Scuba Dive

Lounging Lionfish

Jacques Cousteau once said “The Red Sea is a corridor of marvels – the happiest hours of my diving experience have been spent there.”  Even today, many divers still agree that the dark blue waters of the Red Sea produce top-notch scuba experiences. 

Where is it?  The Red Sea is located between Asia and Africa. At its most northerly point forms the Sinai Peninsula and stretches over 1000 miles south to join the Indian Ocean, between Ethiopia and Yemen. In the north and west are desert plains, while in the south mountains reign.

How’s the water?  Water temperatures in the Red Sea remain unusually constant year round at about 72 degrees F. The open sea’s cooling effect creates an interesting temperature pattern: maximum summer temperatures are lower in the south while minimum temperatures are higher in the north with the opposite occurring during the winter. The coldest moth of the year is January and the warmest months are July and August. The Red Sea is notorious among seafarers for its high speed surface winds with aggressive irregular motions. Though it is usually calm on the inward shore, journeys to exposed sites like The Brothers islands, a remote off-shore site east of El Quseir, can be perilous.

What kind of sea life lives there?  There are over 1000 species of invertebrates and around 200 recorded coral types to be found. Moreover, the Red Sea boasts over 1000 species of fish, more species than any other proportional body of water. Encounters with schools of jacks, manta rays, napolean wrasse, large groupers, tunas, oceanic whitetip sharks and a variety of reef sharks provide some world class excitement. Ever-present lionfishes, angelfishes, butterflyfishes, tangs, anemone fishes and colorful groupers along with untold numbers of invertebrates give macro photographers plenty of first class subject matter.  In places, the reef stretches way out to sea, forming a elaborate system of caves, lagoons, gardens, and plateaus. Some of these coral summits plunge dramatically thousands of feet to the ocean floor.

What are the dive sites?  Featuring the national park of Ras Muhammed, just south of Sharm el Sheikh and Naama Bay, most of the diving in the Sinai is enjoyed on the walls bordering the east coast of this world-famous peninsula. Many other excellent sites are accessible from land from the city of Hurghada, however, live-aboards provide the best access to more remote locations and the most thrilling dives in the Straits of Tiran and at The Brothers.  The dive sites of the Red Sea are numerous, and vary greatly in terms of topography and sea life.  Since a discussion of Red Sea scuba opportunities could go on forever, this article focuses on just one part of this diving haven, the Gulf of Aqaba, the finger of water that extends northeast of Sharm el Sheikh to Elat in the north.  Saudi Arabia borders this gulf on the east while the Sinai Peninsula borders is on the west.  This part of the Sea can be divided two parts: Dahab in the south part of the gulf and Nuweiba in the north.

Dahab

Dahab lies alongside the deepest section of the African rift, the giant crack in the earth’s crust that formed the Red Sea. The jagged mountains above continue at much the same angle underwater, forming a dramatic seascape of valleys, canyons and caves. Most of Dahab’s dive-spots are geologically unique. Dahab diving is mainly shore based with easily accessible reefs right on the shoreline amongst the maze of coral islands. Due to the slightly colder water, coral growth is quite different than in Sharm El Sheikh. The dominant species are acropora, brain, stone, leather and black corals. Only occasionally you will come across soft corals. Marine life includes reef fish, blue spotted rays, jacks, snapper, barracuda, lionfish, turtles and an occasional reef shark. There are gentle reef slopes and coral gardens for beginners and some more challenging sites such as the Blue Hole or the Canyon for the more advanced. Some sites are so remote, they can only be reached by camel, thus prompting some local dive operators to offer one- and two-day camel-dive safaris.
Blue Hole – El Bells
Situated 12 km north of Dahab, this is one of the most famous dive sites in the Red Sea. The Blue Hole has an almost circular shape 150m wide and 110m deep and connects with the sea through a tunnel 26m long at a depth of 52 meters (for technical divers only). The best way to enjoy this dive site is by doing a drift dive starting at El Bells (situated 250m north) and finishing the dive in the Blue Hole. El Bells is a half open chimney that reaches a depth of 30 meters with a fantastic underwater arch. The wall there is covered with a rich growth of black corals, elephant ear sponges and sea fans. Divers who remember to peer into the deep blue behind them can spot yellowfin tuna, orangespotted trevally, and schools of red sea fusiliers, and the resident napoleon wrasses. The saddle which allows the entrance to the inside of the Blue Hole is only 7m deep and hosts a coral garden teeming with life. The garden is a great way to end your Blue Hole dive by keeping an eye out for octopus, starfish and scorpion fish.

