Welcome to Underwater Explorers
We are a dive charter company operating in and around Cape Town, South Africa bringing you the best scuba diving that the Cape Of Good Hope has to offer. Join us for fun charters exploring the local Cape dive sites and waters further up the West and South Coasts.
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Jacobsbaai 2013
Dive trip dates: Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 January 2013.
Launch site: Jacob’s Baai main beach. To get there proceed northbound through Table View on the R27. After crossing Blaauwberg Road, continue for approximately 100 kms and you should then see the turn left to Langebaan with an Engen garage on your left. Don’t turn off, but continue straight for 5.5kms and turn left onto the R45 at the sign for Saldanha. Continue straight for 12 kms, where after you will encounter a 4 way stop. Continue straight across and after 7 km’s you will enter Jacob’s Baai. Where the tar road turns to gravel, keep right and follow the gravel. This will bring you to a restaurant and parking lot. The launch site is just before the restaurant.
Launch times: 8h00 (both days).Arrive 30-45 mins before the launch - allow additional time for traveling, unless of course you are staying in Jacobsbaai or surrounds. There will only be one launch per day, as it will be a two-tank dive.
What to expect: We will definitely dive the wreck of the Haddon Hall (see a brief report on her on our blog from a previous trip), together with conducting general wreck exploration on several other wreck sites in the area (like the SS Malmesbury, SS Lisboa and SS CIty of Hankow), as well as doing some wreck hunting on some 'new' wrecks. Remember that in terms of legislation, no artifacts may be removed on wrecks older than 60 years (which is most of the wrecks that we aim to dive on), so bring your cameras!! No salvage will be allowed.
Nature of the dives: The general diving depths will also range from 10msw to approximately 25msw. Remember again that all the dives are two-tank dives, so your second cylinder must accompany you on the boat. Also bring something to snack on between dives, as well as sun block and a hat.
Equipment / air fills: Remember that there are NO COMPRESSOR facilities at Jacob’s Baai, nor can equipment be rented there, so you need to arrange to take all necessary gear, but more specifically at least a cylinder for each dive, up with you for the day. We have limited cylinders for hire which are available at R80 per cylinder. Call me to book it.
Cost: The cost is R370 per diver per day, regardless of the number of dives you actually do. To get your money’s worth, it naturally makes sense to do at least two dives per day. All other costs are excluded and are for your own account, i.e. travel, equipment, air, food, accommodation etc.
Accommodation: There is limited space in the house we have rented. Contact me if you need accommodation.
Booking: We have already taken several bookings, but in light of the info supplied in this e-mail, can all those that provisionally booked kindly re-confirm exactly which days they wish to dive. Similarly the booking of cylinders will be on a first come first served basis.
Weather: All dives are naturally weather permitting and should the weather not permit us to dive, you will not be charged for the dive. Don’t delay, book ASAP!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
I hope that you all had a fantastic New Years Eve party and that 2013 is a great diving year for all of you.
Summer 2012 launches
We are launching the boat this weekend and are also planning launches over the next two weeks. Details will be posted here, sms'd to those on the sms list and also posted on our FB page, so if you are out of office and don't receive the newsletter, at least you know where to find the details.
Here's to a great summer holiday. Thanks to all our loyal clients for their support during 2012. We look forward to great diving adventures during 2013.
Merry xmas.
The team at Underwater Explorers
GEMSBOK DIVE: 2/12/2012
We had a great tech dive on the Gemsbok last weekend. Below find the dive report by our 'resident' visiting UK tech diver, Ed:
A UK Diver Diving The Gemsbok
This article is written for the benefit of my fellow members of the North Dorset Branch of the British Sub Aqua Club (“NDSAC”) and the clients of Underwater Explorers of Cape Town. It will therefore contain some information that will be obvious to one readership, but not obvious to the other readership.
