Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Rocklands blinder

The dive site Rocklands Blinder or Seal Colony is an inshore rocky reef in the Rocklands Point area on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

. . . Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Rocklands blinder . . .

S34°12.9’ E018°28.0’ -34.21518.4666671 Rocklands Blinder(Middle of main reef) About 170m at 080° magnetic from the north entry point at Rocklands Point.

The position of the reef can often be identified by the breaking swell over it, particularly at low tide.

This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required.

The name “Rocklands Blinder” is a simple description. The site is a submerged reef which breaks in a moderate swell, and it is off Rocklands Point. The alternative name “Seal Colony” refers to the congregation of seals often seen at this site.

Maximum depth is about 13 m on the sand beyond the rocks. Top of the reef at about 3 to 4 m.

The reef is an outcrop of granite corestones in two main sections divided by a north/south gulley. The bigger western outcrop is high, with the highest point within 4m of surface, sloping up from the low reef to the south then falling away steeply to the sand. The eastern section is fairly steep sided all round, with a small, low outlier to the north. The main reef extends approximately 80 m from east to west and the smaller reef about 18 m from east to west. The gap between them is about 4 to 5 m wide. Low reef extends south from the main reef to Spaniard Rock, with occasional small sandy gaps between rocks.

Geology: Late Pre-Cambrian granite of the Peninsula pluton

. . . Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Rocklands blinder . . .

. . . Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Rocklands blinder . . .