Diving at Bakoven Rock

The dive site Bakoven Rock is an inshore rocky reef in the Camp's Bay area on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

Aerial photograph of the dive site Bakoven Rock. (CDS&M)

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Understand

Entry gully at Bakoven NSRI station with Bakoven Rock in the background

Position

1 Bakoven Rock: S33°57.555’ E018°22.204’

This site is in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area since 2004. A permit is required.

Name

The site gets the name "Bakoven Rock" from the large rock which has a small dark recess on the inshore side which looks a bit like the door of an old wood-burning baking oven, like a wood-burning pizza oven.

Depth

Maximum depth on the sand is about 17 m

Topography

Big granite corestone outcrops and boulders with several overhangs and a few small caves. Bakoven Rock is large and extends a considerable height above the water and is a notable landmark. There is fine sand close in and in the cove, which may be lightly covered with brown deposits on the crests. Further out the sand is coarser, with long parallel wave ridges at about 17 m depth to the north. To the west and south is low reef. The jointing in the area is quite widely spaced, and there are also some deep gullies between high ridges running about north-south magnetic. A small cave formed by a boulder fallen into a large gully is to the south west of the big rock. Often some sand bottom is visible between the rocks. Surge can be strong. Spectacular in good visibility. The cove where the rescue boat is launched has a sand beach and shelves quite gradually. There is a fair amount of live kelp in the cove, which suggests a rocky bottom not far under the sand.

Geology: Granite boulders and bedrock of the late Pre-Cambrian Peninsula pluton, surrounded by white quartz sand.

Conditions

Warning sign for rescue boat traffic at Bakoven

Exposed to westerly swells. Best during or after south easterly winds, or at other times when the south westerly swell is low and short. The site is usually at it's best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities during autumn and early winter.

This is an area which sometimes has Sea Rescue boat launching and recovery, and the use of a surface marker buoy is compulsory to prevent divers from being accidentally cut up by the rescue boat.

Facilities

Parking space is very limited. There is a fresh water shower at the stairs to the beach.

Get in

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Boat dives

View of the site from the path. The entry point is the beach in the foreground. The accumulation of kelp on the beach is unusual. Bakoven Rock is in the middle background, about 290 m from the beach.

Usually done as a shore dive. Turn off Victoria road Camps Bay just North of the junction with Houghton road. Drive down Beta road, keeping left at the Y junction, Park at right side of road in the demarcated parking area. The paved path to the beach has steps and handrails. It starts at S33°57.643’ E018°22.421’ and ends at the beach. To the right of the bottom of the stairs is a fresh water shower and tap. You can enter and exit at the beach just in front of the concrete ramp for the rescue boat, or at any suitable point of your own choosing along the rocks to either side of the cove. The beach is very sheltered in any conditions that will be diveable.

See

Marine life

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#The marine ecology

There are kelp forests in the shallower areas, and a good variety of invertebrate reef life , particularly on the more sheltered vertical and overhanging faces.

• 
  Sponge and multicolour sea fan
• 
  Lacy false coral
• 
  Lacy false coral
• 
  Colonial ascidian
• 
  Noble corals
• 
  Nippled sea fan
• 
  Bobtail
• 
  Box jellyfish

Photography

The site is good for macro invertebrate photography.

Routes

Entry at beach, Swim out on the surface to the Bakoven Rock and dive where you like. If the surge is strong it may be more pleasant on the north side.

Stay safe

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Stay safe

Hazards

Cold water, Strong surge and breaking waves over exposed rocks. Sea urchins. Strong offshore winds may develop over a short time. Boat traffic risk, particularly from the rescue boat, which may be called out at any time.

Skills

No special skills required. Not recommended for training as there may be boat traffic. Ability to navigate by compass would be useful if an offshore wind picks up during the dive. This should be a good site for night dives, and is also good for snorkelling.

Equipment

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Equipment

A surface marker buoy is compulsory at this site as it is a launching area for the NSRI station 2 rescue boat, which may need to be deployed at short notice, and they need to know where any divers are in the area. A light is useful for looking into crevices and overhangs. A compass will help you to find your way back at the end of the dive.

Nearby

• 1 South Lion’s Paw
• 2 Clifton Rocks
• 3 Cleeve's Tunnel
• 4 Dreadlocks Reef
• 5 Geldkis Blinder
• 6 Strawberry Rocks
• 7 Geldkis
• 8 Het Huis te Kraaiestein
• 9 Boardroom pinnacle
• 10 Mushroom Pinnacle
• 11 Sandy Cove
• 12 Justin’s Caves
• 13 Antipolis
• 14 Klein Pannekoek
• 15 Groot Pannekoek
• 16 Coral Gardens
• 17 Coral Gardens Offshore Pinnacle

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Camps Bay area

Other regional dive sites:

• Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches
• Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east 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