# Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Deep South Whittle Reef

The dive site Deep South Whittle Reef is an offshore rocky reef in False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

## Understand

    See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Understand
One of the closest 50 m+ reef dives to Simon's Town.

### Position

-34.27356718.5668171 Deep South Whittle Reef S34°16.414' E018°34.009' (shallowest known point)
Reef dive. Boat access only. Depth 40 m to about 55 m. This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.

### Name

The site is deep reef, and south of Whittle Rock.

### Depth

Maximum depth is about 55 m at the sand to the north and the top of the pinnacle is at about 40.5 m. Average depth of a dive is likely to be about 45 to 50 m, excluding ascent. Expect decompression stops.

### Visibility

Visibility can be very good, but probably not that often. Nobody knows yet.

### Topography

The reef is a fairly large expanse of Peninsula granite corestone surrounded by sand. The central area around the high point is a large, moderate profile outcrop, split into ridges and gullies, some with sand bottoms up to 45 m depth. Depth at the surrounding sand is reported as 55 m to the north, and 53 m at a sand tongue to the south, with more reef on the other side.
Geology: Granite corestone outcrop of the Pre-Cambrian Peninsula pluton.

### Conditions
## Get in

    See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Boat dives
Boat access only. The site is about 16.9 km from Simon's Town Jetty, or 10 km from Miller's Point slipway

## See
### Marine life

    See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#The marine ecology
* Smooth horsefish
* Orange noble corals
* Sponge
* Grey and orange sponges
* Deepwater sea urchin
* Benthic invertebrate reef life
* Sponge
* Barbed wire siphonophore
* Yellow zoanthids
* A rather pale noble coral
* Large numbers of small noble corals

### Suggested routes
## Stay safe

    See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Stay safe

### Hazards

Just the depth.

### Skills

The ability to deploy a decompression buoy, and follow a decompression schedule appropriate to the dive profile, and this is a site where trimix is recommended for the deeper parts.

### Equipment

    See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Equipment
This is a relatively deep dive. Carry enough of appropriate gases to allow safe decompression. A DSMB is strongly recommended, as is a suitable trimix for breathing gas.

## Nearby

Other offshore dive sites of False Bay:
* -34.22798318.6381671 SATS General Botha
* -34.239418.5807832 Off-Whittle Ridge
* -34.24743318.56193 Whittle Rock
* -34.24818.5813334 Bruce's Mark
* -34.2519318.57155 Midway Ridge
* -34.2525518.5784836 Sandy-top Ridge
* -34.2682818.5806177 Southwood's Corner
* -34.25511618.5518838 Josh's Reef
* -34.25901718.5661679 Wreckless Ridge
* -34.27158318.54538310 Lonehill Reef
Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of reef dive sites in the Whittle Rock and surrounds offshore area
Other regional dive sites:
* Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
* Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
* Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
* Dive sites of False Bay east coast
* Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area