The summer Saudi scuba diving itinerary on the uncrowded sites of Yanbu & Seven Reefs. This is an advanced diving itinerary for experienced divers only. The reefs walls are covered with sea fans and soft corals. Clouds of barracudas and jacks are regular diving companions and the sighting of manta rays and hammerhead sharks are frequent in these backdrops.
The port of embarkation is the Al Ahlam private marina in Yanbu located 330 km north of Jeddah. From here you sail out to the 2 major coral areas known as Seven Reefs and Shu'ayabah in Yanbu, within which the majority of dive sites are concentrated.
The daily dive schedule calls for the cruise director to dedicate the first part of first and second dive of the day to searching for pelagic fish in the blue, while the third dive is made along the reef walls at shallow depths.
Please be aware: Saudi Explorer is under management of an Italian dive operator, Mar Rosso.
This destination is only suited to experienced divers, with experience of wall and blue diving.
The cruise directors on board will give a full briefing and dive plan on each site, but divers may be expected to dive unguided in buddy pairs. You must hold an advanced certification to participate on this route.
Yanbu is a town located on the coast 330 km north of Jeddah. In the past, it was one of the most important ports in the Red Sea for the trade of spices and incense and then fell into oblivion. In recent history, it has become a very important centre for the processing and export of crude oil. Few ruined houses remain of the old town, including the house where T.E. Lawrence lived for 2 years from 1916, while he was preparing to complete the business that made him famous as Lawrence of Arabia. Just north of the inhabited centre, a deep fjord insinuates itself into the desert coast forming a natural shelter. The Marina of El Sharm will be the embarkation point for cruises.
Saudi Explorer (registered in Egypt as Typhoon) is a stylish modern liveaboard operating in the up and coming destination - Saudi Arabia. Hammerheads, reef sharks, rays and turtles are all commonly seen on these wall and blue dive... Learn more about Saudi Explorer
The daily dive schedule calls for the cruise director to dedicate the first part of first and second dive of the day to searching for pelagic fish in the blue, while the third dive is made along the reef walls at shallow depths.
The first dive in the Gotha el Sharm reef, a few miles from the entrance to the fjord, will be the first taste of this virgin sea where corals take on the appearance of majestic sculptures.
Navigating west you reach the vast area of the Seven Reefs characterised by semi surfacing coral reefs identifiable by the markers that indicate their presence. The area is full of dive sites such as Marker 32, Marker 34, Abu Galawa, Marker 39 and others, which will offer a great variety of scenarios, each with its own characteristics. The wide plains that protrude into the blue from the main reef will be the best sighting points for the flocks of large pelagics. Hammerhead sharks, Silvertips and silky sharks are the masters of these waters. It is not uncommon to encounter a lone tiger shark patrolling the area.
You will be fascinated by the richness of the walls where hard coral formations alternate with Sea fans and soft coral forests.
Navigating 8 miles further south, we come across an isolated Mansi pinnacle (or Marker 42), a large hard coral column that rises from the depths with walls covered with sea fans. From the blue with a little luck, you can spot the resident school of hammerheads that are live along the southern slope.
Continuing southwards we will come across the atoll of sha’ab Suflani (or Marker 44) with the walls falling vertically to over 300 meters deep. Here to schools of hammerheads and other pelagics can be sighted on the plateau facing south. The cruise will end with the dive on the wreck of the Louna, an old Turkish steamship sunk in 1914, a few miles outside the port of Yanbu.
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