Mistral's Magic

Wrecks and Reefs with Samer and Yasser

“First dive Stingray Station and we saw a huge Stingray! Fantastic ;-)” Caroline

“Lots of life to look at, weather fantastic, boat great. Lovely holiday!”

“As a non-diver on my first liveaboard trip I was extremely happy to see a hawks bill turtle whilst snorkelling around the barge wreck. “ Anne Shelley

“Seeing a turtle on the Ghiannis D was amazing!!!” Linda

“Night dive on the Thistlegorm is a must.  It's a bit of a surprise for a turtle to appear inches from your face above a hold but one not to be missed.” 

“Watch out for the huge blue moray free swimming around the boiler section of the Dunraven!!  It's like Harry Potter meeting the Basilisk in "Chamber of Secrets"!! “ 

“The boat lives up to all expectations. Cabins are cleaned regularly during the day and all areas of the boat are kept spotless.”

“We loved the boats layout it was spotless throughout the week.”

“The boat is spacious, clean and comfortable. Highly recommend it.”

“The crew are very attentive and helpful and nothing is too much trouble and the guides are happy to let experienced divers explore on their own.”

“The crew are super friendly and always ready to help.  The guides are extremely attentive and make you feel very comfortable in the water if you are not a very experience diver.”

“The crew work really hard at keeping the boat spotless. They are friendly & fun. “

What a Whopper of a Trip report - I guess you enjoyed it?

Hurricane  14^th August with Dive guides  Reda  & Tamer

Trip highlights:

Tony & Lorna:  “Two fantastic wrecks to start the day.  GHIANNINS D was possibly the best dive of the week (standfast THISTLEGORM), she is a very imposing figure appearing out of the gloom. The early timings meant the wreck was not too crowded, and the depth of water allowed a slow pace of dive with the opportunity to witness all there is to offer – one of the highlights of the week.”

Bethan and Rebecca:  “We loved the Thistlegorm, really great to dive it three times, especially at night. After hearing bad reports about it I was apprehensive but clear instructions on how to manage in the current left me confident and able to enjoy the dive. The wreck itself if overwhelming huge, let alone the fact there is so much to see.  

Craig and Morag: “Thomas Reef this afternoon was fab! Lovely drift, and turtle sighting at end, topped off with a white tip reef shark, while doing 3 min safety stop, only shark sighting so far, the only thing that has been better than that was the pod of dolphins on the Barge dive on day 2!”

Jem and Jim:   “Well well well, after perfection all week with a 5 star boat, quality dive deck, awesome food and the finest crew to sail the Red Sea, what could possibly top a top week!   How about more perfect food, more perfect facilities, more happy crew and divers and throw in turtles, tuna and the odd hammerhead shark!!!  Awesome is too weak a word for our stay.”

The boat:

Bethan & Rebecca:  The boat was immaculate at all times. Accommodation is spacious except for the bathrooms which are a little small. We have really enjoyed chilling out on the top deck sunbathing and watching the sunset. We also indulged in some great late night hot tub action under the stars.

Jem & Jim:   Big, clean, efficient and with all of the toys big children like us require.  Also the Jacuzzi is the hundreds and thousands on the icing on the cake.

The Guides and Crew:

Morag: “This has been my (Morag's) first Live aboard, and won't be my last, the guides have been brilliant, with good, informative briefs about the dives, with excellent knowledge about currents and conditions of the water.  I have also completed my Advanced Open Water on board this week, and have enjoyed this too!  Though I do think that entering wrecks is not my forte!  Also the crew of the Hurricane have been most helpful, the boat is clean, great food and snacks, and if it wasn't for the zodiac drivers I'd never get back into the boat!

  

Jem & Jim:  “The best dive briefs of any live-aboard to date.   Our guides excelled.  Excellent knowledge, always helpful and with a superb sense of humour – you could not ask for more.   Put simple they made the trip very very special... Thank you Reda.”

The Food: 

Andrew & Sophie:  “Excellent food and especially pleased by the extra effort that the chef put in for Sophie with her vegetarian meals. Delicious!”

Tony & Lorna: “Fantastic food (and plenty of it!) served by friendly, helpful staff. Special mention to the breakfast omelettes!”

17th July - Whirlwind super Wrecks and Reef trip with Sameh, Yasser & Valeria

“Sameh, it is a pleasure to be guided by you. Briefings were excellent and the diving is unbelievable.   First time in the Red Sea and you may have turned me into a warm water diver.   Thanks for helping me improve my dive skills.” -  Gareth

“Awesome dives today! The wrecks and sea life are amazing! Sameh and Yasser have made me feel at ease as a pretty new diver, and guided us through parts of the wreck that I would have skipped without them.  All of the staff have been extremely helpful and friendly, making the trip very comfortable and even more enjoyable- Excellent trip so far!!!” - Gemma Dimery

“What can I say – perfect dive day!  A personal guided tour of the Thistelgorm, with no other divers on it, followed by snorkelling with dolphins.  Absolute heaven – doesn't get much better! Sameh and Yasser  are excellent divers, the briefings are thorough, and everyone is pleasant and wants to have fun.  Had a great day today, in fact, all dives have been great!”

-  Helen

“On behalf of the Swanley Sub-Aqua Club we totally, totally enjoyed the whole holiday.  The Guides were excellent and the crew efficient and friendly with nothing being too much trouble. Thank you so much for a fantastic week, it was five star rating.” -   From Robbie, Karen, Stewart, Tom, Eve, Brian, Steve and Kim.

