ShoalDiverSA
Contributor
This weekend I returned from a two week holiday with my family in Cape Town. In the rush to prepare for the trip, I shot off some emails to Monty Guest, a contact I had made on RebreatherWorld forum. He confirmed that it was worthwhile to bring my dive gear along, although I really did not need much convincing! 
Monty invited me to attend the Wednesday club evening at the False Bay Underwater Club (FBUC). I met a lot of new faces, including Monty himself. Its funny how we get used to avatars and screen-names. Meeting the real people is always an interesting experience.
There was a great atmosphere at the club as preparations were made for the coming weekends dives. Monty was running CMAS lectures at the time, so the rest of us just chatted about diving, family and so on. They were a really engaging, interesting and fun group of people. It felt like home.
I discovered in the week before leaving for Cape Town that Monty had passed his DIR-F certification. A mentor at last! I was really excited to go through my equipment and configuration with him to get tips, advice and reprimands (as required). I have really worked through changing my gear configuration based upon how much sense the changes made to me. I have not come across many divers in Durban that deviate from the standard recreational setup, so the process of changing has been rather nerve-wracking.
After the lectures, Monty went through my gear with me and gave me a host of great information and suggestions which I am still in the process of implementing! It was great having someone to discuss this with face-to-face.
I booked two boat dives for the Sunday. These dives would be launching from Hout Bay harbour, with the shore-entry dives based in Oudekraal, which is further North up the Western seaboard of the Cape Peninsula. These dives would also be on the colder side of the Peninsula. I snorkelled on the Thursday at Boulders Beach (on the warmer side) and realised that my two-piece 5mm wetsuit was not going to make the grade! I found a local dive shop and school that rented out gear (Orca Industries) and rented a two-piece 7mm wetsuit with integrated hoodie. Much better for this banana boy.
We had been faced with gale force winds for the first two days of our holiday, so I was not too keen on our chances of reasonable weather for the dives. Fortunately, I was completely wrong (as usual, when it comes to predicting weather).
Sunday dawned completely windless and sunny. I packed my gear and departed from Milnerton to Hout Bay. Upon my arrival, the harbour was already crawling with divers kitting up, chatting and drinking coffee. I kitted up and loaded my gear onto the boat. One of the club members, Adriaan, kindly lent me his gloves, so I would hopefully not be getting cold fingers. I also finally met one of the SB regulars, AndyT, after we realised that we had missed each other at the club evening! Its a great privilege to meet people in person that you have gotten to know via SB. I have always been pleasantly surprised by the calibre of people that hang out here.
The boat was launched with minimum fuss and moored to the jetty. I say launched because I am so used to the dramatic entries that we experience on the Shoal. This was most civilised by comparison. Everyone climbed in and after a (most impressive) briefing on the location of safety equipment on the boat by the skipper Grant (of Blue Flash), we were off.
The bonus of launching from Hout Bay Harbour is that we got four free visits to Seal Island included in the deal! We watched the seals frolicking and performing for us on each pass. The outward journey also earned the newbie (thats me) a short lecture on diving in the vicinity of seals. In the back of my mind the seals = Great Whites equation was ticking around. :11: But I had been assured that a chance encounter was unlikely
We arrived at the first dive site, Star Walls. Grant briefed us on the topography, maximum depth, recommended route and conditions. Buddy pairs were confirmed (this had already been discussed on dry land), then we started kitting up. My buddy for both dives was Pierre Niehaus, the Vice Chairman of FBUC. He took me under his wing for the duration of the dives, which was very reassuring. This cold water was going to be a challenge, and having local expertise would definitely help.
We splashed in as buddy pairs/groups which was also different to the diving I was used to. No Dive Leader/DM, no SMB/reel combo. Just buddy pairs with deploy buoys for the end of the dive.
