Hooray for Hurricane

Hurricane 19^th November Tamer & Reda

Everybody had a great time on M.V Hurricane on the Northern Red Sea 'Wrecks and Reefs' trip.   They praised everything from the pristine coral reefs and fish life, to the exceptional service of the crew and dive guides, and the fantastic food. 

Garry Dallas- Manta ray, free swimming moray eel...what more would you want to see before breakfast. Lovely wrecks and plenty of colourful fish and coral to see.

David The Barge – Wreck teeming with life and colour. Highlight was a visit from a pod of dolphins which swam with us for a while.

Garry Dallas - As much as I enjoy the caves and wrecks, simply looking in awe at natures creations...Encourages me to keep diving here. Well done guys for a splendid tour of the Red Sea !!!!

Susie/Kt – Great boat, loads of different areas to explore. The boat has a sundeck for basking in the sun on topdeck, tables and chairs on the level below for socialising. A well stocked bar J with comfy couches. Plenty of space and a great atmosphere! Cabins are cleaned daily and comfortable. What more could you ask for?

Phil Austin - Fantastic vessel that quite simply did everything it needed to do.

Scott Waterman – Fantastic crew, very friendly, very polite and always willing/ prepared to help you in any way they could.  Both dive guides could not have done any more to make the trip a success, Reda professionalism is a credit to your company.

Des/Lee-Now on our 5^th Tony Backhurst live-a-board, still never ceases to amaze how such quality food is produced in such a confined galley. The food as always is excellent.

Susie/Kt – We will miss it, it far exceeds our own culinary skills. Can the chef come back with us please?

Phil Austin - First class and ticked every box including service.

Let's hear it for Valeria & the M.Y Cyclone crew

Valeria, our guide, is amazing. She speaks Italian very well and her easygoing attitude is catching, so it's instant bonding. Besides, Valeria is very competent and at the same time relaxed, so it doesn't feel as we're being watched or she's "The Police". 

Valeria is one of the best guides I have ever met. The crew is very friendly and available. Both guide and crew are great, very friendly, cooperative and kind. The crew is always smiling, it's like a group of friends, I've appreciated all of them, they've been always very helpful. 

Most of them also speaks a little bit of Italian and were willing to teach us some Egyptian. Valeria is super friendly and nice, she guided us through amazing dives and always been very cooperative during dives, I felt ALWAYS safe and she helped me seeing all I was looking for in Red Sea.

I really hope to dive again with her in my future trips to Red Sea.

Tornado's Chefs on board & cooking up a feast.

Whirwind 5^th November with Sameh & Mohamed Ali

"The food was outstanding and as a vegetarian the chef was one of the best. How very kind of the crew and chef to give me a cake with Happy Birthday Desmond 071161 it just about sums up how good and thoughtful everyone was”

“This has without doubt been the best livaboard I have been on. The crew have been outstanding. The dive guides were excellent. The care and attention from all the staff been second to none. The chef deserves a medal.”

“This was my very first liveaboard trip, and truly loved it. The crew is very nice, helpful & thoughtful. The guides are both extremely experienced, and the briefings and dives were well planned. I felt safe to dive & well looked after.”

“Very attentive crew, hardworking and friendly; made us feel welcome from the moment we came on board; many thanks to the chef for all the fabulous meals he prepared for us! Not a single meal I could fault! All very tasty J”

“Special Thanks to Maghoub who always made us laugh and created the funniest things out of towels; It was my first time on a liveaborad, but after this week surely not my last!”

“One word….Superb!! Thanks to the great chefs.”

“Excellent food and plenty of it. Our tummies were very happy throughout this trip! Many thanks to the chefs.”

Carnatic: “Fantastic dive plan lived up to expectations; Sameh and Mohammed kept us in order and made us feel very safe within the limits of my diving ability.”

Rosalie Moller: “These dives were so well planned. Everything went very well. Excellent learning experience, guides were amazing and necessary thanks to Sameb and Mohammed”

“This is our third trip on Whirlwind it is excellent.”

“First time on the Whirlwind, probably the best Red Sea live-aboard I’ve been on to date.” 