“Thank you for a great weeks diving, the crew and guides have been fantastic, can’t fault them.  Excellent food.  Looking forward to our next trip.” – Tom and Carl Williams

“My fifth liveaboard, and the quality is excellent as always.  Boat is clean and food is lovely” – Helen

“Sameh and Yasseh are two of the best dive guides I've had in the Red Sea. The Crew are great, very helpful, always want to have fun and make the experience fun for everyone.” – Helen

“Valeria my private guide was really great, I felt so safe and good with her. She is a great professional and I can see she loves what she is doing. The crew were top, always looking after me. It was a fabulous week on Whirlwind, crew and everything was fantastic “  Sergio Mandozzi

Guests have a great time diving on Mistral with Reda & Tamer

“The night dive at Gordon was excellent, almost full moon so very good ambient light. Excellent encounter with a very nice octopus, lovely shrimp and small hermit crabs.” - Phil Nash.

“Gordon Reef. The aquatic life on this dive was great. We were lucky enough to see shrimp, starfish, sea eel, lion fish, blue soptted rays, cornet fish and many more. The corals were also amazing. We drifted past a garden of fan corals – stunning.” - Shereen Roberts.

“I’ve been diving for about 13 years and have been promised hammer head sharks before. Today on Jackson Reef I saw my first hammer heads. We were in the blue for about 25 minutes and we saw only blue, I thought this was going to be another of those promises. Then one hammer head appeared, then 2 at the same time.  I shall always remember this dive. Big thanks to Reda & Tamer.” Carl Sanders.

“Today was a big day for me. Being new to big, deep wrecks, I was apprehensive but also excited about the dives on offer. The guide Reda made me feel at ease as I knew I was in safe hands. Despite my nerves, the Rosalie Muller was a fantastic start to the day – a challenging dive, but I had a real sense of achievement afterwards.” - Sarah Griffiths

“The Kingston was a beautiful and peaceful dive – the perfect antidote to the dark depths in which the Rosalie Muller sits. Lots of light and life and minimal current – great!”

“It has been about seven years since I last dived Small Crack and it is still as wonderful as I remember it. The red anemones and garden eels at the beginning and then the slow drift along the reef enjoying the many types of coral and fish on the way. The overwhelming memory from Small Crack is the sheer enjoyment of floating across the sandy bottom past all the heads of coral just watching the fish with the sun streaming down around us. A lovely relaxing dive.” - Susan sanders

10th July Wrecks and Reef Safari with Reda & Sameh

Guest comments:

“The Carnatic offered a beautiful frame for a rich variety of fish.  On the way back from the dive, we got our first chance to swim with a pod of dolphins; a chance that came back several times over the next couple of days.” Tina & Troels

“ Our first days diving in the red sea ever!! First dive in Sting ray station was lovely, and every dive just got better and better. Excellent mix of wrecks and reefs and a treat to be diving in warm water. It was a nice touch for the crew to organise a day of snorkelling with the dolphins!” Anna & Pete

“After a morning dive at Giannis D, the Mistral left Sha'ab Abu Nuhass for its next location: Gubal Seghir.  The Ulysses was the starting point for a drift dive along the reef, with plenty of photo opportunities.  The trip's first sea turtle decided to follow the current along with us.  The afternoon and evening dive was at the underwater aquarium that is The Barge.” Tina & Troels

“Amazed at the size of the boiler in Dunraven. So much to see, great night dive saw very large pair of Stonefish. We are extremely impressed by the pre dive briefings they cetainly make the diving safer. It was great to see the Thistlegorm with hardly any divers on site, a memory that will last forever.“ Ian & John:

“ Elaine clocked her 100^th hour on Ras Ghuzlani.........stunning pinnacles and the turtle that didn't get away J” Elaine & Zim

Whammo! Loved it. Ghiannis D…..Fanfowgoow

Whirlwind – 12^th June

Trip highlights

“Whammo! Loved it. Ghiannis D…..Fanfowgoow.”

“The Ulysses was definitely my favourite dive of the day, seeing a massive napoleon wrass on entry and then a turtle later on, not forgetting the never ending coral reef gardens growing full of fish – truly amazing.” -  David McCormick.

“Awesome!! Best dive of the trip…all the history and memories…fascinating!! Will come back to the Red Sea just to do Thistlegorm again!!”

“Absolutely fabulous!! Every diver has to experience this amazing dive site!”

“Jackson - Excellent vis, massive amount of fish life and excellent hard and soft coral. Large green turtle feeding on soft coral was the highlight.  Wall dives are my favourite and I can see why this is so highly rated.” Martin McCormick

The Boat:

“Awesome boat! Will definitely be recommending to everybody.”

“Beautiful, well kept. The Red Sea’s finest.”

“Great …a real top quality boat, comparable to the best.” 

“My 4^th trip on Whirlwind my favourite dive liveaboard.”

“Awesome atmosphere, will definitely recommend to others!”

The dive guides and crew

“Just one word – Excellent J”

“I have dived the Red Sea on a few occasions and found these guys the best I’ve ever dived with! Friendly, fun, welcoming, warm hearted and fair.”

“Best briefings I have known in 7 trips from Dickon and Laura. Boat deck crew very efficient. Great team!”

“Excellent guides Laura and D, great personalities. Some of the best & most informative briefings I have ever encountered.”

“Fantastic! Friendly, helpful and caring. Detailed dive briefings with lots of information”

“Great dive guides, very thorough briefings and every effort made to cater for all needs. The crew were fantastic. Great food, great hospitality.”

“Fantastic! Friendly and super efficient! Thanks guys!!”

The food

“Yum Yum !!! forget the diet when on this boat!!”

“Awesome, good variety too!! Not going close to a scale for weeks!!”

“Very tasty! Best omelettes ever! Ask for the potent chillies ;-)”