Windmill Beach

城市概覽

This site has very easy and protected beach entry and a small cove with sandy bottom that is suitable for training exercises, while also having a varied topography, diverse ecology and large area.

Position 1 Windmill Beach: S34°12.06’ E018°27.40’ — About halfway between the point at Boulders and Oatlands Point. This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required. The site is entirely inside the Boulders Restricted Zone.

Name The origin of the name "Windmill Beach" is not known.

Depth Maximum depth is about 8 m on the sand bottom near the inshore reefs. The 10 m contour is about 300 m offshore.

Topography Sand bottom with large granite outcrops and boulders, some with very high relief, extending from flat sand to near or above the surface. Slowly shelving beaches. The north cove is very gradually sloping sand near the beach, but gets rocky near the mouth, where the depth gets down to about 3 to 4 m. In this area there are lots of small boulders which provide shelter for a variety of invertebrates and fish. At the mouth it gets deeper quite suddenly over a rocky ledge, and drops down to sand bottom which continues all the way north to Photographer’s Reef and beyond. There are a number of very steep pinnacles in the area to the east of the north cove, which rise from the sand at about 8 to 9 m depth to between 3 and 5 m of the surface, and a number of smaller outcrops and small boulders. The south cove initially slopes more steeply and remains mostly sand bottom. It flattens out soon and is bordered by rock on both sides. There are offshore reefs to the east of Windmill Beach. One is at 300 m off the south cove on bearing 115° magnetic. Most of this area is sand bottom with a large population of purple sea pens to the north of this reef at a depth of about 10 to 12 m. This is a suitable place to find the as yet undescribed nudibranch known as Pierre’s armina,(or Striped sand slug) as it feeds on these sea pens. Gilchrist’s armina has also b

如何抵達

Generally considered a shore dive. Drive South through Simon’s Town on the M4, turn left into Bellevue Rd, Right into Links Rd, and park at the end. Warning: This is reputed to be a place where cars are frequently broken into and contents stolen. Lock your valuables where they can not be seen. Walk through the gate and down the path past the ablution block, (there is a fresh water shower but it is not always in working order) and under the trees to the beach. The south entry/exit is directly ahead. Also known as the east cove, it is a gently shelving beach facing east into False Bay with large granite rocks on both sides. It is a very popular entry and exit area as it is often diveable when the rest of the bay is unpleasant. This is a popular training site as it is reasonably deep within the shelter of the cove and the sandy bottom is good for skills exercises. The rocks to both sides are pleasantly overgrown with typical local species and are a relatively safe introduction to the area. The north entry/exit is to the left and faces north into False Bay. It shelves even more gently and also has large granite rocks to both sides. It is very sheltered from easterly winds, and westerlies do not produce much wave action due to the short fetch. Unfortunately this cove is very shallow. This is an alternative shore entry and exit for Photographer's Reef, which is straight out about 400 m. There is also an entry from a little beach to the north west of north cove. Turn left at the gate and walk along the path beside the wall to the large flattish granite outcrop, then turn right and follow the path at the side of the rock down to the beach. There is a low flat topped rock sloping gradually down to the water with a pair of low masonry pillars at the end. This is a good entry and exit for the north side. The entry and exit points at Windmill Beach are safe in all conditions that a reasonable person would consider diving.

必看景點

Marine life

A wide variety of invertebrate and fish species may be found at this site. Do not discount the shallow waters of the north cove, as a variety of small fish live in this area.

Photography A good site for photography. Macro equipment is most likely to give good results, but a wide angle lens can also sometimes be useful

Routes You can dive virtually anywhere and find something interesting if you know where to look. For divers unfamiliar with the site, the following routes are suggested

Enter at the east cove, keep the rocks to your left and work your way round the reefs all the way to the north cove. For a shorter dive you can go through a gap between the boulders to the north cove. The reciprocal route to the previous, starting at the north cove and exiting at the east. Try to take in the pinnacles. The more adventurous may try a search for the elusive Striped sand slug. This requires a swim of about 300 m on bearing 115°magnetic to a depth of about 12 m, then a slow sweep north east while searching among the purple sea pens. Save at least 80 bar for the return.