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shoreline dive site south of Gordon's Bay on the False Bay east coast
Africa > Southern Africa > South Africa > Diving in South Africa > Diving the west coast of South Africa > Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay > Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Phil's Bay

The dive site Phil's Bay is a shoreline rocky reef in the Gordon's Bay area on the east side of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.


Understand

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

Position

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  • S34°11.199’ E018°49.133’ 1 Phil's Bay (anchorage)

This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.

Name

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The name "Phil's Bay" is named after Philip Faure a diving instructor in the area in the early 1990’s.

After his national service in the SA Navy as a Diver, he worked for Ocean Divers International, at the old harbour, before starting Faure Marine Services. Faure Marine Services provided private scuba diving instruction and commercial diving services.

He spend many years exploring the area with Tony Smit, another local dive instructor.

The reef is called Phil’s Reef, which is within Phil’s Bay. This was a favourite dive site of his.

Depth

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Maximum depth is about 14 m.

Visibility

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Visibility on a good day is likely to be 5 to 6 m, and is quite likely to be less. On a very good day it may be as much as 10 m.

Topography

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Sand bottom at about 14 m, then moderate relief reef of sandstone rocks and ridges with sandy gaps running more or less parallel to shoreline. Gets more rugged closer to shore, and remains deep quite close inshore.

Geology: Ordovician sandstones of the Table Mountain formation, and a sand bottom.

Conditions

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Best after south-easter, but swell must be low.

The site is exposed to swell and wind from the south west and to a lesser extent north west, so should be dived when the sout west component of the swell is low, and is likely to be good in or after south easterly winds. The site is usually at it's best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities in other seasons.

Get in

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

Boat dive. The site is about 5.0 km from Gordon's Bay harbour or 5.4 km Harbour Island.

Marine life

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

Rocks overgrown with the usual red bait in the shallower areas and feather stars in deeper places. Sponges and sea fans brighten up the scene, and a variety of smaller critters are there to be found.

Photography

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Macro photography is most likely to produce good results.

Routes

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No particular route recommended. There may be a slight current, so plan your dive to surface where you can get back to the boat.

Stay safe

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

Hazards

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No site specific hazards reported.

Skills

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No special skills required. Suitable for night dives if conditions are appropriate.

Equipment

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

No special equipment recommended.

Nearby

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Map
Phil's Bay and nearby dive sites

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Gordon's Bay area

Other regional dive sites:

This dive guide to Phil's Bay is a usable article. It has information on location and equipment as well as some complete entries on what to see. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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