Normally I’d ride over with the coach,  but after the security check at the International Marina I decided to walk across the open dockside to the bright lights of the Tornado Marine Fleet liveaboards, they just looked so impressive berthed one after the other, and found Whirlwind at the far end of the quay with Ulli and Wolfgang waiting on deck  for a memorable week of wreck diving.

It all started with the trademark Ulli and Wolfgang special check-dive: Dunraven by zodiac for those comfortable with their weighting and their kit, or simply drop off the back of the boat and bimble around for those who preferred it that way.  This week just Paul and I headed away in the zodiac, but there was a fair current running over the reef at Mahmoudat so it was only a few minutes before Chloe and Darren, then Alan and Steve, joined us on the wreck.

Glum looking Stonefish at Mahmoudat - though they all look glum!

September is a great month to visit the Red Sea.  It’s past the fiercest heat of summer, but the water hasn’t yet cooled down from its summer peak and the marine life is in full bloom, and the check dive certainly lived up to the promise.

Our first-day weather was very good, but with the wind forecast to pick up later in the week we decided to cross direct to Abu Nuhas, where we moored up between Hurricane and Cyclone in an impromptu Tornado Marine Fleet review, and made our second dive on the Chrisoula K.  As we rounded the stern of the wreck Paul hovered beside an opening with an unmistakeable air of ‘are we going in here, then?’ about his body language.  Right, game on, and we headed into the first of a good few dark, confined spaces we explored in the week.  Hugh had the decency to video me swimming through the holds, and the image quality he was getting from a standard compact digital camera was little short of amazing.

Chloe snapping Darren on Chrisoula K

The night dive was on the little reef pinnacle, part of the satellite reef complex south of the main Abu Nuhas reef, and five of us dropped in to find calm, clear water.  We all rolled back down and finned slowly between Whirlwind and Cyclone, and mighty fine they looked, with their gleaming paintwork and bright lights.  Best of all, when we got to the reef there was a complete absence of other divers.  Unfortunately that didn’t last long as another liveaboard pitched up and dropped her horde by zodiac right on top of our heads.  At this point I’d draw you attention back to Mike’s First Law of Liveaboard Diving, which states that every other diver on every other boat is a total muppet…  Anyway, we just took a different route to avoid the crowds and had a lovely dive, though I have to confess the navigation required wasn’t anywhere near as great as it may have seemed.

Next morning we headed for Carnatic first, then had a real treat for the second dive as Captain Saleem headed Whirlwind out and moored over Kimon M for our third dive.

The water was so calm and the wind so light that it was possible for Whirlwind to ride over the wreck and for us to dive straight down to stern of the wreck.  It was even calm enough for Paul and I to get almost as far as the broken wreckage on the reef top before a lack of depth forced us to stop.  It isn’t really much of a dive when your chest is scraping the bottom and your tank is breaking the surface!

Wreckage from Kimon M on the reef top - in just three feet of water!

Third dive of the day was on Giannis D, and once more conditions were plenty good enough for Whirlwind to moor over the wreck and for us to dive from the platform.

Since we had a such a lot of twinsets, not to mention Matt and his rebreather, the absence of the usual Abu Nuhas zodiac ride was much appreciated by all.

The second night dive was also on the reef, this time the inner edge of the main reef, and I dived with Richard.  It was his second night dive by then, and he loved every second of it.

Day Three started with a repeat of Chrisoula K, though by then the weather was blowing up a little and we had to make the trip by zodiac, to a spirited rendition of the Abu Nuhas Boat Song, otherwise known as the theme tune from Hawaii Five-Oh.

The wreck hadn’t changed much over the last couple of days, but this time Paul had a working torch so we headed deep into the bowels of the wreck’s engine room, where we were joined by John and Val, who turned out to be wreck-ferrets of the first water.

After that we crossed to Gubal for Ulysses, then did the barge in the afternoon and as a night dive, two nice shallow dives to off-gas before heading around to Rosalie Moller.

The barge wreck at Gubal - but the glory here is the fish and macro life, for which you need to be much closer

Carol had been over the moon with the reef after Ulysses and was even more impressed with the afternoon dive on the barge, the marine life on view truly was extraordinary

Ulli and Wolfgang both dive rebreathers, and offer try dives on the units.  I tried a unit in a three-foot deep paddling pool at the Brum Dive Show a few years ago and thought it was a waste of time, but a few trips back Wolfgang took me on a real dive on a real wreck on a rebreather and it was an excellent experience.  This week Zoe and Tim had already given the boxes a go at Abu Nuhas, and Roger went in on the Evolution unit on the barge in the afternoon.  I’m not saying he liked it, but he missed the night dive in order to spend more time with his newly acquired AP Rebreather Catalogue.

Next morning we rounded the island and tied up over Rosalie Moller.  Red Sea weather can be very changeable and the wind was now blowing hard, with a pretty impressive sea-swell making it loads more fun to kit up.

