MV Tala / Red Sea Explorers trip report: South + North, August 2016

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(This is edited and reposted from a different thread in response to a couple of requests)

The Tala is a 36 meter steel vessel designed to accommodate 22 divers. The boat is managed by Red Sea Explorers, a GUE facility, as is her younger brother, the Nouran.

The living conditions. Twin cabins on three levels; most are below main deck, and a few on main and sun decks. Most of the main deck is occupied by the dining/briefing room and dive deck. There is a small bar on the sun deck, and enough room for all guests to relax. Cabins are rather basic but perfectly adequate and include an en suite “wet room” with a sink, shower, and toilet. Mattresses and pillows are reasonably comfortable, and towels and robes are provided – although toiletries are not. All cabins are air conditioned, and it is certainly possible to keep them reasonably cool. For all intents and purposes, the trip was off the grid. Wi-Fi was available in some locations near shore, but was pitifully slow and unreliable. We have run out of the data allowance more than once since the data plan was not unlimited, and restoring access usually didn’t happen during the same day. Cellular coverage was sketchy at best. This is by no means a criticism as the trip was supposed to be this way. A bigger concern was the requirement to conserve fresh water. Despite the presence of desalination equipment on board, we were asked to save water as early as three days into the trip and required an extra stop in Hurghada to refill water tanks. Food was plentiful, three meals and a snack each day, and quite tasty. Beer and local wine were available for sale.

The crew. There were eleven crew members and the captain; I believe three RIB operators, four dive deck crew, two kitchen staff and two stewards. I honestly couldn’t praise the guys more. Dive deck operations were as efficient as possible given the circumstances (twin set divers, scooters, rather crowded deck etc). The guys driving inflatable boats were always safety-conscious and did everything in their powers to ensure the comfort and well being of all guests in most challenging conditions. One of the guys has hurt himself rather badly rescuing a guest who flipped the inflatable trying to get into it on top of the reef despite having been told not to do so. The kitchen staff and stewards were always friendly and attentive. Absolutely not a single complaint. The crew are top notch.

The dive deck and equipment. The dive deck is perfectly sufficient for 22 divers using single tanks and recreational equipment. It felt small for our group which was approx. 50:50 single and twin tank divers, and several divers with scooters and stages. 32% nitrox was available, and helium could be arranged but wasn’t needed on this trip. Seven SUEX scooters were available for rent, four XJoy7 and three XJoy14. This was less than our group has hoped for but apparently several have died recently. Larger scooters could be only used twice a day due to charging issues, and at least one XJoy7 battery didn’t hold full charge. Almost any rental gear could be arranged for although some regulators were in questionable condition. All twin sets were 2*AL80, and single tanks were either AL80 or steel 15 l. An important note is that most screws holding twin set bands together are too long and kinda nasty. While some adjustments can be done, back plate pads are absolutely essential for the protection of exposure suits (well, and skin). Stage cylinders were available. The crew have done an amazing job making sure all tanks were filled in time. There were no incidents such as wrong mix or empty tanks labeled as full, and also no short fills. Oxygen analyzers were available. Half of the guests chose to use wet suits, and half dry suits. I was in the latter group and was surprised how comfortable dry suit diving was despite the temperatures. With Santi Emotion and DUI 150 undergarment, I was a bit hot gearing up and en route to dive sites in RIBs but not unbearably so. The diving was very comfortable. One consideration is that given the intrinsic fragility of the dry suits it is advisable to pack a complete repair kit, i.e. Aquasure and patch kits as nothing is available on board. My Santi Emotion did not take the RIB reentry terribly well due to a few bent edges of cord retainers. Field repair was successful. Also, some folks will notice that not all seal materials take the sun and heat very well. My latex neck seal has certainly lost a lot of elasticity, and the outside surface of its edge has started to crack a bit. Still holding up well though.

The schedule. Ours was a bespoke trip designed for a dive club which chartered the entire boat. We started our journey in Hurghada on August 14 and returned there on August 25. The trip has started with a check dive on a local reef before proceeding south to Brothers islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone reefs, then hugging the coast on our way back towards Hughada and spending the last six days exploring the Northern reefs and wrecks from Straits of Gubal to Ras Mohammed and Abu Nuhas. In total, we have spent twelve days diving and had the opportunity to do thirty-six dives although no one has taken the trophy for accomplishing this. In my view, the trip was a bit too long. Several dive sites were not particularly interesting, we have spent too much time in the South, and some of us felt properly exhausted by the end of the trip. Below is a list of dive sites that we have visited with short summary of each.

Abu Ramada – Shallow reef near Hurghada. Perfect for check dive but not terribly interesting.

Brother Islands – Rather forgettable. Wrecks are a bit deep, currents a bit strong, reefs a bit meh. This is an obvious way station en route to Daedalus but there is certainly no need to spend two days here.

Daedalus – Amazing place for watching big pelagics. A very different kind of diving; just motionlessly hanging there in the blue waiting for the big fish to come. A lot of hammerheads and other sharks, playful giant rays, awesome! Crystal clear water, a lot of life, nice reefs too. Good sized waves and strong currents but well worth it. One day is probably enough but two ain’t bad either.

Elphinstone – Absolutely forgettable.

