My first live-aboard

“My first live-aboard, and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.  Weather good and guides very knowledgeable on the wrecks and marine life to be seen.  Support staff helpful, and food plentiful and tasty.” -  Ged McDonald

“This is also my first live-aboard and a very good experience. The staff have been very supportive.” - Richard

“My first livaboard, excellent staff who made me feel very welcome.Three very good dives.” Rob Stringfellow

“Great dive on Jackson. Love to be surrounded by fish no better way to start the day!” Richard

 “Small Boat but small is beautiful.” Hamish.

“The boat has nice character, good layout.” Richard

“Everything you need and superbly maintained by the excellent crew.” John

“Cyclone, best boat that I have been on, out of 8 different boats.” Nigel

“Very friendly and happy crew, Dive guides could not be better.” Hamish

“These guys are exceptional – everyone does their job professionally, and then gives that bit more in friendliness and helpfulness.”  John

M.V Mistral gets ten out of ten

 “I have never been on a live aboard before and I find the boat very nice. Nice rooms. I liked that we got big towels and a bath robe.  Spacious areas inside and outside. I don’t think I could be on a better boat. I also really liked the closets and drawers in the room and of course having our own bathroom was really nice.” Marianne

“Superb one of the best, will recommend to all.” John

“A very good live aboard boat. Can recommend it to all. Huge, good space, little rolling, cabins nice.” Geir

“So much better than the ones we used before.  Good cabins, nice layout of dive deck, good lounge and nice outdoor areas.”  Sue

“This is my second time on a live aboard.  They are the best fleet in the Red Sea.  Fantastic boat.”  Karen

“The briefings were the best and most comprehensive I have ever known.  The guides were really helpful and all the crew had good sense of humour and with our group this is always helpful....”  Sue

“The Guides and Crew and the friendliest people you will meet.  The Crew can't do enough and the Guides are so professional and knowledgeable.  Every briefing is so precise.  They even give the history of the different wrecks which makes it much more interesting.”  Karen

“The food is superb when you consider we are out in the middle of the Red Sea! I am a fussy eater – there was nothing I didn't like.  The Chef even makes a cakes for dessert!”  Karen

M.Y Cyclone welcome 'Newbies' onboard

Are you a new or inexperienced diver?  Maybe this makes you unsure about booking a ‘liveaboard’, as many more experienced buddies might suggest that these trips are only for the experienced.  Well think again as Tornado Marine Fleet Guides will give you all the support you need to have a fantastic holiday.

Cyclone: 18^th Feb: Dive Guides Sameh & Tarek

All the crew have been very helpful friendly and quietly efficient. The dive guides have been excellent and particularly supportive to the less experienced members of my group (Bruce Coles)

Superb crew, extremely welcoming and on hand to help at all times. I've not had a bad meal onboard and the endless supply of tea, coffee and soft drinks is appreciated. The support of the dive team, especially to relatively new divers, is a great confidence boost. (Michael Berg)

Everyone on board has been great. The guides have been first class helping a liveaboard newbie enjoy all aspects of the trip. The briefings have been exceptionally thorough allowing you to relax on the dive as you know what to expect. The rest of the crew have been great from helping with kitting up to getting you back into the zodiacs! (Louise Kelly)

Best briefings in the Red Sea! Excellent guides, very friendly crew making you relax and enjoy the whole week. Very professional team from diving and boat perspective. Go dté sibh slán. (Alan O'Reilly).

Learning to fly on the Woodhouse Express was a highlight of the week (thanks, Tarek)!! Fast drift on the south side and over the saddle avoiding the washing machine between Woodhouse and Jackson. Great stuff! (Alan O'Reilly).

Chrisoula K – for me one of the highlights of the trip. The swim from the stern into the cargo hold and workshop was really good. I'm glad I took the guided option as I would never have found the highlights. (Michael Berg)

Dunraven a nice easy first penetration dive for less experienced people in my group followed by a nice drift along a good reef. Carnatic and Chrisoula K were good follow up dives for them to enjoy (Bruce Coles)

The crew did a great job picking the party up from Woodhouse in significant swells; impressive job! (Michael Berg)

Excellent response to technical difficulties at beginning of dive, which meant I could carry on what proved to be an excellent dive. There was an abundance of marine life (Jim Francis).

Loved both Jackson and Woodhouse Reefs – amazing drifts even with the high wind creating large swells.

Felt like I was flying through the Red Sea. Did my first ever night dive on Beacon Rock which was great – saw lots of lion fish! (Louise Kelly)

Thistlegorm; excellent briefing plus great "emergency" repairs to my dive computer that saved the dive for me. (Michael Berg)

Thistlegorm: one of the highlights of any diver's career, made easier by excellent guide and briefing.  Strong current, but because of briefing it was expected.  Hanging onto shot-line was a thrill in itself (Jim Francis).

Thistlegorm was an outstanding penetration dive out of the current followed by a good hang on the line in a fair current. Very well supported by the dive guide who made sure the less experienced  members  of my party were able to cope safely. Small Crack (or Craic?) was a good easy drift with plenty of life (Bruce Coles)

Really grateful to the guides on the Cyclone for taking us through all the holds on the Thistlegorm – will always remember it as its was my 50^th dive. Perfect in every way! (Louise Kelly)

The guided tour inside the wreck is highly recommended. (Mike)

Compliments to all the staff on the Cyclone.  All have gone out of their way to be extremely helpful and informative.  They work well together and you can see there is a good atmosphere between them.  The divers' briefings were extremely thorough and informative, making dive-planning a lot easier (Fiona MacKillop).

Whoop Whoop Whoop Whirlwind Wins.

