Dive sites

In the 200 square miles of sea available to our day diving boats there are over 50 diving sites. These vary from deep coral walls best suited to drift diving to shallow 9 meter coral heads and reefs which feature interesting formations, a multitude of both hard and soft coral growth and the incredible number of fish species for which the Red Sea is famous. Just off shore we also have the wreck of an Egyptian Mine Sweeper lying at a depth of 30 metres.
Selecting the diving sites is obviously governed by safety; the main factors are the wind and the experience and ability of the divers.

The Main Islands and Reef Groups

Umm Gamar
A small island with an automatic navigation light. Except for a small plateau to the southwest, the island is surrounded by reef with both sloping and vertical walls. Particular features include hollow outcrops of coral and a small cave.

Shabruhr Umm Gamar
A long reef with a sloping wall to the southeast and a plateau around the other sides. The sloping wall features the wrecked remains of a patrol boat at around 25 - 30 metres and below this there is a vertical drop-off. The shallower parts of the reef have a number of swim-throughs and caves.

Carless Reef
Two small reefs sit on a 15 metre plateau with a deep drop-off to the north. The plateau slopes away on all sides with a beautiful area of table corals to the northeast.

Giftun Suriya
Good diving sites surround this, the second largest island in the day diving area. Its exposed position and thus nutrient rich waters support some superb coral growth. The dives around this island offer something for every level of diver from beginner to advanced.

Giftun Kebir
The largest island in this area, (big) Giftun has diving sites along its south east side, in the channel between it and its smaller namesake, to the south of the island and on its north west corner.

Abu Ramada
Yet another small island surrounded by good dive sites. There are wall dives along the north and eastern sides and shallow plateau dives around the other sides. About half a mile to the south is Gotta Abu Ramada (commonly called The Aquarium), this is one of the best sites to see schools of those reef fish which elsewhere are normally only seen singularly or in pairs.

Magawish
An area of several small reefs, rich in life and often used for night dives.

Abu Nuhas
In a way it is a shame that this reef is famous for the four wrecks which found their final resting place here!

Abu Nuhas offers some excellent diving around its three sides.

1. The eastern side has rugged coral formations with a very good stock of marine life. There is a good drift dive to be enjoyed along its drop-off, which is 25m deep to the north and 15m deep to the south.

2. The southern end of the reef can offer safe anchorage and is a good base for a night dive. Just further to the south is Yellowfish Reef; named after the sweetlips, which inhabit this reef in great numbers. The eastern section of this reef probably offers the better diving.

3. The western boundary of this reef is also worthy of attention. This is sometimes dived following an exploration of the Giannis D. wreck on the tip of the main reef, when the conditions prevent safe anchoring to the north or over the wreck. Along the northern edge of the reef are four wrecks spaced out between the western and eastern corners:

4. Name : Giannis D. (Possibly previously called the "MARKOS" or the "SHOYO MARU")
Wrecked : 19 April 1983 in a storm.
Owners : Danae (giving rise to the alternative name for this wreck "DANA" - from the remains of some lettering on the smoke stack).
Length : 99m. Displacement: 3,500 metric tonnes.
Route : From Rijeka to Hodeidah.
Cargo : Wood, metal sheets, pipes and cables (some local boat captains call this the wood wreck).
Max. depth : 28m

The most westerly of Abu Nuhas's four wrecks, she sat on the edge of the reef for six weeks before storms broke her and settled her beneath the waves. The crew were all taken off without serious injury.
The wreck lies at an angle to the reef and the stern section is the most interesting. This is where the bridge, accommodation areas, workshops and engine room can be entered and explored. Strong currents can surge through this rear section of the wreck. The tip of the crane gantry here reaches to within 4m of the surface.
The central hold section is quite broken up but allows inspection of the cargo, which has been scattered across the sand.
The bow, which rises up several metres, lies on its port side. Here the foremast now stands almost parallel to the seabed and the anchor winch, chain locker and the anchor chains themselves can be easily found. There is always plentiful fish life on this wreck.

