Friday 13th (Tom)
Some people were so excited to get to Egypt that they came a whole day early! Anna, Ben, Alex, and I, all left bright and early on the Friday morning to get an extra day of sun in. Upon landing at the airport, we were met by a guide, who then introduced us to a driver, who would drive us to our lodgings for the evening.
I had the fortune of being the guinea pig, driving through a seemingly very shady unbuilt residential area. Fortunately, at the end of the drive, a pleasant hotel (pool included!) awaited us. However, I did not share the details of the drive, such that each of the following arrivals felt the same trepidation I did! A relaxing night of imbibing in drinks and good conversation followed, having not seen each other in quite a while (all being postgrads!). A brisk walk followed, and we got familiar with the half-baked developments along the coast. Exhausted after a long day of travelling, we all tucked tightly into bed in our four-person room.
Saturday 14th (Tom)
After a very restful sleep, we all relaxed by the pool. Was a very simple day; enjoying the sun, the frigid pool, and any books nearby. Very little to report, Ben went for a run, I went for a long walk for drinks, and we all enjoyed doing nothing. At around 5pm, we made our way to our home for the week, the mighty Snefro Love, where Paris awaited us. Admin and gear set up followed, in addition to many introductions and reacquaintances with old friends. Convivial chit chat and drinking followed, but we all got a good rest for the next day.
Sunday 15th (Kaden)
We woke up excited, ready to set sail on a grand nautical adventure. Instead, we found ourselves still docked at the marina, surrounded by a sea of Russian tourists who looked just as confused as we felt. The crew informed us we weren’t allowed to leave—why? They had no idea. Welcome to Egypt, where mystery is part of the charm.
With dreams of the open sea temporarily dashed, we drowned our sorrows in some amazing falafels. Morale improved significantly. The crew, perhaps feeling guilty or just bored, offered us a sightseeing tour as compensation. With nothing better to do, we said yes.
First stop: Sharm El Sheikh market. Here, we met a Blackpoolian Egyptian Maradona (don’t ask how that combo works) who provided a solid dose of entertainment. Tea was sipped, ridiculously sexist jokes were endured, and despite the hard sell, we left with nothing. Well, except for Xavi, who inexplicably bought 500 lighters. A man of mysterious priorities.
Mia, ever the adventurer, went for a swim. Rumour has it this is where the now-infamous cabin flu patient zero emerged. Time will tell if the legend is true.
Onwards we strolled, passing a string of “authentic” restaurants like the unforgettable Indian and Italian Steakhouse. A real culinary melting pot if ever there was one.
The highlight of our cultural tour was a church where an extremely enthusiastic man proudly showed off his limited-edition paint-by-numbers masterpiece and taught us about the Egyptian Coptic Church.
The day wrapped up with yet another market, featuring “authentic home-mixed” perfume oils that all smelled suspiciously like the previous stalls. Just as we thought the day couldn’t get any more chaotic, we lost little Ben. Miraculously, he reappeared just as we started to panic. It turns out he just momentarily unlocked.
Finally, we returned to our trusty (immobile) boat, our home for the foreseeable future. Not the day we’d planned, but certainly one we’ll treasure about for years to come.
Monday 18th (Will)
After an arduous wait for the last few days in port, the UBUC cohort was frothing to get in the water. We had got the good news that we would be doing two dives on a day boat, the first of which was just outside of the bay, at a site called ‘Temple’.
After searching high and low, there was no sign of any religious buildings. We did almost see God though, as the dive guide only began the safety stop on a rather questionable amount of remaining gas! After a few strong words from Alex, we hoped that was not going to happen again.
Our second dive was meant to be a drift dive but the current was about as strong as it is in Vobster. The gas plan for this dive was also rather unconservative, with many people surfacing with very little gas in line with the guide’s professional advice.
After a challenging day’s diving, we returned to the Snefro Loooooove and relaxed with a soothing evening playing sardines. Tom’s recent experience in the mines served him well, and he won.
Tuesday 17th (Dom)
After a slight adjustment to PADI’s larger group diving style on the first day, Alex reorganized us into smaller subgroups, better suited to our independent approach.
