Following on from our successful visit to the Camel Dive Club in 2003 we decided to return for our 2006 Edenbridge Sub-Aqua Club trip. Coming along this time were Paul Feakes, David Jones, Howard Smith,Oliver Smith, Daniel Snowden, Martin Greenwood,Gary Abrehart, Neil Hucks and Chris Bell.

The trip was booked back in April and the bombings in July 2005 meant we had to think carefully about going ahead with this trip, in particular we had to consider the fears of our families, especially where there were children involved ! After much deliberation, nearer the departure time the decision was taken to go-ahead. We all felt that the guys over in Sharm deserved our support at this difficult time. The hospitality shown to us by the Egyptians during our previous trips was a key factor in our decision to the return. The trip was booked through Tony Backhurst who had given us very good service in the past and was only too happy to cater for our additional requirements (superior rooms etc )

We had decided to return to the Camel Hotel , a favourite location with our club, due to the excellent standard of accommodation and superb location, in the heart of Naama Bay. The security within Sharm had been significantly stepped us as a result of the bombing, this was very reassuring. However, even though you were aware of the heightened security, it was not too intrusive, potentially ruining the holiday. We all felt they had got it about right.

Sunday 16th October

Up at the crack of dawn to be at Gatwick Airport for 07:00. The 5 hour flight to Sharm went pretty smoothly at the total chaos at Sharm airport never seems to get any better ! finally arrived at our hotel around 18:00 local time. We all got together for a very nice meal to kick off the trip, in the Italian Restaurant attached to the Camel Hotel, there is also a very nice Indian Restaurant attached to the hotel, they are both certainly worth a visit. A quick drink in the Camel bar and it's off to bed, ready for an early start in the morning (well 9:00 is early when you're on holiday...)

Monday 17th October

We all met at the dive centre to get checked-in and introduced to our guide for the week , Aeman (picture to the right) a very laid back guy - just what we needed for our relaxing week in the sun. We were allocated to the dive boat Sehhs for the weeks diving - the same boat we had been on for our previous trip to Sharm. An excellent boat and much to our surprise we were to be alone on the boat for the week, just our group of 8 divers. On our previous trip there had been approximately 20 people on the boat, so we were sure to have plenty of space.

Dive 1 : Fiddle Garden

Dive Time 49m mins - Max depth 17.7 Metres

Situated half way between Far Garden and Middle Garden, this sheltered dive site is ideal for the "check dive" that must be completed at the start of any trip. The seabed is sandy, flat and shallow (average depth 10 metres) with coral structures contouring sandy "streets" from where some massive pore corals rise up. A good opening dive with plenty of marine life to be seen, the highlight being a passing turtle. It was a good introduction to the Red Sea to the "new boys" joining us for this trip, Gary, and Neil. It was worlds apart from the club diving we normally associate with our dive club - Seaford Gulleys !

Back of our dive boat Sehss - taken from the surface above Fiddle Garden

Dive 2 : Near Garden

Dive Time 49 mins - Max Depth 16.5 Meters

Near garden is the closest dive site to Naama bay - there is also considerable disturbance from building work being undertaken along the shore, creating yet another large hotel complex. Diving begins with while descending to a sandy plateau at about 15-20 meters, which is bordered on the edge of the drop-off by a series of hard coral heads, including numerous gorgonian's.

During the lunch interval, whilst drifting off Near Garden we were joined by an Oceanic White Tipped shark - investigating our boat and feeding near the surface. The second dive was again very pleasant with plenty of marine life, unfortunately the coral was looking very sad, not surprising as this was probably one on the most frequently visited sites in the area - very popular with trainee divers.

