Dived Musandam Lately?

[supajaydub]

Hi All,

I was wondering has anyone dived Musandam lately? (the last month or so?)

I heard the red tide affected this area too and was wondering if it was worth the dive now.

The guys at Al Boom diving (Dubai) and Diver's Down (Khor Fakkan) say that its clear now but I am hesitant to believe them as they also told me that Dibba and Khor Fakkan were clear, until we got there and it was so bad it was like a night dive!

Thanks

[jerogers]

I was in Dibba/Fujairah about three weeks ago (Inscape 1&2)...it was bad. A friend of mine was there last week, and he said it was bad then.

Maybe try calling one of the hotels - though, they might lie to you as well...

[Jonny boy]

I did Inch 1&2 at the weekend and it was alot better than in recent weeks. Viz was about 8 metres on inch 1 and some of the sea life had started to return, schools of snapper some smaller puffers, there was a couple of bigger eels and some baby ones knocking around but fred (the massive moray) is still missing. Inch 2 had about 5 metres of viz once you get through the brown layer on the surface, again some of the sea life has returned but no lion fish or scorpion fish back yet. There were a couple of stone fish and a school of snappers along with some other random fish.........long story short its getting better!

[Benzonar]

I'm heading over to Dibba on Thursday, been told it is clearing nicely and an increasing number of sharks are being seen.

Will report when back on Sunday.

[dujubber]

The sharks are definatly back on Dibba Rock. We saw 4 there yesterday. We decided to go with Freestyle Divers as they are right in front of the Island so it would not be a long boat ride, just in case there was any red in the water. The water was clear (6m-7m) and the team there said it had cleared up right after a storm the had the previous week.

They also said they were recently in the Musandam and it was clear, however some of the soft Coral on The Caves had been affected. It has been the longest period of clear water they have had since the red tide started and they are optimistic it will stay away!

They are always open to answer divers questions even if they are not their divers. try calling them 09 2445756

[FDW]

Red tide is still there, it comes and goes with open patches.

2 weeks ago, Fujeirah, Sharm Rocks and Martini Rock: bad vis, open patches, but also dark parts with vis = 2 m.

last week: Lima Rock: excellent vis, app. 10 m, lots of fish, further up north (Sharkham), less red tide. Lots of coral died, but fish is returning.

Around Dibba: sea was brown and red

[Nimon]

Has the situation improved yet? We are off to Khasab at the end of the month.

Can anybody recommend some good dive sites in Khasab? I read there is some cave diving there as well, anything suited for starters?

[Aeromech]

Also looking to dive in Oct 2009 any updates on conditions East Coast side and Dibba?

[FDW]

I was there three weeks ago. The red tide is starting to come up. It is already present around Dibba harbour, but up north (Lima rock, ....) its fine.

Fujeirah was a mess, very low vis (2-4 m).

Dubai was very hot, around 34°C surface temp, around 32°C at 10 m deep.

[NickNYC]

Red tide is coming back again!?

[FDW]

In some isolated spots yes. Especially close to Dibba harbour.

[Aeromech]

Had a trip but stayed South of Dubai nearer Jebel Ali and found Al Boom did a day trip to Musandam on the weekends of Friday also Saturday, if enough (six) divers; down side is the 6am start from their shop, two hour by road to cross the UAE boarder post to Dibba dock (UAE) and then 2 hr Dhow to the sights; they are enthausiastic and I would have gone but my Buddy could not make it and all that travel time in one day with strangers did not appeal though they can use a speed boat if smaller groups. Could have stayed a night South of Dibba in a hotel but not a reasonable extra cost.

[FairyBasset]

Red tide is coming back again!?

HI
What is this red tide I keep reading about, please?

[Jonny boy]

red tide is an algae bloom that normally occurs around dec/jan. Unfortunatly this year it has been with us for a large chunk of the year to date. It keeps popping up in patches and basically kills the any sea life and corals beneath it. The 'red tide' occupies the first 1-2metres of the water column so once you get underneath it the water is fairly clear (although very dark and pretty much dead).........oh yeah - the stuff stinks!!
it only really affects the east cosat so diving off dubai has been nice and clear even though the east coast can sometimes be un-diveable in places.

[FairyBasset]

thanks johnny!
am coming to dubai tomorrow and am going diving off dubai with pavillion on fri, then with al boom to musandam on sat and fujeirah on sun. REALLY looking forward to it - and hoping there will be no red tide to spoil the views!

[Jonny boy]

if your with pavillion you will probably doing the Zainab wreck on at least one of the dives, its a great wreck that is about 30m to the sand, penetration is possible if you want!!
Word of advice, Pavillion is a real tourist trap for diving and they charge silly money for their diving, if your in town for a while then it might be worth getting in touch with the local BSAC group, you can find them at www.desertsportdivingclub.net

[danclem]

Just returned to Seattle after two weeks of diving in Musandam from Khasab. From my perspective the best sites are closer to Khasab than Dibba: I think Extra Divers in Khasab is the only regular operator to hit sites on Musandam Island, Kahyl Island, Abu Sir, Pipi Beach, and Beecham's Bay. The Dibba operators we encountered were further south in areas like Habalayan Island. It is really worth the extra hour drive to Khasab to dive the northern sites.

We spent one of the weeks doing reef surveys with Biosphere and Emirates Diving Association. There were no signs of red tide in any of the areas we dove. While most of the coral was in great shape, there were signs of damage from the typhoon that hit a couple of years back and the subsequent extended red tide event.

What a great area to dive and visit: excellent fish, invertebrates and coral. Really outstanding geology. We found the Omanies to be most gracious hosts and guides.

Dan