As the live-a-board Panorama Sharm sailed we left the hustle and bustle of Sharm El Sheik in our wake. The mountains of the desert faded into the distance as the cooling sea breezes made a half hearted attempt to dull the intense heat of the midday sun. There were nine guests on the boat, myself and Gail, three other Brits, two Belgians, and two French along with around nine crew and attendants. We had expected a rough passage over the Straights of Gubal but the normally strong Red Sea winds had died down and the sea was an oily flat calm. A pod of bottle nose dolphin hitched a ride in the bow wave and from that moment on were with us every day. This was the real start of our Red Sea wreck adventure. The morning had been spent doing the obligatory check-out dive at the Little Temple site and then a dive on the Shark Reef and Yolanda wreck. This wreck and reef dive is normally done as drift due to the strong currents but today it had been a leisurely swim. The wreck of the Yolanda had long since slipped off the reef but the cargo of bathroom porcelain still litters the wreck site, basins, baths and toilets making an interesting back drop to the usual Red Sea photos.  We steamed on through the afternoon reaching the safe anchorage of Shab Abu Nuhas the ‘Reef of Seven Deaths’. Our next dive was on the Gianis D. We were transported by Zodiac to the site and used a permanent shot line to reach the wreck. She had sunk in ‘83’ and was relatively clean. The wreck reached from 24m almost up to the surface. We were diving on the stern and accommodation blocks. The damaged prop being our first port of call. The wreck is lying at 45 degrees and was disorienting as you swam through the cabins and companionways. A highlight of this dive was two dolphin playing around the divers, mimicking their movements and staying with us for ten minutes making this an excellent dive. The day was capped with our fourth dive, a night dive on the reef. Octopus, Spanish dancers, hunting moray and cocooned parrot fish were dive partners.

We woke at dawn to the tones of Bob Marley blasting over the PA. We were to do a pre-breakfast dive on the Carnatic wreck. The calm seas had been replaced  by force 5 heavy winds and huge swells, with breaking waves making the rib ride a little bit interesting and just a bit un-nerving. The Carnatic had sunk in 1869 along with the loss of 29 passengers and crew. She now lies in 25m of water, is well broken up and is a virtual coral eco system in its self. The huge prop is the start point of the dive, working forward along and through the hold and deck area. The mid section is collapsed allowing access past the boilers and the engines (she also had masts & sails). Blue light flood the wreck and a makes for a spectacular and photogenic dive. A feast of Red Sea fish of every colour and kind covered the wreck. An excellent dive but a terrifying rib ride. After breakfast we sailed into the wind and headed for Little Gubal, an area of low reef and aquamarine seas. We had and easy afternoon dive on the Tug Boat wreck. Well broken up in only 13m she was home to moray and a family of crocodile fish. During the surface interval the dolphin reappeared and I had a chance to snorkel with them, this was a memorable experience and one that will stay with me for a long time. Our afternoon or twilight dive was the Ulysses. Again a rough rib ride and fight in the swell to get to the wreck. A huge wreck lay below us her deepest part in 30m. She looked massive festooned in soft and hard corals, huge grouper swam in the iron beams and skeletal remains of the decks and holds. Shoals of glassfish cloaking the wreckage in a shimmering cloud. The huge prop and rudder a testimony to her huge size. Throughout this dive we could hear dolphin calling.

The following day at dawn we dived the Rosalie Moller. Actual log book entry, “The Rosalie Moller an intact wreck sank two days before the Thistlegorm, a blast from a bomb damaging the starboard aft area. She lays on her bottom in 50m, her decks at 35m, her portholes and engine telegraph still in position. We came down the forward shot and swam to the bow, one anchor still in its hawse hole the other played out. Lots of glassfish swam topside of the wreck and large grouper gather outside to pick off any strays. The holds are accessible but with only a single 12l and more diving to do we kept our bottom time to a no deco minimum. An excellent dive”.

The afternoon dive was also spent on the Rosalie Moller. The blast from the bomb evident, steel peeled back like tin foil. The accommodation, galley and captains cabins make for interesting diving, the bath and toilet now full of silt and encrusting corals. The Rosalie Moller is a fascinating dive but poor for photography as she lies in a silty bay. The evening dive was a simple dive on the reef wall under the boat in 14m of water. Large Napolean wrasse, moray and a huge eagle ray made it very interesting.

We did a night dive at this reef, on a wreck of a burnt out day boat. Octopus and scorpion fish were everywhere and a couple of massive stone fish made it worthwhile.

The Panorama Sharm set off early the next day for Shag Rock reef. I was virtually thrown out of bed by the crashing of the waves. This was a heavy passage and I made my way out on to the deck (I had been reading the perfect storm). You had to hang on as the boat crashed through the waves. Soon we were in the shelter of Shag Rock, an oasis of calm. We were diving the Kingstone wreck in only 15m of water. She is very photogenic with the good ambient light and home to many types of fish including particularly aggressive surgeon fish. Her prop is still in place and her hull accessible. Gail picked up a brass porthole from the sea bed and put it back down ( not like home). A good dive but the swells made us all feel sea sick during the dive. The second dive of the day had intended to be the Carina at Shab Danaba but the heavy seas prevented this. We did a drift dive around the reef instead our starting point being a two week old wreck of a yacht fast on the reef top, testament to the treachery of these reefs.  Again we moved to Shab Ali and did a dive from the back of the boat. A good reef dive, lots of fish and hard and soft corals. We spent the night at this site watching schools of dolphin swim around the boat. The following morning we moved off early and anchored at the Thistlegorm. By 8.00 we were in the water. She is a massive wreck and probably the most well known wreck in the Red Sea. This was the first of a series of three dives on the wreck and we had planned to target different areas on each dive. Having visited the wreck before I had an idea where to go and spent some time below decks in the various holds. During the three dives we covered the wreck from stern to bow and sea bed to superstructure. The wreck is still fascinating, motorbikes and wagons in the holds, racks of rifles and wellington boots, land mines lie on the sea bed next to 18 inch shells. Bren gun carriers and locomotives, all part of the cargo are there to explore. The currents on the wreck are fast and although predictable can catch you out so it makes for an interesting dive site.

The following day we moved off heading back to Sharm and picking up Shab Mahmoud and the wreck of the Dunraven. Again a dawn dive. We went down to our max of 29m and swam into the wreck past the prop, a missing blade evidence of her struggle with the reef. A cavern of beams and diffused light, we swam past the boiler and eventually out at the bows. The colour and light quality was amazing the structure almost cathedral like underwater. We ended the dive with a drift around the reef towards the boat. Barracuda, electric ray and grouper were some of the bigger sightings we saw on the way. Again we moved off to Ras Mohamed and Jack fish alley and went in search of shark. We had a max of 30m and swam out into the blue, we never spotted any shark, but finished the dive on some nice reef and coral formations. The final dive of the holidays was at the Temple, Ras um Sid. The boat anchored and we spent a good 40 mins pottering about on some good coral ergs. A good size Napolean made this last dive something special.

I’ve had many trips to Egypt before but this had been my first live aboard. I found the diving to be excellent, the company on the boat good fun, the crew first class and the boat tip top. It is a hard week 20 dives in seven days is a grueling schedule,  diving late afternoon and diving at dawn everyday meaning no lie in’s, but it had been worth it. My thanks to every one who made it worthwhile. Hatem the guide, the crew, and my fellow guests. It is definitely a dive holiday I would recommend.