Red Sea
Author: Dylan Cross

RED SEA TRIP

With great expectations we arrived at Sharm El Sheik late evening to step off the plane and be greeted with temperatures of 33 degrees and a warm breeze. After the formalities of a very brief visa process (ten Egyptian pounds works wonders!) we were met by our friends from Oonasdivers who efficiently corraled us and our luggage into various vehicles and so we set off for the Oonas dive centre. Upon arrival, at the dive centre myself , Bob , Derek and Edwina settled down for a cold beer, local brew Stella, not quite the same as here but good enough to quench your thirst. After a wait of about one hour things seem to sort themselves out and we were herded up again and taken to where the Juliet was berthed. There was quite a lot of security at the marina, one assumes to deter anyone who might be tempted to help themselves to equipment etc. My first sight of Juliet was interuppted by a shout from someone aboard one of the other boats, low and behold it was John Fletcher waving a video camera about which I'm sure he had already used on us. The crew hauled our dive gear aboard Juliet and we were told to find a box to unload it into which would be its home for the next week. We then were introduced to the two dive masters, Margaret and David who checked our passports etc. I immediately got told off because I was still wearing my shoes on their highly polished wooden floor so I removed them and didn't see them again for a whole week. We were allocated cabins, fortunately there were only six of us plus two from Oonasdivers which meant that myself and Bob did not have to share. On return to the main cabin area we had a late supper and then eventually retired.

Day 1 Dive 1

At last, diving, and what we were here for. We left port and headed to Ras Um Sid. : This was a great introduction to the Red sea it was everything I thought it would be and more. We descended to 28 metres and followed the reef wall, as we reached the point I was generally looking around when someone grabbed me and shook me violently, it was Bob who had obviously seen somthing that had excited him, he pointed towards the end of the reef where we saw our first shark (grey). Everyone seem to see the shark at the same time and we all headed towards it, as we did this he turned and disappeared into the blue. Unfortunately for Bob he did not bring his camera down on this the first dive but I think that John videoed it. During this first dive I spent a lot of the time getting used to the change in bouancy as I am used to diving in a dry suit. There were countless other species of fish that I could not begin to recgonise but the ones that I did know were crocodile fish, groupers, and butterfly fish. Most of these were swimming between a forest of Giant Gegornian fan corals.

Dive Time: 37 minutes Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 28.8 metres.

Dive 2

This dive was on shark and yolanda reef. This dive was fantastic there was so many fish I could not begin to name them all. Moray eels, rays, various grouper, bat fish, lion fish, butterfly fish, trigger fish, unicorn fish, surgeon fish, rass. Incredible !

Dive Time 1 hour Water Temperature 25degrees Depth 26.2 metres

Dive 3

We now headed out into the Red Sea to a place called Little Crack to an area called Sha'ab Mahmoud. This was a reef complex where we would stay overnight to give us shelter while we slept. This was a late evening rather than a night dive. Not a very deep dive but very pretty. We were taken by zodiac to the outer reef wall where the tide was running reasonably fast. The idea was we dropped in and followed the outer reeef wall at about 12 metres and when we reached a small crack in the wall we turned in and allowed the current to wash us through to a new reef area. Once inside the reef area the scenery was very different, very sandy with the occasional rocky outcrop. The first part of this dive was very pretty with thousands of different soft and hard corals of all different hues and colours. On this dive we saw two very large moray eels who were not afraid to venture into the open, goes without saying I kept my distance.

Dive Time 59 Mins Water Temperature 24 degrees Depth 12.5 metres

Day 2 Dive 4

This was my first ever proper wreck penetration dive, this was on the Dunravin. We dropped to a depth of around 28 metres and came around the screw which was at the deepest point and entered through a large gaping hole. It is incredible how the coral has taken hold of the wreck and attracted other fishlife as well. Even with the good visibility I am glad that I had my torch with me as this highlighted the diversity of colours of the coral inside the wreck. I was very pleased with my bouancy going through the inside of the wreck as some of it was quite tight. You must be careful to look above you because at one point I pointed out a Lionfish that was hanging upside down on a plate that Margaret the dive guide had not even seen and was only inches from her back. On leaving the wreck we headed along a reef wall once again admiring the diversity of fish and coral. As we finished the dive and were ascending there were two large Napolean Wrasse sheltering underneath the hull of a dive boat.

