Miss Veena - Southern Red Sea
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ben arthur
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I went on a 2 week trip on the Miss Veena in July (marine park itinerary, brothers, daedalus, st johns etc).
The boat had actually been recommended to me by a friend. Having been on it, I have to say that there were no problems whatsoever - boat was comfortable, crew were friendly and helpful and we had a good dive guide (albeit that he was freelance - don't know whether he's still working on the Miss Venna). Food was also very good.
None of the other 12 guests had any problems - in fact one of them has just been back on the boat again for a 1 week trip. A couple of people from my trip had also been on the boat last year.
Needless to say I would not hesitate to go on the boat again.
What was the nature of the complaints / gripes that you heard?
The diving by the way was fantastic - you'll be glad to hear that the brothers, daedalus (especially) and st elphinstone were among the best sites.
The boat had actually been recommended to me by a friend. Having been on it, I have to say that there were no problems whatsoever - boat was comfortable, crew were friendly and helpful and we had a good dive guide (albeit that he was freelance - don't know whether he's still working on the Miss Venna). Food was also very good.
None of the other 12 guests had any problems - in fact one of them has just been back on the boat again for a 1 week trip. A couple of people from my trip had also been on the boat last year.
Needless to say I would not hesitate to go on the boat again.
What was the nature of the complaints / gripes that you heard?
The diving by the way was fantastic - you'll be glad to hear that the brothers, daedalus (especially) and st elphinstone were among the best sites.
ben arthur
Registered
That's interesting you say that as, before my trip in July, I'd heard similar stuff, with people saying that the fact the boat was wooden was asking for potential trouble. However all of the people making such comments had not been on the boat themselves - I can see there being a possible problem with smallish wooden boats but the Veena is a good size.
We had no problems with the boat handling rough weather.
I'd also heard that repairs were needed, but this was it seems stuff from a report on the boat a year or two ago - again, no problems as far as i could see.
Have a great trip and let me know how you get on! If Medhat is the dive guide please send him my regards .
Also, tell Ali, one of the crew, to keep himself out of trouble ! - he'd been bitten by a barracuda a few weeks before my trip and on the trip he had a nasty accident with the back of his foot being sliced open, had to be evacuated!
We had no problems with the boat handling rough weather.
I'd also heard that repairs were needed, but this was it seems stuff from a report on the boat a year or two ago - again, no problems as far as i could see.
Have a great trip and let me know how you get on! If Medhat is the dive guide please send him my regards .
Also, tell Ali, one of the crew, to keep himself out of trouble ! - he'd been bitten by a barracuda a few weeks before my trip and on the trip he had a nasty accident with the back of his foot being sliced open, had to be evacuated!
Hey guys,
I think I'm the one who advised against wooden boats in GENERAL - not miss veena in particular. I'm sorry if you got the impression that I thought it was a recipe for disaster, which it obviously isn't, it wasn't my intent. I'm sure she is a very nice ship with good service and the diving is the same. But, I'm not ill informed. My point was that I'd rather chooze a steel hulled vessel than a wooden one based on the following undisputable facts:
1. Brothers are located in open sea. Weather can be very rough, especially during winter time.
2. The wooden boats (even if it's 30 meters) is less comfortable and not able to handle big waves as good as a heavier steel ship.
3. A wooden hull ship is not as strong as a steel hulled one, which can be critical if you hit the reef (this is very much a reality since places like Brothers and Deadalus can't offer protection from more than one direction. If the wind picks up, each night on Brothers is a gamble. Will the wind change direction???).
In my experience, from several liveaboards on wooden ships and on steel ships in different areas of the Red Sea, this last fact tend to make skippers on wooden boats more nervous about the weather, which is absolutely sain. This usually makes them reluctant to hang around too long on an exposed place like the Brothers ... which is where the best diving is. To be moored close to an unsheltered reef in open sea means worries for the captain, even if he doesn't show it to the guests.
Just out of curiosity Ben, how many days was your trip and how many days did you spend on Brother Islands and how many on Deadalus Reef?
Actually, when the rules for the Marine Parks (Brothers etc) was presented in 1998 when they reopened for diving, wooden boats were not allowed to go there for safety reasons. This however was politically impossible to hold since too many egyptian boat owners felt side stepped. Rules changed.
And if you take into account that there are 5-6 big steel ships going to Brothers as well as other off shore destinations, I would rather choose them.
Summer usually have calm seas and nice weather, so it isn't much of an issue then. Winter is trickier.
Ben, did you have rough weather in july?
Guzz, good luck with your trip. The diving is superb. My favourite spots are Little Brother North, the Numidia wreck on Big Brother and Elphinstone North.
cheers
Christian
I think I'm the one who advised against wooden boats in GENERAL - not miss veena in particular. I'm sorry if you got the impression that I thought it was a recipe for disaster, which it obviously isn't, it wasn't my intent. I'm sure she is a very nice ship with good service and the diving is the same. But, I'm not ill informed. My point was that I'd rather chooze a steel hulled vessel than a wooden one based on the following undisputable facts:
1. Brothers are located in open sea. Weather can be very rough, especially during winter time.
2. The wooden boats (even if it's 30 meters) is less comfortable and not able to handle big waves as good as a heavier steel ship.
3. A wooden hull ship is not as strong as a steel hulled one, which can be critical if you hit the reef (this is very much a reality since places like Brothers and Deadalus can't offer protection from more than one direction. If the wind picks up, each night on Brothers is a gamble. Will the wind change direction???).
