The
world’s oceans are governed by the Coriolous Effect. In the northern hemisphere
major oceanic currents tend to run in a clockwise direction and in the southern
hemisphere they tend to turn in a counter-clockwise direction. South Africa
being at the very tip of the African continent is unique in that it has a
mixture. On the east coast the Agulhas Current runs from north to south and on
the west coast the Benguela Current runs from south to north. Off the tip
off the Cape of Good Hope there is a confluence of these two currents, the
colder Benguela Current tends to have lower visibility, the warmer Agulhas
Current tends have better visibility so not surprisingly the Agulhas Current is
the more popular choice for drift dives.
In June 2015 Mick Todd and I and the rest of an Andy Murch Big Fish Expeditions
group boarded Explorer 1 and journeyed roughly 47 kilometres south from the
Cape of Good Hope in the Agulhas Current looking for good underwater visibility
and we got it. A buoy was deployed and a 20 litre container suspended 10 metres
beneath it to give divers a visual reference point. Then we all jumped in
taking care to always keep within visual range of the crate as we drifted in
the blue for approximately one kilometre. As soon as we had hit the water, we
were immediately surrounded by up to a dozen Blue Sharks and Yellowfin Tuna and
after a while, an inquisitive Seal. A really enjoyable drift dive.