visible shipwrecks – Page 4 – Learn to Dive Today Blog

Cape Town’s visible shipwrecks: SS Kakapo

Update (December 2017): The increasing frequency of muggings by armed men in the vicinity of the Kakapo (sometimes hiding inside the wreck) means that you should only visit the wreck in a large group, on a weekend, preferably accompanied by dogs, and – unfortunately – with the expectation of trouble. When the management of Table Mountain National Park finally realises that their mandate requires action on this matter, rather than focusing on just collecting entrance fees to the park and fining the vicious criminal dog walkers who don’t have activity cards, I’ll tone down this warning.

The wreck of the Kakapo on Long Beach, Noordhoek

The Kakapo is not a shipwreck that you can dive on; it’s actually one that you can explore with your non-diving buddies, and even with your dog. No special qualifications are required to do a wreck penetration here.

On an evening in late May 1900, during a northwesterly gale with rain and thick mist, it seems that the captain mistook Chapmans Peak for Cape Point (this was before the days of the Slangkop Lighthouse), and swung hard a-port, full steam ahead, as he rounded it. The ship was driven so far up the beach – which she hit at an impressive speed of nine and a half knots – that banks of sand rose on each side of the hull.

There’s some confusion as to exactly why the incident took place. Apparently the fog was so bad that the officers on watch couldn’t see past the bow of the ship from the wheelhouse; the ship’s compass was also rumoured to be faulty. The page in the ship’s logbook corresponding to 25 May 1900 mysteriously vanished, so the truth remains unknown.

The wreck of the Kakapo on Noordhoek Beach

The ribs of the ship sticking out of the sand

One side of the rusted hull, and the boiler

Tony at what remains of the stern of the vessel

Regardless of the reason for the presence of this particular shipwreck, I find the story hilarious (although I’m sure there were some red faces all round), and since I love shipwrecks this is one of my favourite places in Cape Town. You can either park in the beach parking area just below Chapmans Peak and walk several kilometres down Long Beach, Noordhoek, or you can go via Kommetjie, which is a lot shorter.

This is a wonderful walk for a summer evening, or a picnic spot for a warm weekend. It’s far enough away from everything that you can feel as though you have the place totally to yourself.

These photographs were taken in early 2010; the sand moves about and at some times more or less of the ship may be exposed.

If you’re interested in visible shipwrecks, check out my ebook Cape Town’s Visible Shipwrecks: A Guide for Explorers!

Seli 1 update for 2011

The Seli 1 ran aground off Bloubergstrand in September 2009. Because we love shipwrecks, Tony and I visit her fairly regularly (and the Milky Lane across the road).

Here’s an update on her status, in pictorial form. As far as news goes, it’s thin on the ground. It was reported in March 2011 that the wreck would be strategically weakened through the detonation of explosives in order to expedite its demolition by winter storms. It’s expected that by the end of next year the wreck will be no more. Let’s wait and see!

When we visited the wreck last night, we could see holes all the way through the bow, where the sea washes through. The stern is now so low in the water that – in the massive swell we are experiencing this week – it is completely awash at times. There are still cranes on the wreck and the sandbanks around it are making surfers and kite surfers very happy indeed.

Seli 1 on 22 August 2011 (taken with iPhone, hence indifferent quality!)

Underwater Explorers has dived around the wreck already, this past summer. Looking forward to checking it out myself, as soon as the southeaster starts up again in earnest.

If you’re interested in visible shipwrecks, check out my ebook Cape Town’s Visible Shipwrecks: A Guide for Explorers!

Dive sites: SS Clan Stuart

If you’ve ever driven to Simon’s Town along the False Bay coastal road, you’ll have passed the wreck of the SS Clan Stuart on your left. The engine block sticks out of the water at low tide, and only the highest spring tides come close to covering it. The steamer ran aground during a summer gale in late 1914 after dragging her anchor. She was carrying a cargo of coal, all of which was salvaged I think.

