St Johns & Zabargad

Description:

In late August 1981, the Chrisoula K got underway from Italy with a cargo of floor tiles destined for Saudi Arabia. The ship, under the command of Captain Kanellis, made safe passage across the Mediterranean Sea, One source states that Captain was on the bridge for the entire passage from Italy up to this point and then turned the helm over to another officer in order to retire for some well-earned rest. True or not, the ship continued on its passage south, steaming at full speed, when it struck the northeast corner of Abu Nuhas.
There was apparently enough damage to the hull of the ship that it was considered a total constructive loss. The 21-man crew was picked up by the Egyptian Navy based at Hurghada and delivered to Suez shortly afterwards. The ship soon began to take on water and, with her bow firmly embedded in the reef, began to sink by the stern. Eventually she settled on the bottom at the base of the reef in 20-30 meters of water.

Description:

The Thistlegorm, on the west coast of the Sinai Peninsula and 40 km from Sharm El Sheikh, is the best known and most popular wreck dive in the Red Sea. The 125m long British army freighter sank after just 18 months of her launch in April 1940. Her last voyage commenced on the 2nd of June 1941 as she sailed to Alexandria and was loaded with wartime supplies during World War II. A long list of inventory includes tanks, aircraft, armored vehicles, Jeeps and Bedford trucks.
In spite of being privately owned and operated, the HMS Thistlegorm was nevertheless fitted with a 4" anti-aircraft gun and a heavy caliber machine gun when she was drafted for war duty
But it was never to be. In the early hours of 6th October 1941 the Thistlegorm was split in 2 and sank almost instantly after being hit by 2 bombs from a German long range bomber. The hit only blew a hole in the port side of Hold no. 5 but then cargo tank ammunition ignited, causing the bulk of the damage.

Description:

This site lies off the island of Umm Gamar, or "mother of the moon" in Arabic. The south end has a shallow plateau where the moorings are positioned, this location is the most used. For first timers at Umm Gamar the dive will take place from the plateau, moving eastwards to the drop off then north along the wall. After a short swim against the current you reach three pinnacles close together, chimneys reach through the pinnacles toward the surface. After exploring this area you take advantage of the light current to drift back to the corner of the plateau where three small ergs are found, covered in glass fish. Finish the dive on the plateau exploring the numerous coral heads and reef fish. The east and west side have awesome drift dives and the northern tip has a magnificent coral garden but is only accessible in very good weathe

Description:

Carless Reef is the most famous coral shoal in the coastal area of Hurghada. This dive site is situated one hour of Hurghada, it is a mid sea reef plateau pushing up from the Abyss.
The reef itself centers on two peaks or pinnacles which brush the surface in an otherwise open sea. The valley between these pinnacles is about 12 m deep, and offers a wide range of dive possibilities for those not interested in deep diving. A few meters east of the saddle, a steep wall drops well beyond 40m, with a contoured profile offering many caves and coverlets for the more experienced diver. Large gorgonians, pushing black corals, coral fish and moray eels (large population of semi-tame moray eels), and some white tip sharks.