Diary of a freediver, Marsa Alam, Part 1

[Boomstick]

Shagra Eco Village is where we were based with what I remember as a 30m house line, and isn't exposed at all, neither was a few of the coves we dived in and as for depth, well if Elphinstone isn't deep enough for you then you must be part fish?

[Marwan]

yes but bear in mind that it is very rare to find elphinstone in these glassy conditions, the underwater currents there are normally pretty strong too..
good story man, i know that oceanic white tip, hes a resident shark at the south tip... seems hes got a mate now i dont like the bugger very inquisitive and unpredicatable.... he bumped into divers before, and hes big..does give your heart a run for the money....but never attacked so thats good... shagara is a great place, i went there the first time in 96 there was nothing there, just a few tents.. they didnt have a RIB either, you had to go to elphinstone with an old fishing skiff...but on the upside nobody was at elphinstone at the time, no boats,no liveaboards nothing....first time there we were lucky with the weather like you... at the northtip we saw a panorama of grey reef sharks over 12 of them....its a spiritual place even last year t the same spot we saw about 14 hammerheads, so its still a healthy reef....if you do come back to egypt i suggest that next time you visit the far islands, the brothers and dadelus reef, they are 10 hours apart by boat, has to be a live aboard, but these are the best dive sites in egyptian waters followed by elphinstone (which you could combine in the same itenerary
cheers

[Marwan]

sam,
elphinstone goes to about 80 meters deep in the south tip, not sure about how deep in the north, i dont think its possible to have a line there, the only place would be the south tip and thats where the boats are moored, sometimes over 10 in tandem, no way can there be a diving line there... shagara is one of the very few places accessible from shore and it doesnt go down to the 60m you need as far as i can remember, unless if you go outside the bay where it can get exposed

[samdive]

don't fancy freediving elphinstone thanks - too rough too many boats and too much current

went and had a look at shagra eco village just before christmas and it wasn't really deep enough for any serious training, they reckoned 35m max - we'll stick with sharm for now!

thanks though

[Boomstick]

Originally Posted by samdive

don't fancy freediving elphinstone thanks - too rough too many boats and too much current

We must have been really lucky then because it was like glass when we were there and there was only a couple of boats.

good story man, i know that oceanic white tip, hes a resident shark at the south tip... seems hes got a mate now i dont like the bugger very inquisitive and unpredicatable.... he bumped into divers before, and hes big..does give your heart a run for the money

Thanks, and yes, he does make your heart flutter, especially when you don't see him till the last minute

[Boomstick]

It was 1 year ago today that I had the encounter with sharks, doesn't time fly?

[Haydn]

Me too, the video is my favourite and makes me shiver and smile every time I watch it. Hey, maybe I could download it. Its only 5 seconds. Anyone know how to do it, then you can all see just how close it got. I could have kissed it, if I wasnt frozen to the spot. Was it really a year ago...........Oh, my ear is now diagnosed as hearing impaired, all frequencies are below normal and the tinitis is still loud. I get a hearing aid soon and the doc said to give up freediving, as if the heart (now fixed) and the diaphram still broken, wasnt bad enough and with the summer upon us. Its not fair, the Lilly Pad will have to do for this summer. But you havent seen my raft yet..............

[fcallagy]

Sorry to hear that Haydn, hope all gets better soon. Best Wishes

[Boomstick]

Originally Posted by Haydn

Oh, my ear is now diagnosed as hearing impaired, all frequencies are below normal and the tinitis is still loud. I get a hearing aid soon and the doc said to give up freediving.......

Sorry to read about that Haydn, thats one of perils of diving as you know i stuffed up my ear out there too.
( just not as well as you did)

Dan