Red Sea Liveaboard - North (Sinai) Route - Help needed

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David Novo

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Location
Porto, Portugal, Europe
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Hi everyone,

Last year I changed my plans from diving the Red Sea in March/April to do a minke whale liveaboard in the GBR, so I hope this year will be the year.

I have more flexibility in terms of dates, so can you please advise on when should I go and with which company?

I am specifically interested in SS Thirstelgorn, Ras Mohamed and Strait of Tiran (Salem Express would be a plus). When is the best season to see hammerheads (and eventually whale sharks) in this route?

Thanks.
 
Blue O 2 and Emperor do excellent trips on very comfortable boats. They are UK based, but on all the trips we have been on with them there have been divers from all over the world.

May I ask how the GBR LOB was and who you travelled with ?
 
Last year in August we did the classic wrecks and reefs with King Snefro fleet. Had a good time. Cabin was fine and food was ok. Dive guide a bit too fast for my liking.

Coral reefs were fantastic as was Thislegorm. Viz was totally awesome on most dives.

We did not see one single shark during our 7 day LOB, not was it ever mentioned as a chance.

Most fish we saw were small (but abundant).

For HH I think you need to do the south route (BDE).
 
I can confirm hammerheads on the Southern route. We were there in July on the (since deceased) RSA I. I forget offhand if it was Daedalus or the Brothers, but at one point we counted 16.
 
May I ask how the GBR LOB was and who you travelled with ?

I did the 4-nights minke whale liveaboard with Mike Ball in the middle of minke season (end of June):
- Minke whales everyday for several hours, with a peak of 16 at the same time - Dr Alastair Birtles from James Cook University, who studies minke whales was on the boat (as far as I got, there is always someone from his team in these minke whale liveaboards in June/July) and gave us presentations after dinner on the minkes and the behaviours we had observed.
- Very nice coral specially at Steve's and Lighthouse Boomies;
- Great night dives with sharks, specially at Challenger's Bay (several white tip reef sharks and at least one grey reef shark);
- Turtles everywhere;
- Large potato cods in Cod Hole as expected;
- Really enjoyed everything on the boat;
- Very scenic low level flight from Lizard Island to Cairns, going through the main highlights of the GBR.

Last year in August we did the classic wrecks and reefs with King Snefro fleet. Had a good time. Cabin was fine and food was ok. Dive guide a bit too fast for my liking.

Coral reefs were fantastic as was Thislegorm. Viz was totally awesome on most dives.

We did not see one single shark during our 7 day LOB, not was it ever mentioned as a chance.

Most fish we saw were small (but abundant).

For HH I think you need to do the south route (BDE).

Did you go to the Straits of Tiran?

I can confirm hammerheads on the Southern route. We were there in July on the (since deceased) RSA I. I forget offhand if it was Daedalus or the Brothers, but at one point we counted 16.

That is another liveaboard that I woud like to do in the future, but sticking with North for a first run :D
 
Be aware that the Salem Express is in the Safaga bay, far from the north route.... (and it's not very interesting as it is forbidden to go inside, in fact it is still a grave for people who were coming back from Mecca, bodies were unreachable inside and some parts were than welded)
 
If you can chose, go in July. Especially for Ras Mohamed. It's much better in high summer with bigger schools of fish. Warm yes, but at sea I have never had any problems (I'm Scandinavian so not particularly used to the heat). Make sure to dehydrate enough. Mentioned Blue O2 is good and has been my choice in the later years. Emperor has a long time presence and are obviosly doing a lot of things right.
Re hammers: summer is hammertime in Egypt. You might be lucky and see hammerheads in the Strait of Tiran, but it is rare. For hammerheads you need a different itinerary, taking in some or all of the off shore reefs: Brothers, Deadalus, Elphinstone, Rocky/Zabargad. Deadalus has historically been the most reliable, but it can vary a little.
As mentioned Salem Express is outside Port Safaga and is sometimes (rarely) included in Brothers/Deadalus-safaris. There are a lot of emotions connected to it as many people lost their lives in the tragic accident. Quite a few skippers and local guides don't want to take guests there.
 
Are the bigger schools of fish there just in July?
.

RasMo peaks in summer, meaning it really comes alive with more fish. Most notably schools of snappers, jacks and sometimes barracudas. You can see schools there outside peak season too, sometimes, but in general, it is comparatively dead then. Can still be a beautiful dive but the difference is noticable. Mid June, July to beginning August. Chances for big fish greater in the Sinai area then (basically RasMo and Tiran Strait), but if seing sharks is your priority there are other itinerarys for that. And depending on what speices you're after, perhaps a slightly different timing.
Lots of sharks in the Red Sea. But you have to know where, when and how? Come to the right place in the right time. Dive it the proper way and look in the right directions. Then have a little luck too of course. Some divers never see sharks. I remember one in particular. It was a number of years ago on Brother Islands where we stayd for 3 days and made some 10-11 dives on both Islands. It was a veritable shark fest that I have never seen before or after in the Egyptian Red Sea: hameerheads, silkýs, oceanic whitetips, grey, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks and a threasher shark too. Sharks on every dive. One dive I counted to five spieces. But this guy ... barely saw any sharks. So homework needs to be done for wild encounters with sharks in the Red Sea (and any other place too).
 

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