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Aquamarine Diving Sharm El Sheikh |
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| Amphora: As the name suggests has a few large
broken amphora's half buried at 28m in
amongst the coral heads. These used to
contain mercury many years ago and reports
have been made of sightings of small
amounts left. This site is not dived
very often recently as most dive guides
don't know the site and the amphora's
are hard to find. Apart from the amphora
the reef is a wall to 10m followed by
a gentle slope covered in corals |
| Anemone
City: Located just inshore from Shark
Reef, it is a popular boat entry point
for a drift dive around the twin pinnacles.
The reef is a steep slope with rich coral
growth and huge numbers of anemone, with
attendant anemone fish, which gave the
dive site its name. |
| Dunraven: This wreck of a British Steamer is on
the Southern edge of Sha'ab Mahmoud which
is also known as Beacon Rock as the wreck
is directly below the South Cardinal
Beacon. It is about another hour boat
ride past Ras Mohammed and is prone to
the weather conditions. Once at the reef
there is some protection from the waves
but it can still be a little rough. The
Dunraven was built in 1873 in Newcastle
and hit the reef in 1876. It has sunk
in 30m of water right next to the reef
wall and is completely upside down in
two sections. The length is about 80m
and it's about 10m wide. |
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| Far
Garden: As the name suggests, is the
northerly end of the Gardens Bay. It
can be dived as a mooring or a drift
dive. There is not usually much current
at the mooring, but on approaching the
end of the bay it is possible to hover
there and watch the reef go by. The mooring
is on the slope of the reef in about
18m, which is close to the shore, as
the reef drops away quickly. The slope
goes down a long way so the first part
of the dive is conducted on the slope.
It is not until you turn around to return
towards the boat when you come up to
about 10m does the reef level out. This
site has got to be the most popular site
in the area for spotting Manta Rays. |
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| Gordon
Reef: The most southerly reef of the
four has a different topography from
the others. This site has both a shallow
plateau area and drop offs, and can be
done as a mooring or a drift dive. On
the northern edge of the reef is the
remains of the wreck Lovilla which has
been on top of the reef for a long time.
It only remains there by habit as most
of the hull has corroded away (everybody
is waiting for it to go down so we can
dive the wreck). The current on the south
edge of Gordon is rarely strong but be
aware for it as it can cut across the
plateau. The boats moor up on the southern
plateau in about 8m of water. The dives
are usually conducted from the mooring
and heading in a easterly direction to
the drop off which starts at about 16m
(worth keeping an eye out into the blue
here!). |
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| Jackfish
Alley: This dive site is often dived
as the second dive of the day. Drifting
with the current it is an easy and relaxing
dive. Two penetrable caves, each with
separate exit and entrance holes and
an alley formed by a second reef plateau
parallel to the coastline made this site
popular. Plenty of jacks and stingrays
can be seen in the alley and white soft
coral gardens make you dream. |
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| Jackson
Reef: This is the most northerly reef
in the Straits of Tiran. The dives are
usually conducted from the moorings on
the south side which is sheltered from
the main swell and currents. The boats
moor up in a lull spot of the current
where the wall is around 40m. After descending
down the wall to your planned depth the
dive is to the south western corner,
keeping the reef on the right. Towards
the corner the reef levels out to a gentle
slope from about 6m with the corals in
this area being some of the best in the
area. It is around here that the current
can pick up and be very strong. Care
is required as you have to be able to
get back to the boat. On the way back,
which is done in shallow water, there
are many inlets into the reef which are
full of soft corals, making an excellent
place to conduct the safety stop. |
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| Lagoona: This is the reef just offshore of the
Island of Tiran. This site has more anemones
and clown fish than any other area. This
site is also famous for being the location
where the Cunard liner went aground resulting
in a fine by the Egyptian government
of about US$ 20 Million. The area that
it hit has no coral remaining though
the reef is slowly recovering. The dive
is now usually conducted south of the
impact area. The dive is done from the
southern point of the reef, where often
sharks sleep on the plateau, and then
drift gently along heading North. There
are large table corals and patches of
anemones all along the slope. |
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| Middle
Garden: Is an excellent second dive,
it is a large bay with no current and
a large shallow area starting at about
7m and flat before sloping down. Apart
from one large sand patch and a few smaller
ones the whole area is covered in corals.
Due to the size of this site there are
many places to moor up on. It is an ideal
site to have a relaxing cruise over the
reef with a chance to see if anything
is cruising by in the blue. |
| Naama
Bay: This is the area directly in front
of the College. We are right on the beach
front with our own private beach and
access to the reefs. The bay is a gradual
sandy slope, making it ideal for training
dives as there is plenty of room in the
shallows to conduct exercises in standing
depth water and the reefs start in about
3m of water and go to about 7m. |
| Near
Garden: Is the dive site nearest to Naama
Bay, being about 10 minutes by boat and
on the point between Naama Bay and Gardens
Bay. Being a headland it is prone to
have some current and deep water. The
current is usually not strong and the
dive is normally done as a mooring dive
or can be combined as a drift from Middle
Garden. Note: This site is very popular
with snorkelling and glass bottom boats.