Dive Time: 61 mins Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 28.2 metres

Day 2 Dive 5

This dive was a mix of a wreck and a drift dive. The wreck is known unofficially as the Sarah H after the divers wife who found the wreck, but was later confirmned to be the Kingston. The Juliet anchored safely in the inner reef area so the Zodiac took us around the outer reef wall and dropped us over the top of the Kingston (which is quite easy to find as there is a wrecked fishing boat sitting above it on the reef) quite a bumpy ride in the heavy swell, we were all glad to get into the water !.We decended against a reasonably strong current to 15 metres. Once again Margaret was my guide and took me around the wreck which sits upright with its bow wedged up against the reef wall. The kingston is not a massive wreck so did not take long to explore, although on the front deck there was a spare screw which was massive, you can just make it out as it is encrusted with soft and hard coral. Because we were fighting the current all the time we decided to start the drift dive along the reef wall. I must admit I enjoy drift diving as you do not have to do a lot of work and just enjoy the scenery. After about 5 minutes we saw our first turtle who appeared from nowhere to cruise along side us, I think he was as interested in us as we were in him. After a couple of minutes he went up for air and then I lost sight of him. Then all of a sudden the Turtle reappeared again but even closer, I reached out to touch him but as I did he moved away slightly so I let him be, he then disappeared again. Other fish spotted that I can remember, Boxfish, Rabbitfish, Wrasse, Angelfish, Groupers, Yellow Snappers and Goatfish. This was a really enjoyable dive.

Dive time 66 mins Water temperature 23 degrees Depth 15.6 metres

Day 2 Dive 6

My very first night dive. Not very deep but very different from diving during the day. This dive was on Shag Rock Inner Reef where we were staying overnight. Like the earlier dive the Zodiac dropped us on the outer reef wall. Unfortunately it seemed to be incredibly quiet and there was no fish life around at all. I did manage to find a Lion fish and various Nudibranch. One of the strangest things that I saw was very flat with lots of legs on either side and two beady looking eye, I have since found out that it was a Slipper Lobster. All in all a disappointing night dive but I am told they do get better.

Dive Time 32 mins Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 5 metres

Day 3 Dive 7

One of our intentions was to dive the Thistlegorm which is situated in the middle channel of Sha'Ab'Ali but due to persisent wind we could not go ahead with any diving so we turned back to Little Crack at Sha'ab Mahmoud and dived the reef again. The reason for this was that if the weather settled we were still in range of the Thistlegorm. It was quite interesting to dive the same site so quickly as I knew where we were going and you can pay more attention to your surroundings and once again lots of fish life and we saw another turtle, I don't think it was the same one. When we reached the Juliet there was a large rocky outcrop underneath her and there were quite a few brightly coloured Nudibranch scattered about and a Clear Fin Lionfish sitting on a rock.

Dive Time 58 mins Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 16.8 metres

Day 3 Dive 8

We spent most of the day waiting for the weather to settle to attempt a return to the Thistlgorm but this just didn't happen so we decided to do another night dive. We returned to Little Crack. This was very different from my first night dive there was an abundance of fishlife, I also began spotting and recognising more species of fish and coral. Most of the day fish had taken up residence in the coral and gone to sleep and just seemed to hang there using the coral to protect themselves. Amongst the fish that I saw were Parrot fish, Napoleon Wrasse, Lion fish, Blue Spotted Lagoon Ray, a very large Moray eel. The coral also seemed to come to life at night, everything opened up to feed and when you shine your torch on them they close up. I was enjoying this dive so much, the only reason I came up was because I was low on air.

Dive Time 65 minutes Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 16.7 metres

Day 4 Dive 9

Due to the weather we were forced to go back to more sheltered waters if we wanted to dive, so we headed for Shark and Jolanda Reef. The dive was same as before, we dropped to 30 metres and were finning around Shark Reef against the current which was quite strong, I must admit I was finding it quite hard going so I went up to 20 metres where I was a lot more comfartable. Eventually we all managed to get around to the front of the reef and have a rest. Again, this is a marvellous site for hundreds of species of different fish. On this dive there seemed to an awful lot of other divers, I thin it was due to the weather and day boats looking for a protected site like we were. As you leave Shark Reef you then head twoards Jolanda Reef, this is so called bacuse of a Cyprian freighter which ran aground in 1980. It has left a very strange cargo on the seabed, scores of household toilets! We were warned by our dive guides to check there were no eels in them before we had our picture taken whilst sitting on them. I was buddying with Bob Page who on this dive didn't have a particularly good ari fill so for a change he borrowed some of my air. I am sure John videoed it for training purposes.