Tuesday 18th October

Dive 3 : Jackson Reef - Straits of Tiran

Dive Time 50 mins - Max Depth 25.3 Metres

Jackson Reef is the most northerly reef in Tiran an is known for the wreck, partially demolished in 1996 of the Cypriot merchant ship Lara. Diving usually is confined to the sheltered southern side. The reef on the southern side in the shallows is cut with sandy splits, then descends to the sandy seabed at a depth of 45 meters. I will always remember Jackson as my very first reef dive in the Red Sea a few years previously. My very first decent down the sheer face of the reef, teeming with both fish, Corals and Invertebrates will always stay with me. Again we had an excellent dive. Whilst still on the boat I spotted Sue Williams, our guide from our last trip to Sharm, on the boat next to ours. We moored the boat for this dive at one of the anchorage points and dropped down onto a sandy plateau and headed off to the shear drop of the reef wall - an awesome sight ! The wall was covered in beautiful coral and an abundance of fish, including the usual Anthias, Angelfish, Butterfly Fish, Grouper and, Wrasse. We also saw a nice Giant Moray and a Blue Spotted Stingray. Some larger fish were spotted out "in the blue", but nothing spectacular - no sharks ! Sue spotted Howard during the dive and gave us a wave - apparently she recognised his fins and apparent height in the water - you can spot those Force Fins from a mile away (viz permitting !)

Dive 4 : Thomas Reef - Straits of Tiran

Dive Time 37 mins - Max Depth 23.5 Metres

This reef is one of the most spectacular diving site of the Northern Red Sea - or so the book claims... Unfortunately we suffered with very strong currents for our attempt at diving the reef. We descended down onto the plateau and it quickly became apparent that there was quite a current running. In our group we had several relatively inexperienced divers and the the constantly changing, very strong currents made diving a challenge - with divers constantly colliding - fighting with the current. We tried to change both depth and direction moving in close to the reef and out into the blue to ease the situation and get control - bit it just didn't happen and we aborted after about 30 mins. a good call in the circumstances, but a bit of shame - diving is never predicable !

Wednesday 19th October

Martin, Gary, Neil and Daniel were up at 04:00 today to dive the Thistlegorm - the rest of us, having dived the Thistlegorm on previous occasions decided to get a few extra hours sleep and join another group returning to the Straits of Tiran. I meant diving back on Jackson Reef again - but this is one of my favourite dives so I was happy to go back.. Our guide for the day was to be Amr and we would be sharing a boat, Sea Quest 3 with 2 groups of divers completing their "open water" training.

Dive 5 : Jackson Reef - Straits of Tiran

Dive Time 47 mins - Max Depth 28.3 Metres

My dive buddy for this dive was Dave Jones - we share similar underwater interests - Dave was trying his new Sony Video camera and I enjoy under-water photography. Another good dive on Jackson, with it's abundance of Marine Life. Managed to get a lovely shot of an Eagle Ray, basking on a small patch of sand. Again we had a very good dive guide today, Amar. He was only too happy to allow us to take our time and do our own thing, whilst keeping an eye on the group to ensure all was well. Large Pipe Fish could be seen, swimming out in the blue.

The other groups on our boat were to do a second dive on Thomas Reef, bearing in mind the problems we had diving this site yesterday we decided to "sit it out" and wait for the 3rd dive, back at Near Garden. The normal schedule of 3 dives per day with a relative short interval between dives does not suit all and as a group, we prefer a more leisurely approach. Dive in the morning - long break for lunch - followed by a afternoon dive. Total relaxation !

Peacock Grouper grazing on Jackson Reef

Dive 6 : Near Garden

Dive Time 56 mins - Max Depth 20.4 Metres

Not a bad dive if you enjoy looking at destroyed Coral - most of this dive was spent drifting over dead coral and a sandy seabed, not my idea of a good Red Sea Dive. Fish seen included Groupers and Blue Spotted Ray

Thursday 20th October

Today's diving will be within the Ras Mohammed National Park

Dive 7 : Shark Reef

Dive Time 41 mins - Max Depth 22 Metres

The first dive today will be on Shark Reef, returning to one of my favourite all time dive sites.

Dropped in straight onto Shark Reef, with no swim over the blue as I had done on previous visits to this site - not as good ... the best part of this dive is to swim across the gap between Anemone City and Shark Reef and suddenly see Sark Reef emerge from the blue - an awesome site ! I would imagine that Aeman was nor sure that all the divers in our group could handle the potential currents ! Bit of a shame as I was hoping to be dropped onto Anemone City.

