DIVING  Overview.

Started  from Hurghada.  We have the most ordinary ship – the same do out on day trips. And pretty old. Therefore, we have always broken air conditioner and the crew regularly conducts assembly-disassembly of internal structures on the speed. This does not prevent us from moving strictly our course. Evening, we brought several boxes of fruit. On the ship we are not very many and not too little – 8 members of staff, and guide  and we are 15. More –  two kids – Sasha 6 months after birth and 7years old  Anuta-bully.

In the morning the ship sailed. It was decided to draw up a rigid schedule dives

-6 :00 – wake up

-  6:30 – The first briefing

- 7:00 – 1st dive

- 8:00 – Breakfast

- 10:00 – 2nd Dive

- 13:00 – Lunch

- 15:00 – 3rd dive

- 17:00 – lunch (as it should be – sweet and fruit)

- 18:00 – Night dive

- 20:00 – Dinner

After this schedule  at 10 pm all on board were asleep. It is still much more accurate than usual favorite of our divers staggered – when I want, then dive. In our case – who does not want, those does not dive.

First Gamal (our dive guide) held check dive. Such atrocities we have not seen for a long time. Mournful did everything we could – took off the mask, looking for regulators, swaying pendulum. And each in turn – it was impossible to escape. All this happened near the town of Hurghada in DOLPHINE HOUSE. Dolphins were not there. According to the stories  sometimes they are sleeping.

This day we still made a small night dive. Directly beneath the ship, at a depth 13m when we went out a flashlight and we swam together with one ray of light, we have found all that can dream to find a night diver. First, we found a small cuttlefish. She cheerfully rustling her skirts and tried to hide from us. We caught  her. In horror, cuttlefish  push out  ink stain and washed off. To our flashlight approached huge Lionfish.. Gently rubbing  the flashlight  by poisonous wings, she followed us. Then have joined  few  her girlfriends. So we followed a small group along the coral. Then under the stone was discovered fat spotty body giant moray eels. She fidgeted in her den, clicked her teeth and also washed off. And then we found THIS! In the ray lamp, a large red spot. We almost sailed past him, thinking that this is the sea sponge. Sponge move. It was a huge SPANISH DANCERS. His gentle red body  sat on corals. On the back was traditional flower. Lionfish spun together. She curious  stick  nose right in the middle of a back of nudibranch.. We tried to pull nudi, but he stuck firmly to the stone. Fearing damage Dancer, we sailed on.

Already surfacing, directly under the ship Gamal showed us a huge FISH-STONE. She lay on the bottom, completely merging with the scenery. Its huge head with two buttons, eyes and terrible toothed mouth looked at us. Immediately behind the head followed  tail. Fish was kicked (lightly)few times. She lazily bounced back and lay down on a stone the same place.

The first day went very well!

Morning we moved to the reef SHAAB ABU NUHAS. The location is very interesting for divers and dangerous to navigate. A coral reef is practically comes to the surface, but still is these couple of meters of water making it invisible from afar. The reef is located just off the edge of the fairway, called STRAIT OF GOBAL. Even today, the waters here are restless – that and talk about events a hundred years ago!

Morning of the second day began with diving to wreck GIANNIS D. The ship was built in 1969 in the Japanese port Imbari and received the name Shoyo Maru, and sank in 1983 under the name of Giannis D, obtained in 1980 from the Greeks. His last voyage the ship carried on the route Croatia – Saudi Arabia. He was carrying timber. Arriving in Port Said, the captain had time to complain about the difficulties of navigation in treacherous Red Sea. Later, passing the Suez Canal and saw the beach, somehow relaxed and ran into a big coral reef SHAAB ABU NUHAS. At this point, it was already the seventh accident.

I think the ship was sinking long and hard as wood – unsinkable material. Depth – 27.5 m. You can swim in the holds. Millions of small fish ran from us. Gamal said that very nicely in the engine room, but we lost the group, and the entrance to the engine room, alas, have not found ….

The second dive we made on the steamer CARNATIC built in 1862. Dimensions – 89,8 m to 11,6 m. It was built in London. It went mainly between Suez, Bombay and China. By September 1869 the construction of the Suez Canal almost over. Before the opening ceremony remained three months. Now the ships were unloaded in Alexandria. About the long and dangerous journey past Cape Horn could forget. CARNATIC went to Bombay. Despite the fact that everywhere write about the shipment of wine, many sources mention cotton, copper, gold and royal mail, carried on the ill-fated flight. There were 34 passengers and 176 crew members. Captain personally tracked the course of the ship in a narrow GULF OF SUEZ. The night was bright, the September sea was a little uneasy. Once completely invisible ship collided and stuck on the reef. There was no panic. Worked the pump. Full day ship sitting on the reef. The team with the passengers began to ask abandon the ship. But the captain firmly refused. The sea was not very calm around menacingly brightened reefs, and lifeboats were very small. In addition, the next day past it would take one ship and the captain had hoped for its  help. Night fell down. But all around there were nobody and nothing. To  captain again was sent a delegation with a request to go by safety boats to SHADWAN ISLAND. He refused a second time and ordered to serve dinner. Stuart ran down drinks. Passengers were dressed for dinner. At 2 am on board happens severe leak. Vanished light. The third time the unfortunate passengers wanted to leave the ship and the third time they had been denied. By morning it became clear that a collision is inevitable. The captain ordered to lower the boat. At 11 am the first passengers left the ship. But all too late! Having spent almost two days on the reef, CARNATIC suddenly broke in two and sank immediately, absorbing 5 passengers and 26 crew members. The ship drifted away from the reef and pulled to a people. Then he rose from the depths of a huge backward wave and swept left. 7 lifeboats long collected in the sea of victims, then began to rummage items and provisions, and then until the evening, a fleet of 7 boats sadly stretched three-mile route to the island. Soon after being picked up by the very ship SUMATRA, which has been waiting for the arrival of the captain.