In my experience, from several liveaboards on wooden ships and on steel ships in different areas of the Red Sea, this last fact tend to make skippers on wooden boats more nervous about the weather, which is absolutely sain. This usually makes them reluctant to hang around too long on an exposed place like the Brothers ... which is where the best diving is. To be moored close to an unsheltered reef in open sea means worries for the captain, even if he doesn't show it to the guests.
Just out of curiosity Ben, how many days was your trip and how many days did you spend on Brother Islands and how many on Deadalus Reef?
Actually, when the rules for the Marine Parks (Brothers etc) was presented in 1998 when they reopened for diving, wooden boats were not allowed to go there for safety reasons. This however was politically impossible to hold since too many egyptian boat owners felt side stepped. Rules changed.
And if you take into account that there are 5-6 big steel ships going to Brothers as well as other off shore destinations, I would rather choose them.
Summer usually have calm seas and nice weather, so it isn't much of an issue then. Winter is trickier.
Ben, did you have rough weather in july?
Guzz, good luck with your trip. The diving is superb. My favourite spots are Little Brother North, the Numidia wreck on Big Brother and Elphinstone North.
cheers
Christian
ben arthur
Registered
Hi Christian
Sorry, I wasn't as such having a dig at the people who gave me advice earlier in the year(any constructive advice is in fact appreciated!)
The trip I took in July was a 2 week one, covering Brothers, Daedalus, Rocky island, Zabargad, St Johns and then up north including Elphinstone etc.
We spent 2 days at the Brothers - we moored at Little Brother for the night, certainly it got pretty rough in the morning and naturally especially so around the other side of Little Brother. No doubt it can get a good deal rougher. The Veena does regular trips out that way however, including 1 week stints at the Brothers, seemingly all year round.
Spent only 1 day at Daedalus - would love to have done 2 here as the diving was fantastic. Weather was kind to us here mind.
Spent 2 days at St Johns, where the sea did kick up a fair bit. However, the itinerary was not affected by the sea conditions at all during the trip, albeit that the only rough stuff we has was at Brothers and St Johns.
Agree with you on your favorite sites although as I say Daedalus was possibly the highlight for me - the diving at St Johns is also stunning in places and excellent overall
Sorry, I wasn't as such having a dig at the people who gave me advice earlier in the year(any constructive advice is in fact appreciated!)
The trip I took in July was a 2 week one, covering Brothers, Daedalus, Rocky island, Zabargad, St Johns and then up north including Elphinstone etc.
We spent 2 days at the Brothers - we moored at Little Brother for the night, certainly it got pretty rough in the morning and naturally especially so around the other side of Little Brother. No doubt it can get a good deal rougher. The Veena does regular trips out that way however, including 1 week stints at the Brothers, seemingly all year round.
Spent only 1 day at Daedalus - would love to have done 2 here as the diving was fantastic. Weather was kind to us here mind.
Spent 2 days at St Johns, where the sea did kick up a fair bit. However, the itinerary was not affected by the sea conditions at all during the trip, albeit that the only rough stuff we has was at Brothers and St Johns.
Agree with you on your favorite sites although as I say Daedalus was possibly the highlight for me - the diving at St Johns is also stunning in places and excellent overall
No sweat,
On a trip I did in 99 to the Brothers we spent 5.5 days diving Brother Islands. This was in summer, so the weather was calm, but we noticed that many other boats (captains) where very reluctant to staying there too long.
I agree on Deadalus being very good! It is certainly one of the most exciting places to dive in the Red Sea, however I feel it is more depending on what you encounter since the reef itself is not as colourful as e.g. Little Brother or the soft coral at the Numidia. But Any of thoose places can blow you away if you have a little bit of luck, and you only need a little bit. I have a one of a life time dive on little Brother North: we dived with 10-15 grey reef sharks, after a while 5 hammerheads showed up and came very close. On the drift back to the mooring we swam for 10 minutes with giant manta ray!!! Not much to do but to clean your gear and go home after such a dive
My experinece in the St Johns area is limited to a "sail through" on my way to Port Sudan with sporadic diving three years ago - my impression was it was very nice, but not as spectacular as some other areas. BUT, I'm sure there are a lot more to be found down there. However there are no really deep waters in this reef system, so one should not expect big fish to be as common as on Deadalus, Brothers or Elphinstone.
cheers
Christian
On a trip I did in 99 to the Brothers we spent 5.5 days diving Brother Islands. This was in summer, so the weather was calm, but we noticed that many other boats (captains) where very reluctant to staying there too long.
I agree on Deadalus being very good! It is certainly one of the most exciting places to dive in the Red Sea, however I feel it is more depending on what you encounter since the reef itself is not as colourful as e.g. Little Brother or the soft coral at the Numidia. But Any of thoose places can blow you away if you have a little bit of luck, and you only need a little bit. I have a one of a life time dive on little Brother North: we dived with 10-15 grey reef sharks, after a while 5 hammerheads showed up and came very close. On the drift back to the mooring we swam for 10 minutes with giant manta ray!!! Not much to do but to clean your gear and go home after such a dive
My experinece in the St Johns area is limited to a "sail through" on my way to Port Sudan with sporadic diving three years ago - my impression was it was very nice, but not as spectacular as some other areas. BUT, I'm sure there are a lot more to be found down there. However there are no really deep waters in this reef system, so one should not expect big fish to be as common as on Deadalus, Brothers or Elphinstone.
cheers
Christian
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