Just back from a week in Sharm

[diving_moose]

Well returned from Sharm yesterday after a week's diving and have to say this is my first red sea trip and it was superb. Emperor Divers were top notch and the diving a different class.

There was a couple of eventful dives thoughout the week. One of which included a group of dive teckies who were on rebreathers. They had just entered the water from the boat and had not been in long when one of them disaperaed under the surface and went straight down to 20metres and was unconcious, thanks to her buddy she was brought to the surface and had stopped breathing. An extremely worrying site, blue lips and no response from her. She was treated on the boat by her boyfriend who i was later told used to be Egypt's leading hyperbaric doctor ( good choice of boyfriend ).

Thankfully she started breathing and spent the night in hospital and wont be diving for some time. Well that was an experience and by now i was ready for the Thislegorm.

4.00am start pick up at the hotel with my buddy and straight down the to boat in the Harbour. I was told bring a blanket with you it will be cold at that time and i will need to get some sleep on the boat, well me being me i thought i will be okay without one, big mistake it was cold and i ended up trying to get my 5ft 11 frame underneath a towel which was big enough just to cover my arse. We got on sight for around 08.30 and there was alot of swell and the boat was been given some stick as were all the other boats in the area who like us were attempting to get a line down to the Wreck to anable the boat to tie on. Credit goes out to the dive guides from emperor who made attempt after attempt to get down and tie us on, which after 30mins was achieved.

Once down about 15m the current and all the swell had gone and the dive began, it was amazing and i was happy to photograph anything that moved ot looked interesting. Me and my buddy and the guide and a few others got back round to our line and began the ascent. we had just got to the 3m safety stop and i was hanging there still amazed by the dive when i heard the awful sound of the boats engines start and the propellors began to spin which with them been so close to our heads caused some near leakage from the arse area of everyone concerned, it was at this point the boat sped of and the line became rigid and snapped causing most of us to follow the boat until realising what the hell was happening and we let go.

At this point i was about 1m from the surface and we were all scattered around looking quite scared if we are honest. One diver who had just grabbed the line at 15m below had been dragged to the surface like a fish on a line and was now concerned about any bend that he may sustain. We all managed to surface and grab hold of one another and form a circle, the swell on the surface was still bad and we were getting tossed around all over the place.

The boat was now some 50m away and was signalling for us to swim over, this agin was a s##t your pants experience due to the fact the other boats that were still tied to the Thislegorm where getting tossed around in our direction causing us to swim at a speed that i have never seen before.

We finaly made it to the boat with little air to spare and by this point everybody was asking What the hell had just happened. All comes to all that our boat had been in the position we had left it and as we had started the ascent up the stern line the bow line of our boat had snapped due to the weather conditions causing it to swing round and smash into another boat causing significant damage to both vessels, at this point our captain had decided that he needed to move quickly which was the point i heard the engines start and the adventure began. i have currently only 50 logged dives and i have to say that this experience was not good at the time but it certainly stands you in good stead if something like that happens again.

I never got a second dive on the Thislegorm for obvious reasons and we ended up doing a drift dive so everyone could chill out a bit, at least it gives me a reason to go back. Hope to submit some photos soon.

Cheers
Lee

[BrianG]

Glad you survived with all your dangly bits intact. Can't help wondering what a dive organisation has to subject you to before you derate them from "top notch"? From your description it sounds like commercialism and customer expectation overuled common sense. It is good that the experience has been taken as a lesson well learned, I am certain that for many it would have precipitated the end of their diving career.
Safe diving for the future.

[D.D.J]

hi
great report, i went to egypt (northern itinary) last year in october. had a few great dives on the thistlegorm, sorry to hear about your experience that you had, i throughly enjoyed it, can't wait to go again in july...this time were going south, can t wait. all the best, take care

[Dave J]

we were there in jan and had a great time, like you it was our first trip out there and were planing on going back next year.

it sound like you were unlucky but it could have been a lot worse, like being between the boats when they came into contact, at least the skipper had the sense to get out of the way, even though it was a close call.