June 2013 liveaboard - difficulty choosing

[kjr]

We are two trying to decide on a liveaboard and route for the last week of June. Really having a hard time deciding and I have not really found many reviews.

I hear the North is great in June for peak season in terms of fish numbers, esp. Ras Mohamed, and all the Northern circuits do Thistlegorm which is supposed to be a no-miss. Is day boat/liveaboard traffic so terribly high and are reefs really in poor condition?

Brothers Islands and Elphinstone sound great, particularly for more pristine condition (apparently) but a couple of concerns. Although we are both Rescue divers with 100+ and 200+ dives, the idea of super strong currents and big waves doesn't sound very relaxing. Also one other hiccup is my son only has his most current logbook (the other full ones are packed in storage at a university dorm!) which only contains his last 7 dives (dive numbers 117 and up). When they ask for 30 logged dives, do they have to see all 30? (Probably at least 50 of his dives were with me as his buddy, and I do have all my logbooks...)

I would love to improve photography skills but on the photo safaris, how do they differ (if at all) from regular safaris? Would a non-photographer be affected?

Ideally, we would like operator with great reputation, nice boat with good food, maximum number of dives, Nitrox, good value for money, and nice mix of nationalities, if possible. Most of our diving has been in Roatan so we haven't seen much big stuff; we love long dives where we can poke around and explore. This is the first liveaboard, so having a really hard time making a decision. (Except that it is definitely on, have flights purchased already.)

Options are:

Snefro Love - Sinai Classic route
Emperor Asmaa - Fury and Friends
Blue o Two Blue Horizon - In Focus Red Sea North with Saeed Rashid
Blue o Two Blue Melody - Deep South Borderlands
Blue o Two Blue Voyager - Brothers & Elphinstone
Red Sea Explorers MV Tala - North and Brothers
Red Sea Explorers MV Nouran - North
Mistral - North - Intro to Photography with Paul Duxfield

In terms of price, the Emperor Asmaa is least expensive (also seems less deluxe); the Snefro Love is the next best price, and the Blue o Two Deep South is double the price of the Asmaa. So the most expensive is twice the price as the least expensive. I am willing to pay a higher price for a significant difference in quality, but with a scarcity of reviews, it is hard to determine.

Your comments most welcome!

 

[TSandM]

Well, I can say I have done two trips on the MV Tala, and I don't think you can have a better time on a liveaboard than you do on that boat. The boat isn't terribly fancy (no marble sinks) and the food is good and there's lots of it, but it wouldn't win any prizes in a culinary competition. The cabins are spacious and comfortable and everything works, which is not always true on boats. The dive deck is very well laid out to allow people to gear up without crowding, and the boat has a SUPERB ladder (I mention this because I complained about the original one, and when we came back, Faisal had fixed it!). The dive crew are excellent -- friendly, helpful without being obtrusive, and efficient. The owner, who makes most if not all of the trips, is Faisal Khalaf, who is a delightful madcap man who is as comfortable underwater as he is on land, and his goal is that every guest on the boat have as much fun as is humanly possible.

Diving off the Tala is what you want it to be -- if you want guides, you'll get them; if you prefer a good site briefing and a wave goodbye, you'll get that. Except where the sailing schedule demands it, there are no maximum dive times. Nitrox is de rigeur (although not included in the base price). There are scooters for rent on the boat, and Faisal will sweet talk you into trying one, and they're fun.

We did both the northern itinerary (twice) and the southern. I liked both. There are more wrecks in the north, and although I am not really a wreck person, I really enjoyed them. They are "real" wrecks, with history, and are heavily adorned with marine life. Scootering three wrecks in one dive is a kick! We did do some reef diving, other than the Brothers Islands, and I actually thought the reefs were quite nice and we saw a lot of critters. The southern itinerary was more like the Brothers, with a lot of big walls (Elphinstone and Daedalus) and also my favorite things, the "habilis", or submerged reefs, which were a riot of corals in all colors and shapes, and supported a large population of reef animals.

I don't think you can go wrong with either direction, and I can wholeheartedly recommend the Tala as a fantastic liveaboard experience.

 

[Crowley]

I recently left Sharm after working there for four years and although I have no idea what this year will bring, the general opinion was - and still is - that it's unlikely to be a bumper year for tourism. We sort of generally agreed that the second year after the revolution would hit the hardest. In that time, however, there was a significant improvement in the health of the reefs - less divers and fewer snorkel boats certainly had an impact - fish that hadn't been seen for several years suddenly made a comeback - and 35 hammerheads seen in Tiran would be the first time this has happened in 20-odd years.

June is not usually the busiest time in the North - it's very, very hot, and there tends to be a regular amount of business, but not like the manic thronging on the reefs of high season, which is October-ish. All through last year, with a bit of forward planning, I could get even Shark and Yolanda almost to myself, and I had some awesome dives at Thistlegorm (which is, indeed, a no-miss) with only a few other boats on the wreck.

For recommendations, since I no longer work there, I can certainly put you in touch with Sinai Divers if you wish to do a North Safari. The MY Ghazala I was the first liveaboard in the Northern Egyptian Red Sea... she's definitely no frills and pretty basic but you can definitely expect a quality service!

Blue 02 come very highly recommended - you can try contacting samaka for more info as he was a long-term guide there, although like me, he has also left Egypt for beaches new. Also you can try bluewater safaris (MY Independence II) - I don't know a lot about them but I have a couple of friends working there that I would definitely recommend as guides. The guests are mostly German. The Tala I don't know but I've seen her around, she looks impressive, and comes with TSandM's recommendation, which is high praise indeed. There's one boat on your list of which I am not a big fan at all but I'm not going to dis them in public and it's probably more of a personal opinion than anything else.

Another company to look at is the Tornado Fleet. They tend to be a little pricier but are one of the most reputable safari companies in the Red Sea, based in Hurghada. My former company uses them to book South Safaris after we had to stop running our own (became too costly)

That may well have added to your indecision rather than helped, but some more food for thought!

When it comes to number of logged dives - you'll find that some companies will ask, others will trust you to be honest about that. It's pretty obvious to guides and instructors if somebody is claiming experience they don't have.

With regards to Big Stuff - it's never guaranteed anywhere in the Red Sea - even in the peak season for Longimanus sightings (October-ish), I've heard stories where one week you almost have to push them out of the way to get in the water, and the next week, nothing at all. Sightings of bigger things do seem to be on the increase in the North, but the South is usually considered to be better for that sort of thing.

Hope that helps. As I say I'm not there any more but if you have any questions please just shout.

Cheers

Crowley

 

[Solly]

Is your son having his own diving computer with # of dives saved in it?
together with the empty logbook it should be ok... even your word would count but you have to talk to the operator about this specific condition first.

The harsh conditions in brothers is true, though I have been there twice and in both times it was dead calm sea !!! but I was more than lucky.... it is just worth the trouble.

Enjoy your week