Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Colebrooke

The dive site Colrbrooke is an inshore historical wreck near Kogelbaai, on the east coast of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

The Colebrooke was a wood ship of 739 tons built in 1770 at the Blackwall yard on the Thames, in London. It was 41.9 m long and 10.8m in the beam. It was wrecked on its third voyage to India while entering False Bay to use the winter anchorage at Simon's Town, when it struck Anvil Rock, which was not on the charts in use. The badly damaged ship was sailed across False Bay to be run onto the sand at Kogel Bay. The wreck was rediscovered in 1984 and identified, and some cargo was salvaged in 1990.

-34.23118318.8431331 East Indiaman Colebrooke: S34°13.871' E18°50.588', about 200 m off the beach at Kogel Bay, on the east side of False Bay.

This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.

"Colebrooke" was the name of the English East-Indiaman wrecked at this site.

Water depth is about 5 m, but varies with deposition and scouring of the sand, as well as with the tide.

The remains of the wreck lie on a sand bottom in the zone actively affected by the prevailing southwesterly swell. It is usually completely buried under sand, and only occasionally, and unpredictably, exposed, by unpredictably variable amounts.

The site is exposed to the prevailing southwesterly swells, and as the site is shallow, it may be in the surf zone. Depending on the strength and possibly affected by the exact direction of the swell, the waves may lift and carry the sand either onto or off the wreck. Since it is only sporadically and unpredictably uncovered, it is not possible to advise on when to dive, other to state that on the day there should be very low swell.

When exposed, the remains of a wooden sailing ship

No site specific hazards have been reported.

No special skills are required or recommended.

No special equipment recommended.

• Bruce Henderson and Kelly Graham, 2024, Wood, Iron and Steel: Shipwrecks Mapped off the Western Cape, Wreckless Marine, Cape Town. ISBN 978-1-037-00702-6

• -34.18258318.8218671 Lorry Bay
• -34.1866518.8188832 Phil's Bay
• -34.18886718.8187143 Rocky Bay Noble Reef
• -34.19308318.818554 Rocky Bay
• -34.27398318.836055 Blouklip
• -34.2749518.8320676 Blousteen Ridge
• -34.28283318.8258337 Whirlpool Cove
• -34.28916718.822958 Percy’s Hole

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Rooi-els 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 offshore and approaches
• Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area