LATE AFTERNOON DIVES

One of the obvious advantages for a diver living in Sharm is the chance to go diving in the Red Sea almost anytime you want. If I want to go diving tomorrow, it’s just a case of making one or two phone calls. The same if I suddenly decide to make a night dive today, I just need to call one or two people and off we’ll go. This was the fundamental reason why I moved to Sharm in 2004; rather than have Stoney Cove or Dosthill Quarry as my local sites (I lived in the Midlands at the time), how about Shark & Yolanda, or Umm Sid or the SS Thistlegorm instead? (Afterall, my local site in the UK, Stoney Cove was 40 miles away from my home, yet the famous Red Sea wreck is not even 40 kilometers from my apartment in Sharm). One of the obvious disadvantages about diving around Sharm is the number of divers here; which is only to be expected, it is a major diving destination afterall. I’ve made night dives where there was so many people in the water that you could switch your torch off for the whole dive (but I’ve also had night dives where there was just me and my guests). The Thistlegorm on a busy day can resemble an aquarium air pump decoration with all it’s bubbles, the top deck a spider’s web of mooring lines, and the holds full divers all seemingly going in the opposite direction to you (but I’ve also had days at the Thistlegorm where we’ve had the wreck to ourselves). Some of the most popular sites, like Jackson reef for example, can be often completely obscured by divers (but sometimes you are lucky and find you have a reef to yourselves). Now some people like to be in a crowd when they are diving, and none of the previous examples would be an issue for them but for me, I love a quiet dive it’s calm, peaceful and I believe, without all the noise generated by dive boats, speed boats, zodiacs (RIBs), swimmers, snorkelers, tank bangers, shakers and quackers, you are more likely to encounter the shy and elusive underwater creatures that generally move away from the site while it is noisy. So what’s a diver to do? How do you avoid all these divers? How do you make a quiet dive in the middle of a popular tourist and diving destination such as Sharm el Sheikh? One easy solution is to make a late afternoon shore dive. For me there is a magical feel to a dive in the late afternoon. Firstly there is the rich, deep blue ambient light you get only when the sun is low in the sky; it gives the appearance of being in deep water without being deep. Then there is the peace and quiet. Usually, by late afternoon, most dive centers have finished their daily activities. They may be on-site, but the guides and their guests have finished diving for the day and by now are either writing up their logbooks, or packing away their equipment. The vast majority of the dive boats have finished for the day and are sailing in to Travco marina, if they’re not already there. The water is quiet now, it will stay that way till dawn. The reef is very alive at this time of the day too. The diurnal reef life, those that are active in the day, are getting close to bedtime and as such, you’ll find them all either already bedded down on the reef or looking for a spot to spend the night. There’s a lot of hunting at this time of the day; the reef is busy, a busy reef attracts predation. Some fish, like rays and sharks, are crepuscular in nature, which means they are most active during dusk and dawn (and, as far as sharks areconcerned, the reason why snorkelers & swimmers are told to avoid being in the water at these times of the day), so there’s the possibility of a large marine encounter. Another advantage of a late afternoon dive is the chance of a lay in and a late breakfast. For people, especially guests, who enjoy Sharm’s night life, the idea of waking up at 07:00 is not exactly the ideal option but, because a week is only a week long, then have to if they wish to go diving. A late afternoon dive allows you to recover from whatever ails you from the night before, whether it’s too many Sakaras, too little sleep or both. You can also plan a late afternoon dive so that, during the course of the dive, it becomes a night dive and gives you the chance to see nocturnal marine life as well - assuming you plan well enough to have torches with you - or you could simply plan a late afternoon dive followed by a night dive.