We slew out of Heathrow on a cold Friday night landed 12 hours later in warm Saturday morning sunshine in Cape Town. Goodby winter, hallo summer. We pick up the hire car and drove to West Beach on the Atlantic coast side of Cape Town to meet my nephew Andy Friel and his family and in laws. Older members of NDSAC will recall that Andy trained to dive with the club.
On the appointed Sunday, Andy picked me up at 6.00am and we set off for the Oceania slipway to meet Alistair Downing. Al is an Advocate (= Lawyer in UK) specialising in Marine Law, but as a sideline he runs Underwater Explorers, a dive operation that mainly operates at weekends using his own RIB.
Diving in Cape Town is either shore diving or from RIBs (locally known as rubber ducks). No hard boats with cabins, kitchens, marine toilets and lifts on the back. However many of the dive sites are a relatively short boat ride from the slipways. Al is also equipped for a beach launch.
In UK waters dives are often only possible at slack water due to strong currents. In Cape Town waters the current is normally not a problem. Dives are not scheduled to the time of slack water, but to avoid the heat of the day and the wind which picks up as the day goes on. Hence the first dive of the day is normally 8.00am or before, as most dive sites can be dived at any state of the tide. It is also normally possible in Cape Town waters to ascending the shot line. In UK waters this is often not possible due to the strong currents. On some UK dive sites (eg the Kyarra) , you let go the SMB and hope it goes upwards and not sideways with the current.
Today we were scheduled to dive the Gemsbok, a tug that capsized and sank to 60m whilst moving a ship anchor, the anchor chain getting caught on the sea floor. The wreck is on the Atlantic side of the Cape where there is a cold antarctic current. Hence water temperatures are typically 12c on the surface and 10c at depth, similar to UK waters early in the season.
The divers were me (Ed), Graham, Andy and Al. Given the depth, we are all diving on trimix as a bottom gas. Andy and Al dive as one buddy pair with trimix filled manifolded 15L twin sets, trimix bailout and 100% oxygen stage bottle for decompression.
Graham and I have trimix for a bottom gas, O2 for decompression, but also a nitrox mix as a travel gas. My travel gas is 24% nitrox, which can also act as a bailout gas should I encounter a problem with my trimix.
Graham and I have similar trimix gas percentages and the same oxygen percentage, but different nitrox travel gas percentages. We also have different kit configuration, different dive computers (VR3 for me an Suunto Heliox for Graham), but the planning software shows that we will have completed our decompression within a few minutes of each other.
However without a nitrox travel gas, the software forecasts an extra 16 minutes decompression for Andy and Al. The reason is that you have to get off the helium in order to efficiently decompression from helium. Andy and Al do not get off the helium until they reach 6m. However their system plainly works and is plainly safe.
After a detailed discussion of the dive plan, we donned our dry suits, zipped up and left the slipway heading out to the dive site, with Table Mountain in the background and an relatively calm sea.
The plan was for Andy and Al to ensure the shot was on or near the wreck and to inflate the lifting bag (attached to the shot) before Graham and I arrived on the wreck 2 minutes later. Andy and Al were planning on 25 minutes bottom time. Graham and I were planning on 23 minutes bottom time. Hence the plan was for all 4 divers to ascend the shot line together.
We arrived at the GPS marks, found the wreck on the sounder and dropped the shot line. We kited up. In accordance with the dive plan, Andy and Al dropped over the side first. We watched them descend down the shot line. The RIB did a circle around the buoy and then Graham and I rolled over the side right by the buoy.
The water was green. The viz was poor at only approx 2m. Down the shot line we went hoping that we would drop below the green water. Suddenly we were in clear water - I didn’t note the depth, but it must have been near 30m. Instantly the viz went from 2m to 12m.
Graham was leading and I was following. I shone my torch down the shot line as I followed Graham, so he would know from the light that I was right behind him and was OK. The top of the wreck came into view 10m+ below with Andy and Al light’s off the side of the wreck by the shot.
