Thistlegorm on air

[Solly]

I was dingin thistlegorm yesterday, did 2 dives on air. The first was just a 35 minutes go around the ship with no penetration, just discovering the place as it was my first time there. The other one was almost all inside going from one deck to the other. It was for 47 minutes with 20 minutes in the depth between 20-25 m inside the lower part. then about 16 minutes in depth between 15-18m checking the upper part then ascending and having the safety stop. This was on air using a 15L tank, we went up because of the NDL together with air consumption, I was out of the water with 60 bars left. Mild current and good visibility, I was lucky

 

[buleetu]

are the passage ways all wide and open, is there anything cluttering up the halls or stuff hanging from the ceilings

i think i will do a 3 day safari or something the next time im in sharm so i get to dive it properly,the rushed way in which it can be done from a day boat wouldnt be very nice for me, i have noticed that the waves at the surface around at yolanda and jack fish alley can be really bad is it like this at the thistlegorm site sometimes too

 

[maged_mmh]

I was dingin thistlegorm yesterday, did 2 dives on air. The first was just a 35 minutes go around the ship with no penetration, just discovering the place as it was my first time there. The other one was almost all inside going from one deck to the other. It was for 47 minutes with 20 minutes in the depth between 20-25 m inside the lower part. then about 16 minutes in depth between 15-18m checking the upper part then ascending and having the safety stop. This was on air using a 15L tank, we went up because of the NDL together with air consumption, I was out of the water with 60 bars left. Mild current and good visibility, I was lucky

which operator? if I may ask?

 

[Solly]

are the passage ways all wide and open, is there anything cluttering up the halls or stuff hanging from the ceilings

It is safe as far as I went around, it was my first time there but the guide was very well acquainted with the insides.

i have noticed that the waves at the surface around at yolanda and jack fish alley can be really bad is it like this at the thistlegorm site sometimes too

I was told that it can be rough sometimes, but the time I was there it was calm, however we had 2 tough hours on the way from AbuNahas where we were staying for the night but the thistlegorm was calm.

which operator? if I may ask?

It was a 2 day trip from hurghada, PM me for more info if interested.

 

[maged_mmh]

It was a 2 day trip from hurghada, PM me for more info if interested.

Thanks anyway; I was looking into operators from Sharm; to plan my coming vacation 3rd week of July - Hurghada will be far for me

 

[Solly]

Thanks anyway; I was looking into operators from Sharm; to plan my coming vacation 3rd week of July - Hurghada will be far for me

Try oonas divers in sharm, a friend of mine likes them a lot. I haven't tried myself to be honest, but from what he tells they are real good.
Red Sea Diving Holiday Hotel Oonas Dive Club Sharm El Sheikh
They operate daily, I am not sure if they have liveaboards or not.

My friend is planning a trip with them through the first 2 weeks of July (date not yet finalized) and I will most probably be joining him, its a pity you will be coming later. By the 3rd week I will be heading to the brothers on a LA from Hurghada.

 

[vixtor]

I dived the Thistlegorm on May 17th; two dives, with air.

The first one was arround the stern, the propeller, the ammunitions and under the exploded deck, back to the mooring line (~30 minutes), with a maximum depth of 31m. In our group (4*2 divers plus the guide) we had divers reaching the turn pressure (we used 15L steel tanks), so NDL was not the real limit (even though I started the ascent at 2 min NDL).

The second dive was through the holds and around the bow, another 35 minutes with a maximum depth of 26m. This dive was limited by the guide's air supply (I didn't noticed exactly, but he either used the same 12L Al on both dives or he had a discharged second tank, as he finished the air first and usually he had a way better SAC than all of us).

This wreck can be done with air in my opinion without major disadvantages (as the depth will make the gas consumption more limiting than the NDL for most divers).

The weather was beautiful - on the return to Hurghada, the sea was calm like a lake.

 

[Solly]

I dived the Thistlegorm on May 17th; two dives, with air.

but he either used the same 12L Al on both dives or he had a discharged second tank, as he finished the air first and usually he had a way better SAC than all of us).

They always do that, depending on their better SAC rate but its sort of frustrating

The weather was beautiful - on the return to Hurghada, the sea was calm like a lake.

lucky you, this was just the next day I was there and yes it was obvious it would be a better day than ours especially getting to and back. Was this a daily trip or a safari?

 

[vixtor]

I'm sure it wasn't a trick its air consumtion on the second dive - we went with the same guy for another 4 days, and everything was fine (no tricks, no hurry, the whole boat was always rented just for our group the whole day). For this dive we requested to get 15L steel tanks instead of the standard 12L AL tanks, and this seemed to be some trouble for him (even though he managed it).

It was a day trip - we made 5 day trips in total (Fanous East/West, Abu Ramada Gota, El Mina shipwreck, Turtle Bay, Carless Reef, Umm Gamar and Thistlegorm).

 

[scuba sluggo]

I have made 9 descents on the Thistlegorm on regular air. There is no regulation that says you have to dive it on Nitrox. Everytime I dove the wreck, I used an 18 litre tank of regular air so I could stay down longer and enjoy it more. Though I have Nitrox certification, it is not needed on this dive. Besides, if memory serves me correct, the deepest part is at 103 feet? If you are diving 32%, this would violate the depth limit of 100 feet. At any rate, your first feeling was probably correct...the dive operator probably just wants your money for the course. Dive on!!!!!!