Hi all.

The Jacob's Baai trip is now only two weeks away. Book your dives and accomodation asap. See below for all the details.

JACOB’S BAAI trip
 Dive trip dates: Friday 20 November to Sunday 22 November. We plan to launch on both Saturday and Sunday, with Friday set aside for chilling out. We will however be staying over on the Friday and Saturday evenings.Accommodation: We have rented a huge house in Jacob’s Baai and still have space available for those that do not want to drive up each day. The cost is R200 per diver per night. The house overlooks the launch site and has great views….and a pool table! Book asap to secure your spot. To get to the house proceed northbound through Table View on the R27. After crossing Blauuwberg 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, whereafter 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, turn left and stay on the tar. Take your first road right and follow it down towards the sea, taking your first road right again to the house. Call me if you get lost.
Launch site: Jacob’s Baai slipway.
Launch times: 8h00 (both days) – unless you stay at the house, arrive 30-45 mins before the launch - allow additional time for traveling. 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), together with conducting some general wreck exploration dives on several other wreck sites in the area. Although we cannot guarantee that we will find them, be part of the team that potentially can discover new dive sites. Also remember however that in terms of legislation, no artifacts may be removed on wrecks older than 60 years (which is all the wrecks that we aim to dive on), so bring your cameras!! No salvage will be permitted.Nature of the dives: The general diving depths will also range from 10msw to approximately 25msw. We plan to do a least two dives, with possibly even a third. 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.
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 (including the day trippers).
Equipment / air fills: Remember that there are NO COMPRESSOR facilities at Jacob’s Baai, nor can equipment be rented there, so it would be best 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 R60 per cylinder. Call me to book it. Should the demand arise, I will however take my compressor.
Cost: The cost is R300 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.
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 west coast may be fickle, worst case scenario we end up having a lekker weekend away. Don’t delay, book ASAP!

Jacobsbaai 2009

Our next west coast trip is planned for the 20th - 22nd of November 2009 to Jacobsbaai. All the details will follow soon. Make sure you don't miss out on this one. 

DASSEN ISLAND REPORT

Although a slight NW had been pushing for a day or two, the Atlantic was exceptionally flat and clean and even at 05h00 on Thursday morning, the sea was looking good. We accordingly all assembled at Ysterfontein and quickly prepared the boat.

We soon arrived at the island and set our sites on our first target. It was an exposed reef and we were hoping that some ships had gone bump in the night there... The reef looked promising, but after 30 mins of exploring, we had nothing to show, except an old lobster pot :)

We then moved closer inshore and started our second dive. Within two minutes of the descent we came across wreckage and a few minutes later encountered the main portion of the wreck - this was the SS WALLARAH. She was a British steamer of 3505 tons that was owned by the Lund's Blue Anchor Line and that had come to grief at Dassen Island on the morning of the 1st of August 1891 whilst on her maiden voyage from London to Melbourne, Australia.

For a vessel that is 108 years old she was actually in remarkable condition and there was plenty to see -from the massive prop shaft, all the way down to belt buckles, cutlery and furnace bricks. What an awesome priviledge to have dived on such a great historic wreck, and on national Heritage Day, none the less!!

The third and final dive was on the MFV Southern Author, a South African whale catcher that was wrecked on the island on the 13th of June 1961. Although a modern wreck, there was also lots to see, although the highlight must have been the huge propellor and the cave behind the wreck, inside of which the stern bollards of the vessel were laying.

The conditions generally at Dassen were great (8m viz, 16C temperature, minimal surge) and we were truly priviledged to have managed to get all three dives in. As a result of the success of this trip, we have decided not to wait until the next scheduled trip to Dassen (planned for Feb 2010) before we return, so keep watching this space for details of our next trip..........