Location: Red Sea / Egypt / St. John’s
Description: Reef / Coral Garden
Depth: 8 – 26 m

Dangerous reef is the most southerly of the St. John’s reefs dived from Egypt. This is one of the few dive sites in the Southern Red Sea that offer a reasonably shallow flat bottom. This makes it good for an overnight anchorage and night diving. This is a medium sized, diamond shape reef. The hard coral wall drops down to around 18 meters where there is a gently sloping sandy bottom with small coral heads. A family of napoleon wrasse and free-swimming morays are common in this area. The topography here makes for great swim-throughs. There are many breaks in the reef shallows that allow easy and safe penetration.

It is auction time! Bid for your place onboard M/Y Cassiopeia departing September 8, 2010 to the Brother Islands! The highest bidders win!

About the auction:
· You may make your bid for 2 people on the Cassiopeia page of Facebook.
· Simply add your bid to the page.
· Always check the previous highest bid which you can continuously follow on the page.
· Bid only if you can participate in the safari!

What you are bidding on:
· A one-week diving safari at the price you want to go.
· Safari date: September 8 – 15, 2010
· Safari itinerary: Brother Islands
· Vessel: the 5-star luxury liveaboard M/Y Cassiopeia
· The price includes: 7 nights full-board accommodations onboard, transfers between Hurghada airport and the boat, diving, 12l tanks and weights, taxes and shisha/water pipe onboard.

Details of the auction:
· Last bid: August 26, 2010, 20:00 ET
· Starting bid: EUR300 / person (maximum 2 people)
· Minimum bid increment: EUR10 / person
· Auction date: August 12 – 26, 2010
· The winner will be notified by e-mail.

Important:
· The prize is not transferable to a person other than the bidder and it cannot be exchanged for money.
· Guests already registered and booked for the same safari are not eligible to enter the auction.
· Additional expenses apply: Egyptian visa (USD15 / person); Brothers Marine Park fee (EUR40 / person); alcoholic beverages, Nitrox, equipment rental, Satellite phone use, T-shirt purchases onboard and other expenses not included in the price.

Flipper Prints: Egypt - The Instructor’s Dark Side

What does a diving instructor do when he happens to be on vacation? The specimen with a normal working brain goes to the Tatra mountains to map out the feeding habits of mountain goats. The truly twisted one goes diving. He goes diving and enjoys that his time underwater is not spent with emptying masks and with the demonstration of how to rise above emergency situations but rather with careless floating. Naturally, there are some mean ones among these twisted specimens for whom the off-duty (incognito) dives hide further enjoyment – the tormentation of their on-duty counterparts.

When our skinny, smiling Egyptian dive guide, Salaka, blessed with a healthy dose of optimism, asked us on the first day of our South safari how much experience and how many dives we had, I answered with no hesitation:

- I had my OWD exam two years ago in a Hungarian lake. Unfortunately I haven’t been diving since.
- Then how many dives do you have actually? – asked Salaka, still smiling but the first faint sign of worry had begun to appear in his eyes.
- Well, four. I haven’t been diving in the sea before and to be honest, I’m a bit scared. But I’m sure everything will be ok…

Salaka’s smile broke into tiny pieces and fell onto the boat’s deck like porcelan tiles. He mumbled something in his mother tongue and I seemed to hear the name of Allah at least four times but fortunately most of his speech was foreign to me. I could really relate. We signed up for a week-long Deep South safari and we looked forward to dives full of drop-offs, currents, sharks and mantas. He, however was standing in front of a poor beginner whose life he had to guard. I felt sorry for him for a minute and I almost revelaed my disguise but then I remembered my own experiences. Like when I was guiding a safari for a week in the most beautiful part of the Adriatic Sea and my beloved boss shared with me two small details about the trip only a few minutes before our departure:

- the boat was overbooked, so I did not have a cabin and
- there were two 12-year-old diver newbies onboard who were not permitted to dive deeper than 12 metres and I was to take care of them.

