Diving the Sinai - Sharm el Sheikh - Part I
Posted By Stephan Whelan on 26 April 2006
The Diving
My memory of diving in the Sinai was one of beautiful soft corals, reef fish, wrecks and the occasional larger fish such as wrasse, barracuda or even a shark. I was glad to not be disappointed.
We were going to be doing diving in February which meant colder water temperature (22 Celsius / 72 Fahrenheit) and stronger winds; however I dived in my Scubapro S-Tek 7mm Steamer and felt lovely and toasty diving up to an hour, three times a day.
We alternated between the two major diving areas – Ras Mohammed Marine Park and the Straits of Tiran. Ras Mohammed is a national park and is at the very tip of the Sinai. Some of the most spectacular dives can be had off Ras Mohammed and is a must for more experienced divers. You have to pay a fee to get into the park but the dive centre will take care of that for you. We did many dives off Ras Mohammed but Shark and Yolanda Reefs really made the trip. The sheer wall off Shark means diving into what feels like an abyss, with your excitement building as you dive the wall covered in huge tube sponges and seafans, whilst watching schools of giant barracuda and jacks keeping an eye on the action on the reef. Further round onto Yolanda you can take a look at what is left of the Yolanda wreck (most of which is now at below 100m) although the washbasins and bath tubs provide more than enough interest for wildlife and divers alike.
Our other destination was the Straits of Tiran. Comprising of four main reefs, all named after British cartographers - Thomson, Jackson, Woodhouse and Gordon Reefs. The reeds are located at the end of the Gulf of Aqaba between the mainland and the military island of Tiran. The reefs are much more exposed so strong winds can make a journey there choppy but again the dives are well worth it with extraordinary diversity of corals and with the amount of water flowing through the reefs can mean much larger fish to see.
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