Dubai Diving Information

[Glimmerman]

Cool, I look forward to your report.

I will be doing my first two open water dives in Dubai (shouldn't be distracted by coral reefs on my first two OW dives anyways probably!)

Then On April 8th - 10th I will be diving on the East Coast so hopefully it clears up by then.

 

[hedonist222]

Stryker, do you head out by yourself or with a group? Reason I ask is because I dont have many diver buddies but I still want to dive.

 

[Stryker]

Yes most of the time I go by myself out there.... I never really know if I am going until the day before usually.... if you want to set something up let me know....


As for the diving today, it was same as last time... We dove inchcape 2 on the first dive. It was moderately cloudy in the water (3-4 Meters) and there wasnt really a whole lot to see.. After 30 minutes we left the wreck and took the sand route to the rock wall. On the way I hit a spot where all of my skin felt like it was on fire... I have no idea what it was (I dive in a t shirt and shorts) and we saw a HUGE spotted ray. At least 5 feet across. Once we got to the rock wall, it was quite a bit better visibility (5-7 meters) but still a bunch of particles in the water.

For the second dive we did Sharm Rock (aka 3 rocks, or the pinnacles) and the water was just crap. Vis was no more than 3 meters at the most. I got some ok macro pics, but nothing spectacular. It was a green mess in the water, and the people that were diving with me were kicking up the bottom and destroying all kinds of marine life (including kicking a moray in the head)... Also one guy pulled a big sea turtle out from under a rock and was man handling it. I was furious.

But I digress.... It was still fun (any time I get wet is awesome), but the jellyfish always make it tough. It is a great spot when the conditions are right.... Hope this helps...

 

[hedonist222]

Stryker, which dive center do you use? What if you get there and you're the only one? Do they still go out? How much does it cost? Im in AbuDhabi, so I kinda need to know,for example this weekend, when I need to take off from AD to get to Fujairah or so. I also have no dive equipment.

 

[MarkH]

Stryker, which dive center do you use? What if you get there and you're the only one? Do they still go out? How much does it cost? Im in AbuDhabi, so I kinda need to know,for example this weekend, when I need to take off from AD to get to Fujairah or so. I also have no dive equipment.

When I was in Dubai (2003), I would take the bus to the East coast (the bus was only one-way and would go back empty. I would take a cab or "private cab" back). I would go to the Sandy Beach Motel area and shore-dive Snoopy Island. The hotel has a dive shop if you want to rent anything. It's too bad about the vis at Sharm Rocks. That was my favorite dive there. Vis was 50 feet and there were way more corals (hard and soft) than I saw at other local places.