That trip was great – I was chewing on sea grass like a well-behaved lamantine at a depth of 10 metres and on every dive I was desperately trying to find some new kind of moss for the kids to show. As we were wandering on the uninteresting reef tops, the adults’ equipment let out long strands of bubbles from the deep and burst on the surface just like my own illusions fed by the beautiful life of a diving instructor. In the evenings the boat was loud of adult conversation and bets of who saw the most crawfish, eel and murena. And there was the unmistaken message in the kids’ eyes that I must have been the worst instructor in the world since I had not been able to show them any of these things during the week. I tried to improve my reputation with an octopus but to my demise, that day at 35 metres the others found a metre-long catshark. And who cares about the octopus when you can have a catshark?

So, I was even more determined to stick to my original plan and be a beginner diver or at least until the first dive. There were problems already when putting my equipment together: I put the INT stage on the tank backwards, my BCD was not secured to the tank, I put on my suit the wrong way and I was just standing there looking like a sock turned inside out and filled with wet cotton balls. To Salaka’s credit, the smile returned to his face and he kindly corrected my mistakes.

The only time his lower lip trembled slightly is when I put the breathing apparatus in my mouth incorrectly but he gathered up his strength, smiled again and showed me the correct way. My friends in the back were rolling on the floor laughing and were trying not to be noticed and not to blow the cover off my satanic plan. My friend Tibor Fazekas who had introduced me to the world of instructors years before, bringing shame to Lothar Matthaus’s coaching qualities, was hissing from the back: „Make your knees tremble, let him see you’re scared!” Now looking seriously worried, Salaka made me say again the golden rule: „Never hold your breath under the water!”, then with a gentle push, he helped me in the water.

Once in the water – I am almost ashamed to admit –, I gave it my all, everything I had seen from my beginner strudents during my 3-year instructor odessy. My mask was filled with water, my breathing was heavy, I used my hands instead of my flippers, I turned onto my back and I was staring at Salaka with my eyes wide open: „Now what?”

Salaka fought a heroic fight to calm me down on the sand bench at 5 metres deep because every time he turned away, I let the air out through my spare regulator and after 10 minutes, I managed to get below 100 bars. Salaka could not believe his eyes and was staring at my pressure gauge then into my eyes. The latter he could not see much of as my mask was half filled with water and the other half fogged up. I do not think he was ever this close in his dive guide carreer to whip out his knife and put an end to both of our miseries. I felt I should not push it any more and anyway, my dark side was getting further in the back and I actually wanted to enjoy the dive. So, I emptied my mask, took my floating position and asked Salaka to guide me.

Salaka was looking at me with growing satisfaction but not without suspicion. Slowly he let go of the tap of my tank which up until then he had been holding on to by both hands to prevent me from doing anything stupid. He kept showing me the „OK” sign with a growing smile on his face and I saw hope slowly returning into him. It was time to give the final blow. I removed my mask, reached into the pocket of my BCD, took out the sunglasses I had put there before the dive, placed it on my nose with a cool move, showed him an „OK” and tried to continue diving with a straight face. Then it hit him what actually had been happening until then. Unfortunately I was not able to see his face without my mask but my friends, watching us from close, later on the boat told me of our guide’s reaction.

After a couple of minutes I put my mask back on and finally we were able to dive without a worry, though Salaka was giving me signs under the water I had not seen until then and if I figured them correctly, he wanted me to initiate sexual relations with one (or more) goats. Later he slowly cooled off, just laughed and shooked his head and we began circling the wreck of an unfortunate fishing boat at 15 metres deep.

Visibility was approaching infinity, bending the sandy sea bottom which was dotted with bold coral-covered towers looking like gingerbread houses. The ship, resting on her side, – the captain must not have been navigating to the best of his availabilities if he had not noticed the reef peeking out of the water – provided a cozy home for numerous coral and fish species. In front of the cabin a team of hesitant masked butterfly fish gathered just like ladies bound for the opera at the foot of the velvet-clad stairway – I could actually hear as the orchestra was practising inside. The prima donna, a 2-metre-long murena, was looking out of the cabin nonchalantly, practising her scales while preparing for her performace. Below him a few prawns were scramming like the orchestra’s feather-brained strings who mixed up their sheet music and of them just realised that he had brought to the permier his favourite recipe collection instead.