The Canyon
This site takes its name from a long, narrow canyon that runs north to south from the shallow reef just offshore to depths of around 50m. Access to the site is through a shallow 3m lagoon lying a few steps from the shoreline. The entrance to the canyon is marked by a large coral mound lying some 10m out from the reef face, in around 12m of water. A diver-sized opening gives onto the top chamber of the canyon, a fishbowl-like enclosure. From here the canyon drops through various twists and turns to a depth of 50m; open water is visible along most of its length through the narrow opening in the ceiling, but there is no opening large enough to exit through until 30m depth. The progression through the Canyon is easy and the light effect caused by the sun rays is surreal. Outside the canyon, the reef has good coral cover but within the canyon itself, there is little if any coral growth. Among the large range of reef fish here, some notable residents include the butterflyfish, pufferfish, cornetfish, unicorns, snapper, grouper, basslets, juvenile barracudas, lyretail cod, coral grouper and rabbitfish. Jacks can often be seen along the reef, and jewel-like schools of glassfish inhabit the canyon.

Eel Garden
Though the name lacks punch, this site is actually an exciting dive filled with excellent photography opportunities.  Entry to this site is through a small lagoon which descends from the reeftop to an exit point on the reef at about 7m. Little more than 1.5m wide at some points, this entry lagoon can act as a funnel for wave surge or runout from falling tides, so a strenuous swim may be necessary.  Once outside the lagoon, a wide sandy slope leads off to the north, covered with literally thousands of garden eels swaying in the gentle current. Across the sand lies a sloping reef wall with scattered coral heads on the sand at its 20m base; south of the sand, the reef continues with lots of fine coral growth but no exit point until the lighthouse.  There is an excellent selection of coral growth along both reef sections, with stony and soft species including acropora, antler coral, plate, cabbage, elephant ear sponge, Dendronephthya and Xeniids. Anemones are also pretty common here.  The site boasts large numbers of small grey morays, lionfish, bluespine unicorn, scorpion fish, damsels and baslets, parrots, grouper, lyretail cod, and plenty of sand gobies.  The rare batfish can also be found here.

The Lighthouse
This is a fine dive, with a good range of features and depths to suit all levels of diver. Located just offshore at the lighthouse in Dehab bay, it features a sloping reef extending north around an outthrust point of land. Large pinnacles with huge cabbage coral and coral heads extend out from the point, reaching depths of more than 25m before tailing off to a series of smaller coral heads with a diverse fish life of big trumpetfish, rock cod, lionfish surgeon and unicornfishes, wrasses, triggerfishes, breams and morays.  Turtles and rays are also frequently spotted here.  The reef then gives way to a wide, sandy slope containing seamoths and shrimps before reaching a second sloping coral wall to the north.  A shallow lagoon cuts the reeftop at this reef’s southern edge, hosting a varied fish life including cornetfish, angelfish, spanish dancer nudibranches, goatfish and schools of common bigeyes feeding in the mild current.