Dive Time 43 minutes Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 29.5 metres

Day 4 Dive 10

Anemome City

It was quite a nice site at Shark and Jolanda. Lots of people were snorkelling from the beach area. There were thousands and thousand of small fish amongst the coral. At one point I was face to face with a Trumpet fish; when he moved off I moved with him and then a Trigger fish joined us. At one point there was about 20 other divers around us. A turtle suddenly appeared but seemed to enjoy being the centre of attraction.

Dive Time 57 minutes Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 24.6 metres

Day 4 Dive 11

Shark Point

This was one of the most stunning dives so far. We followed the reef plate toward Shark observatory point. The stunning drop off and caves were breathtaking. The way the sunlight shone through the water and down the rocks made visibility fantastic, you could probably see 50-70 metres down. At one point we were all sure that we saw a shark, but David the guide said he was not so sure. A superb dive.

Dive Time 65 minutes Water temperature 25 degrees Depth 18.7 metres

Day 4 Dive 12

Stingray Station

Last dive of a busy day. To make up for lost dives from yesterday we decided to do a late afternoon dive on Stingray station, so named because significant numbers of Stingrays have made this reef area their home. Strange as it may seem myself and Bob never saw one !.This area consisted of about 15 rocky outcrops interspaced between a sandy bottom. We dropped into the water and did a figure of eight around the nearest two reefs. The reefs themselves are covered in a range of soft and hard coral , but maybe it was the time of day there did not seem to be a lot of fish life. But it was a nice relaxing dive as we just floated along with the current. We decided to limit the length of this dive as we intended to do a night dive, as it turned out I did not do due to feeling unwell.

Dive Time 43 minutes Water temperature 24 degrees Depth 13.1 metres

Day 5 Dive 13

Wreck of the Thistlegorm ( external )

At last we were able to get out to the Thistlegorm. Although it was still quite rough it was just about diveable. I did not do the first dive as I was still unwell from the night before, but Bob, John etc did, you should have seen Bobs face, he was so pleased after the disappointments of the previous few days. Margaret and David were excellent guides and drew plans of all our dives so we knew what to expect and what route to take when we went down. I must admit I do not normally get excited about wrecks but the Thistlegorm is an exceptional dive, a wreckies dream simply because it is so intact. The Thistlegorm was a WW 2 supply ship that was sunk in 1941 when it was supprised by 2 long range German bombers with the loss of nine crew members.

David had put a shot near the bridge area which myself, Emma and David ( who I buddied with ) and Margaret decended on due to the current, the first sight of the wreck gives the impression of a ghost ship as the visibility is not so good in this area. When we reached the bridge we turned toward the stern and dropped into an area of massive bomb damage. It looks like a giant can opener has been at work. Strewn around are numerous exposed shells and bren gun carriers amongst other debris. We moved around one of the propellors that was exposed above the sea bed, this was covered in hard an soft coral and looked as large as the front of my house. From here we followed a route back toward the bridge and along side one of the walkways to the forward deck which still had chained to it a mine sweeping drone and a locomotive ( there is another one to the side of the ship but I did not see it ) as we continued toward the bow we found the winch gear with massive chains still attached. The current was a bit stronger here but we still managed to fin out 10 metres and turn around to look at the bow rising in front of us, very impressive. As we were now getting low on air we followed a route back to our shot line which took in the captains quarters, including his private loo and bathroom ( both full of silt !). As we were returning back up the shot we passed Bob and John, who could not resist another look. I must admit that as I returned to the Juliet I to had a large grin on my face as I had not seen a wreck so intact as the thistlegorm.

