Red Sea - Sept/Oct

[Mr Friday]

I am advanced open water diver with 20 dives logged and my mate is open water qualified with less than 10 dives. We are both competent divers but obviously lack experience.

We are thinking of doing a liveaboard in the Red Sea later in the year but did not want to be too ambitious in our destination as we do realise we haven't got that much experience & don't want to be a burden to others on the boat.

Is it safest to stick to the North or would the Southern itineries be ok for us ? My fave destination would be Sudan but think I need to wait a bit longer to manage that !!

[Alex Coomes]

I would suggest Northern trip would be your best option if you are set on a liveaboard. You might be tempted for the South but I would play safe.
There is nothing wrong with a trip out of Sharm. There are some of the most fantastic dive sites in the world to be had around there - you would not be missing out! Make sure you take in the Thistlegorm worth going for that alone in my view.
A word of caution, however, being on a liveaboard is not everyones cup of tea. Remember you will be in close confines with 20 or so other divers and will not be able to get off till the end of the week !
I would think very very carefully before booking on a liveaboard boat with only 20 or so dives to my name. Despite being warm clear water it is still the sea and it can blow up so you need to have the required skills to deal with any conditions.
Whatever boat you go on will get you to do a check dive to make sure you are up to the mark. All the basics will be checked your bouyancy, mask clearing etc etc. The dive guide is quite in their right to stop you diving if they feel you are:-
1 A danger to yourself or other divers

2 Unable to control your buoyancy well enough to prevent damage to the coral (Some corals take hundreds of years to form)

If you are a member of a BSAC club it is possible to see who will be on your trip before leaving the UK! If you are not a member I would strongly suggest you check out your local club they will give you a very warm welcome and will be able to give you some first hand advice. They will also be organising some dives this summer so you will be able to get some more dives under your belt before going to Red sea.

Good Luck !

[Peter Hodkinson]

I totally agree with the other reply to your post, we travelled to Sharm a couple of years ago on a dive/cruise and stay basis with Explorers Dive Holidays, this was a good alternative to a full liveaboard. It consisted of a few days day boat diving with, I think, three nights liveaboard.
We dived fairly local sites on the day boat and they were superb, having dived in Spain and Malta previously I was totally blown away by the Red Sea, if anyone tells you it's dived out don't listen to them, it's all relative to where you've dived before.
The liveaboard, on one of The Royal Diving boats allowed us to do The Dunraven and the fantastic Thistlegorm as well as some good drift dives on Thomas, Jackson and Thomas reefs. We went in September and the sea and weather conditions were superb. I did a total of 18 dives in the 7 days we were there.
The level of experience differed in our party from newly qualified open water divers to very experienced - no one was disappointed, our dive guide tailored dives with the individuals ability.
We found the half and half arrangement a good road to go, as your other posted eply quite rightly points out a week is a long time on board with a group you may not see eye to eye with.

[gnomekeeper]

I am advanced open water diver with 20 dives logged and my mate is open water qualified with less than 10 dives. We are both competent divers but obviously lack experience.

We are thinking of doing a liveaboard in the Red Sea later in the year but did not want to be too ambitious in our destination as we do realise we haven't got that much experience & don't want to be a burden to others on the boat.

Is it safest to stick to the North or would the Southern itineries be ok for us ? My fave destination would be Sudan but think I need to wait a bit longer to manage that !!

hi mr Friday
I have a liveaboard north red sea booked 19/09/04 which has a few free places.you and your friend would be more than welcome
our group varies from sports to advanced/young to older
the boat is the eshta (www.eshtadiving.com )
twin en suite cabins cost per person is ?360 full board,diving and airport transfers
we are flying britannia man/ssh approx cost ?360 but flights also from gatwick on same day
so if you and your friend want to clock up an extra 22 dives let me know