It was finally here – the Barracuda Summer Dive trip – this year to the Red Sea.
After the obligatory pre-holiday crisis (one lost passport and the threat of industrial action at the passport office), we were on our way.
The Barracuda crew all managed to meet up at Manchester airport in time for breakfast at a price (!), then we stocked up on last minute essentials. Trevor was very reluctant to leave the UK without his orange squash but Di and I managed to tempt him away with some effervescent orange tablets, to help him with his water consumption in Egypt – the only diver I know, who doesn’t like water !
The flight to Sharm was eased by an in flight movie, episodes of Top Gear and chocolate pudding and we were soon in Sharm airport waiting to pick up our bags – a monumental task for Carl, who had come two years ago with one small dive bag and found himself this time picking up several substantial suitcases for Jo, James and Bethany and oh yes, one small dive bag for himself. Rob commented that the heat wasn’t too bad ; I didn’t like to point out that the airport was air-conditioned…
On to Naama Bay; Barracuda chooses Ocean Club Hotel because it has an on-site dive centre and this made organisation of kit really easy. We also knew, from past experience, that we were going to have good dive-guides and a great boat crew – this year being no exception.
Our boat, the ‘Lido’ was great, everything we needed for six relaxing days’ diving. This was Rob’s first warm (hot!) water diving, having only enjoyed the pleasures of Dosthill, Stoney and Capernwray in the 
past, plus three sea dives on Lundy. For James and Bethany it was also fantastic to be free of those semi-drys. With the sea at 29 degrees and unlimited visibility, it was a bit of a treat.
The diving was just great. We spent our first day on the local reefs then headed off in to the Ras Mohammed National Park. Our dives varied from pottering on the beautiful Ras Ghozlani, amongst pinnacles and table corals, overflowing with breathtaking fish, to the excitement of Jack Fish Alley and the stunning Shark and Yolanda reef, complete with coral-encrusted toilets and the remains of the Captain’s BMW. The Moray-eels and Crocodile fish and the huge shoals of Jacks were a few of the highlights. 
Although everyone else claimed to have seen a turtle on Friday, I still think they were winding me up…Thanks to Pete, Di and I saw an octopus, draped over a rock (sorry Rob!).
On Friday we had the option of going to the S.S.Thistlegorm. Getting up at 4.00 a.m. was easier to bear with the prospect of one of the World’s top wreck dives, compared to the usual queue for the car-park at Stoney.
I love the Thistlegorm – just seeing it emerging out of the blue. It was stunning and Hassan, our guide, took us round at a pace where you could stop and look at everything you wanted to. I’m not quite sure how I missed the enormous Napoleon Wrasse (apparently the size of a mini - I might need to visit the opticians). The only thing that spoilt the day was seeing Rob with his head between his knees, whilst we tucked in to a hearty lunch.
On the subject of food – the boat crew made us really delicious lunches every day (even suitable for the veggies) and Trevor was even tempted enough to leave his Tupperware box at home by the end of the week. We had some great meals at the hotel and also at the local restaurant – from Egyptian specials to Good British Fayre – for the less adventurous.
Saturday was party night, with Bethany celebrating her 13th birthday and we all ended up in TGI Fridays, just like home complete with dodgy toilet locks and even dodgier plumbing. There was a great deal of haggling to find a suitably 
priced taxi van to take us home – of course the less you pay, the fewer points of attachment there are for the car seats to the rest of the vehicle and Pete’s seat floated around the cab for most of the journey. The door was clearly optional as well…
Well that’s it really – packing then time to go home.
Thanks to Trevor and Di for organising another unforgettable Barracuda trip –
everyone had a great time - can’t wait for next summer!
It's funny how people begin to realize how we're taking nature for granted when looking at these pictures. Seeing these beautiful creatures in person should be enough to make your heart melt and re-think the way your treating the planet. In all fairness, there have been cases where humans have tried to make amends, but they've still shown high inconsistency. Anyway, I hope we don't regret everything we've done. It would would quite sad if we reach a point where the only way we can appreciate these creatures is through old photographs. Anyway, I hope you had a great summer, but by the looks of the pictures, I think you had.
Posted by: Darius Cartmell | 05 April 2011 at 07:21 AM