Red Sea Brothers and Daedalus - View Photos
MV Fraser
28th May - 4th June 2008
In the middle of the Egyptian Red Sea, miles from the shore are two lighthouses perched on islands sticking up from the depths. One lighthouse marks Daedalus reef and the other marks two islands called “the Brothers”. Both these names are synonomous with some of the best diving certainly in the Red Sea if not the world. The islands are like oases in the middle of a desert; with nothing but deep water for many miles these islands acts like magnets to the bigger pelagic fish that fancy a reef fish snack. The clear, unpolluted waters are usually a few degrees warmer than the northern Red Sea, which along with the nutrient rich, up -welling waters encourages fantastic growth of hard and soft corals. This in turn encourages a great number of reef fish which in turn feed the sharks, large tuna, etc, which are abundant in the area.
The best time of year to go is at the end of May when the waters are warming up enough to attract the big fish without being too warm which tends to send them deep.
When we went at this time of year previously we saw sharks on every dive. On one dive at Daedalus we saw a school of 17 hammerheads, and on most dives hammerheads were spotted. There were also lots of grey and white tip reef sharks as well as oceanic white tips and thresher sharks a manta and a dugong. Some of the tuna were bigger than the sharks. If you like big stuff then this is the trip for you. The corals and smaller fish life are also spectacularly abundant and colourful and alone are well worth the doing the trip. There are also a couple of wrecks, fantastically covered in soft corals, precariously resting on the steeply sloping reef walls.
For this trip we are flying to the new Marsa Alum airport. The boat is moored near by so no long bus journeys anymore. The boat we are using is Fraser; built in 2003 it is one of the more luxurious boats in the Red Sea and one of the few that are properly equipped and licensed to dive the remote islands. There are twin cabins with ensuite showers and toilets and plenty of hot and cold running water. Each cabin has its own air conditioning unit and control panel. There is also a super luxury honeymoon suite (£150 extra). The boat has three decks including a BBQ deck. Nitrox is available for anyone wanting it. The first dive is normally a checkout dive; the boat then travels to either the Brothers and then a few days later to Daedalus or the other way around. The final dives are made at Elphinstone, another spectacular ‘pinnacle’ reef but closer to port. Please be aware though that all itineraries are subject to sea and weather conditions. The diving on these trips is not suitable for novices so to book you need to be qualified as PADI Advanced Open Water or higher and have done approx. 40 dives or more.
The cost of the trip is £989, which includes flights, transfers, accommodation, diving with standard tanks and weights, food and non-alcoholic drinks on board. Not included but required are crew tips, marine park fees, other gear hire, Egyptian visa and travel insurance.
A condition of booking is that you have adequate travel insurance. If you already have insurance please check that it covers you for scuba diving including recompression treatment. If you do not have any travel insurance, or if your policy does not include scuba diving, then the link below will take you to a company that does. We recommend you get cover when booking the trip in order to get the maximum benefit from your cancellation cover.
For those of you needing to hire gear, we can offer rental of BCD, regulator with octopus and depth gauge, wetsuit and mask, snorkel and fins for £80 for the week. You will need to book this in advance and take it out with you.
As this is one of the better boats at the best time of year, spaces will go very quickly so book now and don’t be disappointed. We need a £200 deposit, with the balance being due, at the latest, 8 weeks prior to the trip. Payment can be made by debit card, credit card, or a cheque. For credit card payments there is a handling charge. The trip is being arranged through a tour operator, Regal Diving, and, in order to be covered by their ATOL bonding, cheques should be made payable to Regal Holidays. (ATOL no. 2990)
If you are still not convinced then please do look at our website, www.e-scuba.co.uk to see photos from the previous trip.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call, 02073815000, or e-mail, info@e-scuba.co.uk