The Red Sea Wreck and Safari Diving
September 19th, 2008Diving & Surfing
Diving Safari
The clear waters and pristine reefs bring thousands of divers to the Red Sea every year. So how do you decide whether to dive from daily boats or take the plunge and dive from a liveaboard diving safari?
The first thing to establish is whether you are coming to the Red Sea purely for diving. If the answer is “yes” then a liveaboard safari is definitely for you. Your liveaboard boat will provide you with tanks and weights and air as standard, if you would like to rent any other equipment or take a specific course, be sure to contact the operator in advance.
Being on a liveaboard boat will get you to some of the more remote reefs and allow you to visit some of the best sites early in the morning when the fish action is at its highest. It’s also true to say you will visit a wider range of dive sites that could be accessed from a daily boat.
The usual daily plan on liveaboards is to wake up at sunrise for an early dive before breakfast. This is where the action is found, the pelagic fish are quite often seen earlier in the day hunting for their breakfast. Of course after all this action the divers get hungry too so breakfast will be ready when you return to the boat. The second dive is usually before lunch, followed by some relaxing in the sun and the third dive will be later in the afternoon. Of course there will be some travelling between them to get the next fantastic reef. Some boats may offer a night dive too so there is a plenty of choice.
If you like to relax more and dive less then choose one of the luxury boats which will be able to offer evening entertainment by way of movies and music and day time relaxing on spacious sundecks.
Many of the liveaboards serve fantastic food, especially when you discover these often three course meals are coming from a small galley kitchen.
Liveaboard diving is very relaxed; you lie back and chill out while the boat journeys to the reefs. Your equipment is et up on the first day and stays in its space, all very leisurely – all you need to do is dive, eat, and sleep. But remember you will be in the close company of the rest of the passengers for at least a week – there aren’t many places to escape from other divers on a boat. Something to consider if you are honeymooners:) That said if a group hits it off you could be in for the trip of a lifetime.
Wreck Diving
The Red Sea is quite famous for its fantastic wreck dive sites. For instance the wrecks on the north of Sha’ab Abu Nuhas Reef, outstanding and shallow enough for inexperienced divers to visit on extended day trips. Of the seven wrecks at Abu Nuhas the Carnatic and Giannis D are perhaps the best known. The Carnatic, a mail steamer, sank in 1869 when it hit the reef en route to Bombay, carrying 230 passengers, 27 of whom drowned, and a cargo of gold and copper, much of which was salvaged. The wreck was discovered in 1984. The nearby Giannis D, a Greek cargo ship, sank in1983 and now lies in two separate parts on the sea bed. Part of the wreck is within only 4m of the surface, which contributes to its popularity with photographers. The Chrisoula K and the Kimon M are also worth exploring.
The Thistlegorm at Sha’ab Abu Ali is the most famous wreck in the Red Sea, with an amazing cargo of aircraft parts, steam locomotives, motorcycles, Wellington boots, rifles and ammunition. The ship was sunk in 1941 by German bombers during its last journey from Glasgow to supply British troops in North Africa. Discovered by Jacques Cousteau in the 1950s, the Thistlegorm was little dived until the 1990s.
Daily Diving
Daily diving from Hurghada is characterized by plenty of sheltered reefs and pinnacle dives close to shore. Most dive sites are reachable in less than an hour boat ride. The boats usually leave around 8:30am for a whole day trip, returning at around 4:00 – 4:30pm. Trips include a morning dive, lunch and relaxation as well as an afternoon dive. Same dive center also offer half day trips with one dive only.
One Response to “The Red Sea Wreck and Safari Diving”
Would you like to comment "The Red Sea Wreck and Safari Diving"?
April 6th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I really liked the way they came off