Safaga reefs – Worth the visit for the Salem Express wreck which is a very special experience.

El Gouna reefs – The Umm Gamar reef with its small caves and pinnacles is charming. It’s a small dive site though, perhaps good for that last morning dive before returning to the marina.

Rosalie Moller – skipped the dive due to an ear problem.

Thistlegorm – I’m torn on this. Glad I’ve seen the wreck but probably wouldn’t want to come back. It’s not in the best of conditions. Visibility is limited, currents at times strong, and there are too many divers. Penetration diving possible and encouraged but not terribly exciting. I think this wreck is done for.

Ras Mohammed reefs – these are a bit of a blur. A lot of reefs, a few wrecks, nothing really that special. More current, less visibility. Yolanda wreck is a bit of a joke per se but the reef around it is very pretty, and the super shallow drift dive back to the boat is very relaxing. The Dunraven is an utter waste of time.

Abu Nuhas reef – This was the grand finale. The four wrecks are all shallow and accessible, the reef is pretty, and dolphins playful. We have done five dives here and could have easily done five more.

 

[VR78]

The sea. Water temperature was consistently around 32 degrees (and crystal clear) in the South and 29-30 degrees (and understandably much, much more murky due to the Canal traffic) in the North. It is noteworthy that the corals are in a very pitiful state at the moment; there is a lot of bleaching, and in some places about 90% of the hard corals are dead. I sincerely hope they will recover soon or the damage may become irreparable. The fish are still there but without the coral they won’t last long. The massive numbers of lion fish don’t help either. Some dive sites, especially in the South, are most certainly not beginner friendly due to the rough ride to the entry spots, high waves, and strong(ish) currents. Conditions are generally more benign in the North.

The diving. The clients were approx. 60% technical and cave divers, 20% experienced recreational divers, and 20% comparatively new divers. We did at least three dives per day, sometimes four. While the schedule was made to allow both deep/technical and shallow/recreational diving, the group as a whole has decided to stay within 30 m depth limit and dive N32. Most diving was done in guided groups, although independent diving was almost always possible. There were two experienced guides. Briefings were given prior to each dive but were sometimes rather superficial. For example, one of the guides has taken the group of recreational divers very deep into one of the Abu Nuhas wrecks. The penetration was conducted without any preparation (some divers didn't have lights, gloves, or hoods) or specific briefing beyond the historic background and wreck size/position info. The group had no idea about the extent of planned penetration and indeed no option to abort the dive because open water was not directly accessible or even visible, the passages too narrow to turn around, and the way back to the point of entry unmarked and complex. One of the divers was on his ninth lifetime dive.

The costs and payment. The cost of the trip was 1300 Euros, paid to organizers prior to departure. A “tech package” which includes a twin set, nitrox, unlimited use of stage(s), and three scooter dives cost 262 Euros, and extra scooter dives were 25 Euros each or 5 for 100. The team member responsible for the checkout did not really know what was included into packages and required some convincing. The suggested tip for the crew was originally 70 Euros but magically increased to 150 by the end of the trip – but no complaints here; the crew were brilliant and certainly deserved it. There was also a 150 Euro extra charge which was sold to us as National Park fee but somehow appeared as “Extra Mileage Charge” or something like that on our invoices. It is noteworthy that the exchange rate on board is 1 Euro = 1 US dollar so those guests who paid in USD have ended up saving quite a bit of money. There is a credit card terminal on board but nobody really knows how to use it, and the exchange rate appears to be arbitrary. I owed X Euros, and my card was charged Y local rupees. I received a call from a panicking crew member later that night claiming that he charged me way less than he should have and that I should give this and that amount of cash to another crew member who was still on board. The grand total was not off by much but this hassle could have been avoided. All in all, the trip cost me about 1800 Euros, slightly more than expected due to extra charges.

So, in a nutshell: Would I do this again? In a heartbeat. Would I go with the same boat again? In a heartbeat. The Tala is uniquely positioned to satisfy the DIR crowd, and has a top notch crew. Their so-called monkey dives on scooters (single side-mounted tank, no BC or exposure suit) are a hoot. I would suggest improving dive briefings though, and keeping guided dives within the limits of ability and certification of all divers. I didn’t do many dives with the guide of the single tank group and I can’t say for sure whether or not the infamous penetration dive was an isolated incident. Shouldn’t have happened though. I'm very keen to do the Deep South route next time: Daedalus, Fury, Zabargad/Rocky, St. Johns. Perhaps from/to Marsa Alam?

Various lessons learnt.
(1) Based on experiences of most guests plagued by motion sickness, dramamine doesn't work. Meclizine (sp?) does.
(2) Swimmer's ear is a very painful condition. Although packing a hood for a Red Sea trip does sound absurd at first, a hood does help protect ears from damage and inflammation caused by wind and spray (on RIBs) and from excessive water exchange (=higher chance to catch a nasty bug). Using alcohol to remove water from ears and disinfect them after each dive is a very good idea.
(3) While a variety of tools are available on board, many spares and repair kits are not. Stuff that can fail, will.
(4) Double enders are divers' currency. There's never enough.
(5) Pack some extra fatty hand cream. You'll thank me.
(6) Dry suit is not incompatible with negative entry but takes a bit of getting used to.

Photo credit: A. K.


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