Red Sea wreck trips?

Hello to all,

I'm contemplating my first trip to the Red Sea this winter (I'm American
and it's not a very common dive destination for us.) and thought this
might be a good place to inquire.

I'm primarily into wreck diving and am hoping to combine a liveaboard
Red Sea dive trip with a visit to the cultural sights of Egypt and
posibly Jordan. I can do this anytime from January to March 2005. I'm
planning on setting this up fairly loosely, as I'll have plenty of time
to tinker with the itinerary as I go along, if I decide to stay longer
or shorter somewhere.

My questions:

Any recommendation for good quality liveaboards where the emphasis is on
visiting the wrecks? (I won't say money is no object, but I'd be willing
to spend more on a good boat and economize elsewhere in the trip.)

Is there any merit to the idea of simply going to Sharm (or Hurghada)
without a boat reservation and working it out when I get there? I'll
have the time and maybe I'd come up with a good last-minute deal on a
boat that I couold actually see before booking-or so my thinking goes.
Or is it really neccesary to book in advance?

Is it generally the dive operators practice to guide the guides or are
single divers on their own to buddy up?

Nitrox would be nice. Any operators handling this better than others?

Thanks for any help you can offer.


Jim Powers
Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA

There are several good liveaboard charters in he red sea.

The ones that come to mind are:

Emperor Divers, Oonas Divers, Tony Backhurst Scuba, Regal Divers. You might also want to look at:
http://www.scuba-diving-safaris.co.u...iveaboards.htm and
http://red-sea.com/scuba_diving/diving_liveaboards/

VIPONE is supposed to be one of the best luxury and so is:
http://www.usdivetravel.com/V-RedSea-Excel.htm

I'm off to the red sea myself in November for a weeks liveaboard.

I personally would NOT go there without first making all the arrangements, a complete one week package should consist of flights, s6 nights on the liveaboard, on night in a hotel before return flight.

Don't forget to make sure that you have checked with an operator as to any visa you might require.

I'd also recommend that you only drink bottled water or canned / bottled drinks (ensure that the seal is intact. Be careful of salads where it's been washed in local water and don't have ice in your drinks, as they can all lead to the runs. Orange juice (unless from sealed cartons or bottles) is often made wit powder & water, so steer clear of that as well.

Don't get me wrong, the place and the diving are great, but our stomachs are not ready for the bugs that's in the local tap water.

If you want to see the sights such as Luxor / valley of Kings, you will need a second week on-shore. don't bother with the shore based day boats, it's too much hard work and a long ride out to some of the better wrecks.



"James E. Powers" <james-powers@comcast.net> wrote in message news:james-powers-3B2F80.08072824082004@comcast.dca.giganews.com...
> Hello to all,
>
> I'm contemplating my first trip to the Red Sea this winter (I'm American
> and it's not a very common dive destination for us.) and thought this
> might be a good place to inquire.
>
> I'm primarily into wreck diving and am hoping to combine a liveaboard
> Red Sea dive trip with a visit to the cultural sights of Egypt and
> posibly Jordan. I can do this anytime from January to March 2005. I'm
> planning on setting this up fairly loosely, as I'll have plenty of time
> to tinker with the itinerary as I go along, if I decide to stay longer
> or shorter somewhere.
>
> My questions:
>
> Any recommendation for good quality liveaboards where the emphasis is on
> visiting the wrecks? (I won't say money is no object, but I'd be willing
> to spend more on a good boat and economize elsewhere in the trip.)
>
> Is there any merit to the idea of simply going to Sharm (or Hurghada)
> without a boat reservation and working it out when I get there? I'll
> have the time and maybe I'd come up with a good last-minute deal on a
> boat that I couold actually see before booking-or so my thinking goes.
> Or is it really neccesary to book in advance?
>
> Is it generally the dive operators practice to guide the guides or are
> single divers on their own to buddy up?
>
> Nitrox would be nice. Any operators handling this better than others?
>
> Thanks for any help you can offer.
>
>
> Jim Powers
> Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA

"James E. Powers" <james-powers@comcast.net> wrote in
news:james-powers-3B2F80.08072824082004@comcast.dca.giganews.com:

