Scuba dive the Red Sea on a Liveaboard from Sharm el Sheikh
Red Sea - Sharm el Sheikh - Sinai Peninsula - Egypt
Red Sea Liveaboard Dive Boats - A bucket list must do
During our first dive of the trip to test and adjust our gear, before we were supposed to have a week of submersing ourselves continuously to admire the ocean life, we had a diving emergency and needed a medical evacuation. Was this a bad omen for the trip?
Egypt is an ancient, exotic travel destination filled with culture and mystery. Who has not dreamt of seeing the pyramids?
Many people do not only go to Egypt for the pyramids, the Sphinx, tombs or temples. Another popular tourist site is the Red Sea. The areas around Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh and Dahab are well known as dive destinations. If you venture there, it will be an unforgettable experience.
The first time we dived the Red Sea I acknowledged life on board a dive boat was no lazy life. At times it was very relaxing but believe it or not, it can be quite tiring.
I was not a confident diver then. Five years later, in 2008, when we travelled to Egypt for the second time, I was far more self-assured, with a few other dives under my weight belt but I was still more of a fox on land. I prefer the shallower dives with pretty things such as coral gardens and cute fish darting through the ocean. Wreck dives are deeper and of less interest to me. Yet I was looking forward to this trip.
At Sharm el Sheikh Marina we tested our balancing skills and stepped on board The Hyatt by means of a narrow gangplank. The previous time we unceremoniously jumped down what was probably 1 and a half meters from the jetty to the boat. Walking through The Hyatt to our cabin, we were impressed even more by our living conditions.
Our other travel companions that arrived a good few hours before us had the privilege of swimming near a young whale shark that entered the bay where the boat was moored. They could not have asked for a better welcome but we were disappointed that we did not have the same treat.
Scuba diving accidents happen
Once we were all on board we set off immediately and within a couple of hours we moored in a bay where we had our first dive to check our equipment and test our weights as the Red Sea is far more salty therefore divers are more buoyant.
I loved the dive but the extra weights and large cylinder was more cumbersome. Before I knew it, it was time to end the dive. Our divemaster, Mohammed gesticulated that I together with Paul (my husband and dive partner) must head back to the surface and swim to our boat while he continued with the rest of our group.
There seemed to be a commotion when we reached the boat. The crew did not want us to climb up the ladder. Instead they shooed us to the other side where we climbed on board.
Then we saw a diver lying down with a few people gathered around. One of the ladies in our group had a medical emergency. We found out later it was an air embolism. Fortunately we had two doctors on board that could assist until a medical team arrived.
A rescue boat from shore collected the patient and her husband. Unfortunately their diving holiday was cut abruptly by a tragic event and she was hospitalised in ICU. A few days into our trip we were told that she was recovering well in hospital. We were all greatly relieved to hear that.
Diving the Red Sea:
Our group on board was quite large and we were divided into 2 – a younger crowd and an older mob. Each group had their own dive master. We were given different time slots to dive in and each group had their own dive briefings before each dive.
Life on board was quite relaxed but it can also be quite exhausting. We were limited to four dives a day but it was not compulsory to dive all of them.
After dives we would sit and chat, getting to know our other (boat companions) and once the final dive was done for the day, for many it was party time!
We were fed well on board the Hyatt. You have no idea how hungry one gets after a dive. The food was great and plentiful with more than enough soft drinks. There was a bar to buy alcohol for those that wanted.
World’s Top Scuba Diving Destination
The Red Sea is one of the world’s top scuba diving destinations. The water is warm most of the year. The visibility is good depending on the time of year. Sometimes the clarity of the water allows you to see up to about 40 meters.
Diving the Red Sea is an unforgettable experience. However, as calm as it looks, the water can be choppy and treacherous at times. Around some of the atolls the currents can be quite strong.
