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We had a very relaxed and nice day and
made two dives, one on the wreck and
one in a small lagoon in the main reef. To
get into this lagoon you swim through a
narrow channel in the reef wall and end
up in a cathedral ambience with a flat
sandy bottom surrounded by coral walls
and a coral tower reaching for the surface
in the middle. Spectacular!
For day two we’ve signed up for a special
trip to Sataya, also know as ‘Dolphin
Reef’. The journey is slightly longer and
we start 06:15 (05:15 normal Egyptian
time). We have breakfast on the boat
and as we head south we chat with the
Swedish bikini team who are also on the
boat.
When we arrive, I kit up and jump in with
John and promise not to be in his way
when he’s taking pictures. “I might need
some photos with a diver as well” he says
and added “Why not use the Swedish
super model”. I of course think he means
the bikini team and turn around to look for
them but when I can’t see them realise
that it’s me he’s talking about.
The dive site is the south-east corner of
Sataya, a site I know well from my time
on liveaboards, which starts as a wall and
transforms into a sloping coral garden,
which then merges with the plateau.
We slowly follow the coral garden and
marvel at the wonderful condition of the
hard corals. The beauty of being off the
beaten track is that fewer divers visit
these sites and it shows in the pristine
reefs. As we return to the boat we’re both
sure that we can hear dolphins but despite
scanning the water, we can’t see them.
After lunch we slowly cruise through the
horseshoe shaped reef system to see we
can find the dolphins we heard on the dive
and before long we see their fins breaking
the surface. These are not the common
bottlenose dolphins that you more usually
encounter in the Red Sea, but the slightly
rarer spinner dolphins.
A large pod swims past including a few
juveniles. As they pass us they are
jumping and spinning delighting the
guests on board who are happy to take
the opportunity to capture pictures they
can show friends and family back home.
Leo has planned Shaab Claudio for the
second dive of the day, which just happens
to be one of my absolute favourite dive
sites in the area, if not the favourite. It’s a
reef ascending from a flat seafloor at 19-
22 metres and full of caves like a Swiss
cheese.
The arrangement was that I would again
model for John and we had a great dive.
We were swimming in and out through the
maze of caves and tunnels and even if
the wind and waves created weird surges
inside the system, everyone was happy
with their experience.
For our last day of diving we visit two more
local dive sites. We have a few new people
on the boat so the first site will be a check
dive. We go to Shaab Bohar and Shaab
Hamam to let them ease into their week of
diving. I have to say that if these are the
sites for check dives, then I’m more than
impressed. The hard corals are in mint
condition and there is an arch and a canyon
on Shaab Hamam that is absolutely world
class and the north side is covered with
soft corals and gorgonians.
Besides the obvious attractions like the
sharks, dolphins, and dugong there is
also a large amount of less conspicuous
marine life to be found in Fury Shoal.
The macro life is simply amazing. From
the tiniest flatworms, nudibranchs or
shieldslugs to gobies and Spanish dancers
with companion shrimps all the way up
to stonefish and frogfish. They are all
competing for posing time in front of your
camera.
So all in all we have had three very nice
diving days from Hamata. I wish it had
been a week but work commitments called
me back to Hurghada. One thing is sure
though, I will be back in Hamata for some
more relaxed and laid back diving in Fury
Shoal.
Clockwise from Top Left: The wreck of the
Tien Hsin, The mosque in Hamata, One of the
many cave systems in the area, Overview of
the Fury Shoal region
THE EQUALIZER Sep-Oct 2011