Tony getting the gear ready before the dive

The site is quite exposed, and will never boast 20 metre visibility, but on a good day with a calm sea, low swell and the correct prevailing wind direction you can be very lucky (as we were)! The entry is quite hard work. The one we usually use is to park on the roadside outside the old oil refinery and naval graveyard, and kit up there. Walk across the road, climb the low brick wall and find a route down the dunes to the railway line. Take care as the railway line is now in use. Cross the tracks and use the large cement walkway/staircase to get down to the beach. The last step is high – I found it easier to go left over the big boulders on the way down, but on the way up this is too difficult.

Tony films fish under the boiler (his light on the right)

Once on the beach, you can walk to opposite the engine block. The wreck runs nearly parallel with the shore about 40 metres in each direction from the engine block, so you’ll actually hit it almost certainly, wherever you get in. Watch out for the wave on the beach – sometimes it looks small, but with scuba kit on your back you’re heavy and unstable and in a big swell you can get nicely tumbled. Make sure your BCD is inflated before you brave the breakers – you might even want to go so far as to put your regulator in your mouth before you set out. As soon as you are through the waves, put your fins on and swim out into deeper water away from the surf zone. Don’t mess around here – it can spoil (or prematurely terminate) your dive!

The Clan Stuart was made of iron, and although she’s very broken up, much of her remains. The remains of boilers can be seen next to the engine block, and the ribs of the ship are clearly visible as you swim along her length. There are ragged bits of metal decking, and some bollards are clearly visible on the edges of the wreckage.

Blacktail seabream schooling above the wreck

There is a lot to see here – beautiful invertebrate life – abalone, mussels, sea cucumbers, nudibranchs, worms – schools of fish (we saw blacktail seabream), shysharks, and of course the pleasure of swimming the length of a shipwreck! There are also ridges of sandstone to explore, and kelp covers parts of the wreck. Particularly around the engine block, the growth is very dense.

This is a good site for night dives, and seals are often spotted here which is very entertaining. The entry and exit can be a bit of hard work, but it’s well worth it and the depth (maximim 9 metres at high tide) makes it very suitable for training dives.

Kate with the buoy line in top to bottom visibility

Dive date: 22 May 2011

Air temperature: 20 degrees

Water temperature: 14 degrees

Maximum depth: 7.6 metres

Visibility: 10 metres

Dive duration: 48 minutes

Dive sites: BOS 400… from the surface

The BOS 400 was a giant floating crane of the Derrick/Lay barge type, used for pipe laying. She was under tow by the Russian tug Tigr when the tow rope snapped in a north easterly gale in June 1994. The 12,000 ton crane, which had now engines of her own (she was a barge) ran aground on the rocks at the southern corner of Maori Bay just outside Hout Bay, home of two other wrecks: the SS Maori and the SS Oakburn. (More on a recent dive we did on the SS Maori can be found here and here.)

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The BOS 400’s back was so badly broken and the seas so rough that salvage was impossible. All 14 crew were airlifted to safety. The crane was outfitted at great expense (worth $70-80 million US dollars) and as many of the fittings as possible were stripped before the vessel was condemned. If you like legalese, here’s a link to the findings in one of the several court cases that pertained to this vessel.

We survey the wreck from Grant's boat — We survey the wreck from Grant’s boat

BOS in fact (as far as I can determine) stands for Bouyges Offshore Services (either that or Board OffShore, a type of crane), but over the years the name of the crane seems to have been transmuted into Boss 400.

The part of the superstructure that protrudes above the water is incredibly impressive, but can only be seen from the sea or by hikers on the Karbonkelberg above Hout Bay – there are no roads in the vicinity. When we dived this wreck, our skipper Grant carefully drove us all the way around the back of the wreck into the channel against the mountainside. These photos were taken from that vantage point.

If you’re interested in visible shipwrecks, check out my ebook Cape Town’s Visible Shipwrecks: A Guide for Explorers!

Seli 1

The Turkish bulk carrier Seli 1 ran aground off Blouberg beach in about 8 metres of water in September 2009. It caught on fire in June 2010, and during the time it’s been aground the cargo of coal has been removed to be sold. Tony and I love shipwrecks, and we have periodically visited the beach to check on the condition of the wreck. Here’s a series of photos showing its progressive deterioration and the consequences of the removal of the cargo and superstructure.

If you’re interested in visible shipwrecks, check out my ebook Cape Town’s Visible Shipwrecks: A Guide for Explorers!