Advice needed please

[HelenCraven]

A friend of my other half is going to Port Ghalib over xmas. Anyway he's given me a list of the dive sites and wants to know which are the best ones to go to, and seeing as I've never been round there I'd ask around and see if anyone knows what the're like?

Dive sites:

Marsa Trombi,
Marsa Trombi Pinnacles,
Marsa Mubarak North,
Marsa Mubarak
Central Garden,
Marsa Mubarak South,
Halg om el Roos,
Shoni Kebir,
Shoni Sorayar,
Marsa Morena North,
Marsa Morena South,
Sharm Abu Dabour,
Ras El Torfa,
Gota,
Abu Dabab 1 to 7,
El Mahahlala,
Elphinstone.


He wants to do Eliphenstone but he only has around 12-15 so I don't know if he'll be out of his depth with that one so to speak.


Thanks

H

[TeeJF]

We hated Elphinstone... the current was unpredictable, the viz was poor, it was heaving with divers and we saw sod all.

M and TJ

[David D]

I wouldn't recommend Elphinstone to an inexperienced diver.

Very strong currents, and a load of Italians with crap bouyancy. Although I've never used any of the dayboat operations for Elphinstone, I've been out there on the bigger liveaboards and by comparison some of the dayboat operations look very flakey.

I don't remember the name of the site, think it was the one with the dugong (which may be closed to diving now, not sure), but I had a great dive there on the way back from Elphinstone to Port Ghalib. A nursery reef; all manner of species of fishlife, all in miniature. The point being, there's no need to go to Elphinstone for great diving in the Marsa Alam area.

[cazyoung]

Elphinstone can be and often is difficult-- unpredictable strong currents which can change very quickly along with at this time of year big seas = potential for disaster. in jan this year a group of experienced divers died there (postings on YD). Dugong feeding ground currently closed to all boats, there is some limited shore diving allowed.
Hope this helps

[Mr Friday]

The currents at Elphinstone (North Plateau) were the maddest I have ever experienced and that includes Brothers and Daedalus.

Got swept off very very quickly and DSMB has never been deployed so bloody quickly !!

Wouldn't recommend it for an inexperienced diver.

We were first boat in at around 5.30am but there were plenty primed to dump loads of divers in after us.

[sailorbuoy]

Not much help in my log book i'm afraid...

ABU DABAB II and III - listed as 'nice check dive', in Aug vis was 30m+ and temp 30 degrees.....

Mrs W and I had some fantastic diving on Elphinstone (both 70 odd dives) - no current in for us... reef walls are very pretty, then there's shark hunting off the plateaus... can be deep (although doesn't have to be - we saw a hammerhead close up at 20m)... and be very busy at times!

Watching the boats on the day I was very suspicious of a couple of the RIBs out of MA - no sign of any surface cover - one group were picked up by our (liveaboard) RIB and returned to the other side of the reef... only when the boat got close up did someone appear from being "on watch" - horizontally.....

IMHO this is not a dive site for the novice unless VERY well guided - see how you get on during the holiday and take the advice of a guide/instructor...

Have a good time.

Rich

[Simon TW]

I take it your diving with Emperor, if that's the case I don't think that your mate will be allowed on Elphinstone.

With regard to the sites you don't get to choose, the guide asks the captain and if he thinks the sea is ok then you go where the guide wants but if the captain says no then it's choose again.

You shouldn't be disappointed though, there all decent sites.