Dive time 50 minutes Water temperature 24 degrees Depth 26.1 metres

Day 5 Dive 14

Wreck of the Thistlegorm ( penertration )

I thought that the first dive on the Thistlegorm was good, but this was the icing on the cake !. Once again we were shown the route that we were to take and what to expect. We decended down the shot to the bridge and again turned toward the stern, but this time we entered the coal bunker, the entrance is surrounded by large 15 inch navel shells. There was no way for light to enter this area so I am glad I had my torch. You exit this area via a small hole into on of the holds which are like time capsules, they are full of old Bedford trucks with 3 or 4 B.S.A.motorcycles stacked in the back of each one.There are various boxes of lee Enfield rifles and ammunition strewn about. Unfortunately souvernier hunters have been at work as lots of petrol caps and headlights are missing . We continued our way through the other holds which contained much the same with variations such as Wellington boots ? and tins of corned Beef and tyres stuck to the ceiling now covered with coral. We finally exited through one of the forward holds near the bow where David had to release our anchour line. Whilst he was doing this myself and Emma could not resist doing our Titanic bit and hang off the front of the bow !.

Although the visability was not great it was certainly better than anything I have experienced in the U.K. I think it is this and the fact that the Thistlegorm is so intact helps to make this possibly one of the best dives you can experience.

This is what diving is all about !

P.S Bob dived it 3 times, he enjoyed it so much !

Dive time 48 minutes Water temperature 23 degrees Depth 24.4 metres

Day 5 Dive 15

As we were on our last day of diving we returned to Ras um Sid the site of our first dive. I must admit on the first dive here I was concentrating more on my bouancy etc than paying attention to my surroundings. Ras um Sid has a number of shelves that contain scores of Gorgonian corals that fan out into the current to catch nutrients as the tide moves around the headland. The Gorgonians corals are like small citys as there is an abundance of fish life around each one. One of the srangest creatures that I spotted was about a foot long with a fat body, lots of small legs on each side and two beady eyes at the front, I signalled to Margaret and shrugged. Margaret told me later it was a sea cucumber. As my air consumption was getting good by now, myself and Margaret were last to surface. The Zodiac picked us up, but as we made our way back along the reef we spotted a number of divers hanging on against the current. When we pulled the first one aboard he said that the current had pulled him out to open sea and it took all his strength to return to the reef ! In total I think we ferried 15 divers back to their day boat.

Dive time 61 minutes Water temperature 25 degrees Depth 31 metres

Day 5 Dive 16

Paradise is just around the corner from Ras um Sid. It is a nice gentle drift dive with rocky shelves that are set at about every 5 metres. This makes it easy to keep to your intended depth. On these shelves are lots of pinicles covered in soft and hard coral. These corals are teeming with fish life of all variities. Hammerheads have been known to put in an appearance here, but not on this dive. As we reached the end of the dive David had warned us to look out for another wreck, but did not give us any discription. We knew why when we saw it as it was a pedalow, fortunately there were no skeletons on board. This reef lies very close to the shoreline and unfortunately a lot of coral is being killed due to the amount of builders waste being dropped into the water.

Dive time 62 minutes Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 25.4 metres

Day 5 Dive 17

The last dive of our holiday (Shame). Because we could not travel far and the crew seemed to be unwilling to leave the area, we decided to dive in Ras "um Sid" for the last time. John Fletcher said it was quite a different dive in the afternoons. Once again, lots of fish life feeding around the point. One of the most interesting fish was the Stone fish, its mouth is upside down! Air consumption is getting better. 57 minutes on a 12 ltr. not to bad huh?

Dive Time 57 minutes Water Temperature 25 degrees Depth 15.2 metres

As we could do no more dives we spent the rest of the time at the resort of Sharm. We did the usual tourist things, shopping, lazing by the pool and generally chilling out. It's such a shame to have to hang around a pool sipping an ice cold beer when the temperature is approx. 100 degrees F.

All in all I had a superb time and would highly recommend a trip to the Red Sea. Dive centres were as dive centres usually are but this didn't detract from the amazing sights and experiences we all felt during this trip. I will certainly be back, hopefully in the Spring (lots of grovelling to other half!)

I would just like to add a special thank you to John & Sue Fletcher, who without their contacts, knowledge, ( medicine ) and of course enthusiasum I might not have been persuaded to join them on the Juliet.

Dylan Cross

Expeditions officer

Ipswich s.a.c.

B.S.A.C. 32

Last edited on June 29, 2002

©Dylan Cross, 1999