Diving Through Egypt

Diving Through Egypt

Red Sea diving was carried out once upon a time through Egypt by Shipwreck (A). Though now, this can only be the topic of discussion. Shipwrecks have been preserved in ‘National Maritime Museum’ now.

  Shipwreck (A) can be described as a cargo ship made up of steel, sitting upright, practically undamaged and having a length of around 30 m. Frankly speaking, she can be said to be intact and complete with potholes in place. The telegraphs, Bell, and compass are found on Bridge. If any diver throws a glance at it right now, he would feel that the vessel had been underway. There is also a Shipwreck (B). It has similar structure, condition, and attitude as above. The only difference is that all those brass fillings no more exist.

The Thistlegorm

At present, ‘M.V Miss Nouran’ is the boat operating in ‘Red Sea’. It is generally secured to the ‘Thistlegorm’s anchor chains’ at bows. The irony of the situation is that the life of the Thistlegorm is endangered by the Diving Boats that tie up to the wreck’s shallower reaches, like the Bridge. At times, these boats also end up being tied to one another. The weight of the larger boats is around 20 tons. The diver can imagine the effect of their combined force which is not at all withstood by even a single boat. The effect can be described as catastrophic.

Present scenario

Right now, many huge sections of Thistlegorm’s Bridge are being found on seabed, on the side of starboard, as well as hanging down, swaying precariously by the port side. These have been pulled off through Diving Boats dependent on the above ship for livelihood. Not to forget, the Thistlegorm can still provide an unbelievable experience. Those WW2 motorcycles and vehicles can be found on the ship. The vehicles give the feeling of emptiness to the divers. The motorcycles have now been pushed over. This is because divers have got something for taking home.

Gone are the days of tool kits, twist grips, pedals, and badges. As far as other vehicles are concerned, just a few ‘Steering Wheels’ are left. The worst part of it is that for getting at the steering wheels, divers have to forcibly make their way through the bonnet or roof of every vehicle. Thus, one can imagine the damage done in acquiring a trophy. The other delights of the vessel include production of curious conflict within every caring diver.

An unknown fact

Very few people know that the Thistlegorm has been voted as ‘The most outstanding accessible shipwreck’ in the world. Experts have predicted that it is certain to remain ‘The World’s Foremost Diving Attraction’ in the forthcoming years. However, it has not been maintained properly. Hence, the decline is very fast. Efforts need to be made to prevent it from becoming a distant memory.

The vessel takes the divers to Bluff Point. This is the place where the least shipwreck remnant is found (around 12 m). In short, an ideal night dive should consist of a tiny wreck, well-lit boat, and sheltered spot.


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