Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Sandy-top Ridge
Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Sandy-top Ridge
The dive site Sandy-top Ridge is an offshore rocky reef in the Whittle Rock area of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Understand
See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Understand
This is said to be a pleasant dive on a small but pretty reef, with enough area above 40 m to be worth diving on nitrox, and a fair amount of deeper reef along the sides.
Position
Sandy-top Ridge 📍 S34°15.153' E18°34.709'
Reef dive, boat access only. East of Whittle Rock and South of Bruce's Mark. A smallish granite outcrop rising from about 47 m on the sand to about 32 m deep at the flattish top, which has a sandy depression at the south end of the high reef. This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.
Name
The name "Sandy-topped Reef" is descriptive of the unusual sand patch in a depression on top of the reef, about 10 m above the surrounding sand.
Depth
Maximum depth is about (depth) m. and the top of the reef is about (depth) m. Quite a large area is above 35 m. Average depth of a dive is likely to be about 40 m.
Visibility
Topography
Geology: Pre-Cambrian granite of the Peninsula pluton.
Conditions
Get in
See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Boat dives
Boat access only. The site is about (distance)km from Simon's Town jetty, or (distance)km from Miller's Point
Do
Routes
See
Marine life
Photography
Stay safe
See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Stay safe
Hazards
No site-specific hazards known.
Skills
Equipment
See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Equipment
DSMB strongly recommended.
Nearby
Other offshore dive sites of False Bay:
Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of reef dive sites in the Whittle Rock and surrounds offshore area
Other regional dive sites: