Diving with sharks: Into the deep - and watch out for the teeth - in Egypt's Red Sea

By Anna Seaman

Down down, deeper and down: The Red Sea is a wonderful location for diving


The wooden lip alongside my bed is the only thing keeping me in it. The sun has yet to rise and someone is banging loudly at the door. It sounds more like Nightmare At Dawn than Another Day In Paradise but, as my eyes struggle to focus, I remember I'm about to experience one of nature's finest adventures - swimming with sharks.

To be more precise, I will be diving with sharks. This is day three of my live-aboard scuba-diving experience in the southern Red Sea.

We are a ten-hour boat journey from the town of Marsa Alam on the egyptian coast and sleeping is not on the menu. At least, not at sunrise.

The reason for the early morning wake-up call is that sharks prefer the cooler, quieter water at dawn.

Our dive guide, hazem, calculates that the resident school of hammerheads will almost certainly be 135 ft under the boat right now.

So, I bound out of bed, listen to hazem brief us about the direction of the currents, pull on my wetsuit, tank and fins and take a giant step into the Red Sea.
Fifteen minutes and 115 ft later, my dive buddy and I are breathing ecstatic bubbles of joy.

We are watching 12 magnificent creatures circling in the deep-blue water below us.

Hammerheads might be dangerous predators to smaller fish, but scuba divers are far too big and alien to be attacked - if anything, they are more wary of us than we need be of them.

By the time we surface 45 minutes later, the sun is well and truly up and breakfast for the 22 guests on board is laid out in the communal dining area. We have the choice of eggs cooked to our preference, croissants, pancakes, fresh fruit, yoghurt, cold meats, cheeses and toast - and when I see the size of the kitchen this veritable feast comes from, I am positive that David Blaine the illusionist must be the chef.

After breakfast there's enough time to read a few pages of my trashy novel and a mid-morning nap in the sun before a bell sounds to signify the start of the next dive.

The water is a little warmer and our dive a little shallower, so conditions are perfect to explore the pristine corals.

My dive buddy and I spend nearly an hour mesmerised by shoals of tiny colourful fish.
After dive two, there's meal two - a warm, hearty lunch. Then another read, another nap and another bell to sound the last dive before the sun goes down.

Now, if this sounds like the diving equivalent of boot camp - with the bells and the regimented schedule - then let me reassure you it is not.

Live-aboards are meticulously planned to maximise the six days you get at sea, but they do cater for all levels of diver.

There are three or four dives a day for keen scuba divers, but if the allure of the spacious sun deck or comfort of the luxurious cabin is preferable, the crew are more than happy to look after you on board while your fellow guests take the plunge.

Sitting out a few dives is well worth it. The Grand Sea Serpent, the twin-engined, 130ft motor yacht, is more like a mini-luxury cruise liner than a rust bucket dive boat. There is a crew of 14, excluding the three guides who take us through every dive.

The crew keep the boat ship-shape. They navigate it from dive site to dive site (often through the night), moor it, anchor it, scrub the decks, clean the cabins, change the towels and generally don't let any of the guests lift a finger.


Swish: The Grand Sea Serpent is way more than the traditional rusty dive boat


Every day there is freshly squeezed mango, banana or guava juice. Lunch and dinner range from fish stew, steak and home-made pizza to houmous, tahini and grilled aubergine.

There crew also make certain there is not a minute spent above water when we aren't having fun.

During rougher crossings, there are movies on the 32in widescreen TV, and in the evenings we are entertained by a surround-sound music system compatible with our iPods and plenty of beer in the fridges.

Below water, things are spectacular. The reefs in the southern Red Sea are unspoilt and there are few other boats, so it's not rare to share your dive with something as big as you - be it a shark, manta ray or giant turtle.

In the Egyptian resorts farther north, such as Sharm el Sheikh and Dahab, there can be up to 20 boats at one site and this can scare away some of the bigger fish such as sharks, tuna, grouper and barracuda.

Of course, the fabulous coral reefs are still there for all to see, but I'd still recommend escaping to the less-populated southern seas. There is something liberating about not seeing land for five days. Surrounded by miles and miles of sea reminds you just how small and powerless you are.

On our last night, the chef bakes a cake and the crew put on a party with Egyptian music and dancing. It's an exhilarating way to say goodbye.

As you can't fly within 24 hours of diving, we have one night in a hotel as part of the package. The Coral Beach resort is five minutes from where the boat docks.

Stepping back onto dry land is a strange sensation. Though my feet are firmly planted, it still feels as if I'm going up and down with the waves.

So if you are serious about diving, craving isolation and want a truly different experience, get aboard a live-aboard.

Travel FactsSeven-night live-aboard packages from Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada or Marsa Alam start at £750 with weekly departures. Packages include flights, transfers, accommodation and up to four dives a day (0800 072 8221, www.scubatravel.com).


source :dailymail