The ancipitation was growing. As was the school of butterfly fish holding their council meeting. The gaping of the murena and the mad dash of crabs was speeding up. And the conductor arrived at last – an eagle ray swam over the wreck out of nowehere, its tux elegantly floating around it. The usher, a titan triggerfish with an especially mean stare, made everyone aware with aggressive sand digging antics and bulging eyes that getting into the audience before the show can only be done over his body.

After the performance we carried on swimming by the wreck, back towards our boat. Though my computer said there was still plenty of time, the air wasted at the beginning of the dive took its revenge, so soon we had to return to the surface. Under the boat a giant Napoleon fish with a typical nonchalant attitude checked us out from the corner of its eye then swam away. Its bulging forehead could have easily stood for enormous intellectual assets but those who are familiar with the undewater world know these species hardly go beyond the „eat – look to the side – empty” thought process. Perhaps some will go as fas as wondering „does that diver have some boiled eggs, my favourite snack?” and when the answer is affirmative, they devour them not thinking this action could cost them their lives. On the other hand, in the midst of these thoughts, they seemed quite satisfied unlike some of our fellow city dwellers who live their unhappy lives mulling over much more complicated problems. As I was looking at the close-to-two-tonne body slowly swimming away, all of a sudden I was not able to determine who actually got the best of evolution.

We slowly ascended and I tried to leave the water quickly before my kind dive guide could take his matching revenge on me on land. Helping hands stretched towards me on the ladder and Mahmoud, one of the handy guys on the boat yelled in my face using all his English knowledge with a toothless grin: „Everything OK?”. Later we found out, he freely used this phrase not only after dives but also in place of saying good-bye, saying hello and the weather report. I answered with the manditory „Everything OK” and got myself onto the deck.

There Salaka, forgetting about his tank still on his back and the weights on his waist, wobbled towards me.
- You… you.. you! You know, you are a… you are a… – repeated his opinion about me.

Then with a wide grin he patted me on the back and I gave thanks that he got to be only 60 kilograms during his active diving years. During the next few days I often got these back pats along with various hints about in which historical era should people like me, blessed with this kind of „humour”, have been liquidated. But every time I could see the relief in his eyes that he did not have to suffer through the week with me.

And me? I had a peaceful and sound sleep every night, probably with a smile on my face. Who said the bad always get what comes to them?

Translated by Anita Riberdy, based on the original short story “Az oktató sötét oldala” by András Szepesházi

Location: Egypt / South
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Wreck
Depths: 30 meters

This horseshoe-shaped reef lies in open water to the northeast of Ras Banas. The eastern side of the reef has a steeply sloping wall profile, giving way to a sandy slope scattered with coral heads and pinnacles toward the reef’s southeast corner. The southern pinnacles are especially rich, with a wide variety of coral types throughout. The varied hard coral composition of the heads and pinnacles acts as a base for some extremely nice soft coral growth, particularly dendronephthia.

Fish life here is excellent. Schooling fish of all types are seen in large numbers, while reef-dwellers, such as angelfish and butterflies, provide flashes of color. Cuttlefish and shrimps put in an appearance for the invertebrates, and bluespotted and blackspotted stingrays are common. Sharks of several types can also frequently be spotted here, and there are regular reports of dolphins along the reef or inside the lagoon.

Exploring the Red Sea has been waiting patiently on my “To Dive” list until recently, when it was finally time to live out that dream. I wanted to experience the Red Sea, but without the crowd. Therefore Sudan was the only logical choice.

We decided to start our trip in Cairo with the must see tourist attractions. First, we visited the great pyramids of Giza, the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Hilaire and I decided to avoid tourists (as much as humanly possible in such a place) and hired a guide and two camels. We lucked out and were able to take amazing shots of the Sphinx and the pyramids without other people in them. Excitedly we opted to take trips to the other nearby pyramids, explored the catacombs with an archeologist and admired the wealth of the Egyptian Museum.

Additionally we amassed variety souvenir shawls, spices and sculptures at the Khan Al-Khalili, the biggest bazaar in the Middle-East. Thanks to our loyal taxi driver we even tried the traditional local meal: kusherie that contains pasta, garlic, lentils and a variety of secret ingredients.

Without a doubt, the speed and pushiness of the Egyptians took some getting used to. Friends’ tips prior to our trip prevented a lot of headaches. We arrived prepared for the never ending demand for “baksheesh” (tipping) and knew the “bargaining rules” (never should pay more than half of what they ask and never start to bargain for anything that you do no intend to buy.

