About the experience
The 'Cape of Storms' — a boat-based heritage tour of the wreck coast
The sea off the Cape Peninsula earned its old name — the Cape of Storms — for good reason. On this coastal heritage run we trace the shoreline where well-documented vessels came to grief, including the wreck of the SS Maori (lost near Hout Bay in 1909) and the cluster of wrecks along the Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope coast, among them the Thomas T Tucker and the Nolloth. We approach by boat for a viewing-and-commentary angle you cannot get from the road, with the crew sharing the history of each site. This is a weather-dependent tour: winter swells make the coastline dramatic, but conditions decide whether we can run and how close we can safely get. Where the route enters the marine protected area near Cape Point, the relevant conditions and any required permits apply.