Wetpix.co.uk - underwater and diving images

	*red sea wrecks - march 2010*

	i hate checking in for flights as an underwater photographer. i don't know why i worry so much about it, but it's the only part of a holiday i worry about now. fortunately, i've developed a plan for minimising stress about carry ons and weight limits etc, which worked flawlessly as we entered the check in arena. booking parking early meant i got the same rate for short stay as long stay, so when i checked in, my (rather heavy) hand luggage with housing & strobes stayed in the car. weight limits met :-) happy robin :-) the flight was the usual challenge in leg room, but on arrival we discovered we were the only tornado guys on the flight... so a private taxi cab to the marina, and a speedy boarding (even missed the 'pointless' second baggage scan) left us on board the lovely whirlwind in virtually no time at all. a few of the crew recognised me and after reconstructing my dive kit and camera set up, we relaxed, logged in with chris & chrissie our guides for the week, and then grabbed an early night. the wind had been up over the previous few days and so captain mohammed did some delicate negotiating over tea with the coastguard and we managed to get out of the harbour first thing... something it turns out which no other day boat achieved - go captain!
			first dive is usually on the alternatives, but as we wanted to get moving across to abu nuhas/gobal island we rolled over to beacon rock and did a shakeout on the dunraven, with a nice roll back over the reef. the usual weighting shenanigans ensued (and the fact my inflator hose was not fully attached!) made for an interesting start, but soon enough ness was enjoying her first red sea dive and i was learning to handle the extra buoyancy arms i'd purchased... we then proceeded to "bounce" over the gobal island. ness and i decided to miss the joys of the ulysses (and the long rib journey out!) and do a nice bimble around the barge (if you've not done it - fish galore) to get some macro shots. we then doubled up again there with a night dive - thumper enjoying herself with her very bright video lights (almost didn't need the strobes!) as we rolled around avoiding other divers as well as the usual hunting lionfish.
	day 2 heralded the rosalie moller. having usually been ill or been too bouncy, i'd never had the chance to descend onto the rosie so i was looking forward to the big wreck. i can see what all the fuss is about as we enjoyed 3 great dives, one around the stern, one a quick whizz down to the bow and back, and then a macro tour (gotta love those flabellina's) making sure we didn't rack up the deco (35m to the deck is a looooong way for us recreational types). no night dive (three 30m plus dives is more than enough for a day!) meant a relaxing night and the joys of a mike ward presentation (fun, educational and informative)... although a doze after dive 3 meant we missed the chance to visit gobal island via rib
			day 3 lead us down to the wreck magnet that is abu nuhas reef. the 4 wrecks scattered across the reef gave us even more metal to peruse and we all enjoyed dives on the giannis d - not as fun as i remember, and i still didn't get that signature shot: crappy morning viz (still better than vobster on a good day though), chrisoula k - very photogenic and good for some light penetration (we avoided the busy engine room - which is quite a way in), and the highlight for both of us, the carnatic - where we had almost flat water, fantastic sun light, and lots of great picture opportunities - ness proving to be a fabulous model! mike took the opportunity to get his shallow and small sonar kit out to play with the wrecks due to the smooth water and was having lots of fun until a sharp edge on the giannis d detached the sonar from the boat. a quick scramble recovered the reasonably expensive piece of kit, and mike earnt the name "sonar wrecker" for his troubles.
	we awoke on day 4 and despite trying to get everyone to go back the carnatic (it was bouncy and the kimon m was just too far by rib), the vote was for a 2nd dive on the giannis d. i decided to dive naked (i.e. no camera!) and we had a nice relaxed bimble and did some exploration in some of the nooks & crannies. we then packed up our bags and headed back to the sinai side of the red sea and check out the thistlegorm. having never been in the red sea before, ness had never experienced the thistlegorm and therefore thoroughly enjoyed the penetration, guns, fishlife, and general back story of a most superb wreck. we did an afternoon dive, a night dive (ness relaxed and i did a nice macro shoot with mike and a perfect morning dive (we were the only boat mored overnight!) heading around the stern and those lovely guns. it was fantastic fun and i left the wreck thinking next time, must do it on twins!
			we then headed south to shag rock and the kingston. i'm not a huge fan of this wreck and after not taking my dive computer with me (doh!) spent a reasonable dive (don't get me wrong, it was much better then zero viz in weymouth!) on the wreck and then drifting over the lovely reef. this was followed by a quick steam back to beacon rock and the dunraven. somehow the photography clicked at this point and i felt i got some of the best underwater pix i'd ever taken as we swam through the length of the wreck and then back along the reef. whilst mored at beacon rock, we proceeded to dive a recent liveaboard (fraser) which had gone down 3 months ago. it was a strange experience, diving a new wreck (almost like visiting an inland site!) and a bit disheartening due to the fact that it had almost been gutted after only 3 months. we then rolled up to the shallows and had some anemone fish fun (with a mirror fragment from the wreck). this was followed by a night dive on the same reef with hunting lionfish and a couple of very beautiful squid.
	the last day beckoned with no metal for the wreck hunters (mike was worried he'd be suffering withdrawl symptoms) but 3 dives on the great reefs of ras mohammed didn't hurt too much. shark & jolanda was as good as usual (missed the bohar snapper i'd seen in the summer though), but jackfish alley was superb with fantastic lighting in the caves and minimal other divers in the water leading to a superb photo dive. we even found an amazing coral outcrop which had a shoal of glassfish attached and we spent ages having fun snapping away.
			the last dive on raz ghozlani was a very relaxed affair and brought to the end a fantastic weeks diving. kit dried, feet up for the evening and then the usual sharm transfer (not a great fan of sharm, but i recommend a mcdonalds chocolate milkshake when you get back as a very nice way to ease down) before heading to the airport, more baggage worries (at the front of the line so didn't get any hassle at all!) and a slight delay saw us arrive back in gatwick (i'm sure they made the legroom smaller on the return flight) at about 11pm.
	a fantastic trip and a first for ness and i together (we had fun and didn't threaten to kill each other ever - bar the one time on a dive where ness threatened to stick my camera somewhere that i'd need a very wide aperture to get enough light!). many thanks to the ever attentive guys on the boat, mike 'sonar wrecker' ward for his fun and informative talks and background on the wrecks, thumper and ross (5th time on whirlwind!), chrissie & chris who were the perfect guides (there when you needed them, gone when you don't) and peter & the newsea group who despite initial worries about a group of 12 crazy welsh divers, prooved to be fantastic entertainment and great boat buddies. ... now when can i go back and get that pic of the giannis d i keep missing......?