Table Bay

Template:Short description Template:Use South African English Template:More citations needed Template:Main otherTemplate:Template other 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. Template:Wide image

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 breakwaters. The older part of this development is called the 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 Template:Cvt offshore to pump out 1,000 tonnes of oil that had been fouled with seawater after the initial impact.

Shipwrecks

• • 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.

Geography

Navigational hazards

• Whale Rock: The site of several shipwrecks and groundings.
• Green Point: The site of several shipwrecks and groundings.

Image gallery

• Dutch ships off Table Bay in the 17th century
  Dutch ships off Table Bay in the 17th century
• Looking over sailing ships in Table Bay in 1727 with Table Mountain in the background
  Looking over sailing ships in Table Bay in 1727 with Table Mountain in the background
• Map of Table Bay (1882)
  Map of Table Bay (1882)
• Map of the Docks and Infrastructure (1884)
  Map of the Docks and Infrastructure (1884)
• 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.
  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.
• 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).
  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).
• Sketch of Cape Town from the East India Company Ship Defense, en route from the Downs to Bombay, anchored in Table Bay on January 24, 1739.
  Sketch of Cape Town from the East India Company Ship Defense, en route from the Downs to Bombay, anchored in Table Bay on January 24, 1739.

See also

• False Bay