News
Check out the last of the Summer Sale bargains from blue o two
There’s still time to take advantage of UK-based Tour Operator blue o two’s Summer Sale deals and dive some incredible destinations across the world. Plus, dive the Red Sea over the Christmas period from just £1099! You can also explore the magical Maldives from £1995.
Take a look:
RED SEA
M/Y blue Horizon
22 Dec – 29 Dec 2017: Northern Wrecks & Reefs – £1099 (CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR)
M/Y blue Melody
22 Dec – 29 Dec 2017: Strait of Tiran & North – £1099 (CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR)
29 Dec – 5 Jan 2018: Northern Wrecks & Reefs – £1099 (CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR)
M/Y blue Fin
15 Dec – 22 Dec 2017: Best of Wrecks – £1099
22 Dec – 29 Dec 2017: Any Northern Itinerary – £11495 (FULL CHARTER – BOAT ONLY)
29 Dec – 5th Jan 2018: Strait of Tiran & North – £1099
MALDIVES
M/V Sea Spirit
01 Oct – 08 Oct 2017: Central Atolls (7 Nights) – £11995 (FULL CHARTER – BOAT ONLY)
M/Y blue Voyager
15 Oct – 22 Oct 2017: Magical Maldives (7 Nights) – £1995
05 Nov – 13 Nov 2017: Pelagic Encounters (7 Nights) – £1995
12 Nov – 20 Nov 2017 Pelagic Encounters (7 Nights) – £1995
20 Nov – 28 Nov 2017: Magical Maldives (7 Nights) – £1995
29 Nov – 12 Dec 2017: Central Atolls & Beyond (12 Nights) – £2995
19 Dec – 27th Dec 2017: Magical Maldives (7 Nights) – £2695 (CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR)
27 Dec – 07 Jan 2018: Best of the Maldives (10 Nights) – £2875 (CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR)
14 Jan – 21 Jan 2018: Pelagic Encounters (7 Nights) – £1995
FRENCH POLYNESIA
M/V French Polynesia Master
20 Sep – 27 Sep 2017: Tuamotu Archipelago (10 Nights) – £2059 (SUMMER SALE – BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS)
27 Sep – 07 Oct 2017: Tuamotu Archipelago (10 Nights) – £2860 (SUMMER SALE – BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS)
06 Dec – 16 Dec 2017: Tuamotu Archipelago (10 Nights) – £3572 (SUMMER SALE – BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS)
27 Dec – 06 Jan 2018: Tuamotu Archipelago (Rangiroa to Fakarava) (10 Nights) – £5070 (CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR – BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS HOWEVER BLUE O TWO WILL CONTRIBUTE £450 PER PERSON TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS)
27 Oct – 03 Nov 2018: Fakarava and the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (7 Nights) – £3750 (BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS)
FIJI
S/Y Fiji Siren
09 Dec – 16 Dec 2017: Beyond the Bligh (7 Nights) – £2107 (DESTINATION OF THE MONTH- BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS)
25 Dec – 09 Jan 2018: Beyond the Bligh (10 Nights) – £4999 (DESTINATION OF THE MONTH- PACKAGE INCLUDES FLIGHTS)
GALAPAGOS
M/V Galapagos Master
18 Sep – 25 Sep 2017: Master the Galapagos (7 Nights) – £3423 (SUMMER SALE – BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS)
25 Sep – 02 Oct 2017: Master the Galapagos (7 Nights) – £3423 (SUMMER SALE – BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS)
PHILIPPINES
S/Y Philippine Siren
19 Sep – 29 Sep 2017: Malapascua & The Visayas (10 Nights) £2455 (SUMMER SALE – BOAT ONLY, PACKAGE EXCLUDES FLIGHTS)
To book or for more info contact blue o two now on 01752 480808, email info@blueotwo.com or visit www.blueotwo.com.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 1
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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