Moddergat

城市概覽

This is a dive site which is close to the slipway at Harbour Island, and deep enough that the visibility at the bottom may be significantly better than in the shallower water of the shoreline dive sites of Gordon's Bay. It was known as a good fishing spot for many years, though the big fish are now more of a memory. It is similar to the dive site at Drop Zone which is about 6 km further west.

Position S34°09.150 E018°49.650 1 Moddergat:– Nominal position. This does not appear to be critical as the reef is quite large and quite flat. This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.

Name The origin of the name is not clear. Moddergat means mudhole in Afrikaans, but there is no mud and it does not seem to be a hole, as the reef is higher than the surrounding sand bottom. There is a Moddergat river discharging into False Bay, but it is in Macassar, not near the dive site.

Depth Maximum depth is about 16 m at the sand edge to the north. It may be deeper to the south. The top of the reed is about 13 m. (Average depth is likely to be about 14 m.)

Visibility Visibility on the east side of False Bay is generally worse than on the Cape Peninsula, but Moddergat is just far enough offshore to be unaffected by most rain runoff and just deep enough to be relatively unaffected by swell, particularly as it is quite a large area without much silt. On the other hand, it will not have the advantage of upwelling clear water in an offshore wind and is exposed to the wind from all directions. Plankton blooms may reduce visibility in the upper layers while visibility at depth remains relatively good, though fairly dark. This can only be determined by diving. Visibility has been recorded up to about 10m, but will usually be less.

Topography Moderate and low profile rocky reef with fairly high rugosity on the decimetre scale. The ridges and gullies are generally small and broken up. There are few, if any, landmarks of note. Geology: Hard, resistant, sed

如何抵達

Boat access only, The site is a considerable distance offshore, and while it would be possible to find it with compass bearings, a GPS will be far more reliable. The site is about 2.9 km from Harbour Island slipway, or 3.3 km from Gordon's Bay Old Harbour.

必看景點

Marine life

There is a fairly diverse invertebrate reef cover, with moderate densities of feather stars and brittlestars, but very few sea cucumbers. Moderate numbers of gorgonian sea fans, and quite a large number of small sponges. Small shoals of reef fish such as Hottentot and Panga, Redfingers, gobies, klipfish and small shysharks. Quite a few species of nudibranchs have been observed and photographed here. The site was known as a fishing spot by boat anglers, but has probably been fished out. The general area is rumoured to be in the cruising range of White sharks, but there don't appear to be any confirmed sightings by divers.

Photography Macro equipment is most likely to get good results, as there are no spectacular features, and the visibility is likely to be limited. Artificial lighting recommended.

Suggested routes The site is large, and no one area is greatly different from the others. Explore if it suits you, but there is no particular reason to go very far from the shotline.