Strait of Tiran & North Tour 20th April 2012

We have once again booked up with the Blue O Two team to supply a top end liveaboard in the Red Sea. We always use Blue O Two because they give us a fantastic weeks diving on a top class luxury liveaboard. This year we have booked the Strait of Tiran combined with the northern highlights to give us a bit of a change, see below for some of the highlights of this trip, book early to avoid dissapointment as there are only 24 spaces on this boat!

Itinerary: Strait of Tiran & North
Dates: 20th - 27th April 2012
Aboard: M/Y blue Voyager

ITINERARY HIGHLIGHTS:

Strait of Tiran
Only accessible by boat, the dive area is found in the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba and is made up of four main reefs that form the top of an underwater bridge. These reefs, named after British cartographers (Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas, Gordon), are world famous for their extraordinary diversity of corals and strong south westerly currents make them home to many large pelagic fish...

Jackson Reef
This is the most northerly reef and on its northern edge lays the wreck of a freighter serving as a stark warning to ships in the narrow straights. Dives are usually conducted from the moorings on the south side which is sheltered from the main swell and currents. Moving northwards you will come across a forest of spectacular gorgonia fan coral at about 20 to 30 metres as well as many different kinds of reef fish. This site can also be done as a drift dive heading from the mooring towards the east with the reef on the left where it is mostly wall diving with excellent corals.

Woodhouse Reef
This is the longest reef of the four in the Strait of Tiran. Home to reef sharks and eagle rays, it is dived as a drift dive usually from south to north. Jumping at the southern part of the reef is a wall to about 30m covered with coral from the surface all the way down. There is a canyon going along the reef at about 25m which spreads out into a coral garden with sand alleys.

Thomas Reef
This is the smallest reef in the Strait and diving here is governed by the weather as there are extremely strong currents. The ends are vertical walls with a large plateau at about 25m on the south eastern side. This plateau often has sleeping sharks on the sand patches and the colourful coral has a fence of gorgonia fans at the end.

Gordon Reef
This is the most southerly reef of the four and has a different topography from the others offering both a shallow plateau area and drop offs. A huge variety of reef fish and big schools of groupers can be seen here and on the sandy bottom at 4 to 5 metres there is an eel garden area along with coral encrusted drums. The top of the reef, with its lighthouse, is also home to the wreck Lovilla which sits almost parallel to the wreck on Jackson Reef.

North
SS. Thistlegorm – Shaab Ali
Probably the most famous of the Red Sea wrecks. The 129m English Freighter was bombed by German aviation on 6th October 1941. Today she creates an artificial reef on a sandy bottom at 32m max depth. She is home to an enormous variety of marine life and is especially popular with large schooling fish.
 
Abu Nuhas
Also known as the 'Ships Graveyard', this reef is dangerously positioned close to the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Suez. This reef has claimed more ships than any other in the area. On the north side are four wrecks laying on a sandy seafloor at the bottom of a steep sloping reef layered with table corals. Wrecks here include the Ghiannus D, Carnatic, Tile & Lentil Wrecks. On the south side is a safe anchorage for liveaboards and two ergs, known as Yellow Fish Reef.

Gubal Island
At the gate of the Straits of Gubal is 'Bluff Point', which gets its name from the turbulence created by strong currents that beat the eastern wall of the island. The wreck of the 'Ulysses' lies on the reef 300m north of the lighthouse, starting at 5m and sloping to 25m. 'The Barge' wreck, south of the lighthouse, provides divers with a fun and unusual night dive. The wrecks skeleton creates protection for all types of night creatures.

All dive sites are subject to weather conditions and cannot be guaranteed.

£1049 per person
To include: Return flights LGW-HRG, Egyptian visa, transfers from/to Hurghada, 7 nights full board accommodation on vessel, tea/coffee/water/soft drinks, snacks, Marine Park fees, 6 days diving, single 12lt cylinder and weights.

Call  The Divezone today on 01225 791440 or email  mark@thedivezone.co.uk for more information or to book on this classic Red Sea safari.