Tawila Island, north El Gouna (non-diving report)

[Georgina]

I am very lucky to be living in a beautiful place like El Gouna which is just north of Hurghada on the Red Sea coast. I have lived here permanently since 2004 and appreciate everyday. One of the nice things about 'Life As It Should Be' which is the El Gouna moto, is meeting all the yachties that are living their dream of sailing around the world and choose to winter in our Abu Tig Marina. One family has been sailing around the world for several years on a yacht which must be less than 40 foot but they have their three children onboard and a dog too. The children are home schooled by their mother who is a teacher. It must be a fantastic way for them to live and what an education for them. I remember asking the ten year old boy where he would like to visit next and he said Syria. I wonder how many ten year old English boys have Syria on the top of their list of things to do.

Some of the yachtie ladies come to me for an exercise class based on belly dance moves and they love to visit an Egyptian style home and relax on my roof terrace. I often wonder whether that lifestyle would suit me as I am free without ties to go wherever I please and often there are male sailors on their own. Monday evening I was invited to a dinner party on one of the yachts and after way too much wine and dancing round the yacht to Mick Jagger, I was invited out to Tawila Island by a Swiss gentleman. My previous experience of sailing had been 20 years ago crossing from Poole to Cowes in horrendous conditions where only two of the ten crew were fit enough to remain on deck as everyone was dying with sea sickness.

So bright and early the next morning with an Egyptian wine hangover from hell, I met my new Swiss friend at his yacht because the forecast was for very light winds. We left El Gouna at 9am and the sea was beautiful. Flat calm and different shades of turquoise blue. Now luckily my BSAC advanced diver training and seven years at Guildford BSAC (two of which being Assistant Diving Officer to Turbanator but that's another story) came in handy as the reefs are really hard to navigate and I felt really useful working the GPS, etc. as we navigated our way past all the shallow areas. There was just enough wind to sail and it was so peaceful and relaxing.

Tawila Island is a popular place for the sailing boats and motor yachts to visit from El Gouna because it has a really large sheltered bay. It is around ten metres deep in the middle of the bay and there is snorkelling near to the shore but very shallow and not much marine life which keeps all the tourist day boats away. The island itself is uninhabited apart from the bird life. The island next door is supposed to full of land mines!

It took around three hours to arrive and we had the whole place to ourselves. The wind had dropped completely so it was completely quiet and the sea was like a mirror. My new friend prepared lunch of Swiss cold meats and Swiss bread which we washed down with more Egyptian wine before going snorkelling. We did have one fishing boat full of Russian tourists join us for a short while with their music playing at full volume and their alcohol fuelled excited behaviour but that was quite amusing. They moved on after they had eaten lunch.

Watching the sun set was perfect being so alone and everything so still. We had a wonderful dinner then, without any moon light, watched all the shooting stars. I find sleeping somewhere like a yacht with a low ceiling above the bed very claustraphobic and wake up in the dark in a panic so chose to sleep on deck under the stars. It was quite chilly at around 13 degrees but just wonderful and woke up intime to see a tiny slither of a moon rise from behind the mountains in the distance and then the sun.

The next day we snorkelled again after a breakfast of Swiss homemade muislie! The winds were so light again that we had to motor when we started our return to El Gouna. On the way I spotted some dolphins in the distance and started whistleing. They joined us quickly and swam around the boat for around thirty minutes which is most unusual. It is nice being on a sailing yacht watching the dolphins because you are so much closer to the water than on a big dive boat. They kept turning on their sides to make eye contact and at one time I counted 17 dolphins!! If we'd known they were going to stick around we would have jumped in the water but I didn't feel safe being left on the yacht alone as there is no way I could have manouvered it if my friend had drifted off in a current.

So what is the purpose of putting this on a diving forum? Not really sure. Just wanted to share it incase anyone has the time to read it and I am always being asked about the things to do for non-divers here. Regarding the lifestyle of travelling around the world on a say 40 foot yacht, well, I have to say I enjoy my home comforts here in El Gouna. I had the option of staying another night at Tawila but showering and trying to wash my hair on deck with three bottles of water is fun the first time but not something I would want to do regularly. There was a small bathroom but I was told the shower wasn't very good! I guess I have been spoiled on the dive safari boats. I just love en-suite bathrooms and flat screen TV's and jacuzzis on deck but the experience of sailing to such a beautiful deserted island and spending two wonderful days enjoying that lifestyle was unforgettable.

I have put some photos here: Flickr: Photos from Georgina C

[Maintenance Man]

Will be their 18th April, 35 mad mancs hope we will all fit in that little bar you work in.

See you soon