At the start of the dive as we dropped down the the reef I saw a Giant Moray . We skirted the Coral outcrop , as the wall descended down into the abyss, more than 700 metres deep. Keeping an eye out in the blue for anything interesting, but nothing worth a mention was seen ! The dive was a little disappointing as the reef's vibrant colours and wonderful soft Corals were anywhere as stunning as the last time I dived this site (2 years ago). I wonder what the reason is for the dramatic determination of this site - could it be global warming, or pollution from the ever increasing number of Hotels popping up along the shore. I have heard it mentioned that the salinity of the water has increased - but have not had this substantiated ! The current was very strong when we reached Yolander (the wreck) Gary posed for a quick photo on the toilet! We continued on to Satellite reef. Fish seen on this dive included, Moray Eel, Peacock Grouper, Crocodile Fish, Anthias, Masked Butterfly Fish, Angel Fish, Coral Grouper and Lion Fish. An excellent dive, but worrying about the reef damage.

Dive 8 : Ras Ghozlani

Dive Time 56 mins - Max Depth 24 Metres

The deep bay of Marsa Bareika has the dive site of Ras Ghozlani on it's northern tip, The bay was opened up for scuba diving only a few years ago. However diving in the bay is still restricted and makes a very good , worthwhile dive. We chose to dive this site twice on our 2005 trip, as the first dive was so good. I decided not to take the camera on this dive, but just relax and take in the scenery. An excellent dive - one of my best !

Friday 21st October

We returned to Ras Mohammed National Park for our last days diving..

Dive 9 : Jack Fish Alley

Dive Time 49 mins - Max Depth 21 Metres

This site is name derives from the wide sandy "road" between the coral ledge bordering the coast and a parallel satellite reef that is often frequented by Jackfish and other predators.

This was the first time I has dived this site. We descended onto the sandy plateau and then continued at a depth of 6 meters to locate the entrance to the cave, swimming though to the reef. The view when exiting the cave was quite spectacular - the sun's rays streaming down through the gin clear water..

A very good dive with plenty of coral and fish.

Dive 10 : Ras Ghozlani

Dive Time 50 mins - Max Depth 24 Metres

We returned to Ras Ghozlani for a second dive on this site. Again, an excellent dive with plenty of life and some stunning coral and other invertebrates( how long will it last ? ). The table corals to be seen on this site are really quite exceptional for region of the Red Sea. Took lots of photos - please take a look at the gallery for some examples.

Dive 11 : Ras Katy (Night Dive)

Dive Time 42 mins - Max Depth 13.4 Metres

Our final dive of the 2005 Red Sea Trip - A night dive on Ras Katy. Descended down onto a Sandy Seabed - usual compliment of lion fish, most of these were rather small compared to the Lion Fish (Real Monsters) that we had seen on the last night dive, 2 years ago.

Aeman played a bit of a trick on us - he placed a plastic Manta Ray on the coral when none of us were looking and then flashed his torch quickly onto the "fish" gesturing to us to take a look. He then watched on a we approached , one by one to take a photo ( in the dark it was hard to see what you were taking a picture of ! ) Not the best night dive - but a fairly good one ..

This dive concluded the Edenbridge Sub-Aqua Club trip to the Red Sea 2005 ....

Saturday was spent lounging by the hotel pool and snorkeling off the beach at Naama Bay - there is some very nice reefs to be seen just of the shore. I joined a group snorkeling around one of the reefs that was being patrolled by a Titan Trigger Fish - this could have been very dangerous at the wrong time of the year, particularly in the breeding season - although very territorial the trigger did not seem too aggressive.

Triton Trigger Fish

Additional information for each of the dive sites has been obtained from Alberto Siliotti's Sinai Dive Guide - ISBN 88-87177-65-1 - highly recommended to supplement any diving from Sharm EL Sheikh