Mistral set sail on the 13th March on the Northern Red Sea route aptly named 'Wrecks & Reefs'. Here are just some of the comments about the beauty of the Red Sea and her amazing marine life.
Abu Nuhas reef: “This night dive was a gentle drift, fortunately for us, as soon as we descended we saw a Spanish dancer.”
Giannis D: “This wreck was awesome, such large swim trough's with a massive engine room. A massive skylight provides an immense amount of light that a torch is not needed at some parts of the swim-trough.”
“Giannis D was stunning. The best morning dive so far. To descend down beside such a towering mass of rusting, creaking iron. It was a beautiful wreck, and a great swim through.”
Uiysses and the Barge: “The highlight of the day, was the dolphins, thereafter, spotting George, the very large stonefish and various other marine life, including quite a few Lionfish.”
“Spotted a pod of dolphins swimming close to the boat whilst moored close to the barge and I was lucky enough still to be in trunks at that point. I got my fins on and was in the water fairly quickly. The Dolphins had a good look at us in the water and the whole pod swam within a couple of metres of me. One circled three or four times at arm's length before swimming off. Pretty awesome.”
Thistlegorm “Absolutely stunning wreck, beautiful from both the inside and outside. It was a pleasure to be guided by guides who took the time to show us the big things and the intricate marine life surrounding the wreck. A beautiful real life underwater museum and an experience that should not be missed.”
“The highlight of the day dive was seeing a stonefish perched on top of a motorbike seat. A true Hell's angel :P Wished I had a camera at that point! There's also a lot of jellyfish around here. On my night dive I saw a few huge ones the size of my head. It was beautiful though, would definitely dive this again!”
“The Thistlegorm never ceases to amaze, although a wonderful experience, it is also humbling.”
Small Crack: “Found a 10m stretch of overhanging table corals with at least a thousand Vankiro Sweepers – truly spectacular.”
Shark & Yolanda: “One of my favourite reefs, having such a large wall with a huge amount of fish life is just breath taking with the possibility to see large fins and on this occasion we saw a huge tuna at least 2metres long.”
Jackson Reef Tiran: “Jackson reef a wonderful drift dive, with splits in the coral leading to sandy bottom, coral was fully alive with multiple routes to take.”
“She is very nice, well adapted to the needs of the diver. The showers are lovely and hot and as it's a new boat, everything is nice and shiny and new.”
ReplyDelete“A beautiful boat – great condition throughout, great cabin and dining room.”
“A fantastic boat, a real home from home.”
“The boat had a very relaxed atmosphere and the crew were excellent.”
“Having a look around the Tiran island, you can see the state of some of the day boats, when you look at Mistral you wish you were on that boat! Simply amazing layout, well suited for divers, large diving platform, large amount of room for kitting up. The rooms are much more spacious than other boats that I have been on and the large beds are much nicer than single beds. The lounge/dining area is a nice touch with good seating arrangements where conversations can flow. The sundeck's is very spacious it can fit lots of people on including the larger size, with an optional lower sun deck with overhead sun block it provides ideal area's for lots of people.”
“Both guides and the crew have been amazing, taking meticulous care of everything that is expected and much more. There isn't much that we have to worry about during the dives and also after, therefore allowing us to properly enjoy the trip.”
ReplyDelete“Sameh & Dickon are great guides, and manage that wonderful balance between being professional as guides but fun at the same time. Myself and Ru haven't dived in the Red Sea, and we preferred being guided for most of the dives. It's great to know that you have two guides that you can rely on, who regularly check that you're comfortable in the water, who alert you when there are things to see (which I never seem able to spot by myself!) and who make each dive a truly enjoyable experience. Thanks very much!”
“The crew are also great fun! We've enjoyed looking forward to seeing what manner of origami our bed sheets and towels will be folded into next. And they are excellent at helping us in and out of our heavy gear. The hot chocolate after the cold morning dive is especially appreciated, the ice cubes in our dive boots (cheeky!) not so much ”
“Guides very experienced and knowledgeable, great crew and awesome food. Can't complain!”
“Sameh & Dickon are brilliant guides, very passionate about their jobs. Knowledgeable about the area and very attentive to safety. Can't ask for better. The crew are great, we never have to wait for anything they have made the trip so easy and enjoyable.”
“The guides were excellent, they catered for our every need, and thanks goes so Sameh for providing a one on one guide service, very much appreciated.”
“Once again excellent crew made all the better by Sameh and Abdul especially.”
“The crew were very helpful and polite, never needed to be asked, always there with a helping hand and a drink at the end of the dive.”
“Sameh and Dickon are both amazing guides, very easy to get along with, know the diving sites like the back of their hands and most of all enjoy diving as much as I/we do. Some guides just don't care but these two are very passionate for the sport and it shows it their presentations and diving abilities, I can only hope that I will have the opportunity to dive with them both again!!!!”
“I really enjoyed the food actually, especially the cakes... yum! I'd like to ask for the recipe of the coconut cake please! There's a good mix of meat and vegetables, and the salads are wonderful.”
ReplyDelete“Awesome food, wetsuit became harder to fasten as the week progressed.”
“The food was plentiful and tasty, no complaints from either of us, only thanks for providing so many different meals in such a moving environment!!!”