23^rd Feb 2012 – there is a great atmosphere in the Tornado Marine Fleet office as finally DIVER magazine officially announces the winners of the prestigious DIVER annual awards, and YES our sleek, shiny, and beautiful M.Y Whirlwind steps up on to the red carpet or maybe that should be the glistening blue waters of the Red Sea to accept the coveted ‘Best Liveaboard of the Year’ 2011 award.

A big congratulations are in order for the crew of M.Y Whirlwind who keep her posh and polished, the Engineering department who keep her purring, and the Food and Beverage and Saloon staff who serve the best liveaboard food ever from her galley.

Special thanks go to the CEO of Tornado Marine Fleet Ayman Mousa, who made her possible, Operations Manager Carrol Flowers for running her, the Marketing Team Moira Tune and Ramy Youssry who pushed everyone to vote, and of course last but not least our wonderful Dive Guides who make our divers happy with their talented guiding, expertise of spotting the amazing, their professionalism, and care and attention.

We are all very proud and thank everyone for taking their time to vote for truly the best liveaboard – M.Y Whirlwind. 

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.

Getting Wrecked with Tornado

Tornado Marine Fleet have two popular North Red Sea itineraries 'Wrecks and Reefs' and 'Get Wrecked'  here's just a snippet of what our guests say about the amazing and varied wrecks we have to offer.


 “Sameh guided  us through Thistlegorm’s holds 3,2 and 1 very narrow but an exhilarating experience particularly to see the radio cars that my father had driven with the 8^th Army in Egypt in 1941 – thank you Sameh.”  - Robert Yorke

“Brilliant day – lovely dives on the wrecks with loads to see, and to top it off we swam with the dolphins by the boat” - Jennie & James

“Sameh guided us into the Thistlegorm holds and I got some really good photos of the lorries and motorbikes , thank you Sameh. Then to the Carnatic – interesting construction and marvellous views from inside. Finally to Crysoula K and the long swim through past the tiles –eerie. A really excellent day”  - Robert Yorke

“The first time that I swam through all the holds in the wreck and it was amazing! I actually saw the rifles, trucks, bikes and welly’s for real not just in pictures. The current was very strong on the safety stop it was a case of hang on tight, but I loved it!” - Julie Hill-Paul

“We got to snorkel with Dolphins around Abu Nuhas you can't get any better than that!”

 

“Carnatic is a beautiful wreck to dive, fantastic coral and marine life saw my first sea slug on the swim through. It is a wreck to take your time in and just gently enjoy everything that your eyes can take in” Julie Hill-Paul

“WRECKS!!! What a day, 3 fantastic wrecks great penetrations and great lighting. Loved it” Dave

“Long swim through and much exploring inside the Giannis D and the angle made it more interesting– we have dived a lot of excellent wrecks on this trip.” – Robert Yorke

“Giannis D is a great wreck specifically the wheel house with the light filtering through. Loved getting the photos of the stern.  - Dave

Cozy up on Cyclone – one of Tornado’s top boats

Just some of the guest comments from their trip on Cyclone on the 14^th January 2012.

Alexandra: Sting ray station, Alternatives and Beacon Rock. These three dives were a great introduction to the Ras Mohamed National Park – the former two conducted during daylight and the latter as a night dive. For those unaccustomed to the north Red Sea, this was a relatively easy prologue to the forthcoming dives, thanks to the sheltered conditions, lack of current (with the exception of the night-dive at Beacon Rock), and the variety of aquatic flora and fauna.

The dive briefings prior to each excursion were comprehensive and well-illustrated, and the guiding from Sameh and Yasser both thorough and supportive. These were characteristics that continued throughout the trip.

Mark Sinnott: After a considerate welcome the previous evening, due to our delayed arrival, the boat brief and check dive were professionally led. As throughout the trip all the briefs were of the highest standard and the dives were guided very well. The trip proved to be one of the best I have had the pleasure of joining and I have been on over a dozen liveaboards.

Brian: all the dives today were again well briefed and although i have not dived here before the briefing gave  me more than enough information to allow me to know exactly what to expect and where to find relevant points of interest  the mix of coral and  wrecks  was stunning  a really enjoyable experience 

Mike and Laura: The highlight of the trip was diving on the Ghiannis D, which was a super experience. The interior of the ship, including the engine room and workshop, were interesting and reminiscent of a bygone era, with a lathe and pillar drill on display for all to admire. The wildlife on the exterior of the ship was, in our opinion, the most beautiful, and affluent and varied of the whole trip. This ship was a fantastic challenge, due to the angle at which it lay on the sea bed. The mast on the seperated bow section was home to hugely varied and abundant forms of life.

Trip Highlights

·         Seeing and photographing turtles at Small Crack and Shark & Yolanda.

·         Having the opportunity to dive the Thistlegorm four times in one trip.

·         Seeing Spanish Dancers on the Beacon Rock night-dive.

·         Witnessing and photographing so many types of nudibranch.

·         Seeing and diving the Ghiannis D, with it's huge variety of life. A reef on a wreck!

What the guests said about Cyclone:

Brilliant. It's the perfect size for a liveaboard: big enough to allow the group to split into smaller parties (for guided and unguided dives), yet small enough to ensure that everyone gets to know one another.

Mike and Laura: The guides and crew were wonderful. No job too small and chef happy to share his recipes! The rooms are beautifully clean and the dive deck was well equipped, with the crew being very attentive.

Food: Delicious. We really were fed well during this trip and, by all accounts (from those who've participated in liveaboards before), the quality of food onboard Cyclone was far superior to that on other boats.

All due respect much be paid to the chef, who treated us to copious cakes on top of soups, mains and salads – including one especially decorated cake for the three divers who had reached 100, 100 and 400 dives respectively