|
A
problem which always faces the travelling underwater photographer,
both budding and experienced, is how to ensure that he or
she joins a group which has similar interests. All too often,
after months of planning and substantial investment in equipment,
film and the cost of the trip, the photographer is faced with
a group of divers who may be depth hounds or wreck fanatics.
This comment is by no means intended to belittle these interest,
its just simply that these activities are rarely compatible
with the needs of the underwater photographer. The photographer's
preference is normally for an uncrowded boat, shallow photogenic
sites with plenty of marine life, perhaps daily E6 processing
and most of all the opportunity to make long and unhurried
dives with the knowledge that other divers in the group will
respect his "water space".
The
idea of photographic workshops, which combine these crucial
elements, is not a new one. A further advantage for the less
experienced photographer is the presence of an experienced
photographer who is on hand to offer help and advice, process
the day's film, and provide constructive criticism or praise
on the day's results. The most recent of these workshops was
organised by Oonasdivers during March on board MV Sally sailing
from Sharm El Sheik in the Red Sea. Our group of six photographers
ranged in experience from raw beginner to film maker and in
age from 16 to over 50. On the face of it, a very mixed party,
but all individuals had the common goal of photography which
ensured a successful week and plenty of lively conversation.
The
Sally emerged as the ideal vessel for the trip. She is stable,
provides clean and comfortable accommodation for up to eight
divers (our group was restricted to six for additional space),
has a preparation and charging area dedicated to underwater
cameras and boasts an excellent cuisine and a well-stocked
bar! The vessel is skippered by Udo Fischer, an affable German
sea dog who has over eleven years experience in the Red Sea.
This fact alone ensured that the diving sites chosen are some
of the least known and dived, and therefore best preserved,
but is further enhanced by the fact that the Sally is one
of the few boats which is Egyptian registered. Only Egyptian
flag vessels are allowed to visit Tiran Island, which boasts
countless unspoiled reefs, where you are unlikely to encounter
more than one or two other dive boats; and certainly not the
hoards which frequent the big name sites on the Sinai coast.
During our week we anchored over night with one other boat,
but always had the dive sites exclusively to ourselves.
We
visited a variety of sites and had one or two memorable experiences.
Although part of the week was blighted by a plankton bloom,
very unusual in the Red Sea, all the group were able to progress
and produce some excellent results. To wet the appetite, I
have summarised below the major sites that we photographed.
The
Temple
This
is a site very close to Sharm El Sheik and often used as a
check out dive site by the live aboard boats. It is also much
frequented by day boats from Sharm. I first visited the site
in 1976 when the area was totally undeveloped and was therefore
able to appreciate how much the site has changed over the
years with the build up of diver traffic. The site still has
some very nice features, notably a large gully or swim through
in the reef which is filled with soft corals and is very photogenic.
There are also several large Napoleon or Hump head Wrasse
resident on the site, which are willing to come extremely
close.
Ras
um Sid
This
site is a little further north up the coast from the Temple,
in easy range of day boats. It was best known for its large
Gorgonian fan corals and these can still be found in all their
glory at about 20m depth. The best coral is found further
up the coast from the point, perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 a mile, where
a gentle current will drift you back to Ras um Sid, to be
picked up by your dive boat.
Ras
Nasrani
Continuing
further up the coast brings you to the attractive reef of
Ras Nasrani. The reef almost breaks the surface and slopes
gently to a plateau at about 25m. The corals are in good condition
and the reef is well populated with all the expected Red Sea
species. We found some particularly ugly Stone fish as a well
as a number of very colourful species of nudibranchs.
Jackson
Reef
The
reef lies between the Sinai coast and Tiran Island and is
swept by some very strong currents. This, coupled with some
spectacular drop offs into deep water, provides the potential
for sighting large pelagics and the occasional shark. Although
the site is well dived the reef is still in good condition,
probably due to the fact that most dives are drift dives.
In order to avoid the inevitable diver congestion it is necessary
to dive the site early in the morning before the day boats
arrive from Sharm. In our case this meant a pre-breakfast
dive at about 7.00 a.m., which is a good time to dive as the
day time reef is just coming to life and many fish are more
approachable then later in the day.
