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Straits of Tiran Liveaboard, August 2005 (a short summary from Hebrew)  Learning not to set my expectations high, I went on this trip knowing that there is only a slight chance of sighting the somewhat famous school of great hammer head sharks in the Tiran straits.. Little did I know that my wishful thinking will come true in the shape of 12 hammer heads. Map of south Sinai and the Tiran straits The trip was great, only 3 days, a quick getaway. The boat 'etoiles' was not the best boat, but the diving itself made it all worth while. Except for the first and last dives of the Safari (that's the term we use for a liveaboard) that were Sinai's off shore sites (Ras Um Sid & The Temple) the dives were great. Located between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, dominating the entrance of the gulf of Eilat (a.k.a. the gulf of Aqaba), the Tiran straits offer some great drift dives in rich and healthy reefs. The Tiran straits are made of four reefs: Jackson, Thomas, Woodhouse & Gordon. Detailed map here  Thomas Reef reflects in shallow water The reefs are rich and healthy, lots of corals, both soft (big fan corals) and hard with lots of reef fish. and what makes the diving there so great are the currents: not very strong ones, but enough to make the diving effortless and take you from from north to south without using your legs, easy and fun diving. In August the water temperature was 28°-29° which made everything even better. Sharks, turtles and mantas can be sighted as well as a school of hammerhead sharks. Daily trips from Sharm El Sheikh are available, but a liveaboard is recommended.  Fire corals @ Gordon Reef The one dive that really made my  One of 12 hammer head sharks @ Jackson Reef Snapshots from the Tiran straits   top |
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