So care is required when diving shallow
as the boat skippers do not pay much
attention to divers. |
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| Ras
Katy: Is a good combination dive. There
is a shallow area which is ideal for
sorting out any buoyancy practice and
getting the weights right, also useful
for doing safety stops. In the shallows
there are coral heads coming to within
a couple of m of the surface which are
full of life as well as sandy patches
with eel grass. A little bit further
out the reef drops down on a 45? slope
to the depths allowing the divers to
follow the reef towards the plateau on
the corner. The currents on the corner
are not usually strong but any diver
going to the corner needs to watch the
air supply as it can be quite a swim
back at 18m before the reef starts to
shallow out. |
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| Ras
Mohammed National Park: There are many
dive sites to visit at the Ras Mohammed
National Park area, but the most spectacular
reefs-Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef- located
at the southern tip of the park are only
available by boat. These sites are so
popular that the National Park had to
put a rotation system to control the
amount of divers per day. Located at
the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula
strong underwater currents provides lots
of nutrient for all living species. Over
thousand fish and over hundred different
hard and soft coral species have been
recorded in the Ras Mohammed area. Napoleon
Wrasse, Moray Eels and turtles are permanent
inhabitants. If you can cope with the
summer heat Ras Mohammed is spectacular
from mid June to mid August. It is mating
season for a lot of fish species and
large schools of fish can be seen in
the blue. It is just breathtaking! |
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| Ras
Nasrani: Is the most northerly dive site
on the mainland that is dived regularly.
There is another site North of this,
Ras Gamila, but this can only be dived
in very calm conditions. This site can
be done as a drift or a mooring dive,
depending on the currents. The location
of the mooring is in the area of transition
of the topography. To the South of the
mooring the site is a wall dive and to
the North it flattens out on to a plateau
as the site heads around the corner. |
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| Ras
Um Sid: This is a main headland of the
area, having the lighthouse situated
on top of the cliff. The headland in
conjunction with the deep water found
on the corner means currents are regular
here. This dive is usually done as a
mooring dive, so returning to the boat
and not getting caught up in the current
is important. The boat moors in around
20m of water which is close to the shore
reef. The shore reef drops down from
the surface around 20m and towards the
corner, the bottom of the wall gets deeper,
so don't follow the bottom! |
| Ras
Zatar: Located on the northern tip of
the Ras Mohammed Peninsula it is not
visited as often as the other sites.
Steep walls with some large caves filled
with glass sweepers and soft corals make
the drift dive enjoyable. In shallow
areas of the wall many small invertebrates,
like the feather worm tubes and nudibranches
can be found, an excellent dive site
for macro photography. |
| Sharks
Bay: Is one of the few sites that is
open for shore diving. As this is one
of the few natural beaches in the area
the sand follows into the water giving
a gradual slope to descend down. For
those planning a Deep Dive Specialty
Course there is a canyon starting at
18m which continues down to the depths.
For those planning a course dive or a
nice gentle dive this is a good site
as to the South there is a sandy road
with coral on each side at a depth of
14m. To the North there is sand gullies
in between solid reef slope. |
| Shark
Observatory: Situated just beside Jackfish
Alley, this dive site can be accessed
by boat and shore. It is named after
the observation point on the cliff top
on shore. The cliff formation continues
underwater as a vertical wall, sloping
outwards at its foot. Visibility is excellent
and keeping a little distance from the
wall gives the impression to dive in
an amphitheatre. Crevices and little
caves in the wall invite for a closer
look. |
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| Shark
Reef / Yolanda Reef: These are two small
twin pinnacles, peaks of a single coral
tower rising out of the depth just off
the Ras Mohammed coast. This dive is
conducted as a drift dive either with
water entry at Shark Reef or at Anemone
City. Shark Reef, the eastern most of
the two, stands out with its breathtaking
drop off to 800m depth. The steep reef
wall is covered with soft corals and
strong currents can be recognized by
watching schools of snappers lining up
in a vertical row. Yolanda Reef, less
steep covered with little coral pinnacles
and heads, ends with a shallow patch
at the south side. Remains of the Yolanda
wreck gave it the name. The cargo - Ideal
Standard sanitary equipment - is spread
over the reef and nowadays used for shelter. |
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| The
Straits of Tiran: This dive location
can be found in the middle of the Gulf
of Aqaba approximately one and a half
hours by boat from Naama Bay. Only accessible
by boat it is still well preserved compared
to some of the local dive sites on the
coastline. Unpredictable currents around
the reefs and steep drop offs require
good diving skills. Guests diving with
us will never be diving this spot on
their first dive day. Four coral reefs
lined up in a row are visible on the
surface, actually the top of a huge coral
reef back growing out of the depth. These
reefs, named after British cartographers
(Gordon, Woodhouse, Thomas, Jackson),
are world famous for its extraordinary
diversity of corals. Sights of sharks,
turtles and other big fish are possible. |
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| The
Temple: This is a group of coral heads
in a row coming up from a depth of 12
to 20m if viewed in the right position
and using your imagination they look
like columns of a temple. On the in shore
side there are sandy patches at about
8m with loads of inlets into the shore
reefs. The coral heads themselves are
about 2m apart allowing you to swim between
them and a couple of them have swim through
routes. |
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| Thomas
Reef: This is the smallest reef in the
Straits, but also one of the most popular.
