Diving Report - Summer 2010

Summer diving in Cape Town waters this year has been extremely disappointing. What promised to be a great season just didn't happen.

We started off with some absolutely fantastic dives in Rooi Els from early to mid-December and although the South Easterly wind that usually brings clear water to the Western side of the Cape Peninsula and the Eastern side of False Bay blew for days on end, these more often than not coincided with huge swells (sometimes as high as 5m) coming in from the South and churning up the water. So, any good that the South Easter could have done was cancelled out by the big swells.

There was the odd day of exceptional diving when we had flat seas and visibility of up to 12 metres, but these did not occur as often as we are used to during summer. We even dived in Simon's Town (usually a winter diving spot!) in February. However, despite the somewhat poor visibility of around 5 – 8 metres on some dives, we had lots of fun, met loads of new divers and had some memorable moments.


Kate has made a few videos of some of our dives and you can watch all of them on YouTube. They'll give you an idea of what to expect whilst diving in Cape Town waters and who knows – you could be starring in one of our videos in the not too-distant future!

April is “change over” month when the South Easterly winds are replaced with North Westerlies. The diving moves to the Western side (Simon's Town) of False Bay and we have the opportunity to dive the exciting wrecks of Smitswinkel Bay, explore dive sites such as Batsata Maze, Outer Castle, Partridge Point by boat and experience the beautiful shore entry dives of Simon's Town, including our favourites A-Frame, Castle Rock and Quarry.

For those of you who have been following us out of interest but not yet learnt to scuba dive – we are running full time and part time Scuba Diver courses – starting every Monday. We also offer refresher courses for those of you who have not taken the plunge in a while and all the other NAUI courses from Advanced to Instructor. Our smaller groups mean that you will receive our undivided attention and care at all times.

So, if you haven't come diving with us yet – or have not yet done a scuba course, contact us today and Dive into Adventure with Indigo Scuba!

Overcoming pre-dive Anxiety

Many first-time divers feel apprehensive before a dive. Let’s face it - you are entering a world that you weren’t designed for!

When teaching Scuba Diver and Refresher courses, we often come across students who say that they feel claustrophobic... that they have problems breathing or that something feels wrong with their gear. With unrushed, patient instruction; more diving and carrying out the following important tasks, that nervous feeling will soon be replaced by one of excitement and eagerness for the next dive:

You must know how your equipment works. If you know that your gear is working fine, the less you have to worry about it during a dive.

If you have your own gear, make sure you know how it works. Your BC becomes part of your body when you are diving so try it on and play with all the bells and whistles until you don’t have to think where the dump valve toggles are – where the inflate and deflate buttons are on your inflator hose or where your clips are.

If you are renting equipment, make sure you check your gear out before it is stowed on the boat and before you make your way to the entry point when doing a shore dive. Connect everything and check the o-rings, breathe in and out of your regulator and octo, inflate and deflate your BC and check the dump valves. If there is anything wrong, it can be sorted out before the dive and before you hit the water. Do it yourself, even if the operator has done it too!

Do your buddy checks – make sure you and your buddy know each other’s gear.

Get to know your buddy! Practice your hand signals together – know (and agree on!) the signals for “OK”, "Going down", "Going up", "Something’s wrong (point to what’s wrong)", "How much air do you have left?", "I need air"... you can even make up your own if you like. We’ve noticed a couple that dives with us have an “I love you” signal which is very cute....

Ask questions and listen to your Dive Master / Instructor. NEVER be too embarrassed or too proud to ask questions. We are here to make every dive the best you ever had. If you feel we haven’t covered something, or if you forgot to listen (!!) ASK! Ask about the dive site, the entry, the exit, the depth, currents, anything you need to be aware of and (of course!) what you should look out for. And if you feel nervous, tell us. Rather be honest than try to hide your anxiety. DMs and Instructors have a sixth-sense and we’ll probably know you are feeling anxious before you do!

Do a Refresher Course if you haven’t dived for a while. Do this before you leave for that diving holiday to Mozambique. You will enjoy your diving far more if you have practiced your skills and feel confident that you know how to clear your mask, how to equalise, how to inflate and deflate your BC and how to get your buoyancy right before you hit that coral reef! You don’t want to be worrying about anything whilst you are watching those mantas gliding by, do you?

You must WANT to do the dive. You must feel happy to do the dive and the conditions that you will be diving in. If you are not keen to do the dive, then don’t do it. Rather skip a dive than do it and ask yourself miserably throughout the dive “why am I doing this?” only to never dive again! There will be plenty of other times to go diving.

At the end of the day, the more comfortable and relaxed you feel, the more you will enjoy your diving. Get to know your diving gear, your buddy, the dive site and the people you will be diving with and you will feel less nervous and more excited for every dive.

If you would like to be taught to dive by patient and caring instructors, or do a refresher course before you take that holiday of a lifetime, contact us today and we’ll make sure you become a safe and confident diver, able to enjoy every dive. We want you to enjoy scuba diving as much as we do!

All content (c) Indigo Scuba

Low Visibility Diving – A good reason to do your Advanced Scuba Diver’s Course!

You’ve mastered the basics of scuba diving during your Scuba Diver course and are qualified to dive to depths of 18 metres. You’ve done enough dives to feel comfortable in the water and are eager to experience more.

Now’s the time to do your Advanced Scuba Diver’s course! Whilst training to become an Advanced Scuba Diver you will be learn the required skills to enjoy even more exciting types of diving: wreck diving, night diving, deeper diving and diving in low visibility.

