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In late 2008 Paul
broached the idea of joining the February Hayah environmental clean up
in the northern Red Sea organised by Blue O 2 .This was good value and
subsidised to reflect the ecological benefits to the Red Sea.
Alas-with
the imminence of Christmas and the Truk expedition organised already by
some of our club members, the only other volunteer was James.
Still within BUDC even two comprises a group if it means diving!
So the trip was booked.
February 2009 saw Paul and James in Egypt on board the Blue Horizon. A
nice large boat with only one slight problem. Our
cabins were flooded and we had to wait for them to be cleared before we
could use them for the night! We very nearly did our acclimatisation dive in the ship!
There was a nice mixture of guests on board. A party of northern lads
from Yorkshire. A group of Scots recovering from working on the Russian
oil rigs. Two East Europeans . Also a smattering of British married
couples including one guy with a Sentinel rebreather.
The week was smashing and we had some good dives-some of which are
summarised below.
Test dive 7.2.2009 Shab El Erg
Shallow dive at 13 metres but massive viz at 25/30 metres with lots of
fish life and 23 degrees water temperature (not bad for February!). On
the way back two dolphins played with our group for several minutes.
Thistlegorm 9.2.09
A nice morning dive at 31 metres. Paul and I practically had the
ship to ourselves for this dive. We noticed that the new moorings were no
longer in use and that the ship was tied to the propeller shaft. Went
round the debris field and then through the gangways to the number 2
hold and back.
Carnatic 11.2.09
Lovely old wreck in atmospheric surrounding. At 25 metres she was
absolutely covered in coral. Viz was wonderful and the sun was shining
making it a really great dive.
Giannis D 11.2.09
Another great dive at 22 metres. Larger and more recent wreck. Badly
broken up in the middle but with an intact stern and (some distance
away) the twisted bow. Went inside the large engine room for a peek.
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Shortly before the departure date we were contacted and asked whether we
would mind upgrading to a Wrecks and Reefs trip as someone wanted our
places on the Hayah trip. Naturally we had to give this serious
consideration as it meant that we would not be able to help with the
reef clear-up. The fact that no clean up work was involved and that the
boat was bigger and our cabin more more luxurious had no bearing on our
decision whatsoever! We merely accepted the upgrade as we did not
wish to disappoint the other party.
Rosalie Muller 8.2.09
Lovely dive at 35 metres with good viz (20 metres) sufficient to see the
ship from the shot going down. Lots of shoals of glass fish and the
wreck is still in good condition. A few of our fellow guests, however,
seemed to have a few problems with their air and decompression on
the way up with a number of octopuses being in use.
Shark and Yolanda 10.2.09
Paul sat this one out and James dived with John and Mathew (bit like the
three disciples really!) Weather was starting to get choppy at this
stage but the dive to the anemone garden was pretty. Max depth 29 metres.
However once we reached Yolanda there was a strong down current coming
between the two pinnacles and it took some strong finning to get up to
the plateau where the toilets etc were. Or weren't to be precise. It
looks as though strong currents in that area have now washed them down
the reef to follow their mother ship. Alas for future photo
opportunities!
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