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Deptherapy’s Red Sea Wrecks – Part 6
Part six of seven of Gary Green’s account of the Deptherapy Red Sea Military and Forgotten Wrecks liveaboard expedition.
Day 9: Abu Nuhas – SS Carnatic
The Carnatic, I was told, was not a wreck to be missed. Andy Alfred, one of the Deptherapy Instructors on board was not wrong – the dive was fantastic! The side of the wreck was completely open and we were able to swim completely through with lots of light beaming in. As we entered the wreck there were thousands of glassfish that seemed to create a cloud of silvery white; as we went through them they darted away in their groups. A cleaner wrasse on the other side of the wreck had a little ‘nibble’ on my hand. I guess he thought they were unclean; I didn’t take it as much of an insult though and more as a compliment.
On the back end of the wreck laid the reef. It was almost completely shielded by the wreck and created its own little channel. Small reef gardens popped up all the way along and we followed in line observing them. There were brightly coloured fish all the way along and it made me realise that I would like to get more experienced in identifying the fish just so I could know what I was looking at. My knowledge at the moment stems as far as “ooh, there’s a blue fish, ooh, there’s a stripey fish…” I don’t want to be a marine biologist by any shot, but the behaviour of the fish completely amazes me and I am fascinated by them.
As we reached the point where we were to conduct our safety stop, we ‘bumped’ into a couple of clown fish in the anemone (bumped into is not really the right expression, you bump into a friend whilst you’re out shopping!). Maybe I should say we came across a couple of Red Sea anemone fish. They were as territorial as every other Nemo I had seen, once you breech a certain distance you enter the “clown fish danger zone.” They were never that aggressive in Finding Nemo though, a bit of false advertising if I do say so myself. First the little fish gave me the death stare, then swam at me a couple of times and darted away; if he could talk (I should imagine in a high pitch voice) he would be saying something like “oi come any closer I’ll do ya… you want some mate… I’ll do ya”. Of course I’m intrigued by the fish so I do want some, so I crossed the threshold and he head butted me in the mask. It made me giggle, which was my second mistake, as my mask broke its seal and flooded slightly – crafty clownfish!
Day 9: Abu Nuhas – Giannis D
The Giannis D was my favourite of all the wrecks and it was absolutely amazing. My anticipation wasn’t as high either as it wasn’t boasted about as much as some of the others. Once we got down, though, it was absolutely fantastic. The first of the surprises was being greeted by a sea turtle as we swam around the bow. It was so interactive, it was unbelievable. It swam in between us as it went back and forth to feed from some coral along a mast on the wreck. It quickly became a celebrity as everyone pulled out cameras and GoPros to record the amazing experience. I was so intrigued by the fact that as it went to feed off the coral garden, it used its front fins to create a form of leverage as it’s strong snapping jaws tore away chunks. We all posed for pictures with the turtle as we watched in awe of the magical creature, graceful and in it’s own way, agile.
As we moved away from the turtle and to the rear of the ship we entered a breaching point. The ship was sunk and laid at a forty-five degree angle, which made the penetration quite disorientating. We managed to start at the bottom of the wreck and make our way through the engine room and then various other passageways. The wreck penetration was amazing; spacious, light and took me back to being a five year old exploring my local park. The whole dive was like an adventure playground, with a few more added dangers like getting trapped and running out of air obviously. It was by far my favourite dive of the whole trip.
Day 9: Carless Reef
On this dive, another sea turtle greeted the Deptherapy dive team, the white team (Team Achievement)… not my team, unfortunately, which meant the white team got the white tip reef shark and an extra turtle! I heard the story of what happened and apparently the turtle had a nibble on Jamie Hull’s diving hood, then moved on to Aitch and tried biting his GoPro; some moments are just priceless.
Along the reef, which was teeming with colour and life, we were honoured with the presence of blue spotted rays, giant morays and a huge grouper. I honestly cannot do the sight justice with words alone, neither can photos or videos.
It’s the feeling when you see a spectacular sunrise so you take a photo and when you look at the photo you think ‘it looked better than that’. It’s the same thing with scuba diving, nothing ever seems to do the experience justice. I almost feel sorry for people that haven’t scuba dived as they are missing out on nature’s most beautiful secret, the world under the sea.
Day 10: Hurghada Marina – T43 Minesweeper (El Mina)
The wreck of the minesweeper was (in all due respect) rather dull as it was sunk onto the super structure so all that was visibly available was the bottom of the ship. However, I like the feeling of being underwater, it’s a therapy for me no matter what sights are on offer so I could never be disappointed in a dive. Dave found a plastic bag, which he loaded into his BCD pocket and brought back to the surface to place in the bin; every bit of plastic brought up is a piece of plastic that cannot harm the ocean.
Earlier on in the week we had a presentation on PADI’s Project Aware. I am already quite familiar with Project Aware and earlier on in my diving career I had taken part in a Deptherapy dive for debris and a beach clearance. The brief mentioned all the main points and the ten tips for divers that can protect our oceans and stop the damage that is being inflicted on the coral and marine life. Videos of sea turtles caught in plastic can rings; it’s heart breaking to see something destroying the ocean and killing fish that is completely avoidable. I think we all looked within ourselves and decided that we as individual divers could do something about it.
