A Diamond of a Liveaboard! Northern Red Sea

by Andy and Fiona Boorer

Well, having said for the fourth time that we definitely would not be back to the Red Sea, we gave in…. again! We went for the second time this year (!) with Tony Backhurst, - this time on Diamond. Abandoning the family (which is, of course, half the point…..), we set off in the last week in October. We tried the "turn up and have someone take your car away to be parked" - valet parking for the first time, and I have to say it worked a treat!!! The flight was late (but only 2 hrs, so not horrendous) as always, but very comfy. We treated ourselves to the celebratory champagne (no teenagers, what other excuse do you need???) and settled down for the flight.

Diamond has been rented by Tony Backhurst due to the demand for the trips - I can see why they are popular, as we've always had good service etc from them. Also, being bigger boats than some, we've had no trouble getting to the other side of the straits for diving.

Sharm was lovely and warm and we were soon on the boat - most of the rest were an RAF group, but we were quite happy, being used to Service diving. We even offered our selves as relief SADS dive marshals for them! The guides (thanks guys!) seemed very happy to let us go off and do our own thing during the week, which as experienced divers is always appreciated. Nice crew, with an imaginative line in bed making……

First day - Ras Katy, a good shakedown dive and with many memories - our daughter is convinced that the Lionfish there stalk her - with justification, as they follow her at night even when she switches her torch off. Since her name is Cathy, we always call this "her" site. After this, off up to the Straits of Tirhan and two reefs - Jackson and Thomas. There was an oceanic whitetip, but we didn't see it - typical! Others did, tho. I was really impressed as they insisted every pair had DSMB's - the first time it's been mandatory. They had them if you didn't have your own. The trip was a little lumpy, but there's always somewhere to hide up there.

Second day - Thomas reef, and Andy started his lead weight collection. This grew to 2 sets of integrated weights and about 10kg of lead by the end of the trip. We then set off - much more comfortable to go "with" the wind, and got to the Dunraven. No current!!! Good vis, and managed to do it "between" other boats, so not too crowded. Third dive of the day - how can I put this, guys - um NOT the Thistlegorm. Yes, we were on a small rock! Not sure what happened,!! Biggest wreck in Red Sea???? Luckily Andy and I were first down, so we reversed course in time to stop all the others descending the shot line. Red faces all around, but we found it very funny!!! Good thing we HAVE dived it lots! Moved the boat hurridly……..

Later, night dive and ---the wreck was there!! I love night diving here, peaceful after all the other boats go. Kowalski torches rule (thanks to Jack Bird for introducing us to them years ago - we've had them for about 8 yrs now and they never go wrong!)!!

Third day - two morning dives on Thistlegorm, before the mad rush. It really is deteriorating, but still worth it. We bought the DVD with Cousteau's discovery of the wreck on it this year, and you can still see some things are the same - but there's a lot gone….. We didn't see the turtles there this time (we had a magic trip last year and spent a lot of time with the turtles on the wreck). Across the straits (oooh, a bit rough) and to Gobal Island. We dived the barge, and saw the big Moray. Also played games - we built a people pyramid underwater, and played trains - all very silly, but fun! We declined the night dive and relaxed with a beer or so………

Fourth day. Two dives on Rosalie Moller - oh yes!!! Second time we've made it here. Second dive better than first, but my own fault. Hint for stress free diving - do not let your mask fall off at 30m…… I caught it but I was a little wound up! I still cannot believe that that blast damage was enough to sink the ship! At least with the Thistlegorm it looks like it should have gone down!! Vis was good and it was flat calm there! Following this, we drifted along the northern side of Gobal on a site called Malek. Nice and calm and pretty. Made it right back to the boat……. SMIRK!

Fifth day - Abu Nuhas, first the Carnatic and then the Giannis D. Nice as usual, good vis and lots to see. Went and looked at the engine room and lathe. We were the only boat there - as we seemed to be doing the trip in a "different" order - well worth it for the non-busy sites!! The weather was kicking up, so we left and recrossed the straits (oooooooooooooh, sit still in one spot and think zen thoughts……..), stopping at Shark/Yolanda. Andy and I did our usual fluttering of eyelashes etc and got them to drop us off on the Yolanda - by far the best bit, I think, and thanks guys for letting us do our own thing!! There was a heavy current, and I think we were the only ones to see the "wreck" this time! Do you know there are baths as well as loos etc???? Also an awesome turtle. Night dive - well no…… Beer removes all unwanted night dives, as another member of the trip put it. I know, feeble, but we were here for an end of year relax, not an "every minute underwater" scenario!!

Sixth day. Yolanda again. No current, straight in on top of it, only divers in sight and the turtle was all MINE!! Last dive was near Ras um Sid - we opted for "off the boat" - bad move as quite silty and "samey". Oh well, one not so wonderful dive in a whole week, and it was our choice to go in there!!!! Frantic handsignals as we each tried to blame the other (but, of course, it wasn't MY fault…..). Back to base, and the usual reminder of why liveaboards are SOOOOO good as you watch the scrum of others scrabbling around on the dayboats…….

OK, so the Red Sea isn't "as good as it was in my day" "busy" etc - but honestly, for hassle free diving, within a few hours of the UK, good vis and some excellent dive sites - it takes some beating. If you've had a stressful few months, if you don't NEED to always push your limits… if you think outside the box and go with a good company (thanks Tony Backhurst) who will let you off the leash……….dive guides who don't need to be in your face because they can spot the good (and BSAC!!!) divers…… if you have experience AND a good dive buddy (who first dived it when the Sinai belonged to the Israeli's) who you know can do it….. (OK, 21 years of marriage helps!), it's really fun - honest……..


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