Report on M/V Tala trip to the Red Sea.

[Mozi]

I have dove “The Brothers Islands” back in 1997 on the Oyster
liveaboard, which has recently sunk after hitting a reef near the St. John area
in the Red Sea. I decided to visit the Brothers again aboard the M/V
Tala and explore these fantastic sites on gas, as opposed to when I was
ignorantly doing my “Extended Range” course on the Oyster back in 97
(where I can barely remember the trip due to the high PN2, sigh…). And
of course, I am lucky to have Faisal as a cousin and as a dive buddy
there



I met at the Cairo airport with the loved child of the DIR community,
Christos K, and we drove for 10 hours to Marsa Alam where the Tala was
docked. The option of flying domestically exists (2 hour flight from
Cairo), and I believe a lot of chartered planes are available from
overseas to Marsa Alam directly.



The Brothers are two small islands towering from the depths, some 80KM
off shore. They are exposed to high currents, high seas and high winds
so there is a lot of life on their underwater sections with very rich
coral formations and all kinds of marine life including pelagics.



We spent six days of diving off the Tala, and visited several amazing
sites on our way to and from the Brothers, such as the Elphinstone reef
that has a spectacular archway that runs through it at 60 meters, a la
mini Blue Hole if one has dove the arch there in Dahab, Egypt. Diving
on the Brothers spanned from wreck diving to sheer drop-off diving.
Two wrecks hit the islands and sank along their walls. The wrecks are
almost vertical and their depth ranges from 8m ! (yes 8 m) to 80 meters.
The walls on the Brothers are rich with corals and are regularly
visited by feeding sharks (causing me to turn off my HID!; the sharks were
getting nervous with the combination of scooter buzzing and HID flashes).
In short, the diving is spectacular.



We kept max total run times to 100-110 minutes for the more aggressive
dives that ranged from 80 – 100 meters. It was great having the
logistical support to be able to conduct back to back aggressive diving.



It is great that the Tala is equipped and designed with the DIR diver
in mind as follows:



Two Tech 1 certified guides on board (thanks DS and MK by the way for
the great support). They organize the dives, fill standard gasses,
charge the scooters, are great equipment technicians, and provide support
for aggressive dives etc..



Plenty of Helium and O2 on board. Standard gasses easy to mix with the
banks of Nitrox 32.



Double AL 80s, stage and deco AL 80s, and AL 40s available.



Scooters available



Two Zodiacs that can act as chase or support platforms.



At this stage, coordination needs to be done through Faisal depending
on the size of the group to ensure all desired equipment is available,
yet there is a lot there already.



The Tala is a great way to combine lots of diving in pristine areas in
the Red Sea, and to dive off a platform designed and equipped with the
DIR diver in mind.



Mozi

[londonsean69]

Mozi, any idea as to prices for this shameless plug

[Mozi]

Well, I am bit of a special case cause Faisal is my cousin and diving partner for years now.

However, I am sure if you contact him, he'll be more than accomodating.

Best,

Mozi

[PBrown]

Originally Posted by londonsean69

Mozi, any idea as to prices for this shameless plug

http://www.redseaexplorers.com/other/pricing.html

cheers,
Paul

[Mozi]

Still talk to Faisal, he might be in a good mood , it is paradise over there.

Mozi