Emperor - Rocky, Zabargad & St. Johns
Rocky, Zabargad & St. Johns
Departing from Hamata Port
Experience Level: Emperor requires that you are a PADI Open Water diver or equivalent for this itinerary. You don't need a minimum number of dives but you should be comfortable with drift dives. Currents can be strong. However, to get the most from the trip we suggest you are certified to dive to 30 metres and be PADI Advanced Open Water or equivalent. The PADI Advanced course can be completed whilst on-board so be sure to pre-book.
This itinerary visits the dive sites of Fury Shoals, Zabargad Island, Rocky Island and St. Johns. Sailing to the outermost reefs of Rocky Island and Zabargad, you'll depart from Hamata and dive the sites at Fury Shoals en route. Often spoilt for choice, your guides will pick sites that they know to be the best for the time of the year and can find excellent alternatives should the weather affect the normal route. The actual number of dives in the Fury area will depend on the conditions as you will want to spend as much time as possible at Zabargad and Rocky.
Zabargad Island lies along the western margin of the Red Sea rift with walls abundant with soft coral and spectacular coral pinnacles. Dusk drift dives are ideal at the stunning coral slopes of Zabargad Island. A 75m long, intact wreck known as the 'Russian Wreck', believed to be The Khanka, lies 24m in the western bay on the eastern side of the island providing an alternative to reef diving.
Rocky Island, just four nautical miles south of Zabargad, has a fringing reef, sheer walls covered with beautiful soft corals, gorgonias, fans, sponges, black coral trees and vast drop offs into the deep that circle the island. Constant currents flow all year long attracting visitors such as hammerheads, grey and white tip reef sharks. Remember to look into the blue for manta rays, turtles and dolphins.
St. Johns is a beautiful reef system lying approx. 40km south west of Rocky Island. It consists of a vast collection of small reefs offering some of the most remote and rewarding diving in the Red Sea. Habili Ali has giant gorgonians and black corals whilst grey reef, silvertip and schools of hammerhead sharks might be found on the west side. Habili Gafaar is a mass of soft corals teeming with shoals of snappers, butterfly fish and barracudas. Mantas, grey reef and silvertip sharks can be seen in the blue. Gota Kebir is a massive reef, famous for its tunnels and south plateau where jacks and barracudas can be found as well as the occasional manta. The tunnels are ideal for novice cave divers.
Gota Soraya is rated as possibly one of the best wall dives in the Red Sea, with overhangs and cracks in the reef wall, full of glass fish and sweepers and an abundance of corals, grey reef, silvertip and hammerhead sharks.
BOAT SCHEDULE
Due to the Hamata Port being so close to Fury Shoals, trips are offered twice a week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) without compromising the diving time.
Guests arriving on Tuesday:
Check-in around 10 pm. Overnight in port. On Wednesday, dive at Fury Shoals all day with an early evening dive. After the diving, return to port to collect guests who are arriving on Wednesday. Overnight in port, depart next morning. 5 more days diving. On Tuesday, transfer to the airport or hotel depending on flight schedule. Total number of diving days: 6.
Guests arriving on Wednesday:
Check-in from 18.00 hrs. Overnight in port. Sail next morning at 09.30hrs. After 5 days' diving, return to port on Monday so that the guests who arrived on Tuesday can disembark. Stay on board for another night with further 2 dives on Tuesday. Return to port and depending on the boat schedule the following week, either stay on the boat for another night or transfer to the Marina Lodge Hotel in Port Ghalib for an overnight stay on half board. On Wednesday, transfer to the airport for your flight to the UK. Total number of diving days: 6.
Please note: You are expected to be able to complete each dive with your buddy or following the guide. The guides may not enter the water and may remain onboard as surface support for some dives. As with all diving activities, the dive guide has the final decision regarding any divers competency to complete any particular dive. This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change without notice. The itinerary will depend on several factors including, but not limited to, weather, diving ability of guests & the number of other boats already present at the various dive sites.