SATS General Botha

Understand

This site is considered one of the more interesting wreck dives of False Bay, and the depth appeals to the more adventurous divers.

Position S34°13.679’ E018°38.290’ 1 SATS General Botha wreck(Estimated midships) Approximately 15.2 km from Millers Point slipway bearing 113° magnetic. 19.8 km from False Bay Yacht Club and 21.6 km from Gordon’s Bay harbour. This is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.

Name The HMS Thames, an 1886 built River-Class cruiser (sister ship to the “Forth”, “Mersey” and “Severn”), was purchased from the Royal Navy by the philanthropist T.B. Davies in 1920 and donated to the South African Government as a training ship for seafarers. The vessel was renamed the South African Training Ship (SATS) General Botha, in memory of the first premier of the Union of South Africa, General Louis Botha, who had died in 1919.

The General Botha was scuttled by gunfire from the Scala Battery in Simon’s Town on 13th May 1947

Depth Maximum depth is 54 m on the sand, the top of the hull is at about 47 m.

Topography and structure The wreck lies on a sand bottom listing about 15° to port. The bow of the wreck faces approximately south west, with the centreline on an axis of approximately 236° magnetic. The hull is substantially intact from the ram bow to some metres abaft amidships, approximately level with the aft gun sponsons. Behind this the upper part of the structure is broken up and it is hard to see what is under the jumble of wreckage. The davits on the port side are still intact, and the tubular steel fore-mast lies on the sand to the port side at right angles to the hull just aft of the forward davits There is some sort of crosstree arrangement part way along the mast. The plating of the upper deck and upper topsides has wasted aft of the mast but the frames retain the shape of the vessel in this area (about a third of the length of the ship). There are small projections from the topside plating where the wing turrets we

Getting there

Only accessible as a boat dive. This site is a similar distance from Simon's Town jetty, Gordon's Bay Old Harbour, Kalk Bay or Miller's Point slipway, and it is a matter of convenience which is used.

See

Marine life

Features A steel wreck of historical interest. The marine life is not particularly abundant on the wreck, but this allows a better view of the structure, which is quite spectacular if conditions are good.

Photography This is a spectacular site in good visibility, which is not frequent. Wide angle for scenic shots, and powerful external lighting or strobes, as it is almost always quite dark. If you prefer macro photography, you will probably be better off at a shallower site. Check that your camera gear is rated for the depth, many housings are only rated to 40 m.

Routes No particular routes are recommended. The bow area is less broken up and better known. Much will depend on where the shot line is placed, as the wreck is large and your time will be limited.