Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Alpha Reef

The dive site Alpha Reef or Outer Spaniard Reef is an offshore rocky reef in the Rocklands Point area on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand


This is a compact reef of medium depth, and a pleasant dive. It is close to the slipway at Miller’s Point, but is not dived very often.

Position
This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required.
 * S34°12.987’ E018°28.184’ &mdash; (Highest point of reef) Bearing to Spaniard Rock 276°magnetic 250 m

Name
The site was previously known as "Outer Spaniard", due to its proximity to Spaniard Rock, but "Alpha Reef" seems to now be more common usage. This may be a reference to Alpha Dive Centre, who visited the site quite frequently at one time.

Depth
Maximum depth is about 15 m on the sand beyond the rocks. Average about 11 m. Top of the reef at about 2.5 m.

Visibility
Visibility will normally be similar to the visibility at Caravan Reef and the wreck of the Pietermaritzburg, but it can differ from deeper sites in the area, and could be significantly better or worse. Visibility has been known to be around 10 m at Alpha, and nearer 6&npsp;m at Omega at exactly the same time

Topography
The reef is an outcrop of granite corestones in two main sections divided by a sandy bottomed east to west gully. The bigger southern lobe extends to within 3m of the surface, and is also subdivided by a fairly deep gully running from east to west. The southern outcrop slopes up from the south steeply at first, then flattens out and slopes down into the gully, with a steep wall on both sides of the central ridge. The north section starts from the gully and slopes gradually up to the north to about 4m above the sand, then drops quite steeply to the sand. Both sections slope down to the east, where the north section tapers down to nothing. The west end has a few outlying outcrops of various sizes. The south section is about twice the area of the north section and has a deep transverse crack just east of the high point. The reef extends approximately 160m from east to west and about 95 m from north to south and is in a compact group, with few outliers. It has been reported (Zsilavecz 1998) that the reef continues inshore to Spaniard Rock, but there are some fairly large sandy gaps between rocks and it is not always possible to see from one to the next.

Geology: Granite of the late Pre-Cambrian Peninsula pluton

Conditions
The site is exposed to wind from all directions and waves from the south east and south west. The site will usually be at it's best in winter on days when the swell is low, but there are also occasional opportunities during the rest of the year. Conditions will probably be suitable if shore entry conditions are OK and there is no strong offshore wind. The return swim to shore could be a problem in a strong offshore wind (north west). If the south-easter is blowing there may be a slight current setting northwards, and the chop may make shore exit tricky.

Get in
Usually considered a boat dive. The site is 1.58 km from Miller's Point slipway at 011° magnetic or ?? km from Simon's Town jetty, but can be done as a shore dive from Rocklands Point. There is adequate parking on the gravel lay-bye on the seaward side of the main road M4, near the signpost warning against baboons. Access from the road to the shore is poor. There are several steep eroded paths, some worse than others. Choose the one that looks best on the day. All are slippery and steep, with loose gravel. If you have a large group it may be worth arranging a rope for safety, otherwise a walking stick or staff could be useful. It is quite a long swim out to the reef. (about 420 m).

See the site description for Spaniard Rock for more information on shore access.

Marine life
The reef has a zone of heavy red-bait at the top, with sparse Split fan kelp, and lower down is mostly covered by common feather stars with patches of Red chested and Mauve cucumbers, Striped anemones, and Strawberry anemones. The flatter deep sections have some fairly bare areas and quite a lot of urchins and black brittle stars. Also quite a few gorgonian sea fans in the deeper areas, many of which are partially or completely overgrown by other organisms.

Photography
(photographic equipment suggestions)

Routes
Either swim out on the surface to the reef of go by boat. Position is most easily fixed by GPS. Dive round the reef. After you have seen the reef, either return to the boat or swim back to shore on a compass course. You may wish to visit Spaniard Rock on the way back.

Hazards
No site specific hazards have been reported. Offshore wind may increase in strength significantly during the dive, making a surface return swim difficult. The path is steep and slippery, specially after rain, and usually in poor repair.

Skills
No special skills are required for boat dives. The site is suitable for relatively inexperienced divers. Ability to navigate by compass, and reasonable fitness and agility are required for a shore dive.

Equipment
No special equipment recommended for boat dives.

A compass is essential for shore dives to this site as there are sections where there are no reliable landmarks. A surface marker is recommended for warning boats of your presence during the long swim, and Nitrox may allow longer dive times without requiring decompression stops. It is theoretically possible to do the whole shore dive on Nitrox along the bottom, but carrying the required amount of gas down the hillside would be a major effort, never mind carrying the empty cylinders back up after the dive.

Nearby


Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Rocklands Point area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast


 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area