The wind was in my face as the boat skimmed across the sparkling waters of the Red Sea. It was a day to be smiling as the sun was up, it was warm, and the horizen beckoned in front of us. The horizen has always had a magical spell on me, allowing one to dream of far off adventures into the unknown. This small ,almost landlocked piece of ocean, has had important roots in the distant passages of history, and still does, as history continues to unfold. One can easily reflect on this important body of salty water.
The Red Sea is basically a sea water inlet of the Indian Ocean, being narrow at its entrance in the South, ending in the North with the Sinai Peninsula and the Suez Canal. It is roughly 1400 miles long being just over 200 miles wide at its widest spot. It borders mainly Egypt, Sudan and Eritria on the West, and Saudi Arabia and Yemen on the East. It has been a major source of commerce and shipping in ancient times, going back to the days of the Pharoahs (ancient Egypt), to the present where oil tankers move their black gold from the Middle East to Europe (via the Suez Canal) and beyond. Then there is the Book of Exodus with the "parting" of its waters in the North. Today in the South end there continues to be major problems with modern piracy, inflicting their scourge on commercial vessels as well as pleasure boaters (eg. modern sailors on their way to and from Europe and Asia).
At this juncture one may ask why is the Red sea called "red" when it is as blue as any other ocean or sea?
Theories abound from that of the intermittent plankton blooms, that colour the water red, to possibly an ancient source suggesting the directions of the compass. In that explanation the ancient world considered it "south", the root of the word translating to "red", just as the Black Sea further North translating from a "northerly" word. A little esoterica from the mists of time, in case you were interested.
Today, none of this matters. We are on the hunt to explore coral reefs. The Red Sea is the Northern most tropical sea in the world, and has some of the largest biodiversity of marine life on the planet - hence some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world. We are headed to a string of reefs about 15 miles offshore via a dive boat leaving from Jeddah. The advantage, at least to us, is that as Saudi Arabia is not open to tourism unless for religious purposes, it then becomes the home for many still relatively undisturbed reef systems, not trampled on by many thousands of resort seeking tourists..
So my friends let us start from the beginning of this small adventure.
Although early it is already getting hot, the morning sun still relatively low in the sky. The three dive boats getting ready for their trip offshore. From our location at the Dive Village & Desert Divers it is a several mile trip down the inlet at the North end of Jeddah to the open water. That trip offers some interesting shore based sights that can be viewed from our boat.
Our trusty vessel.
From the bridgedeck prior to departure. The Dive Village, in the background, has some hotel type rooms and a small private beach further in from the boat dock.
As can be seen we are not the only Canucks on board. The dive tanks are waiting.
We are now off, making our way out of the inlet. A "no wake" rule dosn't seem to apply.
Even early, the Sea Doos are already out in the inlet. No driving lessons, no life jackets on them!
A "cottage" with their "dinghy" - still in the inlet.
Another private residence with their "floating toys".
In contrast, a salute to tradition with this large old wooden dhow. A small marina behind it.
After clearing with the coast guard we start heading offshore - some of the Jeddah cityscape through the haze (telephoto shot through humidity!).
We are now clear and heading for the horizen, another dive boat ahead of us. The reefs we seek are 15 miles offshore.
Jim, Mark & Joy enjoying the ride from the bridgedeck - we have about an hour to get to our destination.
We leave the shoreline quickly behind in our wake.
The sister dive boat has arrived first. Although three boats were prepared this is the closest we get to any of them (this is a partial telephoto shot), being the first reef destination, the other two destinations we are on our own as each boat has a separate intinerary.
.
This is our anchor - it is used to hook onto a piece of coral outcropping at the edge of the reef. It works.
Yes this is a coral reef - would one expect this 15 miles offshore in what appears to be open sea? There is no land visible in any direction, just open horizen. Many ships have been lost over the years. Yes GPS helped us find our locations, but a number of small reefs have not been properly charted. Try seeing this in a storm!
Dive gear made ready for the anticipated plunge to the depths.
The wait is over.
Preliminary matters before the descent. Unfortunately no underwater camera - maybe in the future?
Snorkelling is great too - the best colours associated with reef life are actually within the first thirty feet of depth.
Yours truly again - there is no rush, enough time just to relax and float! The salinity in the Red sea is a little more than many ocean systems due to its smaller size, surrounded by deserts and experiencing higher heat - therefore more evaporation with little rainfall - you get the picture. Hence slightly better buoyancy.
Warm and clear - no stress here.
But it becomes time to head to the next reef system.
Some reefs are marked, or have visible out croppings, but many are not.
The anchoring process at the reefs is interesting in that the boat circles close to the reef, but not too close, to find the best spot to "hook" the anchor taking into account the direction of wind and current.
The anchor line is led out - note the clarity of the water.
Looking down the boarding ladder on the stern - bottom details can just be made out.
Off you go for the next dive.
Between the second and third dives, during our break we are served a nice hot lunch, with salad and cold drinks - quite civilized. Fortunately there is a lot of shelter from the blazing sun.
Unfortunately the trip is coming to an end as we head back to Jeddah. However we take many good memories with us having experienced a piece of mother nature that is still experiencing vitality. How many more years do we have left before this ocean ecosystem starts its decline as has begun to happen in many parts of the world?
As we enter the inlet we can observe these many small fishing boats. The catches as seen in the local fish markets are still relatively plentiful, but for how long?
It's now getting late in the afternoon as we arrive back. The National flag can be seen here. It has been a great day with another adventure completed on our life journey.
Stay tuned for others to come.