Not that it mattered.  There’s always a feeling of excitement when we do the Moller and this week was no exception, with everyone assembled in the saloon long before we rang the bell for the briefing.  We rang it anyway; it just feels so good to give the bell-rope a righteous tug or seven.  Of course, it may have had more to do with Captain Saleem having started his engines at two thirty to make sure we were first on site, but I’m sure it was the excitement.

The dives didn’t disappoint.  On the first Steve and I toured the entire wreck and the fish life was as prolific as I’ve ever seen it.  Just recently it’s been a bit limited, but wherever they’ve been the fish are back, big time, and there were times it was hard to see metal for fish.

The after-deck of Rosalie Moller. You'd be able to see all her steering gear if all those blasted fish weren't in the way

Next dive Wolfgang and I did together.  Well, nobody asked for a guide and we decided we deserved the treat, with time to swim around the wreck and watch the fish swirl past.

Then it all went to poo, as an ex-boss of mine used to say on the bad days.  First the wind and swell combined to snap our bow rope, and the stern rope soon followed.  Ulli went back in to re-fix them, but it wasn’t long before Wolfgang was in the water re-attaching a second snapped stern line, and when a fourth line went we called it quits and headed back into the shelter of Gubal and quick re-think of our dive plan.

Bluff Point.  That was the thing, though Clive and I did another dive on the barge, following a route of mine that takes in the barge wreck itself, then a second wreck a short distance away (Don’t panic, it’s not much, more of an archaeological site than a wreck, really), then into the lagoon and around the end of the barrier reef back to Whirlwind.  The current was such that we bumped into Roger and Hugh returning from Bluff Point and having swum back to the boat.

A few hours later I repeated the route as a night dive with Tim.  Inside the lagoon there’s a lot of staghorn coral, and at night the branches are filled with fish sheltering.  It always reminds me of a Christmas tree filled with coloured baubles.  On the way back to the boat we turned our torches off and sculled along quite happily, at least until I glanced around and saw Tim’s hood, with the Devil horns and tail, backlit by the glow from another liveaboard.

That hood

As we climbed from the water Wolfgang sprang his first quiz on us, based on recognising TV theme tunes.  I’m not going into detail here, suffice to say that the team which benefited from the presence of Matt and Paul and Deb were so far in front of the rest of us that they very nearly out-scored all the other teams added together.  And whilst I may happen to know what the acronym UNCLE stands for (As in The Man From UNCLE), that was nothing compared to the weight of your combined TV erudition, especially Deb’s encyclopaedic knowledge of Bagpuss.

I do wonder, though, guys, if it’s just possible you need to get out more?

Day Five, and by this stage the week was simply flying past, we crossed back and did Kingston first.  The vis was ’orrible, and there was no current, just an unpleasant swell that was so bad Paul and I cut our dive short after seventy minutes.

Back aboard Whirlwind Ken and Tony finished their Nitrox courses (Tony had managed to fit in his Advanced Open Water and Deep speciality as well), and just in time, because next up was the Mighty Thistlegorm.

Alan, an old soldier, was in his element on her, surrounded by tracked vehicles and the concreted remains of rifles, not to mention all the rest of the incredible cargo of arms, equipment and munitions she was carrying to troops and ships engaged in the North African campaign and the desert war.

Paul over the loco that sits on the starboard side of Thistlegorm, as we meandered our way down her impressive length

For the night dive I asked Zoe, Richard and Tim how long they wanted to be in the water, and after a quick consultation they agreed on ‘as long as possible’, with an additional request from Tim to see the trucks with windscreens, steering wheels and instruments (Which means some pretty tight spaces with very limited headroom as they’re tucked away in one corner of the holds) so away we went, through the wreck, in and out of the galley, sickbay, bridge, holds and decks, finishing by popping out of the foredeck hatch right beside our stern rope.  And a pretty good dive it was, even if it is me saying it.

Next up came the ‘proper’ Dunraven dive, and I sat kitting up next to a very cheery Clive and Christine who were thoroughly content with their lot so far.

Out we all went by zodiac, dropped in and enjoyed a full hour of wreck and reef diving in amazing vis.  You may remember my picture of the bow of Dunraven, which makes the vis look gin-clear?  Well, the vis really was that good today, and maybe even better.  The full length of the wreck was visible from the reef.  Stunning.

Then Shark and Jolanda at Ras Mohammed, to finish, and pretty good it was as well, with a brilliant drift at depth, an up-current on the saddle between Shark and Jolanda and a down current on the plain where the wreckage of the Jolanda lies scattered just to keep us amused.  Plus the marine life, of course, and all the fish and corals were there in profusion.

Batfish against the blue

The last night was spent on board out at the Alternatives, and Wolfgang unleashed his second quiz.  This time it was General Knowledge, and Carol told us it was a done deal.  Allegedly John knows everything so competing against him would be a waste of time.

He does, and it was.

And then there was nothing left to do but pack the kit and look back on a great week of diving, some new experiences, courses taken and qualifications gained……and maybe start planning the next trip?

Thanks to everyone aboard who made it such a great trip, and I look forward to seeing you all in the Red Sea,

Safe diving,

www.divewithmike.co.uk