North – Straits of Tiran

What you expect to see?

The most famous wreck in the Red Sea: The “Thistlegorm”, the Greek cargo ship “Giannis D, the steamship “Carnatic”, a steam and sail-powered vessel the “Dunraven”, the cargo of a Cypriot freighter “Jolanda”
The Gordon Reef : a variety of shark species, huge moray eels, triggerfish, surgeons, jacks, parrotfish, small wrasse. large Napoleons
The Thomas Reef: stony coral forms, Lyretail cod and other groupers, rabbitfish and wrasse, pufferfish
The Woodhouse Reef and the Jackson Reef,

Highlights

Starting from the North on the Eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula are the Straits of Tiran, one of the most famous diving areas in the Red Sea. Situated in the middle of the straits are four coral reefs: Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson.
The Gordon Reef is marked by the wreck of a large commercial freighter. The reef composition is quite varied, with patchy sections, sand beds and full-fledged coral gardens. In the centre of the reef slope, a ‘shark amphitheatre’ or bowl dips to 24m; a variety of shark species can be seen sleeping on the sandy bottom. The site boasts a very good range of corals, with lots of branching varieties. All of the corals are well preserved, in densely grown patches that often show a remarkable mix of different species. Fish life is not the most profuse in the Straits of Tiran, but there are some notable surprises including a huge moray eel with a body as thick as a small divers waist. Triggerfish abound while surgeons and jacks swim in moderately large schools, and angels, parrotfish and small wrasse are all present in good numbers. Large Napoleons wrasse can often be seen along the reef.

Schedule

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SS Thistlegorm

The Thistlegorm, on the west coast of the Sinai Peninsula and 40 km from Sharm El Sheikh, is the best known and most popular wreck dive in the Red Sea. The 125m long British army freighter sank after just 18 months of her launch in April 1940. Her last voyage commenced on the 2nd of June 1941 as she sailed to Alexandria and was loaded with wartime supplies during World War II. A long list of inventory includes tanks, aircraft, armored vehicles, Jeeps and Bedford trucks.In spite of being privately owned and operated, the HMS Thistlegorm was nevertheless fitted with a 4" anti-aircraft gun and a heavy caliber machine gun when she was drafted for war dutyBut it was never to be. In the early hours of 6th October 1941 the Thistlegorm was split in 2 and sank almost instantly after being hit by 2 bombs from a German long range bomber. The hit only blew a hole in the port side of Hold no. 5 but then cargo tank ammunition ignited, causing the bulk of the damage.

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Ras Mohammed

The marine park Ras Mohammed offers dreamlike diving spots. For example Shark Reef and Jolanda Reef. Both reefs are standing on a plateau, which is 20 m deep. The edges of the plateau fall down to more than 200 m. At the reef you will find nice softcorals, fish are plentiful. With luck you can see sharks during your early morning dive. At Jolanda Reef you can see the cargo of a Cypriot freighter “Jolanda” which ran aground in 1980: a large quantity of household toilets!

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The Dunraven

The “Dunraven”, a steam and sail-powered vessel used to transport spices and timber, ran aground the reef Shaab Machmud in March 1876 during a voyage from Bombay to Newcastle and sank quickly. The ship broke in two, and her two halves came to rest on the sea floor. The wreck lies upside down with the stern at a depth of 28 m and the bow at 18 m. At the stern you find the propeller and the rudder, which are overgrown with corals. Inside the wreck you see thousands of glassfish.

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The Giannis D

The ship is lying on the bottom in roughly three separate sections parallel to the reef, with the crumpled bow lying at 10 meters, the cargo area amidships being a jumble of steel and remains of the cargo, and the aft section with an intact A-frame located forward of the superstructure. The wreck is populated with numerous varieties of aquatic life with glassfish, scorpionfish, wrasse, the occassional napoleon, crocodile fish, and blue-spotted stingrays along the bottom. This is really a fun wreck dive for divers of all certification levels.

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The Thomas Reef

It includes some plateau sections and a very deep canyon running along the reef’s southern section. It is the smallest of the four Tiran reefs. The reef’s upper section is a riot of color, encompassing some of the finest soft coral growth in the Sinai region.

Day 1
- Check in, dinner and spending the first night onboard in the marina.
Day 2
- Departure in the morning.
- Boat, diving, safety and Scientific equipment briefing.
- Onboard briefing.
- Two orientation dives including RIB boat use and SMB use.
- Sailing to Rocky Island.
Day 3
- Rocky and Zabargad.
- Collecting data on coral bleaching behavior and human impact on coral.
Day 4
- St John’s Reef.
- Collecting data on coral bleaching.
- Conducting on board experiment on effect of increased water temperature on coral and fishes – participants will collect data from experiment and do observation.
Day 5
- St John’s Reef.
- Collecting data on coral resilience.
- Collecting data on key reef species.
Day 6
- Fury Shoals.
- Collecting data on coral bleaching.
Day 7
- Elphinston and Marsa Alam zone.
- Collecting data on coral Diversity.
- Head to Port.
- At least 20 hour safety rest before flying would be given to all participants.
- Handing trip educational material/ videos and Red Sea Defender giveaways to all participants.
Day 8
- Breakfast and departure by 12:00 pm.
- Transfer to the airport.