Hurghada- Egypt Dec 2007

[t'owdgit]

We went on 28/12 to Hurghada for some winter sun and a spot of diving for me. The accomodation was the Marriott which is slap bang on the beach with it's own jetty and an Aquarius dive centre on the site. Last year in Sharm El Sheik we had dived with Aquarius but having the jetty and boats on the site beats having to get a minibus to take you down to Sharm harbour.

The Aquarius people were very friendly and helpful, speak quite good english and the boats and equipment all looked well maintained. I did 3 days diving with them consisting of 7 dives, mostly in the 15m range but one dive was on a wreck at 30m. The boat crew had a habit of putting a hang tank in the water off the stern of the boat as an aid to identify the boat and provide some air if you made it back there without enough gas to do your safety stop.

Apart from the wreck the diving was over sandy bottoms with rocky outcrops and pinacles with coral and lots of life. We didn't see anything particularly large in the way of fishes but there is a lot of small colourful stuff there.

The wreck has El Mina in Hurghada bay, an Egyptian minesweeper sunk in 1969, quite intact and about 70 metres long. There was a brisk current at the surface but nothing to speak of once you stared dropping down the mooring line.

All in all I had a great time and can thoroughly recommend the hotel and the dive centre.

[Whistler]

What was the sea temp as we are off to Makadi Bay on friday.

[t'owdgit]

23-24 deg C. Like a warm bath for British divers.

Vis was excellent too.

[Whistler]

oooh luvverly..... just a rash vest it is then .Glad you had a good time We are also using the Aquarius cenre but at The Azur in Makadi Bay

[sailorbuoy]

Originally Posted by Whistler

oooh luvverly..... just a rash vest it is then .Glad you had a good time

A rash vest in 24 degrees...????? Blimey you're 'ard!

I'd be faffing around trying to keep warm in a full 5mm after a day or two..... are you really sure?

Rich

[Whistler]

No, I was only joking about the vest but I will be in a shorty as it was that temp last year and shorty was fine.

[t'owdgit]

I borrowed a full 5mm from them and was very comfortable in it.

[Georgina]

We are in for a cold spell if you look at wind guru. This is for El Gouna which is just north and it is pretty cool already! Bring fleeces because in the early morning it is going to be cold. I really hope it will not get as cold as this forcast WindGURU: Egypt - El Gouna

[Ahmed Adly]

Originally Posted by t'owdgit

The wreck has El Mina in Hurghada bay, an Egyptian minesweeper sunk in 1969, quite intact and about 70 metres long.

The wreck is of the "El Menya". She was named after pne of Egypts prouder cities.
Her proximity to the port (Mina, in Arabic) made the name stick!

I wish dive masters would take notice of this important fact, she was a proud ship and fought an angry battle that led to her epic demise.
The wreckages of 2 Israeili planes she shot down lie nearby....

Good to hear you enjoyed Hurghada. It is a great little dive destination

[ShinyD]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Adly

The wreck is of the "El Menya". She was named after pne of Egypts prouder cities.
Her proximity to the port (Mina, in Arabic) made the name stick!

I wish dive masters would take notice of this important fact, she was a proud ship and fought an angry battle that led to her epic demise.
The wreckages of 2 Israeili planes she shot down lie nearby....

Good to hear you enjoyed Hurghada. It is a great little dive destination

Thanks for that info Ahmed The divemasters on Blue Horizon told us the story of the brave battle, but not that the name was El Menya rather than El Mina.

Good to have the proper name - have a green

[Edit] Bah! Have to spread it around...have a virtual green instead