Being well trained in low visibility diving will enable you to feel comfortable in less than perfect conditions, increasing the number of opportunities for you to go diving.

During a low visibility dive, you will learn to appreciate the smaller things. You won’t be distracted by what is going on in the distance and you concentrate on what is close by. Once you start looking, you will see things you’ve never noticed before – beautifully coloured nudibranch hiding amongst the growth on rocks, tiny crabs, baby’s toes, beautiful sea anemones, colourful soft sponges, smaller fish hiding in crevasses – you just have to look and the beauty of the oceans opens up to you in a way you couldn’t imagine!

Diving in low visibility is relaxing. Take it slow – from your descent (descend feet first and watch your dive buddy so that you don’t lose sight of each other). As you spend more time concentrating on what’s in front of you – you’ll slow down and enjoy a more relaxed dive.

You’ll learn to become a better diver. You have to be more alert and make sure you know where your dive leader is and what your buddy is up to. You’ll also need to concentrate on your orientation and know how to use your compass correctly to ensure you are going in the right direction at all times. You won’t want to have to surface in an area where there is heavy boat traffic just to find out where you are... That’s where those navigation skills you learned during your Advanced Course come in handy! It’s also always advisable to dive a site you know well when the visibility is not great and to plan your dive and dive your plan!

You’ll also learn to become a better dive buddy. You’ll need to understand each other’s signals and will have to communicate more. When diving in low visibility conditions, it is important that buddies stick together – not swimming too far ahead when leading or too far behind if following. Who wants to call short a dive due to a lost buddy? Take a torch; use bright coloured fins or have reflective tape attached to your BC – it will make you more visible to your buddy.

Contact us today and book to do your Advanced Scuba Diver Course! An even greater world awaits you!

The Low Down on Cape Town Diving

The waters of Cape Town are rich in marine life and offer year round diving for scuba divers of every level and preference – from haunting wrecks steeped in cultural history to glittering kelp forests that play host to a myriad colourful creatures.

Cape Town diving takes place along the Western coast of the Cape Peninsula, referred to by the locals as “The Atlantic Side”; the Western side of False Bay (Simon’s Town area) and the Eastern side of False Bay (Gordon’s Bay to Rooi Els).

Although it is believed that the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet at Cape Point (they actually meet further East at Cape Aghulus), there is a distinct difference in temperature between the waters of the Western coast of the Peninsula and those of False Bay. This is due to the cold Benguela current which makes its way north from the Antarctic, up the West coast of Africa. The result is that the waters along the Western coast of the Peninsula have an average temperature of between 8 °C and 12 °C. False Bay is protected from the Benguela current and temperatures here range from 12 °C in winter to 19 °C in summer.

As the ocean temperatures influence the diving, so do the seasons and the winds that accompany them. In summer, the South Easterly winds bring clear waters to the Eastern side of False Bay and the Western coast of the Peninsula; and in winter it is typical for the North Easterly wind to blow, clearing up the waters on the Western side of False Bay.

Summer diving in the colder waters of the “Atlantic Side” is exhilarating and fascinating. There are a number of beautiful shore-entry dives as well as deeper reefs and historical wrecks that can be reached by dive boat leaving from Hout Bay harbour. The underwater topography is characterised by huge, rounded granite and sandstone boulders, often covered with kelp. These underwater wonderlands play host to prolific marine life, including colourful fields of purple, pink, orange and green sea urchins; brightly coloured sponges and soft corals. Fish such as Hottentot, Galjoen, Shy Sharks and Red Roman are plentiful on most dives, as is the opportunity to be accompanied by playful and inquisitive seals.

The Eastern side of False Bay offers fantastic boat and shore entry dives in summer. Dive sites along the craggy cliffs between Gordon’s Bay and Rooi Els reach a maximum depth of about 20 metres and a number are accessible from the shore. Deeper dives such as the magnificent Steenbras Deep, which reaches a depth of 30 metres, are located further from the shore and can be reached by boat. The reefs along this side of the bay are covered with kelp; red bait; colourful soft sponges; feather stars; orange, pink and purple noble coral; orange sea fans and many types of beautiful nudibranch. Fish life includes Twotone Fingerfin, Galjoen, Jutjaw, Puffadder Shy Shark and Klipvis. Gully Sharks and baby Ragged Tooth Sharks have also been spotted on dives at Rooi Els.

Winter diving in Cape Town takes place along the Western side of False Bay, from Glencairn, past Simon’s Town to the point of the Cape of Good Hope. Underwater topography comprises of huge rounded granite boulders and smaller sandstone boulders. Here we have the world-famous Smitswinkel Bay wrecks which lie at an average depth of 35 metres and are a collection of 5 ships that were scuttled by the Navy in the early 1970s to form an artificial reef. All wrecks can be reached by boat launching from Miller’s Point Slipway just South of Simon’s Town.

There are also a number of beautiful reefs which can be reached from the shore and boat. The reefs are adorned with colourful sponges; sea anemones; green, purple and orange short spine urchins; sea fans; fields of small orange sea cucumbers and brightly coloured nudibranch. Another dive site that is extremely exciting along this side of the coast is Pyramid Rock where divers have frequent sightings of Seven Gill cowsharks.

For comfortable diving, it is advisable to wear a 7mm wetsuit with a hoodie, booties and gloves.

The Cape Peninsula is a marine reserve and divers wishing to dive he Western Coast of the Cape Peninsula or the Western side of False Bay are required to obtain a diving permit before entering the water. Year-long permits can be purchased from local post offices and shorter-term permits are available from many of the dive operators.