Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Dome Rock

The dive site Dome Rock reef is an offshore rocky reef in the Simon's Bay area of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Position

 * S34&deg;11.119' E18&deg;27.776' &mdash; (16m pinnacle)

This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required. The site is almost entirely within the Boulders Restricted Zone of the Cape Peninsula Marine Protected Area

Name
The site was named "Dome Rock" by the first diver known to have dived there, who reported a large domed pinnacle.

Depth
Maximum depth is about 25 m on the surrounding sand, and the top of the pinnacle is about 16 m. (Average depth for a dive is likely to be about 22 m.)

Visibility
Visibility is likely to be similar to the nearby reefs, but may be a bit better than the shallower areas if there is a significant swell.

Topography
The site comprises two adjacent areas of reef. To the south there is a large outcrop of granite, rising from the sand bottom at about 24 m to a small pinnacle at about 16 m. This area of reef is about 60 m from east to west and about 40 m from north to south, with the pinnacle about central on the south edge. The northern section is similar in size, but relatively flat and quite close to the southern section across a sandy gap with scattered boulders. There are other outlying areas of low reef to the south and west that have not yet been surveyed, and no information is available about them.

Geology: Pre-cambrian granite of the Peninsula pluton, surrounded by fine quartz sand.

Conditions
The site is exposed to south easterly winds and waves, so should be dived in westerly winds. The site is reasonably protected from swells from the south west.

The site is usually at it's best in autumn, winter or spring, but there are also occasional opportunities in summer.

Get in
This reef is only accessible by boat. The site is about 3.2 km from Simon's Town jetty, or 4.6 km from Miller's Point slipway.

Marine life
The reef is typical for this region and depth range. There is the usual heavy encrustation of echinoderms, including feather stars, brittle stars and sea cucumbers, and a moderate number of sea fans, soft corals and anemones. There will probably be small shoals of hottentot seabream and a few other reef fish, like klipfish, fingerfins and Roman.

Photography
Macro photography is likely to produce good results on most dives.

Suggested Routes
No particular routes recommended, the main section of the reef is small enough to explore on a single dive, and there is only one significant pinnacle.

Hazards
No site-specific hazards known.

Skills
No special skills required.

Equipment
No special equipment required. A DSMB is recommended if you are likely to surface away from the shotline, and nitrox will probably allow a longer dive.

Nearby












Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Roman Rock 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