> Hello to all,
>
> I'm contemplating my first trip to the Red Sea this winter (I'm
> American and it's not a very common dive destination for us.) and
> thought this might be a good place to inquire.
>
> I'm primarily into wreck diving and am hoping to combine a liveaboard
> Red Sea dive trip with a visit to the cultural sights of Egypt and
> posibly Jordan. I can do this anytime from January to March 2005. I'm
> planning on setting this up fairly loosely, as I'll have plenty of
> time to tinker with the itinerary as I go along, if I decide to stay
> longer or shorter somewhere.
>
> My questions:
>
> Any recommendation for good quality liveaboards where the emphasis is
> on visiting the wrecks? (I won't say money is no object, but I'd be
> willing to spend more on a good boat and economize elsewhere in the
> trip.)
>
> Is there any merit to the idea of simply going to Sharm (or Hurghada)
> without a boat reservation and working it out when I get there? I'll
> have the time and maybe I'd come up with a good last-minute deal on a
> boat that I couold actually see before booking-or so my thinking goes.
> Or is it really neccesary to book in advance?
>
> Is it generally the dive operators practice to guide the guides or are
> single divers on their own to buddy up?
>
> Nitrox would be nice. Any operators handling this better than others?
>
> Thanks for any help you can offer.
>
>
> Jim Powers
> Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA
>

The Dive Destinations 2004 book came with a free DVD on Egyptian Wrecks
- Red Sea Wreck Heaven - it's well worth a watch if you can get hold of
a copy. Their website is here:

http://www.divedestinations.net/

You could also try the site of John McIntyre, the BBC reporter who made
it - http://www.johnmcintyre.tv/wrecks.htm

--
================================
Chris Quinn

Jim

The Red Sea is our back-yard diving as the likes of the Caymans, Bahamas are
yours.

so have a look at www.divernet.com in terms of getting some good gumph on
boats and background. The Forum section will have some good stuff and also
google the archives here.

I have been with Tony Backhurst a number of times (as Tony H says) and
would go again with him. I am sure he could put a 2 week package together
for you to include Cairo and the Nile. My vote would be spend more time down
the Nile than in Cairo (see the pyramids and the Museum and get out of
town).

There seems to be a number of routes the operators run - standard ones
include Northern wrecks but it is becoming more and more common for folk to
head to the deep south - Red Sea not Alabama . More and bigger fish
(sharks etc) as the north is very heavily dived. However if it is wrecks you
want then i would go on a Northern wreck circuit tour.

Nitrox is pretty standard now and operators are no longer phased with you
twinning up.

Echoing TonyH; livebaord is the way to go - forget being shore based.


HTH
Regards


Snash

Would echo what several others have said;

If you want to do the wrecks of the Northern Red Sea then you need to do a
liveaboard, the best wrecks are;
SS Thistlegorm
Rosalie Moller
and the 4 wrecks on Abu Nuhas reef

depending on conditions there are several other lesser wrecks to visit

and if you are based in Hurghada the Mina is worth a visit.

There is a book by Peter Collings called 'Shipwrecks of the Egyptian Red
Sea' which gives a good overall impression of what is available.

I would recommend Tony Backhurst http://www.scuba.co.uk/index.htm (very good
boats, not the cheapest) and Emperor Divers
http://www.emperordivers.com/liveaboards.html, both of which I have dived
with.


--
Safe Diving

Brod

James,

Although we never went on a liveaboard - we just got back from Sharm in the
Red Sea and all I can say is COOL! Temperatures were in the 40's all week!

I must say however, it was my first time to Thistlegorm and I was a little
off-put after the dive. The reason behind this was that the wreck is
obviously a major focal point of its location and it builds up to meet high
expectations.

I guess it comes to personal preference, but after I did my 2 dives on the
Thislegorm I felt guilty of contributing to the corruption and corrosion of
the ship. It would appear that due to the amount of people they are even
talking about stopping people penetrating the wreck due to corrosion etc.

In addition to this our boat, along with 4 other boats morred up and I found
it UNBELIEVABLE that all the boats tied a line directly to the wreck.