“This was our first time on the Whirlwind and our first liveaboard as individuals not travelling as part of a dive group. The boat is very impressive and was very comfortable throughout the trip, appearing to have endless supplies of everything we needed for a great holiday.”

“We are always impressed by the fantastic crew and the courtesy and hospitality they extend to their guests. The captain was very professional, the dive guides were the best guides we have ever had in the Red Sea.”

Best Wishes for Whirlwind

The Wreck of Ulysses

“This was Lisa's first ever dive in warm water and the Red Sea. We were totally impressed with what we saw and the information supplied by the Dive Guides. Carnatic was..........Awesome!!!!!!!.....”  Lisa Richards & Carl Roberts

“First time open water diving again after a 10 year break.  Everyone was extremely helpful in getting me back into it (instructors, crew and guests alike). All the skills came back very quickly – thanks for the support!”  Lonn Landis

“A nice easy start with a good choice of sites. Fun diving was had by all.” - Aquatech Group

“Ulysses was the dive of the day. It was simply stunning I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.”John Holt

“The Thistlegorm turned me on to wreck diving.  I didn't think I would like wreck diving but the underwater museum is amazing.”  Lonn Landis

“This morning we saw the sun rise from the prop of the Thistlegorm with the wreck to ourselves! “ Paul, Paul and Dave.

“The boat was impeccably presented when I arrived and every effort was made to keep it tidy, a well run ship!!”  Tony Matthews

“The boat is clean, tidy and well presented.  I'm amazed that it's been kept so well with 20 messy salty divers on it every week!!”  Lonn Landis

“This was my first liveaboard  any others will have to go a long way to beat this.” John Holt

“What can you say..........They were fantastic.  Especially Yasser.  He fulfilled Lisa's lifelong dream........to swim with dolphins!” – Carl Roberts

This being our 2^nd trip on the Whirlwind within 3 months, we can say that we think that the Guides and Crew do a grand job and are always so polite.  There are no complaints from us.  Thanks for the fun time and the great diving.- . J Swanley Sub-Aqua Club (SSAC)

Let's hear it for M.V Mistral

Farzi Bantin- “No matter how long you have been diving nothing can replace a dive-guide who loves their job, is observant and enjoys the pleasure it gives his/her group to delight in the beauty and profound life that the Red Sea has to offer. We had not one but two of these professionals on board.”  Well done Val & Reda.

Rose and Paul – “Giannis D: Then a shriek from Val – DOLPHINS playing. Five of them (two mothers and babies and one other) stayed for over five minutes, swimming around and in amongst us – fantastic!!!”

Sandy and Andy – “Overall the trip has been wonderful and one of the best holidays ever.”

Andy, Pete, Gary, Chris, Neill and John – “The food was well presented, tasty and obviously freshly cooked. A varied menu throughout the week catering for all tastes with snacks in the afternoon and welcome hot drink after each dive.”

Sandra and Andy – “Shark and Yolanda Reef.  The most amazing dive ever.  The conditions were perfect.  A fantastic guide (Val).  Beautiful sun shining through the water making it electric blue.  The current gently pushing us along until we hit the vertical wall when we got an exciting ride over the 800m abyss! “

John, Andy, Pete, Neill, Gary and Chris -  “Thistlegorm: A fantastic penetrating dive guided by Reda. It was a unanimous thought that we would never be able to see as much as we did without our guide.”  

Rose and Paul – “Mistral is a really powerful and more importantly stable boat, especially in some of the rough seas we experienced. Our cabin was a double on the upper deck – queen size bed, very firm mattress, lots of pillows to choose from. Plenty of towels were provided and extra towels were readily available. Bathroom small but perfectly adequate – good quality fittings, rain head shower – works really well, plenty of hot water as long as everyone else isn't taking a shower at the same time! Cabin was cleaned every morning during the first briefing and tidied during the day when we were diving. Being a photographer, Paul was very impressed to see a separate camera room with dedicated rinse tanks.”

Andy, Pete, John, Neill, Gary and Chris our best dive of the day was a drift dive at Shark and Yolanda Reef, if anyone wonders why we dive then this is it. Everything a diver could wish for in a reef dive. Once again an excellent guided dive by Reda.

