The compressor we have has a petrol engine and the exhaust fumes must be kept away from the intake so it is important to position the intake upwind of the motor.
The top of the filter tower
The compressor runs on a synthetic oil that must be changed as often as the filter contents and the Honda engine also has service requirements. Spark plug change after 30 hours, air intake every 15 hours and an engine oil change every 15 hours. The whip or filling hose needs a cap to keep the threads clean and the opening free from contaminants.
A record of the fills done must be maintained and the correct procedure followed. This includes recording the last viz date, owners detail, ending pressure and blend if it is a Nitrox cylinder.
Finally, to operate a compressor requires a certification and in South Africa this must be a course approved by the department of manpower. The CMAS compressor operator course offered by False Bay Underwater Club fullfils these requirements.
Last weekend surprised us with some nice visibility (about six metres) at Long Beach for the Advanced navigation dive on Saturday, and then some equally pleasant visibility in False Bay for two boat dives that we managed to squeeze onto on Monday. The first was a deep dive for an Advanced course, where we went to 30 metres on the SAS Good Hope, and the second was a fun dive that Clare and I were lucky to do with some False Bay Underwater Club members.
Gas flame nudibranch on the SAS Good Hope
This weekend the weather may deliver the same as last weekend making it hard to decide to launch the boat until the last minute.
Tony checking out a boiler near Ark Rock
Weekend diving
This weekend Grant is uncertain as to whether we will be able to go out on the boat. At this stage unfortunately it looks as though we’ll only be able to do one dive on the Saturday morning, for the Deep Specialty course, to 40 metres. And that’s if we’re lucky. If we can’t get on the boat, we will be doing a deep dive in Blue Rock Quarry in Somerset West for the Deep Specialty course. This isn’t ideal, but we have had so much bad weather that we just have to get going!
A diver exploring the Eastern Ark Rock wreck
Sunday looks as though it might be decent for Long Beach, so we will plan to finish the Advanced course then, with a search and recovery dive, and start the new Open Water students. If you’d like to tag along for a fun dive at a very familiar spot, let me know…
We have done very little diving this past week, lousy weather and lots of wind.
Dive planning
This weekend I am hoping to do boat dives one day (probably Saturday, weather dependent), and shore dives with students on the other day. Let me know if you’d like to tag along on either and I’ll keep you in the loop.
Boat dives
Please note that prices for boat dives are going up as of 1 March (today) from R180 per person per dive to R210. If you want to buy a ten boat dive package you can do so directly from Grant at BlueFlash for R1600. A one-off boat dive directly from Grant is R250.
Obviously if you’re doing a boat dive as part of your course, you don’t need to pay.
Chamber dives
We have one or two spots left for the chamber dive, which is taking place on Tuesday 8 March at 5.30pm in Rondebosch. This is going to be a very entertaining (and hopefully educational) experience and I’d recommend you join us if you can. Email or call me if you’re interested.
You don’t need a medical certificate if you plan to do this dive – just an Open Water (minimum) qualification.
Wreck diving talk
On Wednesday evening (2 March) there’s a talk on shipwrecks (diveable ones) of the West Coast, given by Alistair Downing of Underwater Explorers (the diver who described his experience of being bent to Clare for a blog post on DAN membership that I mentioned two newsletters ago).
It’s happening at False Bay Underwater Club which meets just down the road from where I live in Kenilworth. This is a nice opportunity to meet some of the FBUC members (many of whom you will recognise from diving on the boat), to see what it’s like to be part of a dive club, and to learn something new and interesting.
If you’d like to attend, let me know and you can meet at our house at 7.20pm and follow us down the road from there. The talk should be over by 9pm unless things get really out of hand.
There’s no charge except the price of one drink at the bar to support the club!
Dive Site magazine
Those of you who haven’t signed up for the Dive Site magazine at www.thedivesite.co.za should do so – it’s a FREE quarterly magazine of outstanding quality (far better than the ones that actually cost you money) along with a super weekly newsletter (and I am not just saying that because I was featured in the last one!). In the next issue of the magazine will be an article about the discovery of the SS Cape Matapan, the wreck opposite Cape Town Stadium that some of you dived with me last month (with mixed success!)
Those of you who haven’t signed up for the Dive Site magazine at www.thedivesite.co.za should do so – it’s a FREE quarterly magazine of outstanding quality (far better than the ones that actually cost you money) along with a super weekly newsletter (and I am not just saying that because I was featured in the last one!). In the next issue of the magazine will be an article by our trusty boat skipper Grant about the discovery of the SS Cape Matapan, the wreck opposite Cape Town Stadium that some of you dived with me last month (with mixed success!)
Desirous of doing a deep dive for three students busy with their Advanced course, Tony, the students, Tami, Goot and I set off on Saturday 22 January, bright and early from Oceana Powerboat Club near the Waterfront. The southeaster was strong, and the boat ride was a hoot – sitting on the plushy bench at the back of the boat, I was soundly drenched by the freezing waves as we hurtled down the coast. I had forgotten to eat any ginger snaps for seasickness, but the wind on my face and the splashing waves made the boat ride a pleasure, and even when we stopped, rocking, I think the wind helped a lot with nausea.
Tony (back to camera) doing deep skills with students
Our planned destination was North Paw, to explore a part of the site that hasn’t been mapped yet. Unfortunately when we got there the surface conditions were atrocious and it was decided to move further towards the shore to see if the sea was calmer there. An investigation of the rocks at the north end of Camps Bay beach revealed flatter seas, but visibility of not more than two metres. Personally, I will accept cold water, or poor visibility, but not both.