I checked my depth as I approached the wreck to ensure I was still OK to use my 24% travel gas. Graham and I dropped onto the top of the wreck as Andy and Al finished sorting out the shot. I checked gas and switched to my 18/35 helium. There was no need to change the settings on the VR3, as it was already set to 18/35 helium (the difference in dive time is tiny and it cuts task loading at the bottom).
The wreck lies on her starboard side. All 4 divers then finned along towards the stern and inspected the prop. One prop has sunk into the sandy, but the other prop sticks up well above the seabed. We round the stern to inspect the stern deck area, including a lifting derrick and a small tractor (?) on the sea bed. I checked my gas - all OK.
We moved slowly forward to midships and entered the hull to inspect various bits. We finned towards the bow and through the masts. We arrived at what amounts to a very large 2 prong fork on the bow. Back to the top of the wreck (the port side), we had passed the 20 minute bottom time. Graham and I moved again towards the stern. As we approached the stern on 22 minutes, we noticed that Al and Andy had gone to the shot line and had started their ascent. As we finned towards the shot to join them, I noticed for the first time a current but not strong. We arrived at the shot line and I switched gas back on to my travel gas.
I had set the MOD of the 24% on the VR3 to 52m, so that the change in depth would act a trigger for a gas change on the VR3. The VR3 duly flashed and I pressed the buttons to confirm to the computer that I had change to my travel gas.
Graham and I has 2 minor mishaps on way up the shot. The VR3 and the Heliox have different depths for stops. I passed one of my stops by a meter or so and had to rapidly descend to ensure that the VR3 would not go into table mode.
Graham had a free flow on his travel gas, when he came to switch gas at the first deep stop. The consequence was that Graham had only just enough travel gas for his remaining stops before he switched onto 80% oxygen. However Graham still had plenty of back gas, which would have extended his decompression time, but meant that he could still surface in safety.
Al organises a safety diver for trimix dives. The safety diver meet us with a spare cylinder of trimix and oxygen. He checked that we were OK and stayed until all divers had safely switched onto oxygen. We were also met by a few seals darting around us in the green water.
Graham and I completed all our stops. My VR3 “fizzed out” first, but I normally add extra decompression time as a safety margin so I waited 5minutes with Graham until his Heliox had also “fizzed out”. We surfaced to a calm sea, gentle wind and cloud. Back on the RIB we drank juice and sucked out lollies whilst we waited for Andy and Al, who duly appeared approximately 15 minutes later.
As a dive it very largely “ran on rails” - we planed the dive and dive the plan.
Graham was an excellent buddy and I look forward to budding up with him on a tech diving in February. Thank to Graham, Andy and Al for a great well planned dive.
PATERNOSTER 23 - 25 NOVEMBER 2012
We are off tomorrow for our Paternoster trip.
A sms will be sent to all of you tomorrow afternoon that have booked onto the dives, confirming the launch status for the days planned diving.
There is also still space left in the house if you are keen to join us.
If you intend to catch some crayfish, just remember to bring your permit - max 4 per day....
DASSEN ISLAND: 18/19 NOVEMBER 2012
Our Dassen Island trip is happening this weekend. As conditions are variable at the moment, I will sms you all on Sat to confirm for Sunday. We aim to dive some of the shallower wrecks around the island like the Wallarah and the Southern Author. It will be a two-tank dive and the cost is R370 pp.
There are currently only 2 spaces left, so book asap.
BIRTHDAY BASH 2012 - LUCKY DRAW WINNER
Our Birthday Bash went well last weekend. Congratulations to Belinda Roux for winning the lucky draw prize of 10 FREE BOAT DIVES with Underwater Explorers. Enjoy :)
Underwater Explorers Birthday Bash 2012
After two weekends of it being postponed, it looks like we are finally getting our FREE Birthday Bash dives in this Sunday 4 November. We will be lauching from Hout Bay at 8h00 and 10h30.
Join us for the fun.......