The feeling of the water flash-freezing my face, hands and feet is indescribable. The water temperature was 10 degrees Celcius! :11: I immediately questioned my sanity (for the umpteenth time that week). We signalled OK and descended. Our plan was to drop to 30m and ascend up the wall to the minimum depth of 6m and our safety stop. We stopped at 30m and I was faced with an awesome wall of rock. Huge boulders lay tumbled on top of each other like giants marbles. It was truly awe-inspiring! I had prepared myself for fairly unimpressive diving versus the warm, tropical diving we have, but I was mistaken. The underwater beauty (and the water temperature) was breath-taking.
We finned through a huge swimthrough between some boulders, then back around to the wall. The multicoloured anemones, urchins, soft-corals, seaweeds and the kelp forests swaying overhead truly enraptured me. I could never have imagined so many colours in one place. The juvenile West Coast Lobster (crayfish) also had me fascinated. We zigzagged up the wall, stopping at interesting items for Pierre to take photos. I found myself within a few centimetres of the wall, peering into gaps and crevices. Every eyeful was rewarded with some more colour and a new something to see. Species of nudibranch that I had never seen before were to be found every now and again. I saw none of the locals that are a familiar sighting in the warmer waters. Much to my amazement, there was really too much to take in on this dive.
Colour...
...colour...
...colour...
... and even MORE colour
The intricate beauty of a Basket Star
We had gradually worked our way up to 6m and got there just in time to begin our safety stop. It was a unique experience being able to continue enjoying the site while on the safety stop I am used to being in midwater. This dive was a fantastic experience. After 48 minutes in the water, I knew I was cold, but a lot less than I had expected. The neoprene (and my natural insulation) seemed to have done its work well
On this dive, I had also completed my first dive with a longhose and bungee necklace setup. It worked as advertised. No muss, no fuss, no strangulation. I hooked the excess hose under my knife, and did not have to worry any further. I had to take care, though, that the primary was stowed and the necklace off before dekitting, to avoid garrotting myself!
Having fun, but struggling to rustle up a convincing smile!
After a longer-than-comfortable surface wait while other divers were loaded, we got our turn. We hightailed it back to the harbour and I said a silent prayer of thanks for my colleague that had recommended that I take a flask of piping hot coffee along for the day of diving.
Once back at the harbour, we collected our gear and moved to the second set of cylinders. We returned to the boat after our SIT and some rearrangement of passengers (late cancellations, banged heads, head- and ear-aches).
Continued below...
Monty invited me to attend the Wednesday club evening at the False Bay Underwater Club (FBUC). I met a lot of new faces, including Monty himself. Its funny how we get used to avatars and screen-names. Meeting the real people is always an interesting experience.
There was a great atmosphere at the club as preparations were made for the coming weekends dives. Monty was running CMAS lectures at the time, so the rest of us just chatted about diving, family and so on. They were a really engaging, interesting and fun group of people. It felt like home.
I discovered in the week before leaving for Cape Town that Monty had passed his DIR-F certification. A mentor at last! I was really excited to go through my equipment and configuration with him to get tips, advice and reprimands (as required). I have really worked through changing my gear configuration based upon how much sense the changes made to me. I have not come across many divers in Durban that deviate from the standard recreational setup, so the process of changing has been rather nerve-wracking.
After the lectures, Monty went through my gear with me and gave me a host of great information and suggestions which I am still in the process of implementing! It was great having someone to discuss this with face-to-face.
I booked two boat dives for the Sunday. These dives would be launching from Hout Bay harbour, with the shore-entry dives based in Oudekraal, which is further North up the Western seaboard of the Cape Peninsula. These dives would also be on the colder side of the Peninsula. I snorkelled on the Thursday at Boulders Beach (on the warmer side) and realised that my two-piece 5mm wetsuit was not going to make the grade! I found a local dive shop and school that rented out gear (Orca Industries) and rented a two-piece 7mm wetsuit with integrated hoodie. Much better for this banana boy.
We had been faced with gale force winds for the first two days of our holiday, so I was not too keen on our chances of reasonable weather for the dives. Fortunately, I was completely wrong (as usual, when it comes to predicting weather).