The Islands
The Islands is a dense concentration of coral pinnacles and patch reefs in a sheltered location along the Dahab shore – a labyrinthine range of peaks, valleys, corridors, sand patches, bowls, amphitheaters, deep wells and coral peaks. This intricate seascape is densely covered with absolutely pristine coral, offering the most diverse and well-preserved selection of coral in the Sinai area. Every conceivable hard coral is present, including porites, brain corals and acropora table corals.   A diversity of soft corals exists as well. The fish life is even more amazing than the coral: huge schools of barracuda, box fish, crocodile fish, blue fin trevallies, snapper, surgeon and unicornfish vie with vibrantly-colored reef species for a diver’s attention. Sea bream, emperors, big triggerfish, rabbitfish, birdnose wrasse and many other species round out the picture, with an occasional turtle, too. One particular highlight is a large, sand-bottomed amphitheater halfway along the reef, where giant schools of juvenile barracuda congregate in whirling circles.

The Caves
This site is the last of the series of sites on the southern coast of Dahab before the Gabr El Bint National Park. It centers on two shallow and large open front caverns, deeply undercutting the reef table close to shore. They are well worth a visit: covered with soft corals, sponges and black corals and inhabited by huge pufferfish and shy peppered morays.  On the south side, a very contoured shallow reef section with many inlets and surf tubes leads onto the sloping body of the main reef, while to the north, a deeply undercut extension of the cavern leads down the side of the sandhill to the northern continuation of the reef slope. The reef sections are as interesting as the caves, where a large cover of hard and soft coral and lively population of reef and schooling fishes are present.

Nuweiba

The diving from Nuweiba runs from Devils Head and in the north to Abu Gallum in the south and is mainly accessed from the shore by jeep or even camel due to the lack of jetty facilities or safe anchorages for boats. Conditions are ideal and there is plenty to see: gardens of hard and soft coral and interesting fish species like razor fish, shrimpfish, stonefish and pegasus fish. Those with a keen eye for detail can spot the elusive frogfish, the delicate seahorse and the multihued nudibranch. There are house reefs and coral gardens to explore, as well as two marine parks: Ras Mumlach, with a 70m wall covered in hard and soft corals, and Ras Abu Galum, with a drop off to over 90m.  Some of the more interesting dive sites in this area include:

Abou Lou Lou House Reef
The house reef lies just to the left of the jetty, off the hotel’s private beach. The main reef lies between 5 and 20m of depth.  It is an ideal spot for both for beginners and experienced divers because of the concentration and diversity of the fish life there. Puffers, morays, groupers, surgeonfish, shrimps and crabs are just a few of the highlights. Lionfish practically overrun the reef here, with 20 or more commonly seen on any dive.  This site is great for night dives as well, when the ocean’s evening entertainment comes out to play in droves.

M.F.O.
M.F.O. is an abbreviation for Multi-National Force and Observers.  This site contains two desalination pipes that were put there by the Israeli Army in the late seventies. Both pipes start at 5m and stretch out horizontally, sloping gradually down to 12m and 20m respectively. The pipes are around 5m apart and over the years have become overgrown with soft corals and small table corals. This has attracted an abundance of fish to shelter around the pipes.  A short swim north from the pipes produces a reef at a depth between 14 and 20m with a collection of small pinnacles, coral heads and masses of soft corals blanketing the bottom. The fish life is abundant with jackfish, grouper, parrotfish and sometimes leopard rays making an appearance.

Ras El Shetan – Devils Head
About 30 minutes drive north of Nuweiba lies a Bedouin Camp, a perfect base from which to dive Ras El Shetan. The southern side of the reef starts at 12m, and is covered by an incredible variety of hard corals before dropping down sharply to a depth of 40m to a canyon full of octopus, puffer fish and moon groupers. The northern side of the reef offers a completely different experience, providing a bed of sea grass and a healthy coral garden that includes impressive table corals ranging in size from an inch to 3m in diameter. Along with various other hard and soft corals, this part of the site is home to many small, tropical fish including the brightly colored lemon goby and the blue green puller.
Ras Mamlach
Situated in the Abu Galum National Park, this site is spectacular. The reef starts at 12m, with a beautiful coral garden, then gives way to a steep wall that bottoms out at 70m. Brightly colored  fan and table corals as well as soft corals sit against the backdrop of the intensive blue of the Gulf of Aqaba, where schools of barracuda, jacks and groupers play.