LSAC Red Sea Adventure 27th November to 4th December 2005
Report by Alex Liddon
Travel
After an early morning drive around Lowestoft and the surrounding area picking up divers LSAC was finally ready to travel to Gatwick.
The trip was organised by Tony Blackhurst Scuba Travel and we were flying with Monarch. There was a bit of bother at the check in desk as our joining instructions stated we where allocated a higher weight allowance than we actually got. We ended up 40 kilos over weight. Needless to say we were charged at £6 a kilo and Di has been elected to ensure we get the money back. We then boarded the plane for and uneventful flight.
"Look at those people down there they look like little ants."
"They are ants we haven’t taken off yet."
(There’s nothing like an old joke and that one is ranked number 1869.)
On arrival we found all our bags had made the same flight, which was nice and were waiting for us at baggage retrieval. There was then a rush to get onto the coach for the short drive to Typhoon.
Our bags waiting to be carried onto MV Typhoon.
The Boat
MV Typhoon at anchor by Big Brother.
Typhoon was launched in January 2005. Tornado Marine who also has the Hurricane and Cyclone owns her. Once onboard you get a good impression of her size. Whilst still in harbour she towered over the boats in the neighbouring berths and also any boat we met on our travels.
All outer areas are teak laid. The upper sundeck is almost the entire length of the ship, with ample shaded and sunbathing areas alike. She also has the most spacious dive deck and platform.
The restaurant was well laid out with circular tables surrounding the centre staircase and there was also accommodation on this deck as well as the one below.
All cabins featured air conditioning and en-suite shower and toilet. We never ran out of hot water for an after dive shower.
Food
We where treated to 3 fantastic meals every day with something for even a fussy eater like me. All meals were self-service so if you were lucky to be one of the first to breakfast you got pancakes. Other meals included chips, lasagne, curry, (who ever decided this should be on the menu needs placing against a wall and shot) and on the last day a Grouper caught fresh the night before.
Diving
There where three dive guides onboard; Barry, Victoria and Peter Collings, a Red Sea expert who would be doing all the briefings for the weeks diving as he had discovered many of them over the years.
All dives took place either with entry and exit from the spacious dive deck of Typhoon or one of her two tenders.
Dave W and Paul returning to the Typhoon.
It was possible to do 3 or sometimes 4 dives a day but I personally did not do every dive. Here are the dives I made:
The Marcus ran aground during a storm in May 1978 after encountering difficulty in steering. She was en route to Saudi Arabia with a cargo of granite floor tiles from Italy, via the Suez Canal. She was declared a total constructive loss as the weight of her cargo had her firmly entrenched into the reef.
In April 1983, the Giannis D with a cargo of wood left Croatia bound for Saudi Arabia and Yemen. She passed through the Gulf of Suez and according to official reports suddenly veered off course headlong onto the northwest corner of Abu Nahas.
On 6th July 1901 she set off from Liverpool carrying a general cargo of 7000 tons and a crew of 97. By the early hours of 19th July she had cleared the Suez, passing Shadwan Island that evening. Just before dawn the next day Big Brothers Island was sighted off the port bow. The captain altered course thinking this would take the ship one mile to the west of the island. He then left the bridge leaving instructions to be called when the light was abeam. At about 2.10 am the ship ran aground on Big Brothers Island – north of the lighthouse. After two hours of trying to get off the rocks the engines were stopped. At 7.30am the crew abandoned the vessel and although other ships tried to refloat the Numidia she was beyond help. For the next 7 weeks most of the cargo was removed as gravity and the ingress of water finally dragged her down the slope.
On the south-east facing coast of Big Brothers Island, is an old jetty used by the Egyptians stationed on the island for up to two months at a time. Naturally, they require a constant supply of provisions in addition to a changeover of personnel. On 15 September 1957, during heavy seas the Aida attempted to unload her cargo on the jetty and in doing so struck the rocks and quickly began to sink and the Captain had little option but to abandon ship. A Tugboat responded quickly and took off 77 personnel, the Aida drifted a few hundred meters northwest before her bows finally embedded themselves into the reef. As the stern sank, it came to rest at an extremely steep angle on the reef, the bow section breaking off and eventually breaking up on the reef top. Part of her engine also ended up on the reef.
On December 15th 1991 one of the greatest maritime disasters of recent times occurred a few miles from the Port of Safaga on Hyndman Reef. The 100m long passenger ferry, SALEM EXPRESS was returning with her decks crowded with pilgrims from Mecca. Official numbers quote 690 passengers but there are reports that as many as 1600 people were on board.
The ship struck the reef, ripping a great hole in the forward section of the hull. The sudden in rush of water caused the stern doors to burst open allowing more water to enter the already stricken ship. Within 10 minutes she rolled over onto her starboard side and sank in 30 metres of water. Only 180 survived
Coral Garden, Shaab Sheer
Directly where the boat had anchored was a wreck of a day boat and many coral growths.
A Russian built T-430 minesweeper attacked by a squadron of Israeli Phantom jet fighters on Feb 6th 1970.
On Oct 8th 1941, whist in designated anchorage H, as part of the same convoy as the newly sunk Thistlegorm she was attacked by a staffel of Heinkel HE 111 bombers who had also sunk the Thistlegorm 2 days earlier.
Departed the Clyde in 1941 with a cargo of rifle, munitions, aircraft parts, Wellington boots, trucks, motorbikes and tunics for the 8th army in Africa and proceed around the Horn to Aiden. Here she was escorted up the Red Sea by HMS Carlisle to the anchorage in Sh’ab Ali where she was sunk on Oct 6th 1941 by a German Heinkel HE 111 bomber.
Final day and Hotel
After we had docked in Sharm, Peter Collings had arranged for some of us to do a quad bike safari with a company that his friend owned.
Alex on a quad somewhere in the Egyptian desert
This took us some way out of the built up area of Sharm El Sheik and into the desert to a local village. We did see several camels and a lot of other quad bike tours. Unfortunately what would be virgin desert was spoiled by rubbish left everywhere.
Our final night was spent at the Sheraton Sharm hotel in Sharm El Sheik. This is quite a large complex with our rooms all spread out around one of several swimming pools. Our evening meal and breakfast was included and like the boat this was self service and the menu was not dissimilar to what we had been eating the past week. This can only show the high standard of catering on board Typhoon.
This was a very good week and cant wait for the next club holiday.