News
Emperor Divers now open in new home in Sharm
A new year, a new diving centre! Emperor Divers is back and fully open in Sharm el Sheikh.
Thousands of divers have dived with Emperor over the years in Sharm but it used to be a surprisingly small – and fairly nomadic – operation! However, last year the Emperor Divers team had the opportunity to take on the best-located dive centre in the whole of Sharm – the historic base in the Marina Sharm Hotel (formerly Helnan Marina Sharm Hotel) on the Southern corner of Na’ama Bay.
Emperor worked closely with the previous – and excellent – owners Werner Lau and Sinai Divers to take on their staff and add another chapter to this famous centre.
The diving centre has direct access to Na’ama Bay as its housereef, and the jetty many of you will have used before to board their boats Shorouk and Marcus is a two-minute walk away.
Now Ali, Elise and the team are already welcoming divers back to the warm, clear pristine reefs of Sharm, Tiran and Ras Mohamed – regarded by many as the best daily diving in the whole Red Sea.
Flights are regular from the UK and Europe and there are scores of hotels of every standard available within walking distance to the centre or further afield if you prefer.
This is a hugely exciting step for Emperor Divers in a fantastic location – as their Red Sea General Manager Luke Atkinson explained:
“Sharm el Sheikh got a reputation for astonishing diving because of the quality and variety on offer. Each single distinct area – whether Tiran, the coastal reefs of Sharm or the walls of Ras Mohamed – would be enough to call a destination ‘amazing’. To have all three in one destination is simply sensational.
It’s hard to pick highlights in a destination so blessed with quality diving, but The SS Thistlegorm is an underwater museum and widely regarded as one of the best wrecks in the world. The fish schooling event of Ras Mohamed in summer is truly world class, with walls of snapper, barracuda, batfish and many other species as they choose this one special area to mate.”
Find out more or book at www.emperordivers.com
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
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.
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.
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