Four days was the perfect amount of time to explore Cairo. Finally it was time to go to the airport and head to our main destination of this trip: a week long live aboard adventure in Northern Sudan. I have been in the dive industry for about twenty years, but have met only a handful of people who can say they visited this part of the Red Sea.

I would lie if I were to say that it was a breeze to get there. Visiting Sudan requires careful preparation. Getting a visa is not as easy as in most countries. One needs to be invited by a local company. My childhood friend Livia is one of the owners of the Andromeda and she provided the invitation for us. Hilaire shot video while I took photos and wrote articles to showcase the diving in the Red Sea for our fellow Americans. In the U.S. people tend to tense up at the mere mention of the Middle East. We wanted to document reality.

Additionally, prior to our departure we also had to get a yellow fever vaccination so as to be able to visit other countries after being in Sudan.

We were greeted at the Cairo airport by a comprehensive guide who checked in all of our luggage and got our tickets (there were no seat assignments by the way, so arriving early is a must). Luckily we had a group check-in and nobody questioned our excessive pieces of luggage or their weight, so our extra heavy camera equipment got onboard without incurring extra fees.

After a two-hour flight another representative at the Sudan airport greeted us and we were shuttled to our boat, the Andromeda, where everybody fell asleep immediately, given it was 2a.m.

Our dive guide, Mohammed Sanad welcomed us with a big smile the next morning (and every morning). I particularly enjoyed his dive briefings that he so skillfully illustrated on the white easel. Just by listening to his words and following his erasable pen I could vividly picture what we were going to see. He does his job above and beyond what a dive guide briefing calls for.

I have witnessed hundreds, if not thousands of divemasters at work. I myself teach diving for a living. I can count on one hand those dive professionals who can be mentioned in the same category as him. Mohammed is not only extremely knowledgeable about the dive sites and diving in general, but he is one of the most patient and open minded individuals whose mission is to accommodate every diver’s needs and wishes.

The organization of the boat and the flow of schedule enabled 27 divers to submerge four times a day. As far as I understood, the Andromeda is the only vessel in Sudan offering four dives per day: one at sun rise, one after breakfast, one after lunch and a night dive. Thus providing 21 opportunities to be submerged in the underwater world of North Sudan during our weeklong safari. My favorites were the sunrise dives. Awakening to the colorful reefs, exploring ship wrecks and search for sharks is a thrilling way to kick off any day.

Each dive was followed by tasty buffet style meal in the elegant wooden dining area. The variety of the menu would have left even the pickiest eaters satisfied. Artistically decorated vegetables provided a healthy side to spicy chicken wings, cheese puffs and unique lasagna dishes.

Soups were incredibly popular during chillier evenings, but desserts disappeared within moments every night. We never had the same food twice. The chef provided us a true gourmet experience. I was looking forward to the dining experience every day almost as much as the diving.

Sudan provides a colorful heaven for photographers and videographers. The subjects to shoot are endless. Making decisions can be tormenting. I was swapping back and forth between my wide angle and macro lenses to establish overall story telling pictures and provide detailed close up images of the environment.

On numerous dives we opted to drop deep in search of schools of hammerheads. To be honest, I did not get any good shots of them. Even when they graced us with their presence, they were too deep. I did not get as wrapped up with the hammerhead search as some others on our boat, because I was more excited about the historical importance of Sudan, in particular: the Umbria.

We did three 70-minute dives on this historic wreck and saw something different every time. Our first encounter was a night dive establishing a mysterious and grand atmosphere. It is an amazing dive –giving opportunity to explore this enormous ship and its treasures for a relatively long time as it does not lie in great depth (unlike most other historical wrecks.) The top deck almost breaks the surface and the deepest point is about 30m/100ft.

Mohammad toured us around the interiors after he shared the cool story behind the sinking of the vessel. Although expected to enter the war any day (1940), Italy was still technically neutral and there was only so much the Royal Navy could do to delay the vessel before her precious cargo reached Italian forces in Africa. On the evening of June 10th, Captain Muiesan was listening to his radio and became the only man on board to be aware that Italy had formally declared War. Under the very noses of the British Navy, he then succeeded in scuttling his ship. After the War, a British team of Bomb-Disposal experts reported that, in the event of an explosion, half of Port Sudan was likely to disappear.

