Seven members of Milton Keynes Sub Aqua Club (joined by a few "soon to be" friends, see left) ventured once again to the Red Sea.  We were joined for our trip by Anna and Tim (Relatives of one of our members) and divers from Scotland, East Anglia and Worsley.  (Contact me and I will add the rest of your web sites!).

Our trip took in a potential nineteen dives in six days (although only one person managed all nineteen).  We saw five wrecks, some of them twice and a bewildering assortment of fish of all shapes and sizes.  Add in a ship wreck, a near mutiny (when it came to get OFF the boat) and a few other incidents best left untold and you have a trip worthy of any BSAC expedition scheme.  Little did Ed know what he was letting himself in for when he asked "anyone fancy a trip to the Red Sea...?".  The map on the right was photographed on the outside of a building in Naama Bay, just before a policeman came and said "hello, hello, hello, what's all this then" (or a local equivalent).

Those of you who know the area will know how busy it can get.  We should have realised how quiet it was going to be while collecting the Egyptian Visa's (Last year over two hours, this year two minutes).  Though the harbour at Sharm (left) was just as crowded, not many boats were going out.  We found later we were the only boat on some reefs and one of only six on the Thistlegorm.

And so at last to the diving.  This was just as good as last year.  I don't know if I was more relaxed or there were less divers or what but I saw far more fish than on previous visits.  Pictured right is a Cornet fish.  We saw at least one on most dives and on one occasion saw four swimming together.

Fish were everywhere.  These Anthias were hiding behind a pillar of coral.  All dives included a safety stop and, assuming the stop was on the reef, we saw Anthias, Chocolate-Dips and shoals of other small fish.

These little clown fish loved hiding in the anemones.  The hardest problem was photographing the little blighters!  They were very quick and (despite their bright yellow colour) seemed to be able to blend in when required.

This example of a Blue Spotted Ray was photographed on Yolanda reef (sometimes also spelt Jolanda).  You will hear more of this reef since it is also one of the better wreck dives in the area...The rays are surprisingly quick and also good at burying themselves in the sand so as to be almost invisible.

Some of the larger fish were to be found at the base of the reef as we moved onto the sandy bit.  Pictured is a Grouper.  In some places the sand started at around two metres, in other parts we could not see the bottom (which was rumoured to be around eight hundred metres down).

At the other extreme were these tiny Shrimp.  Only a fraction of an inch long, they could be found at the back of small caves where only the most careful inspection could find them.  The only bonus was that they stayed still while I re-focussed, added macro lenses and generally messed around with the camera.

Yolanda reef saw us cross a wide-angle convention, every other diver seemed to sport a huge fish-eye lens and two strobes on long arms.

Just as small but back on the sandy bottom were these Pipefish.  As divers approach, they either swim off or burrow into the sand.

The most unusual fish seen in the week was this Bird Wrasse.  Its protruding snout gave it a very distinctive appearance.  Most that we found were in only a few metres of water and moved very quickly.

The smallest fish were saw were these hiding in the coral (The fish are the little green bits!).

The traditional entry method for most of the dives was off the back of the boat.  Depending on the current and the presence of other dive boats this could be very organised or "every man (or woman) for themselves".  Pictured are Adrian (in the water), Ed (on deck) and Chris (in mid leap).

This was one of the few occasions when Ed managed to enter the water without blowing an 'O' ring.

When the current was stronger or there was no suitable mooring we were taken out and recovered in the Zodiac.  On one dive we managed to get fifteen divers and kit into this little craft.  We headed back for the mother ship and got NEARLY half way back before the driver shouted "mask and fins" (possibly the only English he knew) and we had to swim the rest of the way.

OK, enough about diving and wildlife, now to what we really go in for, the wrecks!  Jolanda reef (see above) is named for the wreck of the Jolanda, a cargo ship carrying bathroom fittings.  It crashed into the reef and lost most of its cargo before slipping to the sea bed many metres below.

Also on Jolanda reef were our first Turtles.  These move quickly and caused your photographer to crash into the reef trying to keep up. (I could swear I heard the Turtle snigger).  The Turtles munch away at the Soft Coral and the noise on some parts of the reef can be deafening.

Another worthwhile wreck was the Carnatic.  Lying on its port side and with all the timber decking gone, it offers a good swimthrough.  Pictured is Chris emerging from between two girders where once was a deck.  Elsewhere on the wreck, tiles can be found around the boiler in the engine room.

Another good wreck was the Giannis'D.  Sunk relatively recently in April 1983, this 99 metre long cargo ship is still almost intact, at least at the stern.  It is possible to explore the engine room (see valve mechanism, right) the bridge and radio room. 

 The fact that the whole wreck is tilted at forty-five degrees adds a certain confusion to the whole thing.  Pictured is Sonia (surrounded by Anthias) entering the engine room of the Giannis'D.  Inside the engine room, swarms of Glass fish surround you.

When the Giannis'D ran onto the reef, her engines kept running right up to the end.  This means that the propellers (one pictured right) are bent and twisted.  However the Egyptians attitude to salvage (Don't!) means that these great artefacts are still there for all to see.

No mention of wreck diving in the Red Sea would be complete without the Thistlegorm.  She was sunk in the Second World War with a cargo of (among other things) two steam engines, freight wagons, motor bikes, Austin lorries, Spitfire wings and Wellington boots.  Pictured are the batteries in an Austin Lorry.

One last wreck (please!), while swimming along Gordon Reef we came across an old weight belt.  In British waters we would have recovered it but the canvas webbing, metal buckle and, above all, coral encrustation, persuaded us to leave it where it was (in any case it would have put us over our weight limit flying home!).

Back to the fish then.  On the left is a Bat Fish, one of many cruising around the wreck of the Thistlegorm.

This brightly coloured Parrot Fish is just one more example of the many and varied wildlife to be seen diving the Red Sea.  The biggest problem was deciding what to photograph or whether to save your film for later.

Back to the colourful little Clown Fish.  Here he is, still hiding amongst the anemones and just as difficult to catch.  Two of these decided to come out and challenge my camera, I can only think that they saw their reflection in the lens and decided to see off the intruder.

The closer you look at the coral, the more you are impressed by the intricate detail.  Small pieces of coral have small branches, small branches have little flowers, little flowers have delicate growths.  And so on...

As the time came to join our flight home, we became more anxious.  We had not heard from our travel company since we left the UK although we had been assured that all transport was included in our holiday.  Our dive guide had tried to contact them on our behalf (Thanks Mohamed, we did appreciate it) but to no avail.  Eventually, with fifty minutes to check in we hired a few local taxis.  The driver was adamant that the luggage would be all right, although the bungy straps looked a shade flimsy.  Despite our misgivings, we and the luggage made it with ten minutes to spare.