CARNATIC sank near the Giannis D in 1869, also at SHAAB ABU NUHAS. Lying on this ship is available depths – 27-20 m. Ship – a striking beauty. Wooden parts have long been eaten by sea and salt, and remained at the bottom of the upright lie infinitely beautiful walls of the deck between them swim thousands of transparent goggle-eyed fish.

The same day, we have embarked on CHRISOULA K. This Greek ship was lucky a little more – he sailed from 1954 to 1981. At the time of the disaster on board a cargo of Italian floor ceramic. As in previous cases, knowing the treachery of these places, the captain stay on foot for two days. And seeing that the channel is expanding, has decided to rest and relax. He fell asleep, but was soon awakened by the voices, and understand that his career and his ship came to an end. By full speed CHRISOULA K moved into the famous SHAB ABU NUHAS. Egyptian military rescued 21 members of the crew and  the ship now rests on the seabed. In the holds still bears a lot of high-grade ceramic. Are visible signs Made in Italy. Depths again small 26.4 feet and can swim in the ship through the hole from the bottom. Meanwhile, our ship was also a reef, on which were broken  hopes  of Victor for calm diving.

SMALL NOTES

VICTOR  AND LEONID

Can not keep silent … It looked pretty funny, I just brief you on the progress of this wonderful learning … So, Victor tried to join the community of PADI. Leonid start to teach him. After the first initiation  Victor began to appear slightly doubt  in his CMAS skill.Victor flew up and down, like a beautiful air ballon, sorry, the Marine ball. Behind him, trying to catch his fins or inflator, flew Leonid. And he was, a terrible, Leonid, with huge eyes, long arms and an infinite amount of air in the cylinder. And, all seen … All Victor flights, and terrible Victor attempts to drive the gauge hand back to 120 bars, and Victor desire to make a stop security unnoticed. Victor head overgrown cones. Victor was afraid of water. For six days we have seen how the water make a new man diver. So, at the end of our wonderful safari he was born!

Third day we spent the morning in the nature reserve of Ras Mohamed. His reason is open, then closed.

At this time we dumped near a wall,  and current carried us to the great plateau. Then we reached the place of the famous shipwreck with toilets and sinks. Strong counter-flow did not allow us to make a standard photo diver on WC.

Currents generally all the time were strong and unpredictable. Gamal pointed out on the current from North, and we are under water in the South current. It often become East or simply changed several times on a small part of the journey. In these parts it is quite normal. Water temperature in this case was very comfortable, even  27-28C. Visibility was never less than 15 m.

Unfortunately  we didn’t seen any shark or big  fish or turtles.. Reefs are very lively, bustling between corals thousands of small and medium-sized fish. From morays mainly represented Giant. Sizes she is incredible! How to log in the woods! Somehow disappeared large parrots. I generally thought that the fish in the Red Sea became less.

On the same day we were brought up in a small nameless island. Between Hurghada and Sharm-order 20-Islands. Only two of them can landed. Others were given to the military. All of these islands from a sand and coral formations.  Nothing grows there, of course, no water. But they look incredibly picturesque. Especially in the sunset rays of the sun. Around these islands many

divs.

The fourth day we had a HAPPY THISTLEGORM. We waited for him with obvious impatience. We are very, very lucky. The ship lies on open ground, it does not protect  by the reef. There is always  strong currents and limited visibility. And yet there is always a huge number of tourist-divers. We were quite alone and there not a flow!

THISTLEGORM – the most famous wrack  of the Red Sea. The ship was built in England, made three long trips. In his last journey the ship was carrying ammunition for the British 8th Army in Egypt and just waiting for their turn to pass the Suez Canal. In the channel stuck 2 ships, and therefore THISTLEGORM two weeks, was at anchor. Location was quite safe – here did not reach the Luftwaffe airplanes , but, on the fateful coincidence, the German intelligence service received a report of a possible appearance of the vessel QWEEN MARY with 1200 soldiers on board, was ordered to find and bomb the ship. He was ordered to find and bomb the ship. German pilot, returning to base after a fruitless search for QWEEN MARY with grief dropped 2 bombs on peacefully standing THISTLEGORM. The ship sank almost immediately. Of the 49 crew members were killed 9 people. Others get to land by swimming – the benefit was very close!

During the first morning dive we made a general inspection of the ship – sailed from the rear part, examined the gun, lying at the bottom of boxes of cartridges, slipper.

Then we swam to the bow, where there are two trolleys. We floated past the giant moray, under the truck resting fish-crocodile. During the second dive, we visited the holds of the ship. Today Thistlegorn one of the most «rich»   wracks . It holds lie endless rows of cars, motorcycles, trucks. In-bodies still lie boots. German bomb fell straight into the bay with ammunition. The ship was split in half and nearly went under water for several minutes. On the exhaust pipe of one of the most beautiful motorcycles clave nudibranch

We were lucky with the second dives, too – when we went down under the water, almost all the divers from the other ship is ready to recovery. And for once is not much we exerted.

Even a lot of times we went in the area of small islands and reefs, under water. For appetizer we had stashed Soviet minesweeper EL MINJA, sunk in 1967 by a direct hit by Israeli bombs. Events occurred during the Six Day War, Egypt and Israel.

The ship lies on its side, exposing for all to see a huge hole torn in his side.

In general, as usual, dive in Egypt is good and interesting!