Mark doing his deep skills
We were heading back to OPBC for breakfast, but as we passed the section of coast opposite Cape Town Stadium it was decided to dive the SS Cape Matapan, located thereabouts. The surface conditions were still pretty rubbish, but when Mauro got in to check the props of the boat after a small barney with a rock, he came back reporting that the props were fine and the visibility was stunning.
Warty pleurobranch with exposed gill
The Cape Matapan was a steam-powered fishing trawler that sank after a collision with another ship in dense fog in 1960. The location of the wreck was not known (apart from the information that it is about 30 minutes from Table Bay harbour under slow speed) until last year, when some False Bay Underwater Club veterans searched for it and located it off the Atlantic seaboard.
Flat ocean bottom around the wreck
The wreck is very broken up on a flat bottom. I loved being within view of the Sea Point promenade, and then sinking beneath the waves to see what’s there. Goot compared it to the moon, and he was right – the visibility was good (15 metres or so) and we could see for ages around us. Nothing except the ship’s boiler stands up from the ocean floor.
Wreckage of the Cape Matapan
There was a very strong current down there, the sort that you don’t want to even try to fight against, so we drifted with it. We didn’t get to the boiler (events intervened while most of us still had lots of air – boo!) but we saw bits of metal plating and twisted wreckage here and there as we motored along. Tami and I were delighted with an entire field of golden sea cucumbers sticking up from the sand (of which there isn’t much). We didn’t see any fish, but the ocean floor was echinoderm paradise. It was a beautiful dive.
Golden sea cucumbers near the Cape Matapan
The dive site is on the edge of the shipping lane serving the harbour in Cape Town, so we all had SMBs (didn’t get time to deploy those!) and Grant was on high alert when we surfaced. Seeing giant container ships in the distance reminded me that if we were to get in the path of one of them, with a draught of 10 metres or more, we’d be toast. We didn’t want to get separated as a group, either, because of the current.
Brittle stars and sea cucumbers next to a block of cheese (coraline algae on a rock!)
Tony was doing his first Cape Town drysuit dive, trying it out. His initial report is good, and you’ll hear more from him on the subject. Here’s a dodgy photo of him in his snug getup. I was particularly jealous of the body-shaped sleeping bag/drysuit pyjamas (neither of those being the correct technical term) that one wears underneath. His had fetching purple stripes down the sides.
Tony and I recently attended the annual Christmas party of False Bay Underwater Club (FBUC), of which we are members. Tony was a member of the Durban Undersea Club while he stayed up north, but it’s my first experience of belonging to any sort of club (except, of course, for the Cape Town Girls Club, of which I was a founder member at the age of ten) – let alone a diving club.
There are numerous benefits – among them, cheap gear hire, free air fills on club days (Wednesday evenings), and access to courses at reduced rates. FBUC offers CMAS courses to its members and other interested parties, and Tony, Kate and I recently completed a compressor operator course there. The club periodically performs ocean cleanups (Simon’s Town yacht basin was their last one), and is involved in several social responsibility projects – for example, the gifts and baby supplies that we brought to the Christmas party are to be donated to the Beautiful Gate in Crossroads, which cares for babies, children and families in the community, many affected by HIV/AIDS.
FBUC Christmas tree
FBUC also holds weekly club dives – there’s a mailing list that informs members where to meet, what day (usually Sunday), and what time. Tony and I have not had a chance to explore any of the Oudekraalshoreentrysites yet, and that’s been on hold while we sort out a wetsuit for him that isn’t quite as highly ventilated as his current one, but we look forward to tagging along on some club dives to learn the shore entry dive sites we don’t know in Cape Town.
The thing we have been enjoying most, however, is the access that club membership gives us to the accumulated knowledge and experience of the other members. There are members who are photography gurus, those who manufacture their own gear and accessories, those who repair and service dive kit, mapping and dive site gurus, and experts on marinelife. It’s here that we got to check out Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPVs) first hand. (Tony immediately added one to his Christmas list… high hopes!)
Monty checking on the progress of the snoek on the braai
We’ve learned a huge amount just chatting to other members over a drink (or a fish braai) on a Wednesday evening at the club. It’s been lovely to meet interesting, like-minded people who love the ocean and exploration and are happy to discuss it.
Everything I’ve described regarding False Bay Underwater Club also applies – one way or another – to the other main diving club in Cape Town, Old Mutual Sub Aqua Club (OMSAC). We accompanied some of their members on a cleanup dive on Robben Island earlier this year.
It’s not particularly cheap to be a member of a dive club, but I think it’s been well worth it so far. Not so much for the gear hire and air fills – Tony has his own gear and requires air fills FAR more often than once a week – but for the other reasons I’ve mentioned.
Tony, Kate and I recently completed the theory portion of the CMAS (here’s the South African branch) compressor operator course at False Bay Underwater Club (FBUC). The theory component involved a 2 and a half hour lecture delivered by a CMAS instructor, and a written (no multiple choice!) exam. The manual was written by Peter Southwood, the local wikitravel guru.
Operating a compressor is reasonably simple: there’s a well-defined sequence of actions that need to be performed on start up and shut down, as well as constant monitoring of the compressor during the filling process. Some compressors require bleeding off of accumulated moisture and residual oil throughout the filling process. As long as one is circumspect regarding which cylinders one agrees to fill, it is a safe activity.
Turns out in South Africa (and elsewhere) compressor operation and standards are heavily regulated. Given that compressed air cylinders are used in a range of life-critical applications such as fire fighting and scuba diving, this makes good sense.
The practical portion of the course requires us each to perform 20 cylinder fills, including a number of compressor start ups and shut downs. This must be completed within a year of doing the theory component, and signed off. I expect that getting my hands on a compressor and actually doing the fills myself will clarify a lot of the questions I had, and bring those schematic diagrams in the notes to life!
