Our oceans are in trouble!

I came across this video on YouTube and just wanted to share it with you.

This video was made for WPCA by world renowned cinematographer Bob Talbot. It reminds us that we only have one ocean and that it is in trouble. Although 90% of the worlds biggest fish are gone, we need to try to do what ever we can to save what we still have left. What we do today will determine the state of the ocean our children and their children will inherit.

Warning - some visuals are quite disturbing.

Chicken Vests are Not for Chickens!

I can’t believe how many scuba divers living in and around Cape Town do not dive in the waters of the Cape!

Hello! Do you know what you are missing?!


“It’s too cold!” is the most frequent excuse I’m given. “I only dive in the Red Sea / Mozambique / Mauritius…” And I use the word “excuse” because that’s all it is!

“It’s just too cold” doesn’t hang it with me. Sure, you can’t dive comfortably here in a shorty or a 3 mm wetsuit - and you’d probably feel a lot more comfortable wearing gloves and booties but c’mon guys (and girls!) - there are 7mm wetsuits, with 7mm jackets you can wear over them (that’s a total of 14mm!).

And if you get really cold, you can pop on a chicken vest (no, not something with feathers you borrow from the fancy dress hire place…. you know…. one of those thinner neoprene vests that comes with or without a hood). And for those who want to, there are semi-dries and dry suits…

Once you’re snugly inside your 7mm (with or without jacket), you pop on your booties (also great for climbing over rocks – which I wouldn’t recommend doing without booties anyhow!) and tootle over to the entry point. Here you put on your gloves and pull up your hood. On with your mask (and don’t forget Sasha, that stuff you’re supposed to put inside your mask to stop it from fogging up is called spit!) and your fins; inflate your BC, put your DV in your mouth and jump in when the swell surges up and gently washes you away from your starting point. Voilá! You’re in and about to experience something really quite special – diving in the Cape.

I am sure a lot of it is “all in the mind” too… if you expect to be cold, you probably will be. If you know you’re not diving in 28˚ water, and are prepared for that initial rush when your face hits the water and goes from air temperature of 30˚ to sea temperature of 14˚C or 18˚C, it really is not a big deal at all! It’s only momentary!

As soon as you descend and start finning, you are entranced and surrounded by a surreal world filled with colourful marine life. The thought of getting cold just does not enter your mind as you glide between the kelp fronds watching the life underwater pass you by, cosy in your neoprene! There is so much to see that getting cold doesn’t come into the equation.

Funnily enough, the coldest I have ever been was in Tofo (Mozambique) in January this year when the water was an extraordinary 18˚C (instead of its usual 26˚ - 28˚) and all I’d packed was a 5mm shorty….

As long as you are prepared and have the right equipment, diving in the Cape is one of the most exciting, awesome and beautiful experiences.

PS - and when someone your size offers to lend you their chicken vest, don’t expect to be handed a bunch of feathers – accept it gracefully, it’ll keep you even warmer!