Day 10: El Vanoose (Arabic translation – The Lighthouse)
Not far from shore lay a reef named El Vanoose, which translated in Arabic (so I’m told) means The Lighthouse. This name was given because of the lighthouse that stands out from the reef, although I am pretty sure that it is no longer used. Another name for the reef is ‘dolphin playhouse’ due to the dolphins that come to play here. This is usually in the morning though and is almost guaranteed. We went onto the reef in the afternoon when it is well known that the dolphins go to the lagoon in the north to swim, so unfortunately we did not have their presence. However, fingers crossed, we will be here in the morning to snorkel with them.
On the reef, dolphins are not the only attraction. There are two pinnacles not far from where the reef lies, absolutely full of life, more than I had actually seen on any other dive. The reef was heaving with sea life, from fish just bigger than your hand to micro sized life that grew and swam around the pinnacle. Between the pinnacles was a beautiful garden of both soft and hard coral that was populated by fish of every colour. Hiding in the small holes of the reef were morays, five I’m pretty sure I counted myself. I always make sure to keep my distance as their heads bop back and forth with their teeth showing. They always seem placid, however it’s not something I would like to gamble on.
On the swim back to the boat we came across an octopus. One thing that rings true with the Red Sea is that you just never know what you will come across. The octopus was about the size of a rugby ball; he was brown but as we approached his colour changed to white (I say he and his, but in all truth I have no idea of its gender). You can see when an octopus is threatened and its skin actually raises from a flat surface to spine-like layers that can raise between 5 to 8mm to make itself seem larger. Although there was no wreck to see, the dive itself was interesting due to the amount of life that was on display.
Read the final part of Gary’s blog tomorrow.
Donate to Deptherapy or find out more about their work at www.deptherapy.co.uk
Thanks to Dmitry Knyazev for the incredible photographs.
In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.
This month we’re taking a look at the Dusky Shark, a highly migratory species with a particularly slow growth rate and late age at maturity.
Dusky sharks are one of the largest species within the Carcharhinus genus, generally measuring 3 metres total length but able to reach up to 4.2 metres. They are grey to grey-brown on their dorsal side and their fins usually have dusky margins, with the darkest tips on the caudal fin.
Dusky Sharks can often be confused with other species of the Carcharhinus genus, particularly the Galapagos Shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis). They have very similar external morphology, so it can be easier to ID to species level by taking location into account as the two species occupy very different ecological niches – Galapagos Sharks prefer offshore seamounts and islets, whilst duskies prefer continental margins.
Hybridisation:
A 2019 study found that Dusky Sharks are hybridising with Galapagos Sharks on the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Pazmiño et al., 2019). Hybridisation is when an animal breeds with an individual of another species to produce offspring (a hybrid). Hybrids are often infertile, but this study found that the hybrids were able to produce second generation hybrids!
Long distance swimmers:
Dusky sharks are highly mobile species, undertaking long migrations to stay in warm waters throughout the winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, they head towards the poles in the summer and return southwards towards the equator in winter. The longest distance recorded was 2000 nautical miles!
Very slow to mature and reproduce:
The Dusky Shark are both targeted and caught as bycatch globally. We already know that elasmobranchs are inherently slow reproducers which means that they are heavily impacted by overfishing; it takes them so long to recover that they cannot keep up with the rate at which they are being fished. Dusky Sharks are particularly slow to reproduce – females are only ready to start breeding at roughly 20 years old, their gestation periods can last up to 22 months, and they only give birth every two to three years. This makes duskies one of the most vulnerable of all shark species.
The Dusky Shark is now listed on Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), but further action is required to protect this important species.
Scientific Name: Carcharhinus obscurus
Family: Carcharhinidae
Maximum Size: 420cm (Total Length)
Diet: Bony fishes, cephalopods, can also eat crustaceans, and small sharks, skates and rays
Distribution: Patchy distribution in tropical and warm temperate seas; Atlantic, Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean.
Habitat: Ranges from inshore waters out to the edge of the continental shelf.
Conservation status: Endangered.
For more great shark information and conservation visit the Shark Trust Website
Images: Andy Murch
Diana A. Pazmiño, Lynne van Herderden, Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Claudia Junge, Stephen C. Donnellan, E. Mauricio Hoyos-Padilla, Clinton A.J. Duffy, Charlie Huveneers, Bronwyn M. Gillanders, Paul A. Butcher, Gregory E. Maes. (2019). Introgressive hybridisation between two widespread sharks in the east Pacific region, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 136(119-127), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.04.013.
3rd AUGUST 2024 – 1 or 2 WEEK PROGRAMMES
Daily water programme with Snorkelling & Scuba Diving.
Beginners or qualified, something for all.
Leave the kids with the Splash Team for days of Excitement, Fun & Adventure!