The dive is governed by the weather conditions
as the western side is often impossible
to pick divers up from. The dive is done
as a drift dive with potentially strong
currents on the southern and northern
ends of the reef. The ends are vertical
walls with a large plateau at about 25m
on the south eastern side. This plateau
often has sleeping sharks on the sand
patches and the coral has a fence of
Gorgonia fans at the end. After the Gorgonia
fans the reef returns to a wall before
coming to the corner of the reef, watch
the currents. If conditions allow it
is possible to go round to the other
side of the reef, which is a wall disappearing
into the deep. |
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| The
Thistlegorm: Built in 1940 as a merchant
vessel being 126m long and 17.5m wide.
It was commandeered by the navy during
the World War II. The wreck was first
dived by Cousteau in the 50's. However
its position was not rediscovered until
the early 90's. Since then it has become
one of the best wrecks to dive. The wreck
is exposed to the tidal currents and
the prevailing winds, which can make
this dive inaccessible at times. These
conditions and the depth of the dive
means that this is only open to experienced
divers. |
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| The
Tower: This dive site is one of the few
sites that can be reached from the shore
as well as from the boat. Entry from
the shore is in a big U shaped gap in
the reef which gives you the opportunity
to do a giant stride from the shore reef
into over 100m of water ! and then descending
in the U shape down to the planned depth
before coming out onto the slope of the
reef. From the boat the dive starts from
the outside of the U and follows the
reef along as a drift dive, not because
of any current, just that it is impossible
for the boat to moor up on a wall. Once
on the dive it follows a typical topography
of the area with a 10m wall leading into
a 45? slope with coral heads. From the
boat is is possible to reach the dive
site of Sodfa with its fan corals and
coral garden before finishing the dive. |
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| Turtle
Bay: This site tends to blend in with
the dive site named Paradise as both
are done as drift dives in the same area.
The current in the area is not usually
very strong making these sites a pleasant
gentle drift along the reef. The reef
is a 10m wall leading to a slope of about
45? with coral heads covered in delicate
soft fan corals. |
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| White
Knight: One of the main features of this
dive site is the canyon which starts
in an inlet in the shore reef at a depth
of around 8m. There is either the main
entrance or a little swim through to
the canyon. For those that are qualified
there is a cave on the right hand side
at 18m but lights and line are required
as the bottom can get stirred up. Coming
out of the canyon and heading North is
a eel garden, which is nice to watch
for a while, as long as nobody has gone
before and scared them into their holes
because then you are just looking at
a sand patch. Coming out of the canyon
and heading South is a gentle slope of
reef with a upturned hull wreck of one
of the dive boats that sank in 1994. |
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| Woodhouse
Reef: This is the longest reef of the
four in the Straits of Tiran and is dived
as a drift dive usually from South to
North. Jumping at the southern part of
the reef is a wall to about 30m. It is
worth looking on to the sand patches
below to try and spot sleeping sharks.
The coral covers all the way from the
surface down the wall which becomes more
of a slope as the dive progresses. Half
way through the dive there is a canyon
going along the reef at about 25m which
spreads out into a coral garden with
sand alleys. This is usually where the
current starts to pick up. If the conditions
on the west side of the reef are rough
the dive has to be ended at the end of
the coral garden, which is usually reached
after about 50 minutes. Where the reef
leaves the surface and funnels down towards
Jackson Reef. This area is referred to
as the "washing machine" due
to the very strong currents going in
all directions. |
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Sharm El Sheikh Dive Sites |
| Daily Dives from £39
per day |
| The whole area is of uplifted
coral, so all sites are close to shore as the coral
starts at the waters edge. This means the shore
reef extends 10-30 meters out at about 1 meter
depth. The reef then drops vertically creating
the typical walls of the area. These drop offs
range from 10-800 meters. Care needs to be taken
in crossing the reef if diving by shore and control
of depth is needed during the dive. |
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Amphora |
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Dunraven |
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Gordon
Reef |
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Jackson
Reef |
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Middle
Garden |
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Near
Garden |
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Ras
Mohammed |
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National
Park |
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Ras
Zatar |
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Shark
Observatory |
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The
Straits of Tiran |
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Thomas
Reef |
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The
Tower |
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White
Knight |
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Anemone
City |
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Far
Garden |
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Jackfish
Alley |
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Lagoona |
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Naama
Bay |
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Ras
Katy |
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Ras
Nasrani |
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Ras
Um Sid |
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Sharks
Bay |
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Shark
Reef/Yolanda Reef |
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The
Temple |
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The
Thistlegorm |
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Turtle
Bay |
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Woodhouse
Reef |
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