Red Sea
Adventure 2000
I thought it would be
interesting for other members of the club to get an idea of the type of
Club Holidays we have. In February, nine of us set off to Hurgarda in
Egypt for a weeks ‘liveboard’. The boat was the very luxurious ‘MV
Oyster’ which was a five star floating hotel. Our crew did everything
for us, form taking our kit off (well, I don’t think that Jenny quite
got there with Yung!) to placing sweets on our pillow at night. This was
not a cheap liveboard!
We kept a wally table for the
most stupid diving related incident – I think that the two Robs (Smith
and Wilkins) came joint first the night they set off in a howling gale on
a night dive. Each claimed that the other got lost, but as they surfaced
together all was ok.
Oh what fond memories of the
blazing sun…..not! The weather at this time of year was ‘inclement’
and the sun rarely shone – good job we had our fleeces and Ally had his
Smoking Jacket. We dived in the Red Sea which looked more like a rough day
in Folkestone at 6am. Still we are hard Hackney Divers and thrive on this
adventure.
Despite the weather on top,
below the water the views were breathtaking. We saw whole shoals of
beautiful fish that I’ve forgotten the names of…. except the White
Tipped Reef Shark, which someone caught sight of in 10 metres of water.
(sorry Lis, just had to get that in!!) We also saw turtles and a pride of
sleeping reef Sharks at 45 metres. Sorry 30 metres as that was of course
the depth limit of our diving.
Highlights of the Holiday??
The Dolphins – we were moored outside Hurgarda and when the Dolphins
were spotted, all jumped into the Rib, with no time to put on our suits,
just snorkels and masks. The rib followed the Dolphins and we all stuck
our heads in the water to see the amazing sight of a pride of 15 with 2
babies following the contours of the seabed. It was beautiful to watch.
Other lasting memories….Nena’s
small cry of help as she fell backwards off the Rib with her
Twins…….Rob Smith’s male model exploits on the Quad Bikes… Ged’s
surreal conversations ….Yungs enforced night dive in a vain search for
his wallet, and the kindness of the crew who rallied round afterwards…..
and of course the amazing food.
It was certainly an excellent
holiday – the diving was great and the boat superb. I can highly
recommend a Club Holiday as a way of relaxing, and getting to know your
fellow members. The video is, of course, available for viewing!
