Eight lucky Arden Divers have just returned from a fabulous trip to Sharm el Sheik. We dived, and stayed, with Oonas Dive Club in Naama Bay and dived from their day boat Obi Wan. As ever, we found a warm welcome with Oonas and were very well looked after, both on the boat and in the restaurant and bar.
The Red Sea delivered its hoped for summer extravaganza and we were treated to several shark sightings—grey reef and white tip reef—a plentitude of turtles, shoaling bat fish, snapper and unicorn fish, lots of eagle rays and even a manta! And, of course, all usual Red Sea suspects. At the start of the trip the water was a chilly 25°, leaving Chris Hastie feeling nostalgia for his drysuit, but it gradually warmed, reaching 27° by the time we headed home, with most of us diving in shorties and lycra. The vis was superb, even when dive guide Hass said it was rubbish. He’s clearly not used to Stoney Cove!
Everyone loves a milestone and this trip we were lucky enough to be able to celebrate several. Will Broughton completed his 200th dive with a drift along Jackson Reef, and demonstrated his outstanding photography skills—he spots the interesting angles that no one else does. He was also the wettest diver of the trip, completing 39 dives. A couple of days later on Jackfish Alley Stephanie Williams did her 100th dive. She was thrilled by her progression from her last Red Sea trip and was clearly comfortable and relaxed in the water. Sarah Lloyd did her first Red Sea dives and was blown away by the diversity and colour. She hadn’t dived in a wetsuit for 7 years and managed her buoyancy brilliantly in unfamiliar kit.
Long nose hawk fish (Chris Hastie)
Johnny Taylor was determined to master the art of DSMB deployment and set his off at the end of almost every dive, getting really skilled at it by the close of the trip. Abi Taylor faced her nervousness of currents and reported that she felt really empowered by completing some of the more challenging dives. Chris Bradbury was a fabulously supportive buddy and ran a fierce competition with dive guide Pete for the Dad Joke of the Year award. Chris Hastie demonstrated his determination to photograph a long nose hawkfish by leaving everyone clinging on in a raging current while he framed the perfect shot. And Sophie Hastie, as well as being a wonderfully facilitative force for everyone, demonstrated the importance of maintaining fashion standards underwater with a fabulously colourful pair of leggings.
There was plenty of fun out of water too, with a great après dive social scene every evening at Oonas, featuring extremely good blackberry ice-cream, the occasional beer or G&T, and a last night trip to Farsha Mountain Lounge. All in all a fabulous trip. Huge thanks to everyone who came for making it such a success and for being such great buddies. Here’s to many more fantastic Arden Divers trips!