Rose and Paul – “Ulysses: Another lovely wreck, not too crowded. Found (with help from Val!) nudis called Fabilina – completely new to us, very pretty, under hull near prop.”

Farzi Bantin -  “If cleanliness and hygiene are your priority, this is the boat for you, if food is on top of your list, this is the boat for you, if you want it to be all about you, this is the boat for you, if copious amount of water for your shower is what you crave, ask for a room in the bottom deck!”

Sandra and Andy – “The boat is lovely. Spacious, immaculate and one of the most stable out of the fleet. Excellent for first timers like us – especially when one suffers from sea sickness.” 

Farzi Bantin -  “A good guide is worth their weight in gold, we had two of these wonderful and professionals. Reda; quietly watchful always jovial. He was able to get everyone in out of the boat safely and quickly without stressing you out. Valeria, so competent and knowledgeable about EVERY site with minute detail in every briefing that gave you such insight and made you feel you have been there already; thus feeling totally in control. The two were like guardian angels on your shoulder in every dive! The boys on the dive deck were competent and attentive they will come to your aid if you unable to dress or undress yourself. They seem to recognise your gear from the first dive and keep a watchful eye on you, your gear and your needs! Marvellous.”

Rose and Paul – “Food was very good – plentiful, hot and tasty. Special requests were not a problem and a wide variety of omelettes/fried eggs/scrambled etc. was available for breakfast. Hot chocolate was given to us after first dive and night dive – very welcome indeed – and orange juice after the other dive which was a really nice touch.”

Farzi Bantin - “Food was great and there was always plenty more, even at the end of the week. We ate a variety of different things without repetition. If there was something you wanted all you have to do is ask!”

Sandra and Andy – “the food is lovely and lots of it too.  It has clearly been well prepared and it is always hot.  Any special requests are catered for with a smile.” 

S.S Thistlegorm 70th anniversary

The majestic S.S Thistlegorm sank just outside the reef system Sha'ab Ali on the night of the 6th Oct 1941.    Guests on M.V Mistral and M.Y Whirlwind had the memorable experience of diving her, on the 70th anniversary of her demise on 6th October 2011.  In remembrance of the lives lost our Dive Guides laid a flower on her bow. 

Steve Ross. “Today I completed my video archive on the Thislegorm. With Redas local knowledge and willingness to show us something different I got the opportunity to video the boiler from one of the locos on the port side of the boat. Diving on the Thistlegorm is always a pleasure but these last few have been extra special with the things not seen before and diving on the 70^th anniversary.”

.

Rachel Brown. “This ship is awesome, it's like time has stood still. I wanted to see the motorbikes which I did, along with the boots and the train, the overall experience will stay with me for some time!”

Janet.  “Thistlegorm - As good as ever. We dived it on the 70^th anniversary of the sinking and the night dive was special. We saw a crab releasing its eggs. Ascending on the line with light on the wreck and streams of bubbles was very atmospheric.”

Pat. “The Thistlegorm is awesome, a must for every diver. The night dive was brilliant—atmospheric with the wreck illuminated with torch light.” 

“Thistlegorm - vis was 100% better than yesterday, could see both trains from the top of the ship. Took a pic of Captain’s bathroom while wandering inside. Couldn't find the poppy that had been laid on the bow for the anniversary though.”

Mike. “Thistlegorm morning dive was the best as we got in the water before the usual 300 other divers. Visibility was excellent and has made a fantastic video which I can put on you tube when I get home.”

Who is Reda?

Ramadan Mohamed – Reda 

Reda has been working in the Red Sea since 1994 and has a wealth of knowledge of the wrecks and reefs of the Northern and Southern Red Sea.  Over the years as a professional diver he has accumulated over 8,000 dives.  

Reda has worked with Tornado Marine Fleet for the past seven years.   He has had many returning guests who have requested him as a dive guide.  Part of the reason for this is Reda excels in customer service always making sure his guests are happy both underwater and above water on their holiday.   

Reda enjoys sharing his experience and as he says “I always strive to improve my skills and progress my career as a member of the international diving community.  I look forward to continue to inspire divers from all around the world, to help them improve their skills and increase their knowledge of the underwater world.” Reda is a PADI MSDT and speaks English and Arabic.