Trip report: Liveaboard 'Salsabel'

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ArthurGerla

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Trip report liveaboard ‘Salsabel’

Some of you may have seen my post asking for information about this boat, which I booked on impulse after being offered a really low price. Well, I’m back and here’s my trip report.

The offer entailed a week on this ship for 350 euro, an unusually low rate which caused several Scubaboard members to warn me to stay away from it. I especially liked the one who wrote: “Sounds fishy. Have you already paid?” ;-)
Indeed, there are stories going around about leaky old boats, safety concerns, unannounced surcharges halfway through the week, etcetera. I decided to go through with it because I had previously done business with the Dutch agent and don’t mind some ‘surprises’ along the way.

The first surprise was the low interest for the trip. The boat needs a minimum number of passengers to make a profit on a trip (in this case: twelve) but even at this low price bookings only trickled in. Eventually I resorted to promoting it myself at my local diving club. Luckily I could find enough people willing to come. I contacted the owners of the ship, an Egyptian-Dutch couple from El Gouna, via the internet to arrange some details and this really livened things up for our group.

The second surprise caused a bit more aggravation: The owners told us just a few days before departure that, due to problems with paperwork beyond their control, the boat could not sail from Marsa Alam as previously arranged. Instead we would leave from Hurghada. This would spare us a four hour bus ride in the dark from Hurghada airport to Marsa Alam, but force us to navigate southwards by boat through some relatively empty stretches of coastline to get to the interesting reefs like Elphinstone.

We arrived in Hurghada at nine in the evening after an uneventful flight and were transferred to the boat by minibus. After settling in we made a final stroll on terra firma along the boulevard and went to sleep, ready to sail the next morning.

As we discovered, leaving port in Egypt involves lengthy discussions with the authorities. But eventually we cast off and headed out to Ras Desha, a relatively boring spot, for a check dive. Once we left the shelter of the islands the waves increased quite a bit but we pushed on to Safaga’s Middle Reef in one go. We anchored for a night dive, a bit of sleep and an early morning dive and spent the next day moving on to Ras Torombi. At this spot, just north of Marsa Alam airport and the new harbour at Ghalib, we ended the day with -you guessed it- another night dive.

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We had now left the long stretches of empty coastline behind us and the wind subsided at last, which was a blessing for the ‘nautically challenged’ among us. We went to bed early and hardly noticed leaving again in the middle of the night. We woke up at Elphinstone! Here we hoped to find the large game we had come to see. Last summer I had the pleasure to snorkel here with oceanic whitetip sharks, and in november at least five of these big boys were circling the liveaboards moored at the south plateau, curiously checking out the groups of divers ascending at the end of their dive. This time we planned to dive deep at the north end of the reef, where at dawn groups of hammerheads are said to pass by. This dive turned out differently. For the first time I witnessed why Elphinstone is considered an advanced dive. At thirty meters depth there was a current running out to open sea that was just too strong to swim against, and we had to claw our way across the coral to get to the other side. We spent our remaining air swimming to the south plateau, but the only shark action consisted of a whitetip reef shark passing below us. We made three long dives that day, but the big sharks didn’t show themselves.

The following days went by according to a fixed rhythm: Wake up, dive, eat, sleep, dive, eat, sleep, dive, eat, sleep, and repeat from the top. We moved northwards again, stopping at Shaab Abu Dabab, Ras Shona, Abu Kefan and the notorious wreck of the Salem Express. This wreck leaves a deep and lasting impression. Many hundreds died when its captain decided to take a shortcut and hit a reef at full speed in the dead of night. We can only imagine the horrible scenes that must have transpired as lights went out and the water rushed in. Even today the sea floor is littered with the luggage of pilgrims returning from the Hadj. Suitcases, radios, a tricycle ... Life boats lay unused on the bottom, witnesses to the speed with which this roll-on-roll-off ferry went down. We dove the wreck on our own, as this is one dive the guides would rather skip. Now, fifteen years later, Mother Nature is finally taking ownership of the wreck. Hard and soft corals grow in graceful lines along the ships curves, holding on to the rows of rivets on the hull.