We picked up (and of course put back) Italian tiles, saw two enormous pizza ovens in the bakery. Thousands of wine bottles were scattered everywhere while bullets and some 360,000 bombs were lined up in a very organized manner. Italians do even war in style. My favorite view was the three coral covered old school Fiat automobiles providing a home to hundreds of glossy fish. The sunlit corridors the next morning provided perfect photo ops. We lucked out again.

I truly felt I was on vacation from my dive instructor job while I was diving from the Andromeda. It is a brand new vessel equipped with all the modern life luxuries that you could ask for. Relaxation is instantly established the moment one steps inside the moody Arabic style Shisha Room. The hand made burgundy carpet matches the see through curtains and compliments the detailed woodwork that composes the cabin. Guests puff cherry and apple flavored tobacco after dinner while smooth jazz plays in the background as divers recall their daily encounters with schools of barracudas or jumping turtles.

I would absolutely recommend the Andromeda to anyone interested in diving the Red Sea. It is an incredible value and it’s crew help make it a trip of a lifetime.

Szilvia Gogh
http://www.miss-scuba.com

Location: Egypt / South
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Wreck
Depths: 18 meters

Abu Galawa Shiwayya is a crescent shaped reef with a turquoise blue lagoon or pool enclosed within the reef towards its leeward side. Galawa is the name which refers to this turquoise colour of the blue pool. Abu in Arabic means ‘Father’ and Shiwayya means ‘Small’. Therefore a rough translation of this site name would be – Small Father of Turquoise Blue Water.

To the western end of the main crescent shaped reef is a smaller reef piece with gullies and swim-throughs in it. On the southwest side of this is the wreck of small sailboat at the base of the reef, which lies on its starboard side in 18m of water on a sandy sea floor.

We have expanded our safari tour destinations in Egypt! If you have already been to Hurghada, Safaga, the Deep South, the Brother Islands, Daedalus, Rocky and Zabargad, then it is time to discover our new routes this year! We offer three completely new itineraries!

Our new itineraries

THE TIRAN ISLANDS

One of the most popular North tours originating from Sharm el Sheikh is the one to the Tiran Islands.

We are widening our safari destination offers in 2010, one of which is an expanded North safari originating from Hurghada. In our new itinerary the boat does not turn back at Ras Mohammed but continues towards the Tiran.

The coral reefs we visit from South to North are: Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson. The reefs got their names from 19th century British map-makers who were the first to make maps of this area.

The Tiran Islands which hide a virtual coral reef forrest on the sea bottom, lie at the entrance of the Akaba Bay and almost block the way to the Red Sea. There are only two narrow strips allowing entry through: the Enterprise on the West and the Grafton on the East, where the depths are at 360m, quite shallow compared to the depths of 1,800m to the North and South from here.

This creates currents rich in nutrients, providing an excellent habitat for fish and large whale species.

We recommend the Tiran Islands especially to advanced divers.

ELBA AND ABU FENDERA

Divers visit these reefs for two reasons: either they go through here when sailing from Egypt to Sudan or they come here to find a place where there are no other boats or hoards of other divers.

Abu Fendera is one place like that as is Elba Reef. From all the Egyptian liveaboards, only one or two sail this far South when an adventurous group books a week on them.

Abu Fendera lies South of St Johns and the Elba Reef can be found on the Egyptian and Sudanese border with a good plateau on its North and South side as well.

On the South plateau lies the large wreck of “SS Isola di Levanzo” that sank in the early 1900s. She is a rarely visited beautiful wreck which is surrounded by scattered sherry bottles all over the sea bottom. A few interesting facts about the wreck:

The “SS Isola di Levanzo” was built in 1901, weighed 3,713 tons with a length of 339.6 feet and a breadth of 46.3 feet. She was a single-flueted and double-masted vessel with a maximum speed of 11 knots and was able to accommodate up to 900 passengers.

She was built by the Orlando Brothers in Leghorn (Livorno) and she was launched in 1901 as the latest vessel of the Southern Marine Transport Association.