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
There are various options for accommodation with options for 2, 3, 4 or 5 guests.
Eco Huts provide accommodation for families of up to 4. The best option to enhance the adventure and closest to camping with basic facilities. For August we will provide central air cooling for all the Eco Huts.
Deluxe Chalets are only suitable for 2 guests. Fully air conditioned rooms with private bathroom and other facilities.
Boutique Rooms are available for families of up to 5.
Individual bespoke rooms fully air conditioned with private bathroom and other facilities.
Eco Huts: £675 per adult / £425 per child / Under 8 FREE of charge
Deluxe Chalet: £830 per adult / £505 per child / Under 8 FREE of charge
Boutique Room: £925 per adult / £550 per child / Under 8 FREE of charge
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
This is a truly unique opportunity to have a Family Desert Adventure totally away from it all! You will be based at the remote Roots Red Sea on the coast of the Egyptian Eastern Desert, 140km south of Hurghada city.
Red Sea Splash main focus is Snorkelling & Scuba Diving but that’s not all, we provide a rounded week of activities in support.
Pool& Field Games – Arts & Crafts
Marine Biology Workshops
Cultural Activities – Orienteering Adventures
Roots Red Sea have established strong links with the local communities of Hamerwain & El Quseir affording our guests to have a true taste of the local culture, SPLASH CAMP embraces this opportunity and bring in the local children to join in the fun with our adventure seekers.
During the day, families are welcome to take part in all activities together or the kids can be left with the SPLASH CAMP team while the parents enjoy the facilities or go diving themselves!
At the end of the day, its family time while the SPLASH CAMP team take a break. For those with the energy, there are family evening activities planned a few evenings.
Open Air Movie Night – Desert Star Gazing Walk & Talk
El Quseir Evening City Tour
The second week is very special, we head off on the Big Blue for a liveaboard safari around Fury Shoals.
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
U-8 Splash Club
Sadly we can’t offer Scuba Diving to the Splash Club but we can have lots of fun Snorkelling & Free Diving!
Splash Club includes:
Certified Snorkel Course – Marine ID Games – Intro to Free Diving
Arts & Craft Sessions – Adventure trails – Cultural Playtime – Pool Games
U-12 Explorer Club
In addition to an exciting snorkelling and Free Diving Programme in the Splash Club we can take you under the water on SCUBA to a whole new world of fun and wonder. If you are under 10 your first breath under water will be as a Bubblemaker and continue with daily Seal Team Missions. From 10 we will complete a Discover Scuba Diving experience in the amazing Red Sea. Alternatively we offer a full junior certification programme to become an international qualified Scuba Diver.
U-16 Adventurer Club
For qualified Scuba Divers regardless of age it’s the Adventurer Club and exploration of the local reefs and marine life. There will be 2 dives every day with the Open Ocean marine field station team who will introduce you to Red Sea marine life and workshops on marine research. Alternatively there are opportunities to continue your scuba diving certifications with our instructional team.
Parents are welcome to join the club activities and join the courses.
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
Big Blue might seem like the new kid on the block, but the team behind the highly acclaimed liveaboard is far from that. They have been running Red Sea safaris since the late 1980’s and were in fact part of the early pioneers who ventured out to the unknown on vessels that in today’s world, really shouldn’t have left the harbour! It’s that experience and the years of operating the award-winning Roots Red Sea resort which truly set Big Blue apart from the crowd!
Large lounge area, spacious sun deck and terrace deck.
Airy restaurant with five tables with up to six chairs per table, serving a varied and delicious menu with special dietary requirements catered for.
The spacious cabins have side by side beds and a large walk in wet bathroom.
Ample dive deck for divers & snorkelers.
Safety is everyone’s priority, whether you are relaxing on board, swimming, snorkelling or diving.
On board Big Blue is fitted with smoke alarms, emergency lighting and a fire alarm system. The lower corridor has a full-size door fire exit at the bow and open stairs to the stern. There are evacuation plans in each room along with life jackets, glass breaker tool and a fire extinguisher.
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
Red Sea Splash at Fury Shoals is a very rare opportunity to get involved with marine biology expedition for children and adults. Open Ocean biologists are on board to provide fascinating and entertaining facts about the marine life you will see. The team will provide workshops on marine life identification and survey methods both of which, should you wish, you will have the chance to put into practice during your safari.
The week is open to snorkelers, scuba divers and non divers too!
Fury shoals is perfect for first time mariners as it offers plenty of protection from the weather.
We board at Port Ghaleb on Saturday evening and prepare to set sail early on Sunday morning.
Heading south, our first day will be diving the reefs of Abu Dabbab before sailing overnight to reach our ultimate destination the Fury Shoals.
Here we will spend four days swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving amazing reefs. This includes guaranteed DOLPHIN encounters at Sataya Reef! After the last dive we haul anchor and head back to Abu Dabbab for our final two dives before disembarking our boat BIG BLUE.
Camp Extension Cost*
Adult £650 per adult
Under 16 £350 per child
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
FURTHER INFORMATION – INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM
TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
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