When diving at wrecks there are often many dive boats anchored together. You have to keep your wits about you to know which boat is yours as you are about to surface from your dive. Don’t panic if you end up on the wrong boat. They are happy to take you back to where you belong.
Mohammed with us
There are thousands of divers in the Red Sea at any given time. Mohammed, our dive master, took me under his wing and helped me relax under water and enjoy the ocean. One of my ‘fears’ is to run out of air and not be close enough to buddy breath.
I made sure my dive buddy was always close to me, as he has a tendency to wander off on his own mission and I am the one finning like crazy to catch up with him. My breathing became more and more relaxed during the trip and he was very attentive towards me.
Some of the memorable dives:
Alternative or Skate Reef – Sharm el Sheikh Coral garden. An easy orientation dive.
Thistlegorm Wreck. Probably the most renowned wreck dive of the Red Sea. We saw two crocodile flat heads, napoleon wrasse, boots and jelly fish on the safety stop. We noticed the deterioration since our last dive in 2003.
Carnatic Wreck – Sha’ab Abu Nuhas. An interesting rib structure and easy to penetrate the wreck but only suitable to dive in good weather and sea conditions. At our 5 meter safety stop we had to hold onto an anchor rope and wait for our inflatable dinghy to fetch us before we went up to the surface. This was close to the Sha’ab Abu Nuhas reef and due to the tide, the swell was swaying us from side to side. An adventurous end to the dive and not one suitable for those prone to seasickness – which is me – but still an enjoyable dive.
Yolande – Sharm el Sheikh. A beautiful reef but the visibility was not too great although we saw fantastic soft corals, unicorn fish and a giant moray eel.
Jackfish alley – Ras Muhammed. This was a fantastic dive and probably my best yet. We swam through a small cave. Coral gardens with large fan coral.
Jackson Reef Inner – Tiran. This was a lovely wall dive for us although the motors of the other dive boats were very noisy. There were large schools of fish and tuna at the end of the dive.
No sooner had we taken our dive gear off on the boat, when we plunged back into the water to snorkel and continue watching the huge shoals of tuna swimming past.
Paul is great at diving down deep with one breath. But on the surface we were not the only snorkelers. There were day visitors with pool noodles (floatable tubes) or life jackets minding their own business, floating on the surface with their heads stuck under water. We fondly called them the Red Sea pedestrians or bikini fish. When you have been holding your breath for a long time, one easily torpedoes up to the surface, as Paul did, to get one’s breath back. Sometimes not too far from these snorkelers. I think they were not very charmed if he got too close!
Lighthouse Reef – Ras Um Sid. Here we saw huge Gorgonian fan coral, schools of barracuda and 2 napoleon wrasses.
Other worthwhile dives:
Small Crack, Beacon Rock, Dunraven wreck, Cristola K, Ghiannis D.
On this trip big ships or tankers were more visible. Relaxing on deck, we watched them pass us by. One such lucky sighting was a dolphin surfing in the bow wave of the tanker.
Then we were fortunate to have dolphins – or is it porpoises – at the bow of our boat as well.
The last night on board the Hyatt was in the marina at Sharm el Sheikh but I think we would all rather have spent the night further out at sea.
At the end of the trip I was beginning to feel more like a fish under water than a fox on the run. This was my best diving holiday ever.
We did not have an underwater camera but one of our friends, Neil Syrett kindly gave us some of his photos for our memories. One of my favourites to see underwater are nudibranchs.
After we disembarked we headed to Dahab for a week of sightseeing and diving.
Is it safe to travel to Egypt?
There is a history of terrorism in Egypt, so it is always best to check with your government department of travel whether it is safe. However, often one is advised it is quite safe to fly to a specific destination if you are not traveling to other parts of the country.
From a crime point of view, Egypt is very safe with only a small amount of petty theft.
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About the Author
ALMA VAN AS | ROAMING FOX
Alma is a South African travel blogger and writer. She hopes to inspire you with facts and fables about her adventures, road trips and international travel.
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