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Water temperatures averaged around 22 degrees, and the breeze often caused us to shiver after we left the water. Luckily the wind decreased during the week, and at Panorama Reef near Safaga we finally got the flat sea we had been hoping for. On the way there we were accompanied for a short while by a large pod of dolphins who took turns to surf our bow wave. Other life we encountered included octopus and squid, giant moray eels, turtles, barracuda (both the large and the yellow-finned kind), and various crustaceans and the beautiful Spanish Dancer slug on night dives. This gave us plenty of opportunities to try out our digital cameras, the result of which you can see here: http://www.lakediving.nl/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=thumbnails&album=114&cat=0&page=1 .

The sixth and final day on board saw us approaching Hurghada again, for a final dive at Aquarium. On the way out we had poured scorn on the suggestion of diving anywhere near Hurghada, and as we drew near we were discouraged by the sight of seven other boats at our intended mooring site. We hadn’t seen anything so crowded all week! As it turned out the dive was a worthy end to the weeks diving, thanks to the presence of two large Napoleon groupers and a huge school of fearless yellow-finned barracudas. The remainder of the day was spent rinsing out equipment and, once evening had fallen, fishing for squid for the barbecue while we fraternized with the crew around the water pipe. After a short night under the full moon we disembarked to lounge on the beach next to the El Gouna Marina until our flight back to Holland left in the evening.

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About the ship

Salsabel is a wooden ship that has undergone a refitting about a year ago. It is well maintained and has an uncluttered, almost spartan appearance. It offers both northern and southern routes from its home port of Hurhada, but its wooden hull makes it less suitable for trips out to the Brothers and Daedalus islands. While it doesn’t offer the amenities of the new larger and steel-hulled ships (which I’m told now includes such silliness as jacuzzi hot tubs and heli pads) I feel it offers everything you might need as long as the objective is a dive trip instead of a luxury cruise.
I can only compare Salsabel with Asmaa, on which I spent a week last summer. Asmaa is run by Emperor, a large and professional organization that employs European guides. These guys spent a lot of time checking the guests remaining air, maximum depths and such. On Salsabel the attitude was more relaxed, but this may have had something to do with the fact that my group was pretty experienced and had brought four instructors along. Anyway we had no reason to worry about safety. When we asked to see the oxygen, radio, first aid kit and such these were produced without hesitation. During the week we were discreetly watched over, and no funny business occurred.
Salsabel carries a single zodiac with a capacity of eight divers, which means that on several occasions we had to be ferried to the drop spot in groups and assemble under water or proceed separately.

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Asmaa is a bit more luxureous, offering teak decks, personal bathrobes for each guest, and en suite showers and toilets with each hut. But Salsabel is a good ship with an equally friendly crew. The captain takes his responsibilities seriously, the cook performs miracles in the tiny galley, and the air is plentiful and clean thanks to the twin electric compressors. The owners of the boat are open to the requests and requirements of the guests. I would recommend the ship to everyone but the most spoilt divers. A liveaboard is the best way to discover the wonders of the Red Sea, as long as you don’t mind the lack of nightlife and antiquities that you might enjoy on shore. You’re guaranteed to be among people with similar interests, and the food on board is better than in the hotels where I’ve stayed. I’m certainly going again!

Art
 
Looks like you just wrote a nice testimonial... :)
 
ArthurGerla:
Trip report liveaboard ‘Salsabel’

I especially liked the one who wrote: “Sounds fishy. Have you already paid?” ;-)

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Arthur. I am the one who wrote "sounds fishy...". However I want to clearify that this comment had nothing to do with the boat or the price you paid. It had to do with the rumours you heard about some of the sites in the south of Egypt being closed.

/christian
 
ArthurGerla:
For the first time I witnessed why Elphinstone is considered an advanced dive. At thirty meters depth there was a current running out to open sea that was just too strong to swim against, and we had to claw our way across the coral to get to the other side.
Art,
Some lucky people dive Elphinstone when conditions are good. Although I live in Egypt, I never dove Elphinstone in permitting conditions!!! What you're describing here is my usual experience. Actually I was surprised when you mentioned that you snorkelled there.

I'm really happy you had professional service in Salsabel. Actually I had some concerns when I knew the price. Seems that it was a good deal :)
 

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