The boat laiden with salt and other cargo ran aground on the Elba Reef in the Red Sea on March 14, 1923 on the way from Genova to Durban. On March 28 during a salvage operation the towing rope snapped, the boat drifted onto the rocks and sank.

And finally, do not miss snorkelling in the Elba Reef lagoon.

These two destinations (Abu Fendera and Elba) can be reached by only high-speed vessels since several close to 10-hour-long night sailings dot the week-long itinerary to make sure the divers can start their next dive early in the morning at a far dive site. (The distances are: Hamata-St Johns, St Johns-Elba, Elba-Abu Fendera.)  And for these distances are just perfect the two robust steel vessels: Cassiopeia 5* and Andromeda 5*.

My name is Silke and I am from Austria, but I have never dived in cold water in Europe. What I like is tropical seas, therefore I travel a lot. My favorite countries for diving are Egypt and Indonesia, but I have been diving in many more countries around the globe.

I did my SSI-Open Water in Sharm El Sheikh in 2001 and my PADI Dive Master with the same Dive Center (Anthias Divers) in 2005. I started photographing underwater in 2003 in Columbia where I bought a really simple Sealife analog camera on the island of San Andrés. I am not into the SLR-camera-thing, I still take pictures with my Canon Powershot G 9 with an Ikelite housing and a Sea&Sea external strobe.

All this gear is a lot to carry around, that’s why I will stay on this level of photography I guess! Sometimes I use a macro lens because what I like much more than sharks or other big fish is the very small stuff – the smaller the better! If I cannot go diving I like to take macro pictures of flowers, insects and spiders.

In my normal life I am an audio and light engineer and have a company together with my partner Peter. As soon as my calendar gives me a free week I am hopping onto an airplane to Egypt to go diving for it is my favorite hobby and the best relaxation for me.

Websites:
www.flickr.com/photos/silkebaron
www.myspace.com/prilfish

Silke’s photos:

Location: Egypt / Safaga
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Caves
Depths: 3-78 meters

Panorama is also known as Abu Alama, meaning “Father of the Mast”. This is a reference to the concrete pillar which once marked its northern shores but has now been replaced by a high-tech automated beacon. It lies 60-90 minutes (weather dependent) outside of Safaga. It is an elliptical-shaped reef on a North-West-South-East axis. On the North end is a dramatic plateau (15-25 metres) and drop-off. Down the East and West sides runs a narrow, sloping ledge at the same depth.

The journey across can get very rough, especially since your boat will be taking it on the beam and therefore will roll a lot. Once you get there however, the reef gives ample protection for several boats. The current comes almost always from the North. It can get very strong, howling across the North plateau (beware of up-currents and down-currents) and ripping down either side of the reef. The South plateau is usually calm.

A drift dive on the North plateau offers some of the best diving. However to get there, you will need very calm weather or alternatively, a zodiac. After investigating the plateau, you can head down either wall to your boat, now moored in the lee of the reef (South). This is a long swim if unaided by current. The Western wall of the reef is best and the South-East corner boasts many gorgonians.

The North plateau swarms with lots of big fish, like surgeonfish, unicornfish, barracuda, giant trevallies, whitetip sharks (especially on the West side), grey reef sharks (especially in the afternoon), eagle rays, dolphins, silvertips and even longimanus, the oceanic whitetip shark. Everywhere are turtles. On the South plateau lives a family of three Napoleonfish alongside morays, crocodilefish, scorpionfish and a turtle with a deformed shell. Also, there is a large colony (50-60) of anemones.

Location: Egypt / Marsa Alam / Fury Shoals
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Caves
Depths: 12 – 24 meters

Sha’ab Claudia (sometimes known as Sha’ab Claude) is a small reef with lots of disturbed water at the surface and can have quite large swells in the top 5m of water. The west side of the reef has lovely hard coral formations, with stony and boulder corals cascading down to 20m like an underwater waterfall. Current will normally run from north to south and boats usually moor on the more sheltered south side, although surface conditions can still be rocky on the boat.

There are some reef fragments to the west which also have great hard coral, and yet more reef pieces to the south. Although the southern pieces are sparser in terms of coral growth there is some nice small marine life and in the top 5 metres the reef is densely populated with antheas.