Fairly rugged profile sandstone reef, mostly relatively flat on top, but with deeper gulleys and undercuts in deeper water. sand bottom to gulleys below about 12m. but gulleys always seemed to be across the desired diredction of travel, so probably approximately north/south.
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Fairly rugged profile sandstone reef, mostly relatively flat on top, but with deeper gulleys and undercuts in deeper water. Sand bottom to gulleys below about 12m. Gullies appear to mostly run approximately north/south.
'''Geology:'''
'''Geology:'''
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[[Image:Ball sponges at Albatross Rock DSC00749.JPG|thumb|Sponges at Albatross Rock]]
[[Image:Ball sponges at Albatross Rock DSC00749.JPG|thumb|Sponges at Albatross Rock]]
[[Image:Juvenile rock lobster at Albatross Rock DSC00740.JPG|thumb|Juvenile rock lobster on a kelp holdfast]]
[[Image:Juvenile rock lobster at Albatross Rock DSC00740.JPG|thumb|Juvenile rock lobster on a kelp holdfast]]
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[[Image:Noble coral and sponges at Albatross Rock DSC00763.JPG|thumb|Noble coral and sponges at Albatross Rock]]
===Marine life===
===Marine life===
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===Features===
===Features===
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There are several wrecks near Albatross Rock. These include the [[Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/SS Thomas T Tucker|SS Thomas T Tucker]], the SS Umhlali, the SS Bia, the Star of Africa, the SS Albatross and the SS Nolloth.
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There are several wrecks near Albatross Rock. These include the [[Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/SS Thomas T Tucker|SS Thomas T Tucker]], the [[Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/SS Umhlali|SS Umhlali]], the [[Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/SS Bia|SS Bia]], the [[Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/SS Star of Africa|Star of Africa]], the SS Albatross and the SS Nolloth.
===Photography===
===Photography===
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Macro photography is most likely to deliver acceptable results unless the visibility is unusually good, in which case wide angle natural light may produce good kelp forest studies.
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===Suggested Routes===
===Suggested Routes===
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No particular routes recommended
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===Equipment===
===Equipment===
No special equipment recommended.
No special equipment recommended.
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Back to [[Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#South Peninsula]]
Back to [[Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#South Peninsula]]
The dive site Albatross Rock is an offshore rocky reef in the South Peninsula area on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Fairly rugged profile sandstone reef, mostly relatively flat on top, but with deeper gulleys and undercuts in deeper water. Sand bottom to gulleys below about 12m. Gullies appear to mostly run approximately north/south.
Geology:
Ordovician sandstone of the Peninsula formation. Dip small, probably less than 10 degrees. strike unclear, probably about east-west. jointing also unclear,but probably mostly north-south.
The site is exposed to wind and sea from the north west to south west, amd should be dived only in fairly flat seas. The site is protected from south easterly seas, though it will catch the wind.
The site is most likely to be diveable in late spring and summer but there will be occasional opportunities at other times.
The site is only accessible by boat. It is 11.2km fro the slipway at the old crayfish factory north of Scarborough, about 17.1km from the launch site at Kommetjie and 27.5km from Hout Bay harbour slipway.
Fairly dense laminaria down to over 12m, fair amount of red bait in small sizes, and heavy undergrowth of plocamium and other small red and brown algae. Hottentot seabream, shy sharks, and klipfish have been seen, and large numbers of West coast rock lobster.
Macro photography is most likely to deliver acceptable results unless the visibility is unusually good, in which case wide angle natural light may produce good kelp forest studies.
This is a usable article. It touches on all the major areas of the topic. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!
