Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Phil's Bay

The dive site Phil's Bay is a shoreline rocky reef in the Gordon's Bay area on the east side of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

• S34°11.199’ E018°49.133’ -34.1866518.8188831 Phil's Bay (anchorage)

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

The name "Phil's Bay" is named after Philip Faure a diving instructor in the area in the early 1990’s.

After his national service in the SA Navy as a Diver, he worked for Ocean Divers International, at the old harbour, before starting Faure Marine Services. Faure Marine Services provided private scuba diving instruction and commercial diving services.

He spend many years exploring the area with Tony Smit, another local dive instructor.

The reef is called Phil’s Reef, which is within Phil’s Bay. This was a favourite dive site of his.

Maximum depth is about 14 m.

Visibility on a good day is likely to be 5 to 6 m, and is quite likely to be less. On a very good day it may be as much as 10 m.

Sand bottom at about 14 m, then moderate relief reef of sandstone rocks and ridges with sandy gaps running more or less parallel to shoreline. Gets more rugged closer to shore, and remains deep quite close inshore.

Geology: Ordovician sandstones of the Table Mountain formation, and a sand bottom.

Best after south-easter, but swell must be low.

The site is exposed to swell and wind from the south west and to a lesser extent north west, so should be dived when the south west component of the swell is low, and is likely to be good in or after south easterly winds. The site is usually at its best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities in other seasons.

Boat dive. The site is about 5.0 km from Gordon's Bay harbour or 5.4 km Harbour Island.

Rocks overgrown with the usual red bait in the shallower areas and feather stars in deeper places. Sponges and sea fans brighten up the scene, and a variety of smaller critters are there to be found.

Macro photography is most likely to produce good results.

No particular route recommended. There may be a slight current, so plan your dive to surface where you can get back to the boat.

No site specific hazards reported.

No special skills required. Suitable for night dives if conditions are appropriate.

No special equipment recommended.

34°10′26″S 18°50′10″E

Phil's Bay and nearby dive sites

• -34.16538318.85821 Bikini Beach
• -34.16988318.8454332 Ledges
• -34.171718.839253 Vogelsteen
• -34.17183318.8377174 Cow and Calf
• -34.1729118.8363785 Stone Dog
• -34.17446718.8330176 Pinnacle
• -34.17608318.8290837 Tony's Reef
• -34.18046718.825158 Troglodyte's Cove
• -34.18258318.8218679 Lorry Bay
• -34.18886718.81871410 Rocky Bay Noble Reef
• -34.19308318.8185511 Rocky Bay

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Gordon's Bay 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