Gordon
Reef
The
reef lies close to Jackson and consequently is a very similar
dive. We encountered large shoals of Sheep's Heads, Garfish
and bright yellow Goat Fish, which were very co-operative.
Gordon represents the limit for non-Egyptian registered boats.
Our next stop was Tiran Island itself.
Tiran
Island
The
island lies almost mid way in the Straits of Tiran, between
the Sinai Peninsula and the coast of Saudi Arabia. Its geology
and topography are the same as that of the mainland and it
therefore offers the same variety of diving sites, from tranquil
lagoons with shallow coral gardens to spectacular drop offs
with everything in between. The major benefit is that this
great diversity is found in a small area so that the boat
is able to anchor in a quiet cove at night and between dives,
and it is then only a short run to one of the many dive sites.
Most of these are unnamed, and their corals are in excellent
condition. Fish life is less wary of divers than on the mainland
sites. We had numerous dives around the island, but the three
below stand out in my memory.
Thomas
Reef
This
is a classic Red Sea reef with a fringing shallow coral garden
on a narrow submerged beach giving way to a spectacular drop
off into the blue depths. There are many pelagic shoals here
and we had sightings of Jacks, Barracuda, and cruising Eagle
Rays. A gentle current makes for an almost effortless dive.
The
shark cave
Almost
all week Udo had been telling us about his secret cave, where
we would be guaranteed to see sleeping sharks. We were initially
skeptical of the description of more than twenty sharks crammed
into a single cave at one time, but we were not disappointed
with the reality. Udo led us (somewhere on Tiran Island),
as it would have been impossible to find it unaided, to a
very narrow horizontal opening in the reef wall at about 17m.
Sure enough there were sharks, thirteen White Tips in all,
sleeping one on top of another and mostly facing towards the
reef. The opening is so narrow that a diver can only just
get his head into the cave and the sharks tails are then no
more than 18 inches away! A distinctly warm current can be
felt coming out of the cave, which is one possible reason
for the sharks congregating, although it has been suggested
that the large numbers are due to the fact that the sharks
are all pregnant females resting.
In
order to get a reasonable image a very wide-angle lens is
the best tool. I pre-focussed my 16 mm fish eye lens and then
poked both housing and flash into the cave separately at arms
length. After several bracketed shots the flash had the undesired
effect of waking one of the sharks. As the shark struggled
to get out of the cave I was torn between self preservation
and the need to get the housing out of the cave without scratching
the dome port! As the shark shot away above us, all Udo could
do was to laugh at me!
The
Pinnacles
Udo
has several "protected" sites around Tiran Island, but this
was definitely the most memorable. Here there were five pinnacles
rising from a maximum depth of 15m almost to the surface.
Each is slightly different, but you have the feeling that
the combination offers all the Red Sea species on one dive
and all of them are seemingly fearless of diver intrusion.
We saw shoaling Banner Fish, Sweetlips, glassy Sweepers, Crocodile
Fish, Stone Fish, Eagle ray, Morays, and lots more including
one large stubborn Grouper which refused to move no matter
how close you came. The procedure here was just to change
your tank and film, decide what you wanted to photograph next,
flop into the water and swim to the appropriate pinnacle.
The variety of corals was stunning, including some very large
gorgonians with resident Hawk Fish, and their condition was
pristine. Udo saved this dive site to the end of the week
and in my opinion was certainly a grand finale, like turning
the clock back to 1976 when I first visited the Red Sea.
In
conclusion, I feel that many underwater photographers will
find the concept of a workshop, whether they come for guidance
or the company, very beneficial. Travelling to Sharm El Sheik
is now much simpler, with direct flights, and it is only a
short ride away from the airport to the jetty, where you board
your boat and sail away from the crowds. Despite the continued
development of the area, there is still some great diving
to be found!
Reproduced
from in focus 45 June 1992
with kind permission of Mark Webster (http://www.photec.co.uk/)
|
