October
30.10. 2013
We had torrential rains for a couple of days and wind and more wind. No chance to get out for almost a full week now. At least the rain has stopped. Maybe tomorrow it will be better but definitely from Friday the weather is looking good again. Just in time too because we are getting busy in November.
26.10. 2013
Another windy day, who would have guessed !?! 20 knots North East 3m swells and a launch which demands good skills. Our new boat Twilight proves itself once again as the best and safest boat for these kind of conditions.
We started the day on the Northern Pinnacle of Protea Banks with a Baited Shark Dive. The divers got up close and personal with 5 black tip sharks and 1 bull shark.
Visibility a good 15m, 2kn current and 21C water temperature . It took us our whole surface interval to plough back all the way we drifted on the first dive. Second dive we wanted to see some hammerhead sharks but had to be contend with a giant guitar shark and three black tips on the Southern Pinnacle of Protea Banks.
We know that the hammers are there and tomorrow we just keep looking for the buggers….
20.10. 2013
Windy day today but we managed to get out in a 20 kn North Easter. Visibility was refreshingly nice at almost 20 m water temperature still a chilly 20°C. But who cares if you got a dry suit !!
We saw 6 Giant Guitar Sharks on the Southern Pinnacle of Protea Banks. Unfortunately the toothy ones took a break from Protea Banks.
17.10. 2013
Bad weather the last two days kept us out of the water. We did quite a number of dives lately but struggled with the visibility. Protea Banks remains murky with about ten meters vis. No matter which side the wind blows from…
On the northern Pinnacle of Protea Banks we had some nice dives with bull shark, lots of Hammerheads and the ever present Black Tip Shark. Raggies seem to be gone for the season…??
As the hammerhead season is gaining momentum and should be in full swing by November, we hold thumbs that the sea conditions normalise soon and we will once again have our famous good visibility.
13.10. 2013
From 1.November there is a scheduled flight from Johannesburg to Margate every Friday and Sunday.
During peak season from 9.12. to 12.1. 2014 there will be a daily flight.
Departure time is 15h00 from OR Tambo
Cost per flight is R. 1499 one way
Luggage allowance is 20kg. Overweight R. 25 per kg ( not too bad )
The big advantage is you don’t need to drive at night if you arrive late and you save at least 2 hours driving time from Durban airport to Margate.
Cars can be rented at Margate Airport through all major rental companies. Remember to book your car from your country of origin in order to qualify for unlimited mileage.
Bookings : tickets@cemair.co.za or www.cemair.co.za
12.10. 2013
A good day’s diving today. The visibility improved from yesterday’s 4m to a pleasant 15m on the Northern Pinnacle of Protea Banks. We got checked out by a busy Zambezi Shark, saw 2 Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks and about 4 Black Tip Sharks when coming up. The caves were unfortunately empty. The Sandtiger Sharks/Ragged Tooth Sharks which normally frequent these cave during this time of the year came about a month later than usual this year and disappeared some time ago. Normally the Raggies arrive end of April and leave end of November.
Second dive went to the Southern Pinnacle of Protea Banks. We saw 3 schools of Scalloped Hammerheads totalling an estimated 50 animals, most likely more.
On our way back we observed a playing Humpback Whale doing funny side flips. The animal suddenly swam towards our boat and did another one of it’s fancy side flips barely 5m away from the boat. We slammed the motors into reverse to avoid any further dealings with this animal…..just in time too…..
Life at sea is just so exciting.
6.10. 2013
Lazy Sunday today in Shelly Beach, South Africa. We have a strong wind and lousy weather. Perfect for a day in bed…
Yesterday we dived the Northern Pinnacles of Protea Banks and the Southern Pinnacles of Protea Banks. No Ragged Tooth sharks in the caves at the moment. The visibility was really low with barely five meters. And yet we dropped right into a huge school of Barracudas mixed with Hammerheads. Good start. Shortly afterwards we had a Great Hammerhead coming past, followed by two nice schools of Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks. Right on the bottom of Sandshark Gulley I could see a number of Giant Guitarsharks. And on our way up to the safety stop we had Black Tips darting in and out of vision. Crazy dive if one imagines all those sharks in such low visibility….Protea Banks never disappoints…..
3.10. 2013
Great Hammerhead, Zambezi, 2 schools of Scalloped Hammerheads today on the Southern Pinnacle of Protea Banks. No more Raggies in the caves. I wonder if they have gone for this year already ? We shall see.
Shark Diving on Protea Banks was pretty tough this windy week. We have lost a couple of dives to windy conditions and the trips we managed to do were done in quite rough sea conditions. One could call this Extreme Diving. It is fun too and for many unforgettable.
1.10. 2013
Rough day today. The wind was supposed to blow properly today but when we arrived at the base it wasn’t too bad. So we decided to do a Baited Shark Dive, especially because we didn’t see sharks yesterday. On our way to Protea Banks the wind picked up and life became pretty tough out there. The divers were rewarded with 5 black tips and 1 zambezi. Visibility a much better 12m. Me, the skipper didn’t get any reward but huge swells. On our way back we saw whales everywhere. Two humpbacks jumped in tandem twice not far from our boat. What an unbelievable sight !! All were glad when we reached land again…..