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Dive Sites / Wrecks |
The Thistlegorm |
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The
Thistlegorm was 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.
In October 1941 the vessel had made its way round
Africa and into the Red Sea. Loaded down with supplies
destined for North Africa. It anchored in the holding
area before moving towards the Suez Canal. |
The
anchorage is 5 miles wide between the Sinai Peninsula
and the reef 'Shaab Ali' where the sea bottom is flat
at around 30m.
In the early hours of the 6th October two German bombers
from Crete found her and other vessels anchored there.
The bombs landed in number four hold, which contained
ammunition, ripping the stern section off and folding
some of the deck back on itself. The ship went down
and landed upright.
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 holds are open and easily accessed
showing the full range of cargo carried. Like trucks,
motorbikes, plane wings and engines, trains and tenders,
Wellington boots and waders!!, ammunition, armoured
vehicles.
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.
This trip is done as a very early start of 04:15 as
the journey is about 4 hours. This gives enough time
to do 2 dives on the wreck and return by 18:00.
Safety stops are compulsory on these dives and careful
monitoring of air supply and no decompression limit
are essential. (Medical facilities are 4 hours away!!)
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Dunraven |
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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.
The stern section is in about 29m to the sand and
is open in places for those qualified to enter. This
leads to a swim through by the side of the ship's
boiler and out where the wreck has broken in half.
The exit being usually filled with glass fish in their
thousands. The bow section is in shallower water with
loads of places to stick your head into, but nowhere
to get in.
After the bow section the dive is usually done by
fining over the hull which is covered in coral and
then moving onto the reef wall and the shallows to
finish the dive. |
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Shaab Abu Nuhas |
| Shaab
Abu Nuhas is a magnificent coral plateau that barely
reaches the surface. It lies at the very edge of the
shipping lane called the Straits of Gubal. It can
be reached from Sharm el Sheikh only by liveaboard.
Located at the northwest corner where the Red Sea
begins to narrow before it is called the Gulf of Suez
the boat has to cross the open sea, which makes the
trip weather depending. Famous is the area because
of its four wrecks (Giannis D, Carnatic, Chrisoula
K, Sea Star) that can be visited. |
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Giannis D |
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The
Giannis D was built 1969 in Japan. The dimensions
of this "General Cargo Vessel" were about
100m length and 16m width. In April 1983 on its way
from Croatia to Saudi Arabia, loaded with sawn softwood,
it hit the northwest corner of Shaab Abu Nuhas Reef
and sunk. |
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