It is now the end of August, still very hot, and an opportunity for at least one more trip by boat for an offshore dive in the Red Sea. This time we would be snorkeling, as the skipper is still concerned over the health of his left knee. This will be the first time to don fins since late 2012.
We leave early, being picked up by transportation at 0645 to be taken to the marine & dive facility in North Jeddah.
The trip took us out of the inlet (Obhur) in North Jeddah passing boats of old and new design, and of course luxurious homes, before checking out with the Coast Guard, and heading to the open sea.
We were fortunate on this trip to run into a pod of dolphins, both on the out going trip as well as returning home. They proved to be difficult to photograph as they played in the waves moving at great speed. What majestic creatures. Maybe a symbol of good luck for what may be our last offshore boat trip into the Red Sea during this tour of duty.
Heading offshore we looked at the horizon as we left the sight of land. Offshore there is a string of coral reefs, or outcroppings, that proved difficult to see, many not properly charted on the GPS map. Boats tend to moor on the edge of these reefs. They would be difficult to see at night or during a storm, hence the evidence as shown by the number of sunken wrecks that divers frequent.
Before venturing in for a dive, a short note on some equipment.
The fins below show the difference between snorkeling fins (the smaller ones) and my SCUBA fins (the longer ones) - the aims & effort for propulsion are different. Today we would be snorkeling.
Our friend Des (first image) holds his expensive & large semi professional camera - below that is the image of my much smaller and simpler apparatus.
Clearly our aims are different.
In any event we all get wet the same way, by jumping off the stern.
I watched the SCUBA divers descend, before we headed to the face of the reef to carry out a shallow water perusal.
The Admiral ready to join me on the face of the reef.
Being late summer the water was very warm, almost like a bath in places, but feeling the intermittent swirling of cooler currents was refreshing and welcome.
Between the second and third opportunity to dive (between two locations) we had a nice break for lunch. We always enjoy this break, to rest, socialize, and look out over the blue water - one of the pleasures of anchoring offshore, away from the urban landscape.
Clearly the sun has its effects, even being cautious and using the shade as much as possible.
When we eventually leave the magic Kingdom these will be some of the opportunities we will clearly miss.
Having the coral reefs, warm water, and great visibility at one's doorstep has been a great bonus during this tour of duty.
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