Wednesday, 8 February 2012

An ode to the great wrecks & reefs of the North Red Sea by Heather and Bill Oakes


Chrisoula K: A sea of bubbles surrounds us as we roll off the zodiac, and descend onto the wreck from our negative entry. Soon we are admiring this giant of the deep, as this wreck looks so impressive sitting on the sea bed. We circumnavigate the stern of the ship, and penetrate the holds to view the cargo, stacked in endless piles. Life abounds here and fish appear from every crevice as we pass through the ship, coral encrusts the chuck of the lathe in the ship's workshop, and as we move forward, the towers of tiles form a imposing corridor. Too soon the dive is over and we make our way back up the shot line, reflecting on such a super wreck dive, we are able to fix the image in our minds as the minutes of safety stop tick by, see you again soon Chrisoula K.

Giannis D
Blue light penetrates the shadows, highlighting thousands of Glassfish whose sanctuary is the wheelhouse of this impressive wreck, this image makes for a striking photograph. After a rapid descent past the intact funnel, we swim through the aft doorway, which soon leads to the cavernous interior of the engine room. Our torches pierce the darkness and illuminate the massive remains of this once noisy place, now eerily silent except for the sound of bubbles as divers explore inside.

Rosalie Muller
We add air to our stab jackets as we descend the bow shot, out of the darkness a ship begins to take shape, our excitement increases as we begin to identify features that had been highlighted in the briefing a few minutes before. Now these descriptions have taken form, eagerly we explore the forward parts of this impressive giant. Jacks hunt speedily amongst the plentiful shoals as we pass the bridge and view the once proud M displayed on the funnel, all too soon our no-deco time runs short and we return to the shot line, a slow ascent with a deep stop thrown in for good measure gives us ample time to reflect on another super dive.

Thistlegorm
We hover at 25m, transfixed by a surreal view. A Stanier class 8f locomotive sits on the sea bed, its smokebox door slightly ajar, as if waiting for a cleaner. Remarkably this mighty beast was thrown clear as the ship exploded after the air attack, coming to rest in an upright position at the end of its final journey. We return to the ship and penetrate the holds to savour the many delights that the Thistlegorm has to offer. All too soon the dive is finished and we make our ascent. This wreck has so much to offer and we must return again to enjoy its many delights.

Beacon Rock - Night dive
Darkness surrounds us as we descend through clear water towards the reef. Our torches soon illuminate the coral heads, which contrast with the sand around them. The night coral is in full bloom, its spectacular colours lighting our view. We see Nudibranchs, Moray Eels and many other fish. This is the best night dive of the week. There is some current so we head back to the boat and reflect on some special moments as we complete our safety stop near the strobe light.

Shark & Yolanda Reef
We leap from Whirlwind as a whole group, and quickly descend on to a spectacular wall, which drops impressively into the deep. We enjoy a pleasant drift dive as we slowly pass the many sights this place has to offer.
We reach the remains of the Yolanda's cargo and marvel at how the marine life has taken over residence and is slowly covering the odd shaped remains of toilets and other such articles! The visibility here was very good indeed, with a wide range of life from free-swimming Moray eels, blue spotted rays and countless other fish. A very special dive.

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