View source for Table Bay

{{Short description|Bay at the north of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa}}
{{other uses|Table Bay (disambiguation)}}
{{Use South African English|date=July 2024}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Table Bay
| native_name = {{native name|af|Tafelbaai}}
| pushpin_map = South Africa
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in South Africa
| image = Bloubergdtand.jpg
| caption = An aerial view of Table Bay from [[Bloubergstrand]], to the north of Cape Town. [[Table Mountain]] is visible in the distance on the far side of the bay.
| coords = {{coord|33|51|S|18|27|E|type:waterbody_scale:2000000|display=inline,title}}
| rivers = 
| oceans = [[Southern Atlantic Ocean]]
| countries = [[South Africa]]
| length = 
| width = 
| area = 
| frozen = 
| islands = [[Robben Island]]
| cities = [[Cape Town]]
}}
'''Table Bay''' ([[Afrikaans]]: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the [[Atlantic Ocean]] overlooked by [[Cape Town]] and is at the northern end of the [[Cape Peninsula]], which stretches south to the [[Cape of Good Hope]]. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped [[Table Mountain]].
{{wide image|File:Table Bay pano from Table Mountain.jpg|700px|Table Bay, the harbour and the [[City Bowl]] from the summit of [[Table Mountain]] in 2022.}}

==History==
[[Bartolomeu Dias]] was the first European to explore this region in 1486. The bay, although famous for centuries as a haven for ships, is actually a rather poor natural harbour and is exposed to storm waves from the northwest. Many sailing ships seeking refuge in the bay during the 17th and 18th centuries were driven ashore by winter storms.

The Dutch colonists nevertheless persisted with their efforts on the shores of Table Bay, because good natural harbours along this coastline are almost non-existent. The best of them, [[Saldanha Bay]], lacked fresh water. [[Simon's Bay]] was well protected from westerly winter storms and swells, but more exposed to summer southeasterly storms and difficult to access overland from Cape Town. [[Hout Bay]] was small and exposed to the prevailing southwesterly swell. Eventually a harbour was built in Table Bay by a process of [[land reclamation]] and was protected from storm waves by [[breakwater (structure)|breakwaters]]. The older part of this development is called the [[Victoria & Alfred Waterfront|Victoria Dock]]; the newer part, the [[Duncan Dock]]. [[Robben Island]], where [[Nelson Mandela]] was imprisoned for decades, is in this bay.

The bay's beaches were oiled following an accident involving the Dutch tanker Sliedrecht in November 1953. The vessel moved {{cvt|96|km}} offshore to pump out 1,000 tonnes of oil that had been fouled with seawater after the initial impact.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161508121 |title=Ship Oil Kills Fish, Penguins |date=1953-11-03 |work=Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954) |pages=8 |access-date=2020-04-22 |archive-date=2021-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321101447/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/161508121 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Shipwrecks===
{{See also|Shipwrecks of Cape Town}}
**[[RMS Athens]], 1865.
**[[Thermopylae (ship)]]
**[[SS S.A. Seafarer]], 1966.
**[[Nieuwe Rhoon]], 1776
**[[Perseverance (ship)]], 1826
**[[Forfarshire (ship)]], 1864
**[[SS Aotea]], 1911.
**[[SS Hypatia]], 1929.
**[[Fong Chung No.11]], 1975.
**[[MV Daeyang Family]], 1986.
**[[Afrikaner (ship)]], 1993.
{{expand section|date=June 2025}}

==Geography==
===Robben Island===
{{empty section|date=June 2025}}
===Bathymetry===
{{empty section|date=June 2025}}
===Navigational hazards===
*Whale Rock: The site of several shipwrecks and groundings.
*Green Point: The site of several shipwrecks and groundings.

==Image gallery==
<gallery>
File:Aernout Smit Table Bay, 1683 William Fehr Collection Cape Town.jpg|[[Netherlands|Dutch]] ships off Table Bay in the 17th century
File:Pieter van der Aa Cape of Good Hope.jpg|Looking over sailing ships in Table Bay in 1727 with [[Table Mountain]] in the background
File:Cape Town & Table Bay 1882.jpg|Map of Table Bay (1882)
File:IMRAY(1884) p0707 TABLE BAY.jpg|Map of the Docks and Infrastructure (1884)
File:Capetown table false bay.jpg|Cape Town from space, looking south over [[False Bay]] with [[Hangklip Point]] (top left), [[Cape Point]] (top right) and Table Bay south and east of the clearly visible, circular [[Robben Island]], February 1995.
File:Satellite image of Cape peninsula.jpg|Synthetic perspective with 2× exaggerated elevation, from satellite elevation and image data. Looking east over [[Cape Peninsula]] and [[False Bay]] (behind) with [[Robben Island]] (front left), [[Table Mountain]] (centre front) and [[Cape Point]] (front right).
File:Ship Defense at Anchor in Table Bay.jpg|Sketch of Cape Town from the [[East India Company]] Ship [[Defence (1735 EIC ship)|Defense]], en route from [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|the Downs]] to [[Mumbai|Bombay]], anchored in Table Bay on January 24, 1739. 
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[False Bay]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Cape Town|natural}} 
{{List of African seas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bays of South Africa]]
[[Category:Maritime history of South Africa]]