Hi

[S****N]

Hi fellow divers

Since I’m on the forum now for a few weeks I thought it was about time to introduce myself.

My name is Sven and I’m situated in Belgium. I’m a Nelos (Flemish division of CMAS) 4*diver/ Assistant Instructor. Apparently according to my c-card that equals to a Scuba instructor level 1. Probably because the Nelos is stricter and the requirements to obtain the level of 4*/AI equal the requirements of other agencies to obtain the first level of instructor.

In Belgium we mostly dive in some quarries, lakes, the North Sea and the Eastern Scheldt which is a side arm of the North Sea in the south of the Netherlands.

I had a break of diving for 5 years and recently restarted in May 2022. At the moment I don’t really feel motivated to continu diving during the winter. My equipment isn’t suited and as I have done it for years and know what there is to see during winter or better said; not to see, I don’t feel like getting into the drysuit thing again at the moment. Maybe it will come back later.

Furthermore a big fan of Egypt and It’s mesmerizing coral landscapes. Also a big fan of the Worthington Carbondive tanks. Currently the 10l, but would like to have a 6.8l again to dive as a single tank. As I mostly do shallow dives with beginners, a 6.8l at 300bar is enough.

I’m a member of a dive club called Poseidon. We’re having pool training 2 times a week where the first half hour we provide warming up to our members. Afterwards we teach our members during an hour for the different levels of 1* up to 1*Instructor. Every weekend the club organizes an open water dive at a different location.

Cheers

 

[txdamselfish]

Welcome to world of scubaboard! The idea of a local scuba club monthly meeting for teaching and reviewing skills in the pool is awesome. I look forward to stories and reviews of your Egyptian adventures.

 

[thesaltyfins]

Welcome to ScubaBoard and welcome back to the underwater world!!

Thanks

 

[Lorenzoid]

Welcome to SB! I don't blame you for not diving locally during the winter. Egypt is an easy flight, and back in Leuven there are winter beers to be enjoyed in a cozy pub.

 

[S****N]

Welcome to world of scubaboard! The idea of a local scuba club monthly meeting for teaching and reviewing skills in the pool is awesome. I look forward to stories and reviews of your Egyptian adventures.

Thanks!
You don’t have dive clubs in your area? Over here almost every town that has a public swimming pool has at least one, possibly more dive clubs who are training in that pool on a weekly basis.
For example: the pool we are training in here in Leuven has 3 clubs. One Padi club, an SSI club and our CMAS club. 3km further in the next village there is a pool where there are 2 CMAS clubs. One of those also has a Whet wheels department where disabled divers can train under special guidance of instructors who are specialized in handling the typical problems someone in a wheelchair e.g. encounters.

 

[S****N]

Welcome to SB! I don't blame you for not diving locally during the winter. Egypt is an easy flight, and back in Leuven there are winter beers to be enjoyed in a cozy pub.

Thanks!

Yep, having a wide array of beers to choose from is not a problem over here. You seem to know Leuven?

The thing with winter diving here is that it is low ROI diving. Often long drives, a lot of hustle with equipment, being cold and for what? I ‘ve seen all the quarries and lakes during winter. It is always the same. Plants are mostly dead, animals in hibernation mode,… So for me it’s not really worth the effort anymore. Better save the money and fly to Egypt as it is only a 5h flight. The 10-20 dives you can do in a week over there are worth more than a winter of diving here. At least, in my opinion.

 

[Tripp]

Welcome to ScubaBoard, and Howdy from Texas. Where do you like to go in Egypt? A liveaboard or day-boat diving? Which areas? Cheers!

 

[S****N]

Welcome to ScubaBoard, and Howdy from Texas. Where do you like to go in Egypt? A liveaboard or day-boat diving? Which areas? Cheers!

Thanks!

First of all I like to say that for me any place or way of diving in Egypt is better than whatever dive in Europe. I dived some wrecks in the North Sea from a boat in Belgium and France, shore diving in the North Sea in Cornwall England, the Adriatic in Croatia (Baron Gautsch), the Atlantic around Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, the Eastern Scheldt and lake Grevelingen in the Netherlands. Most of those dives were nice but none of them come close to the Red Sea.

But if I can nitpick; N°1 would be the LOB to Deep South Saint- John’s reef during the summer. The coral landscapes can be really out of this world. Mainland Egypt is very hot during summer but once a few miles navigated, the influence of the sea
makes it more pleasant. Water temperature was in between 29°C (84°F) and 31°C (88°F). I love minimal equipment so these temperatures are great for a 3mm shorty. Even Speedo’s would be enough.

I went diving a few days with the day boats from Hurghada and Port Ghalib. Also great diving. Boats are often a mix of divers and snorkelers so can be a bit chaotic. The food in between the dives is good.

Shore diving I did in Marsa Alam at Red Sea diving Safari which is very nice with their unlimited diving package on the house reef. Everything there is organized by divers for divers so it is very convenient for diving.
Only thing about Marsa Alam is that above water it isn’t that interesting. I walked around in Marsa Alam a few weeks ago; in half an hour you have seen the village and that’s it. Almost no tourists, mostly locals. Police is very present there, constantly doing tours trough the city with a caravan of vehicles with sirens and lights and the whole shabang. On one hand it feels a bit safe that they are keeping an eye but the display of their power is a tad annoying. I mean; why sirens and lights when just patrolling?

Furthermore I’ve been in Dahab which also is great for shore diving. The village is imo more interesting for a good après-dive. A bit laid back backpackers vibe.

I didn’t really like Hurghada above water. Too busy for my taste.

Sharm I haven’t been yet apart from landing there to go to Dahab. So can’t say anything about Sharm.

I think the general rule for Egypt is: the more you go to the south the better the reefs are. And for activities above water I feel like it is the opposite.

Considering the seasons: spring can already be quit warm, summer is hot, autumn and winter are great above water. Last November water temp was 27°-28° which was enough for my shorty. That time when I went in February it was 21°C. You’ll need a 5mm full body to be comfortable.

 

[Tripp]

Thank you for all the wonderful information and insights!