Sunday dawned completely windless and sunny. I packed my gear and departed from Milnerton to Hout Bay. Upon my arrival, the harbour was already crawling with divers kitting up, chatting and drinking coffee. I kitted up and loaded my gear onto the boat. One of the club members, Adriaan, kindly lent me his gloves, so I would hopefully not be getting cold fingers. I also finally met one of the SB regulars, AndyT, after we realised that we had missed each other at the club evening! Its a great privilege to meet people in person that you have gotten to know via SB. I have always been pleasantly surprised by the calibre of people that hang out here.
The boat was launched with minimum fuss and moored to the jetty. I say launched because I am so used to the dramatic entries that we experience on the Shoal. This was most civilised by comparison. Everyone climbed in and after a (most impressive) briefing on the location of safety equipment on the boat by the skipper Grant (of Blue Flash), we were off.
The bonus of launching from Hout Bay Harbour is that we got four free visits to Seal Island included in the deal! We watched the seals frolicking and performing for us on each pass. The outward journey also earned the newbie (thats me) a short lecture on diving in the vicinity of seals. In the back of my mind the seals = Great Whites equation was ticking around. :11: But I had been assured that a chance encounter was unlikely
We arrived at the first dive site, Star Walls. Grant briefed us on the topography, maximum depth, recommended route and conditions. Buddy pairs were confirmed (this had already been discussed on dry land), then we started kitting up. My buddy for both dives was Pierre Niehaus, the Vice Chairman of FBUC. He took me under his wing for the duration of the dives, which was very reassuring. This cold water was going to be a challenge, and having local expertise would definitely help.
We splashed in as buddy pairs/groups which was also different to the diving I was used to. No Dive Leader/DM, no SMB/reel combo. Just buddy pairs with deploy buoys for the end of the dive.
The feeling of the water flash-freezing my face, hands and feet is indescribable. The water temperature was 10 degrees Celcius! :11: I immediately questioned my sanity (for the umpteenth time that week). We signalled OK and descended. Our plan was to drop to 30m and ascend up the wall to the minimum depth of 6m and our safety stop. We stopped at 30m and I was faced with an awesome wall of rock. Huge boulders lay tumbled on top of each other like giants marbles. It was truly awe-inspiring! I had prepared myself for fairly unimpressive diving versus the warm, tropical diving we have, but I was mistaken. The underwater beauty (and the water temperature) was breath-taking.
We finned through a huge swimthrough between some boulders, then back around to the wall. The multicoloured anemones, urchins, soft-corals, seaweeds and the kelp forests swaying overhead truly enraptured me. I could never have imagined so many colours in one place. The juvenile West Coast Lobster (crayfish) also had me fascinated. We zigzagged up the wall, stopping at interesting items for Pierre to take photos. I found myself within a few centimetres of the wall, peering into gaps and crevices. Every eyeful was rewarded with some more colour and a new something to see. Species of nudibranch that I had never seen before were to be found every now and again. I saw none of the locals that are a familiar sighting in the warmer waters. Much to my amazement, there was really too much to take in on this dive.
Colour...
...colour...
...colour...
... and even MORE colour
The intricate beauty of a Basket Star
We had gradually worked our way up to 6m and got there just in time to begin our safety stop. It was a unique experience being able to continue enjoying the site while on the safety stop I am used to being in midwater. This dive was a fantastic experience. After 48 minutes in the water, I knew I was cold, but a lot less than I had expected. The neoprene (and my natural insulation) seemed to have done its work well
On this dive, I had also completed my first dive with a longhose and bungee necklace setup. It worked as advertised. No muss, no fuss, no strangulation. I hooked the excess hose under my knife, and did not have to worry any further. I had to take care, though, that the primary was stowed and the necklace off before dekitting, to avoid garrotting myself!
Having fun, but struggling to rustle up a convincing smile!
After a longer-than-comfortable surface wait while other divers were loaded, we got our turn. We hightailed it back to the harbour and I said a silent prayer of thanks for my colleague that had recommended that I take a flask of piping hot coffee along for the day of diving.
Once back at the harbour, we collected our gear and moved to the second set of cylinders. We returned to the boat after our SIT and some rearrangement of passengers (late cancellations, banged heads, head- and ear-aches).
Continued below...
