TECH DIVE SITES AND WRECKS - GUBAL STRAITS
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Click on the highlighted dive sites to view descriptions:
Wreck of the Thistlegorm
To most, this wreck needs no introduction. In October 1941 she was at anchor behind Shab Ali and awaiting orders to move up through the Suez canal to deliver a cargo of munitions to the British troops in north Africa when German aircraft bombed the 129m British freighter. The cargo is still virtually intact and includes railway locomotives, bren gun carriers, trucks motorcycles and a host of ammunition of all sizes. That's the best place for extensive wreck penetration. The wreck is home to bat fish, jacks, barracudas, surgeon fish, nudibranchs and rabbit fish graze the hull.
Only from an Emperor Safari boat
Wreck of the Rosalie Moller
This wreck lies in the channel north of Gubal Island and is a dive only for the more experienced as the visibility can be reduced and the wreck swept by strong currents on occassions. She was on her way to Alexandria with a cargo of coal when she was sunk by German aircraft on the 7th October 1941, just two days after the Thistlegorm. Originally named the Francis she was launched in 1910, she was then purchased by the Moller Line in 1931 and renamed after the grandchild of one of the company directors. The wreck is in pristine condition, and home to prolific fish life and a magnificent array of hard and soft corals, she is 108mts long and sits upright on an even keel with the bow at 39mts and the keel in 50mts. The top of the mast is at 17mts. She is rarely dived due to her position and can only be accessed in the best of weather.
From the Emperor Divers Dive Centre in Hurghada
Abu Nuhas
Also known as the 'Ships Graveyard', this reef is dangerously positioned close to the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Suez. This reef has claimed more ships than any other in the area. On the north side are four wrecks laying on a sandy seafloor at the bottom of a steep sloping reef layered with table corals. The wrecks are sometimes inaccessible in anything other than a RIB or inflatable due to the heavy swell driving down the length of the gulf.
Giannis D
This Greek freighter hit the reef in April 1983 and over the course of two weeks slowly broke in two and sank. She is the most dived wreck here, Laying in 28m and leaning to port with a fully intact stern section and an impressive engine room packed with glass fish. Locally known as the 'wood' wreck for the cargo it was carrying when it sank. The bow is also very interesting but is a long swim out. She is a great wreck for penetration but beware of disorientation due to the angle at which she lays. Be weary of the many lion fish and scorpion fish that call this wreck home, and watch out strong surges in and around the wreck in rough weather.
Carnatic
A British P & O steamer which struck the reef in 1869, and sank the next day as the weather worsened. She was a passenger and mail ship and is sometimes known as the 'wine' wreck for the numerous bottles once found in the holds, sadly not many now remain to be seen. Rumor has it that she sank with forty thousand pounds sterling of gold bullion, much of which was never recovered. She lays in 29m and now the whole hull is draped in multi-coloured soft corals and the inner areas are full of glass fish complete with red mouthed grouper sentinel. One davit supports a beautiful table coral. The wreck is now home to large grouper, octopus and morays and jacks and tuna cruise overhead.
Chrisoula K
Another Greek ship which sank in 1976, now laying in 30m is fully laden with stone floor tiles and sometimes called the 'tile' wreck for obvious reasons. Early morning divers may find a white tip reef shark sleeping under the rudder at the stern. Be weary of very limited and small entry/exit points into the engine room, however, penetration of the wreck has to be done with extreme care due to the unstable nature of the wreck.
Olden
Not a lot is known about this wreck except that it struck the reef in 1981 and is locally known as the 'lentil' wreck for the cargo she carried. Lying in 31m and completely on its starboard side exposing its huge hull on one side and gaping cargo holds on the other. Growth on the hull is fairly sparse due to the position and current. Large morays live in the scattered remains of wreckage on the starboard side and bat fish circle the topside. Most of the fish in the vicinity of the wreck are overweight from dining on the lentils leaching from the sacks once contained in her holds.
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Dive Locations:
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