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The group arriving in the Sharm El Shake Airport in Egypt. Note the mural on the wall. Thousands of tiles about the size of you little fingernail.
Anchored off a coral reef, you can see the bottom of the ocean. It is 60 feet deep here. In fact, you can dive to 120 feet, look up and see people swimming on the surface. This is one of the premier places to dive in the world.
Pan is snorkeling holding a plastic card. On it are pictures of the different kinds of fish. The object, obviously, is to identify the fish you are looking at from the card. Do not buy the cheap card. I did and it turned to mush in ten minutes.
Yep, this is me getting ready for a night dive. Note the big watch on my left wrist. It is a dive computer...about $400. It tells you how deep you are, how long you have been down, how long you can stay down and the number of men in the Chinese army. The clock looking thing below and to the left of it is a depth gage, compass and air pressure console.
Some of the many dive boats at one of the more popular dive sites. As you can see, these are a pretty big boats. This is above the wreck Thistlegorm which went down in W.W.II. Interestingly, in this area the sport is well regulated to prevent damage to the coral and the underwater sites. The rule for diving is not to touch or remove anything. The boats are not allowed to anchor in the coral or dump trash or garbage.
Justin took this picture one time when he wasn't in the bathroom. I have a flashlight in my right hand for looking in holes. You can see the weights at my waist, the console just to the right of them, the spare regulator on my right hip and fish in the lower left of the picture. What you can't see is the giant octopus just out of the picture latched on to my left foot.
A typical day began at about 8 am with coffee and cakes. Then a dive brief and into the water for a 40 to 50 minute dive where you might see a turtle. We saw three of these. The biggest one was as large as a dinning room table. He was eating coral. I avoided touching him because anything that can eat rock gets my respect.
After recovery, we would find breakfast waiting for us. this is actually lunch, but you get an idea of the amount of food. Every meal was at least six courses. All the food was included in the price.
Everyone sitting on the upper deck of the boat updating their diving log books. Notice Lorraine's log book. It is a novel dating back to her first dive a hundred years ago. She has hand drawn pictures of wrecks, formations, fish, etc. Too much for me. When, where and what is all I can manage.
Then the afternoon dive. This dive might be a DRIFT DIVE wherein you jump into the water at one place and the current carries you along. No swimming required, just investigate. After 40 minutes, you surface and signal the boat to pick you up. This ray is actually the color of the sand with blue spots. I still have a lot to learn about my photo editing program.
Sir Mark the Swift is lecturing on diving technique ( he is a UK NAVY diver) or telling a "sea" story. He had some of the most interesting yarns to which Steve the Stench (Buddha in the picture) always replied, "Bolucks," which is British for B.S. If these two guys weren't discussing some intricate facet of diving, they were telling stories no one could believe. Our dive guide, Petra, is sitting on the floor. Her nickname was Manatee because of her swimming style.
Dinner with Egyptian style rice at the left. The crew always made twice as much as we could eat. What we didn't eat, they ate. After dinner, we might make a night dive (we made three on this trip) or just settle in for beer, Rum and coke or some other wholesome drink.
The crew takes time out for a smoke. I actually think he was smoking a piece of rope. It was horrible smelling and wasn't any kind of dope that I have ever smelled at a pop concert. You can see an assembled dive kit to his left ready for the morning dive.
Some of us relaxed a different way. The big one did not get away. This was it. These guys caught and ate about twenty of these nearly fleshless bone sacks.
Squid at night under the boat's lights. Squid swim with their tentacles in front of them. Steve actually caught one and just as he got it out of the water, it squirted black ink all over him. He was furious. I was delighted between spasms of laughter.
Our last night in Egypt. In port, the group wistfully observes all the other divers who will be leaving for home tomorrow (as will we). Steve looks dejected. He lives for these adventure sports (and eating).
A bad shot of three of the group and the boat crew just before heading for the plane.
Who took this stupid picture? Well, they got the boat captain in the picture at least. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR IN THE RED SEA! This year we are leaving on 15 Oct 1999. Email me if you want to go. |
Arriving on our live aboard boat
the Hurricane. Note the air tanks and the seat to the right. After every dive,
you put your buoyancy compensator and regulator assembly on a new fully charged tank
waiting in the stowage rack. When, a few hours later, you're suited up for the next
dive, you sit down on the seat, slip on the tank assembly, walk three feet and drop into
the ocean. This boat can sleep 10 people. The captain and his crew of three
slept on the floor or the lounge couches.
Then
everyone takes a nap, reads a book or engages in conversation while waiting for the next
dive. It is necessary to spend a few hours between each dive to "Fizz
off", as the Brits put it. Meaning, to let a nitrogen escape from your body to
prevent the "Bends". Your dive computer calculates the correct amount of
time. Lorraine is sleeping against the beer cooler, guarding it. She doesn't
drink beer, but her hubby does and she is the consummate wife.
