Under The Red Sea In Photos

[ricki]

Martin Stepanek and David Cani of FII took a bunch of free divers from the Czech Republic and some from the USA on a liveaboard trip to the Red Sea off southern Egypt recently. The Deeper Blue article with an in depth look at the trip, dive spots and experiences is in preparation. For now, just a collection of photos at:


Lots more photos in high resolution in larger format at: [ame=http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=8709]Beneath The Red Sea In Photos - FKA Kiteboarding Forums[/ame]

 

[ricki]

Just added some more images.

 

[Salehthefish]

Amazing!!! thanks 4 sharing...

 

[ricki]

Thank you and you're welcome! Put up an interesting video of a drop beside a wall in deep water off a scha'ab at: [ame=http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=8705]The Dive Sled - BIZARRE FII Red Sea Safari Video - FKA Kiteboarding Forums[/ame]

 

[Lil Dragonfly]

Thank you for the pics

I love the Red Sea. I've never been there, but I have lots of framed photos of it in my bedroom.

 

[vali]

whoaaaaa!!!!!!
great pictures....yeyyyy!!!!

 

[ricki]

Thanks folks!

Just put up a video of scooter free diving with a pod of several dozen spinner dolphins for an extended period. Felt real lucky to be able to grab the footage given the tendency of the dolphins to swim off from divers dropped from boats.

[ame=http://fksa.org/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=8720]Diving With The Dolphins Of Sataya (Dolphin Reef), Red Sea - A Video - FKA Kiteboarding Forums[/ame]

g

Rick

 

[cdavis]

Truly a wonderful trip. Thanks for sharing.


Connor

 

[ricki]

Yes, it was Connor and you're welcome! Still have to complete the article for Deeper Blue which should be done soon. The next video should deal with the favorite dive of the trip for many, the Labyrinth (Sha'ab Claudia). It is a shallow reef terrace with steep sides dropping of to 5 to 20 m. Half of it is riddled with diver-sized caves which you can swim through and surface among. As I was on a sit on top scooter, going through most of them wasn't much of a problem shooting video most of thew way. Should be interesting, stay tuned.

 

[ricki]

Added some more shots to:
[ame=http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=92]Something Rich And Strange ... Diving Tales From The Water Underworld - FKA Kiteboarding Forums[/ame]

 

[cdavis]

It is so fabulous to see health coral again. In the Caribbean, most people don't have any idea what a healthy reef looks like.

Thanks Ricki.

Will there be an encore to this trip?

Connor

 

[ricki]

Yes, it is. There were some areas with even more remarkable coral than others. I used to study reefs years back. Seeing stressed coral in most places I went and the desire to try something new actually drove me away from diving for almost a decade. I hear what you are saying. Back again now though and having a blast. I have some images from some really nice reefs still to process and put up.

I believe FII will be running the Red Sea Free Diving Safari as an annual event. I would monitor F.I.I. Freediving Instructors International - from the beginner to the instructor and sign up for their newsletter so you'll have a heads up on dates in advance. A SCUBA liveaboard wouldn't have gotten me to the Red Sea at this point but free diving, particularly bringing a scooter along was just the thing. Honza and the crew at Lighthouse Dive Center are not only good at running charters but understand how to get things done in Egypt which can be a challenge at times.

More videos and stills to come!

 

[ricki]

Hope to nail some unusual shark feeding behavior shots this weekend. See you on Monday. A few more, these are from reefs off Hurghada. Despite being in the north, more crowed and developed area, the corals look very good. At least once you move away from the normal tie up spot.

The Reef. Takes me back, when I was a kid, impeccable reefs, overseas anyway, were commonplace. Not so much anymore, still you can see some mighty fine healthy corals in places here.

Full sized images at:
[ame=http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=92]Something Rich And Strange ... Diving Tales From The Water Underworld - FKA Kiteboarding Forums[/ame]

 

[Old Man Dave]

Great pics and video on this thread. It's the sort of thing I don't look for but stumble across on DB and it's a joy. Thanks and well done ricki.

Dave.

 

[ricki]

Thanks Dave, appreciate your comments! More to come ... and got some killer shark video and stills over the weekend (NOT from the Red Sea.) The project list keeps growing.

A fairly normal feeding shot. Hope the video comes out a bit different from what folks usually bring back.