Northern Reefs & Wrecks

The Thistlegorm, on the west coast of the Sinai Peninsula and 40 km from Sharm El Sheikh, is the best known and most popular wreck dive in the Red Sea. The 125m long British army freighter sank after just 18 months of her launch in April 1940. Her last voyage commenced on the 2nd of June 1941 as she sailed to Alexandria and was loaded with wartime supplies during World War II. A long list of inventory includes tanks, aircraft, armored vehicles, Jeeps and Bedford trucks.In spite of being privately owned and operated, the HMS Thistlegorm was nevertheless fitted with a 4" anti-aircraft gun and a heavy caliber machine gun when she was drafted for war dutyBut it was never to be. In the early hours of 6th October 1941 the Thistlegorm was split in 2 and sank almost instantly after being hit by 2 bombs from a German long range bomber. The hit only blew a hole in the port side of Hold no. 5 but then cargo tank ammunition ignited, causing the bulk of the damage.

Ras Mohammad is a national park in Egypt at the southern extreme of the Sinai Peninsula, overlooking the Gulf of Suez on the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. The park is becoming a center of eco-tourism in the region. A world ranked dive site formed of two little underwater islands, the Shark reef and the Yolanda reef. Shark Reef, is a vertical wall dropping to 700 meters, covered with fantastic corals. While the Yolanda Reef has a wide plateau with a coral garden and lots of of pinnacle corals. Between Yolanda reef and the Ras Mohamed reef lies the remains of the wreck of the Yolanda, was carrying bathroom supplies heading to the Gulf of Aqaba when she crashed a reef in 1980 and sunk. Diverse marine life to watch: scorpionfish, crocodilefish, groupers, turtles, tuna, big morays and napoleon fish, Red Snapper, batfish, unicornfish, barracudas and more which of course sometimes attracts the predators such as Grey reef or black tip Sharks.

Gubal Island is a popular snorkeling and diving spot due to the Straits of Gubal. The Straits of Gubal is where the water from the Gulf of Suez meets the Red Sea, leading to lots of nutrient-rich currents over shallow areas, which attracts tons of marine life. Besides the underwater action, Gubal also has pristine white beaches. There is a lot of life here including thousands of tiny fish in the water near the reef, octopus, clownfish, parrotfish, and butterfly fish makes it a perfect spot for night diving.

Gotta Abu Ramada is a medium-sized, oval-shaped reef, surrounded with a shallow, flat, sandy seabed, It is one of the most popular dive sites around Hurghada and it is also called the Aquarium, due to the diversity and a large number of fish species.The maximum depth at this dive site is about 15 meters, this dive site is suitable for all levels of divers. The shallow depths at Gotta Abu Ramada make this dive site ideal for check-dive, beginners & night dives.

Shaab Abu Nuhas is a triangular-shaped coral reef northwest of Shidwan Island in the northern Red Sea off Hurghada.The reef is a navigation hazard because it projects into the shipping channel, as evidenced by (at least) four shipwrecks. This includes the SS Carnatic (1896), Kimon M (1978), Chrisoula K (1981) and Giannis D (1983). The reef and the wrecks are popular for scuba diving; four of the wrecks are at a depth of 25 meters. The name of the reef is Arabic for "reef of father of copper", after the cargo of one of the wrecks.

Since its rediscovery of the wreck of Dunraven, shaab Mahmoud has become a popular dive site because of its shallow depth. The wreck has largely broken up as it lies upside down upon the reef, but there are three large holes in the hull which allow divers to penetrate the wreck and examine the two large boilers and a host of fallen metal work. In part owing to the shallow depth, an abundance of reef fish can be found: Glassfish, Groupers, Jackfish, Scorpionfish and Crocodile fish, long nose hawk fish can all be seen around the ruptures in the hull.

The ship is lying on the bottom in roughly three separate sections parallel to the reef, with the crumpled bow lying at 10 meters, the cargo area amidships being a jungle of steel and remains of the cargo, and the after section with an intact A-frame located forward of the superstructure. The wreck is populated with numerous varieties of aquatic life with glassfish, scorpionfish, wrasse, the occasional napoleon, crocodile fish, and blue-spotted stingrays along the bottom. This is really a fun wreck dive for divers of all certification levels.