Again this is personal preference but somehow I much preffered the Zenobia
wreck off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus. The Thistlegorm should be laid to
rest as a war memorial.

Apaprt from that the RAS Mohamed is the best place in the world for coral
formations. We ended up fininishing our last dive in the deep blue only to
be fronted by a school of Batfish, Barracuda and a single 12ft Black Tip
Shark - WOW!

We dived with WernerLau (web: http://www.wernerlau.com) - they were
excellent and friendly.

Hope this helps
Regards
Paul & Helen.

"Brod Mason" <brod@brodmason.co.uk> wrote in message
news:412b568e$0$51857$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net...
> Would echo what several others have said;
>
> If you want to do the wrecks of the Northern Red Sea then you need to do a
> liveaboard, the best wrecks are;
> SS Thistlegorm
> Rosalie Moller
> and the 4 wrecks on Abu Nuhas reef
>
> depending on conditions there are several other lesser wrecks to visit
>
> and if you are based in Hurghada the Mina is worth a visit.
>
> There is a book by Peter Collings called 'Shipwrecks of the Egyptian Red
> Sea' which gives a good overall impression of what is available.
>
> I would recommend Tony Backhurst http://www.scuba.co.uk/index.htm (very
good
> boats, not the cheapest) and Emperor Divers
> http://www.emperordivers.com/liveaboards.html, both of which I have dived
> with.
>
>
> --
> Safe Diving
>
> Brod
>
>

> as they can all lead to the runs. . ..
Don't get me wrong, the place and the diving are great, but our stomachs are
not ready for the bugs that's in the local tap water.<


A nip of whiskey EVERY night before bed, while there will kill of most of
the offenders and keep you safe from the dreaded diarohea But only is
you follow said advice on water etc..also Brush teeth with bottled water -
this is a mistake commonly made...

Ka

--
Learn and Explore
www.diveology.com




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.742 / Virus Database: 495 - Release Date: 19/08/2004

That's one of the reasons why it's best done from a Liveaboard, as
liveaboards will arrive at the wreck from an overnight sail and get their
1st (and sometimes 2nd) dive in before any of the day boats arrive. Also a
liveaboard can stay for the night dive (well worth it) when the day boats
have left to return to harbour.

When I was there 2 years ago in October, at one point there ewer 17 boats
tied off to the Thistlegorm! By the evening only 4 were left.

TonyH.

"Paul King" <kin0363k@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:412b6eb1$0$6161$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
> James,
>
> Although we never went on a liveaboard - we just got back from Sharm in
the
> Red Sea and all I can say is COOL! Temperatures were in the 40's all
week!
>
> I must say however, it was my first time to Thistlegorm and I was a little
> off-put after the dive. The reason behind this was that the wreck is
> obviously a major focal point of its location and it builds up to meet
high
> expectations.
>
> I guess it comes to personal preference, but after I did my 2 dives on the
> Thislegorm I felt guilty of contributing to the corruption and corrosion
of
> the ship. It would appear that due to the amount of people they are even
> talking about stopping people penetrating the wreck due to corrosion etc.
>
> In addition to this our boat, along with 4 other boats morred up and I
found
> it UNBELIEVABLE that all the boats tied a line directly to the wreck.
>
> Again this is personal preference but somehow I much preffered the Zenobia
> wreck off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus. The Thistlegorm should be laid to
> rest as a war memorial.
>
> Apaprt from that the RAS Mohamed is the best place in the world for coral
> formations. We ended up fininishing our last dive in the deep blue only
to
> be fronted by a school of Batfish, Barracuda and a single 12ft Black Tip
> Shark - WOW!
>
> We dived with WernerLau (web: http://www.wernerlau.com) - they were
> excellent and friendly.
>
> Hope this helps
> Regards
> Paul & Helen.
>
> "Brod Mason" <brod@brodmason.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:412b568e$0$51857$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net...
> > Would echo what several others have said;
> >
> > If you want to do the wrecks of the Northern Red Sea then you need to do
a
> > liveaboard, the best wrecks are;
> > SS Thistlegorm
> > Rosalie Moller
> > and the 4 wrecks on Abu Nuhas reef
> >
> > depending on conditions there are several other lesser wrecks to visit
> >
> > and if you are based in Hurghada the Mina is worth a visit.
> >
> > There is a book by Peter Collings called 'Shipwrecks of the Egyptian Red
> > Sea' which gives a good overall impression of what is available.
> >
> > I would recommend Tony Backhurst http://www.scuba.co.uk/index.htm (very
> good
> > boats, not the cheapest) and Emperor Divers
> > http://www.emperordivers.com/liveaboards.html, both of which I have
dived
> > with.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Safe Diving
> >
> > Brod
> >
> >
>
>

