Casual diving Cape Town
Casual diving Cape Town » Shipwreck diving
Shipwreck scuba diving
In the year 1488, the first European ship sailed around the Cape Peninsula, under the command of Bartolomeu Dias.After being blown of course by a storm, he named the Cape the "Cape of Storms" - and that name has reverberated through the ages, as around 800 ships have sunk around Cape Town!
For almost 400 years, up to the opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt, the route around the Cape has been the most important and viable one between the east and the west. This has left Cape Town with a rich collection of different shipwrecks. These wrecks include wrecks from 37 different nations, including wrecks from the Portuguese, the Dutch, English, and French East India Companies, the British Royal Navy, Oil tankers, 19th century passenger liners, WW1 and WW2, and the list goes on!
This leaves us with plenty of shipwrecks to explore! Recreational casual diving has never been so much fun...
Below are just some of the wrecks that we dive on in Cape Town.
The Maori
Max depth: 21 metres
Type: Boat Dive
Season for diving: Summer
Lying just off Houtbay, the Maori sank on August 5, 1909. Hailed by the famous Jaques Cousteau as one of the best preserved shipwrecks of its age, it is a journey back in time as you find porcelain pieces over a hundred years old lying next to train tracks on the bottom, next to the wreck. A cold dive, but definitely worth it.
The SAS Pietermaritzburg:
Max depth: 22 metres
Type: Boat Dive
Season for diving: Mostly winter, sometimes summer.
Formerly known as the HMS Pelorus, she was one of the ships leading the assault on Normandy on D-day, making her a truly historical gem. Bought by the South African Navy and scuttled in 1994, she makes for a great dive.
The Antipolis
Max depth: 10 meters
Type: Shore Dive
Season for diving: Summer
The Antipolis used to be an oil tanker, and in 1977 she was being towed to the east, after being sold as scrap metal.
Caught in a Cape storm, the cable she was being towed with broke, and she ran aground close to where the Twelve Apostles Hotel is today.
She has been cut down to the water level by a salvage company, but she still makes for a good dive! The most favourite part of this ship is the pump room, which is still fairly intact, and allows for some good exploration.
Entry and exit from this dive site can be tricky, as the beach here consists out of big round rocks.
The Smitswinkel Bay wrecks
Max depth: 22 - 36 meters
Type: Boat Dive
Season for diving: Winter, sometimes summer
The wrecks of Smitswinkel Bay are amongst the most popular amongst scuba divers in Cape Town. Here lies 5 wrecks, scutlled to create an artificial reef. These wrecks are still in good condition and makes for great wreck diving.
The wrecks of Smitswinkel Bay are the:
- SAS Good Hope - a WW2 era frigate
- SAS Transvaal - a WW2 era frigate
- MFV Oratava - a fishing trawler
- MFV Princess Elizabeth - a fishing trawler
- MV Rockeater - a coastal freighter
The Aster
Max depth: 28 meters
Type: Boat dive
Best season for diving: Summer
The Aster was a 27m long fishing vessel. She was made diver-friendly before being scuttled as an artificial reef in 1997, by cutting openings into the structure. She is sitting upright at the bottom, and has a long mast on top. A very interesting dive!
casual diving information
Shore dives : R 200 per dive
Boat Dives : R 300 per dive
Gear hire : R 380 per day (full set)
Shore dives are done 7 days a week
*Please note that diving might be cancelled in the event of adverse weather
.