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Wednesday, 14 April 2010 20:01 |
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NEWS FLASH: Hi all. For this weekend I am unfortunately unable at this stage to advise you whether we will be launching or not, as it seems that the latest addition to our family has decided that he may decide to come a little sooner than expected. I should have some further news by tomorrow, so I will sms all those on the sms list on Saturday to let you know what the plan is for Sunday. |
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Thursday, 25 March 2010 19:28 |
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STRUIS BAAI 2010 TRIP REPORT: We left Cape Town with the boat en-tow at 5h30 on Friday morning. The weather looked good and it we were all set for a great long weekend away. We eventually arrived at Struis, dropped the boat off at the house and headed to a local restaurant for lunch. To our surprise they had a scheduled power cut, so this meant chilling our beers in a bucket of ice – what a better way to start the holiday….. Friday evening most of the divers arrived and we soon planned dives for the weekend. Saturday dives - We decided that our first dive would be a reef dive on 6 Mile Bank, a mere 20km boat trip from Struis harbour, followed by the wreck of the Wafra. By the time we got to 6 Mile Bank, the sea had picked up and it was quite choppy. We got the shot in, but by the time we did our backward roll, the ripping current had moved us away from the shot and we did a free descent. Viz was low for the first few meters, but at 15m it opened up and we had 10-15m viz at the bottom at 30m. It was unusually cold at 12C and the reef was quite small, but we all had a great dive. The second launch was to the Wafra. The current was still ripping, but we made it to the wreck and were greeted by great viz and loads of fish. The water was still cool, but the viz and fish life made up for it. Sunday dives – We woke up to a grim morning – it was raining, the sky was grey and the water looked ominous. We decided however to launch and see if we could get some shelter from Bull Dog Reef, as we had decided to dive the wreck of the Borderer for our first dive. 45 mins later we arrived at the dive site and got the shot in. Although the sea was choppy and the wind blowing, there was minimal current, which was a good sign….if only we knew! We descended and soon reality hit home – this was going to be a dark dive… Needless to say, at the bottom it was pitch black and even with a 35W HID, I only had about 2m viz. The shot was also off the wreck, so we aborted and decided to rather dive the Oriental Pioneer as a second dive. Given the sea state, it took us 1h05 to reach the Pioneer, and although it was very surgy, we got in and had several metres viz and again saw loads of fish. The weather forecast looked good for Monday, so more plans were hatched that evening….. Monday dives – The weather had improved dramatically overnight and Monday morning saw the sea looking the best we had seen it that weekend. As it was our last day, we decided to keep the dives shallow and hence headed out for the Wafra again, followed by the Pioneer. The first dive proved to be the absolute gem of the weekend, with the one group of divers seeing 3 raggies and a school of about 150 yellow tail (and yes, we have the video footage to prove it). The water had also warmed up to 20C and the viz was in the 10m range – Struis Baai was cooking. Our second dive to the Pioneer was also great, with huge schools of fish, however the viz was not as great as on the Wafra dive. We finished the weekend off on a high note and after having lunch, we all started the slow trek back to Cape Town. What a great weekend away it was. Thank you to all the divers that supported us and helped make it a special weekend. Our next dive trip will only be after the winter season, but watch this space for details. |
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 20:48 |
STRUIS BAAI trip
Dive trip dates: Friday 19 March to Monday 22 November. Remember that Monday is a public holiday!! We plan to launch on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with Friday set aside for chilling out. Due to the fairly unpredictable weather and the distance from Cape Town, my approach to boat bookings is fairly simplistic - the divers can provisionally book certain days and times, however once we are all there the sea conditions will finally dictate when and where we dive. I realise that it is not a perfect system and that some divers might feel that they might not get a dive in, however I have found it to work in the past and in any event there is normally enough space on the boat to follow this sort of approach. At the end of the day it must be about having fun and doing it safely, which is why I think this is the best method.Accommodation: We have rented two big houses in Struis which each sleeps about 6 - 10 persons. The cost is R150 per person per night. Divers can however book accommodation separately and are not forced to stay in either house. For those of you that want to stay with us, all accommodation bookings must be confirmed with payment in full before the 7th of March 2010. Remember, first come, first served - there is only limited space!! Re meals, it will all be self catering, whether you stay at the house or not and is also excluded from the cost of the accommodation. In the past some divers have formed small groups and catered that way, but once again it can de done whichever way you please. To get to the main house proceed along the N2 until you reach Caledon and turn off and follow the signs to Bredasdorp. Once in Bredasdorp follow the signs to Struis Baai. As you enter Struis Baai, continue straight on with the same road that you entered and follow it as it