5. Name : The Carnatic
Launched : 1862
Wrecked : 13 September 1869 (0100) due to navigational error. She finally disappeared from view in March 1870.
Owners : Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (now known better as P and O).
Length : 90m. Displacement: 1,776 metric tonnes.
Route : From England, via Suez to Bombay and Calcutta.
Cargo : General including gold, wine, beer, "London soda water", mail and passengers (some local boat captains call this the "bottle" or "wine" wreck).
Max. depth : 25m

After only a few hours of leaving Suez this P & O mail steamship struck the northern edge of the reef at Abu Nuhas. Tragically, due to the excellent weather conditions, the 230 passengers and crew decided to stay on board. Over 24 hours later disaster struck when the ship suddenly broke in two.
27 people then lost their lives in the ensuing confusion. Only after pulling the ship's boats across the reef, burning bales of cotton and firing a distress rocket did the other passengers and crew attract the attention of another P & O ship The Sumatra.
A considerable amount of salvage work was carried out and this was the first time air pump and helmet diving techniques were used successfully. The team led by Captain Henry D. Grant on behalf of the insurers, Lloyds of London, recovered about 80% of the gold.

The Carnatic now rests at the foot of the 18m drop-off with her bow pointing towards the east and lying on her port side.
Most of the decking has rotted or been broken away and a lot of the hull areas can be entered through the remaining support struts. Some of the interesting features around the hull and skeleton of her structure include the propeller, the large boiler and parts of the tandem compound engines, the table corals (acropora) growing on the end of the davit and a protruding spar, the square portholes on the passenger accommodation and, even now, a number of bottles among the debris inside the blackened, forward hold.

6. Name : Known locally as the "tile" or "Japanese" wreck
Also sometimes called the Seastar
Wrecked : 1982
Length : 60m.
Route : From Italy to Jedda.
Cargo : Floor tiles.
Max. depth : 28m

This wreck lies along the bottom of the drop-off with her bows pointing towards the west; her deck lies canted over at a shallow angle. The smoke stack has broken off and can be seen on the seabed just away from the main wreck. The inside of the ship can be explored and much of her cargo of floor tiles can be seen, but some of this cargo is becoming unstable so some caution should be exercised. The force with which the ship must have hit the reef can be judged from the damage, which can be seen around the bow area.

7. Name : The Crisoula K.
Wrecked : 1976
Length : 106m
Cargo : Lentils (some local boat captains call this the "lentil" wreck).
Max. depth : 32m

The bows of this Greek cargo boat still lie broken on top of the eastern tip of the reef. The remainder of the wreck lies at a right-angle to the reef, on its starboard side. The propeller and stern area is at 32m and the remains of the deck lie perpendicular to the seabed. Since all of the cargo has now disappeared, there are large areas of the ship to be explored. Local stories tell of vast populations of fish living in the wreck due to the plentiful supply of edible cargo! In rough weather some movement can be felt through the wreckage so it is likely that there is yet to be further settlement of the wreck.

There are indications that the Chrisoula K. may lie upon another wreck and it is probable that this may have been carrying copper or bronze. It is from this cargo that Abu Nuhas gets its name.

When the conditions at Abu Nuhas prevent safe diving then one of the following dives may be substituted:

Shabrour Siyul (Blind Reef)
This long, slim reef runs from east to west. As such, it allows diving on its western side when the prevailing north wind restricts diving on other reefs in this area. The western side has a shallow vertical drop-off for its first 10m and then a steeply sloping drop to around 30m. The northern end is more dramatic than the southern, with shallow caves and the possibility of seeing sleeping sharks. The eastern side is much steeper and there is a reasonable chance of seeing the bigger pelagic creatures that most divers crave!

Shab El Erg
A large horseshoe shaped reef, which encloses a shallow lagoon, is often used for overnight anchoring. Off the northwest tip there are a couple of coral masses with good coral growth and a good chance of seeing turtles. There is little of interest down the sloping drop-off below 20m. The northeast corner of the reef is known as manta point. This is because of the number of mantas, which sometimes gather here around the months of February and March during the plankton bloom. Along the eastern side of the reef is a sloping drop-off with some beautiful coral specimens. Around the southern end of the reef there are a number of small coral blocks on a sandy plateau of 12m.