The Rosalie Moller Wreck is a great deep dive for experienced divers only. You can either dive on a regular single tank or with tech-diving equipment for a longer bottom time if you so desire. The Rosalie Moller is the Sister Ship of the World famous, and maybe the best wreck dive in the World, Thistlegorm Shipwreck. The hard and soft coral is covering the hull and makes great underwater pictures opportunities. In addition, this artificial reef attracts an interesting variety of marine life with Barracudas, Tunas, Jacks and Trevallies looking for their next meal. Reef Sharks can also sometimes be spotted. Inside the Rosalie Moller is full of Glassfishes, Lionfishes and Groupers.

Dolphin house

Jack Fish Ally is one of dive sites in Ras Mohammed. It offers divers a wall and a coral garden. The sheer wall is very porous with lots of small crevices. It has a couple of penetrable caves, each with separate entrances and exits. The coral garden ranges from 10 to 18 m ending in the satellite reef. This reef, 50 m away from the main reef, consists of small pinnacles covered with soft corals and Gorgonian Fans. For the more adventurous, the drop off on the edge of the satellite reef usually presents stronger currents bringing big creatures to feed.

The approximate 800 m long reef comes up from a depth 700 m and lays in the north. Enjoy huge sea fans, black corals, barracuda & tuna. There is also a chance of spotting large fish.

Small Giftun Island has been a marine reserve for a few years now and it is one of the best dives in the area. The wall drops away to about 100m so pick your depth and gradually work your way back up as you drift along in the current.

There’s a vertical wall that spans out into a shelf with an erg, reaching up to 5 meters below the surface. The same shelf ‘ transforms’ into another wall, equipped with coral sculptures. Erg Somaya is slightly exposed to weather elements. For the deeper sections some experience is recommended. Currents can be strong and you will need good control of your buoyancy.

Carless Reef is the most famous coral shoal in the coastal area of Hurghada. This dive site is situated one hour of Hurghada, it is a mid sea reef plateau pushing up from the Abyss. The reef itself centres on two peaks or pinnacles which brush the surface in an otherwise open sea. The valley between these pinnacles is about 16m deep, and offers a wide range of dive possibilities for those not interested in deep diving. A few metres east of the saddle, a steep wall drops well beyond 40m, with a contoured profile offering many caves and cavelets for the more experienced diver.

On the 12. September 1869, The Carnatic struck Sha’ab Abu Nuhas Reef and became firmly stuck the ship remained aground for two days before she suddenly broke in two and sank, laying parallel to the reef. The wreck is a fairly constant 25 - 27m to the seabed throughout. Her wooden superstructure and planking have rotted away leaving a steel hull which allow the Diver to enter the wreck itself.

On 31. August 1981, just as the ship was leaving the Gulf and approaching the open Red Sea, she was seen to drive hard onto the North East Corner of Sha’ab Abu Nuhas Reef. There are broken bows on top of the reef which might be from either this ship or the Kimon M. Most of the main body of this wreck is upright. The lower portion of the ship’s stem is found on top of the reef in about 1 m of water. The front half of the ship rests up the reef. No 1 and No 2 holds are wide open with their cargo still in place. This wreck has something for every grade of diver without being too deep.

On 22. February 1881 the Kingston (a British iron screw steamer) was on its way to Aden when it struck the reef at Shag Rock and sank. The Kingston is upright on an even keel with her bows smashed into the Reef. At the stern, propeller and rudder are found intact at 17 m. From here, the diver swims upwards into the remains of the wreck. After more than 125 years underwater, this wreck is still in remarkable condition.

Anemone City as the name implies is home to hundreds of anemones and their Clown Fish guardians. The idea is to jump in at Anemone, have a look at the colony of clown fish and the coral encrusted large anchor before heading seemingly out into the blue water and beyond. It appears you are in the middle of nowhere surrounded completely by deep blue water and then all of a sudden you will see the mammoth wall of Shark Reef appearing in the midst of the inky blue water.