red sea rules?

[Ifoundnemo]

SRT thanks for the extensive response, I of course acknowledge the points regarding trust and that anyone falsifying their logs is really only kidding themselves....The point I was making....which you have recognised, is that an newly qualified diver can indeed be a "better" diver than a diver with 50 dives it depends on the individual / the instruction they have received/their fitness level / their natural ability and their ability to apply the instruction they have been given.

However the point was made purely to see what people thought and to spark a bit of discussion around the reason for what appears an arbitrary figure of required number of dives.

I also moved my quetsion to ask about why the 20 dive requirement from some dive ops cited by Watch the bubbles - am absolutely happy to concede the 50 dive limit for southern routes although the arbitrary nature of the number still vex's me somewhat. Although can see your point regarding this being set after sar experiences in the area.

I would also say, in agreement (I think) with part of your post, that number of dives does not equal experience. If you aren't learning during every dive your not gaining experience.

Thanks for the info re the currency and cost etc. Its amazing you can find a rough guide on cost for everything on the net 'cept eating out.......weird....

anyway as I say thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[Christian]

Yes, the red sea rules

 

[srt1548]

I also moved my quetsion to ask about why the 20 dive requirement from some dive ops cited by Watch the bubbles - am absolutely happy to concede the 50 dive limit for southern routes although the arbitrary nature of the number still vex's me somewhat. Although can see your point regarding this being set after sar experiences in the area.

No problem....happy to help!

I am pretty sure the figure is 25 dives for Northern Red Sea liveaboards. I don't think it is a completely arbitrary figure - ask around when you get here. What i do know is that when the Egyptian dive industry started to develop in the Hurgada area there were no rules whatsoever and a lot of damage to the reefs occured due to diver inexperience/shoddy boat handling. The area is still recovering. Even now I have seen divers kick coral, and totally oblivious to their actions. The same appies to the Thistlegorm wreck - Jaques Coustea discovered it and kept its location secret for years. The authorites just want to make sure those diving on it don't damage it, as well as all their natural marine resources. And all divers coming to the Red Sea (regardless of nos of logged dives) MUST do a check dive first before doing any other diving.

However, once you get here your diving will come on leaps and bounds and all this will just be history. The diving is simply wonderful regardless of where you go....

 

[ivyleaguediver]

These rules refer to safaris doing the southern route (Brothers, Elpinstone, if you are doing the northern route (Tiran, Ras Mohammed, Abu Nahas, Shag Rock, Shag Ali, Sha'ab Mahmoud, I think you only need to have 25 logged dives. The fact is that there can be very very strong currents on some dives here. Sometimes the currents are so strong that you really need to be able to look after yourself, as the guide will have no chance to help you. The more experience you have the better your experience will be.

I was on the Red Sea Aggressor in May 2001 and we traveled the southern route to Big and Little Brother. We traveled there overnight and in the morning when I woke up and we had arrived you would have thought we were in the North Atlantic. It was very rough and windy although warm. The diving was spectacular but the currents were strong and unpredictable. We had to enter and exit the water from a zodiac rubber boat like a bunch of commandos. You could dive one site and have a strong current in one direction, later in the day dive it again and the current would be in the opposite direction and on the third dive there would be no current at all. It was by no means an easy or beginners dive site.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

I was on the Red Sea Aggressor in May 2001 and we traveled the southern route to Big and Little Brother. We traveled there overnight and in the morning when I woke up and we had arrived you would have thought we were in the North Atlantic. It was very rough and windy although warm. The diving was spectacular but the currents were strong and unpredictable. We had to enter and exit the water from a zodiac rubber boat like a bunch of commandos. You could dive one site and have a strong current in one direction, later in the day dive it again and the current would be in the opposite direction and on the third dive there would be no current at all. It was by no means an easy or beginners dive site.

That's so usual when diving the Brothers.