bends right and hugs the coast. It is the forth house on the right after the third stop street. We will be there from early on the Friday, although I know most of the divers that have already booked are traveling up after work on Friday. Call me if you get lost.Launch site: Struis Baai harbour Launch times: 8h00 (all three days) – Although we are planning several dives a day, there may only be one launch per day (if it is a two-tank dive), but this will be dependant on which sites we dive and will be decided the night before. Otherwise we will have two/three launches a day, departing at 8h00 and 10h30 (and if needed 13h00).What to expect: All dives are weather permitting, however we plan to dive at least twice a day. There will be some exploration dives (generally on reef), but we also plan to dive the wrecks of the Wafra, the Oriental Pioneer, the Borderer and possibly the Alcestis. Expected viz can range from 5m to 20m with a water temperature of about 20C. The depths will range from 10 - 40m, but due to the strong likelihood of strong currents, only Advanced divers will be permitted to dive. In addition thereto, as an absolute minimum, all buddy pairs are to have a reel/spool and delayed surface marker buoy. Computers are also highly recommended. Post dive: We will naturally head back to the house and wash kit there and generally relax there as well. At night we will braai and all are invited to join in, regardless of whether you stay with us or not.Equipment / air fills: We will be taking a portable compressor with us, so air will be available at the house. Cost of air fills to be paid for separately, otherwise bring multiple cylinders. No Nitrox will be available on site however, so blend before you go. The air is double filtered however, so your Nitrox cylinders are safe. We have limited cylinders for hire which are available at R60 per cylinder. Call me to book them.Cost: The cost is R180 per diver per dive. All other costs are excluded and are for your own account, i.e. travel, equipment, air, Nitrox, food, accommodation etc.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. The only fixed expense then will be the accommodation. Although the weather on the south coast may be fickle at times, worst case scenario we end up having a lekker weekend away. Don’t delay, book ASAP!General: As you can see I have taken a very easy approach to the dive trip by not arranging all segments of the holiday. These can be arranged should you so wish but experience has taught me that most divers like to plan most of the details themselves, with the result that we will basically be supplying the boat in Struis and all other costs are excluded and are for your own account, i.e travel, equipment, air, food, accommodation etc. See you all there - it promises to be a bumper weekend!!!! |
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Tuesday, 23 February 2010 16:49 |
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PATERNOSTER TRIP REPORT:
The wind was blowing a gale in Cape Town when we left for the west coast, and things were not looking good... We continued up the west coast road, only to be met with fog about half way there. Even by the time we arrived in Paternoster, the fog was thick, but at least there was no wind. We successfully beach launched and sped off on a flat sea to the SS Haleric, ever cautious of the thick fog. We were soon at the wreck and in the water, although we could see that the water was fairly dirty. This unfortunately did not get any better the deeper we were, however at the bottom we had about 3m viz. The shot had landed close to the bow and we initially headed off down towards the stern, with its massive rudder still in place. We then followed the prop shaft all the way forward to the two boilers and then continued on our way to the bow. The bow is still fairly intact and although we did not see one of the anchors still in place (unlike our last dive), we still got to see a huge mass of anchor chain that was all fused together. The water was a chilly 9C and after almost 40mins we were all pretty cold, so we headed up. Although the water was dark and gloomy, it was still a great dive. For our second dive we headed off to the SS Ismore. By this time however the wind had just started to pick up and we had patches of wind and patches of fog. The swell had also picked up a little, however the break on the blinder at the wreck site was still very diveable.We soon descended and were again met with very much the same sort of visibility as on our first dive, however it was a little better at around 4m and not as dark. Given the swell we decided to concentrate our dive on the stern section of the wreck, so as to avoid getting caught up on the blinder. At almost 8000 GRT the vessel has a massive prop shaft and we explored this until the edge of the wreck site, whereafter we turned and headed down towards the rudder. Her rudder is also very much intact and the size of the pintles and gudgeons are awesome, as they are really massive. The majority of her rudder blade has however been corroded with time.We did almost 50 mins on the wreck, but again temperature was getting the better of the divers and we surfaced. Again, a very enjoyable dive. By now the wind was really blowing and it was good to have it from behind on the way back to the beach. Here we beached the boat and with the help of our new electric winch on the 4x4, we soon had the boat on the trailer and back in the parking lot. Thanks to all those divers that made the effort of getting up to Paternoster. The trip was a great success. Our following dive trip (and final for this summer season), is on the 19th – 22nd of March 2010 in Struis Baai. All the details will follow soon, but do not miss this one, as it is always spectacular........ |
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