See thats what I mean - regardless of how many boats the all tie up to the
Wreck. This can't be doing it any favours.

I must admit I would like to do a liveaboard but Im concerned of the lack of
space or freedom you have on a boat.

Maybe you can say otherwise???

"TonyH" <tony@samesamediving.com> wrote in message
news:cghv28$b8n$1@titan.btinternet.com...
> That's one of the reasons why it's best done from a Liveaboard, as
> liveaboards will arrive at the wreck from an overnight sail and get their
> 1st (and sometimes 2nd) dive in before any of the day boats arrive. Also
a
> liveaboard can stay for the night dive (well worth it) when the day boats
> have left to return to harbour.
>
> When I was there 2 years ago in October, at one point there ewer 17 boats
> tied off to the Thistlegorm! By the evening only 4 were left.
>
> TonyH.
>
> "Paul King" <kin0363k@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:412b6eb1$0$6161$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
> > James,
> >
> > Although we never went on a liveaboard - we just got back from Sharm in
> the
> > Red Sea and all I can say is COOL! Temperatures were in the 40's all
> week!
> >
> > I must say however, it was my first time to Thistlegorm and I was a
little
> > off-put after the dive. The reason behind this was that the wreck is
> > obviously a major focal point of its location and it builds up to meet
> high
> > expectations.
> >
> > I guess it comes to personal preference, but after I did my 2 dives on
the
> > Thislegorm I felt guilty of contributing to the corruption and corrosion
> of
> > the ship. It would appear that due to the amount of people they are
even
> > talking about stopping people penetrating the wreck due to corrosion
etc.
> >
> > In addition to this our boat, along with 4 other boats morred up and I
> found
> > it UNBELIEVABLE that all the boats tied a line directly to the wreck.
> >
> > Again this is personal preference but somehow I much preffered the
Zenobia
> > wreck off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus. The Thistlegorm should be laid
to
> > rest as a war memorial.
> >
> > Apaprt from that the RAS Mohamed is the best place in the world for
coral
> > formations. We ended up fininishing our last dive in the deep blue only
> to
> > be fronted by a school of Batfish, Barracuda and a single 12ft Black Tip
> > Shark - WOW!
> >
> > We dived with WernerLau (web: http://www.wernerlau.com) - they were
> > excellent and friendly.
> >
> > Hope this helps
> > Regards
> > Paul & Helen.
> >
> > "Brod Mason" <brod@brodmason.co.uk> wrote in message
> > news:412b568e$0$51857$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net...
> > > Would echo what several others have said;
> > >
> > > If you want to do the wrecks of the Northern Red Sea then you need to
do
> a
> > > liveaboard, the best wrecks are;
> > > SS Thistlegorm
> > > Rosalie Moller
> > > and the 4 wrecks on Abu Nuhas reef
> > >
> > > depending on conditions there are several other lesser wrecks to visit
> > >
> > > and if you are based in Hurghada the Mina is worth a visit.
> > >
> > > There is a book by Peter Collings called 'Shipwrecks of the Egyptian
Red
> > > Sea' which gives a good overall impression of what is available.
> > >
> > > I would recommend Tony Backhurst http://www.scuba.co.uk/index.htm
(very
> > good
> > > boats, not the cheapest) and Emperor Divers
> > > http://www.emperordivers.com/liveaboards.html, both of which I have
> dived
> > > with.
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Safe Diving
> > >
> > > Brod
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

Much thanks to all that replied! I'll let you know how it goes. Lots of
food for thought here.

Best,

Jim