Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Hermes

The dive site Hermes is an inshore historical wreck Table Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

A shallow wreck site on a sand bottom, within swimming distance of the beach. SS Hermes was built in 1899 in Sunderland, England, for the Houston Line Ltd. It was powered by a single triple expansion steam engine with a top speed of 12.5 knots. The ship was driven aground by a northwest wind and large seas while at anchor in Table Bay. The wreck has broken up almost completely as it is in the surf zone in rough weather.

-33.87016718.4875831 Hermes: S33°52.210' E018°29.255'. About 170 m off Milnerton beach. This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.

"Hermes" was the name of the ship wrecked at this site.

Maximum depth is about 4(?) m. and some of the wreckage is exposed at low tide.

The wreck is close inshore on a fine sand bottom, and visibility is seldom more than 3 to 5 m, as there is almost always some surge, even on very flat days.

The site can be within the surf line. There are scattered pieces of wreckage in a north-south line on a relatively flat fine silica sand bottom. Some of the wreckage can be exposed by breaking waves at low tide.

Geology: The immediate substrate is relatively fine silica sand.

The site is exposed to northwesterly winds and waves, and is sufficiently shallow that the prevailing southwesterly swells will often refract around Green Point and break on the shore The site is welly protected from southeasterly waves, as the fetch is extremely short, but it is exposed to southeasterly wind.

The site is likely to be at it's best in summer after a southeasterly wind, but there are also occasional opportunities at other times of the year.

Usual access: Boat dive from Oceana Power Boat Club slipway or the V&A Waterfront, or shore dive from Milnerton beach.

Dive on the site and explore the wreckage. The site is small and shallow enough to visit comprehensively on a single dive. The biggest difficulty is finding all the scattered pieces of wreckage, but the direction of surge is across the wreck, and sand ripples are roughly parallel to the main axis of wreckage, which is helpful for navigation.

The wreck is in quite a high energy zone in winter, and will be pounded by winter storms. That does not stop considerable biodiversity developing on the equivalent rocky reefs, but for some reason the wreckage has low biodiversity.

Scattered fragments of the wreckage of a steel ship.

The site is often in the surf zone, and even when there is no surf, there may be strong surge. Some of the wreckage has sharp edges and points, which present the risk of injury, equipment damage, or fouling the diver.

No special skills required. The depth is suitable for entry level divers.

No special equipment required.

• 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 (high resolution sonar images)

• -33.8245518.4710171 MV Seli 1
• -33.83353318.3447672 MV Afrikaner
• -33.83518.3816673 SS Hypatia
• -33.835218.3809674 Whale Rock
• -33.8398618.385565 MV Daeyang Family
• -33.8691918.486386 MV Winton
• -33.873118.3249177 Mooivlei
• -33.873318.316358 Disa
• -33.87473318.3454839 Blomvlei
• -33.88596718.430510 Highfields
• -33.88713318.409711 SS Cape Matapan
• -33.88778318.36581712 King Emperor
• -33.89666718.39666713 SS SA Seafarer
• -33.897518.409514 RMS Athens
• -33.90618.397515 Three Anchor Bay
• -33.90793318.417916 Two Oceans Aquarium
• -33.91508318.35701717 Sea Point Ridge Pinnacles

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Table Bay area

Other regional dive sites:

• Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
• Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
• Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
• Dive sites of False Bay east coast
• Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area