With our kit already transferred the day before, all we had to do was get up bright and early at 0730 for our lovely breakfast and then hop aboard the dayboat. This gave us plenty of time to pootle over to Ras Mohammed for 3 fantastic dives: Jackfish Alley, The Dunraven, and Ras Ghazalani.
Jackfish alley was a descent onto a beautiful short tunnel, followed by a swim between a reef and open sea. True to its name, a few jackfish were spotted cruising alongside us.
The Dunraven, being our only wreck dive of the trip, had a palpable air of excitement during kit up following the success of the previous dive. As divers accustomed to the UK where you can’t even see your own computer, you can imagine the moment during the descent where her entire coral encrusted bow appeared out of the blue. We followed the upturned port round to the stern, finding her huge propellor still intact, before doubling back to a large hole in the hull allowing for penetration. Being a relatively old wreck for her condition, her cargo of cotton, muslin and spices is long gone, leaving a stunning cavernous interior. Swimming single file up over the boilers and finding the famous cloud of glassfish highlighted the dive, followed just outside the exit by a large school of batfish hiding in the shadow of the bow.
Ras Ghazalani was a relaxed drift over a vibrant coral garden, featuring enormous fans, coral tables and (very grumpy) clownfish in their anemone homes. It was the perfect finale to possibly our best day of diving.
After being greeted back to the Snefro Love with the usual excellent meal, we decided to wrap up the day by forming a semi successful human pyramid on the top deck, much to the crew’s amusement.
Wednesday 18th (Tom)
Today was truly the crown jewel (unless you’re a wreck lover!): the Straits of Tiran and the famous reefs which they contain. After our fun night of drinking, watching University Challenge, and playing a great game of Cards Against Humanity, we were all rather knackered. Fortunately, the ride out to the Straits was considerable, affording us a chance to relax and enjoy the boat.
After some shenanigans, we briefed for our first dive: Jackson Reef. This was made famous on Cousteau’s documentaries and was amongst his favourite dives. It did not disappoint. The reef was incredibly healthy, bursting with fish and corals. It was also probably the most relaxed dive of the trip. Big smiles all round! The following dive was Gordon Reef. Although beautiful, a strong current pushed us around, and made diving somewhat challenging, but all enjoyed regardless, and we all made it back to the boat!
After the previous night’s affairs, we decided for a more formal evening. Everyone was encouraged to wear their smartest clothing. Kudos to Kaden for actually bringing his dinner jacket! However, glitter was provided, allowing the rest of us to bedazzle ourselves. It was a wonderful environment, with everyone mingling, drinking, and playing games, was a great way to enjoy being stuck in port once again!
Thursday 19th (Anna)
Thursday was our fourth and turns out last, day of diving in Egypt. We did two dives: Ra Za’atar, which followed a wall down to 30m, and then Yolanda Reef. On the first dive, Will became lost in consideration when viewing a tuna, about just how many cans are gained from one fish.
The second dive was perhaps the most peculiar of the week. We visited the wreck (hooray for Alex!) of a cargo ship. The cargo of which was many many toilets….and a Santa!!
Easily my highlight of the week was on the return to the marina where we saw dolphins!! We were heading back next to maybe three other boats and in their wake were dolphins jumping out of the sea! Everyone was beaming. Magical moment.
Perhaps due to the dolphin excitement, Xavi and Alex coined a game in which they attempted to throw and hook a coat hanger onto an overhead bar. Alex was the first to achieve this feat. Unfortunately, the game met a swift end when Xavi discovered the coat hanger could bounce – but only once. The remains of this game can be found in stores.
Moving into the evening, it was Tom’s idea to show Team America to everyone. Bearing in mind we were in the Middle East; it was perhaps a risky idea. Unfortunately, some members started to feel a bit ill that evening…..
Friday 20th (Dom)
Friday was intended to be our final day of diving, but the weather had other plans. We rose as usual at 0730 for breakfast and prepared to transfer to the dayboat. However, it quickly became evident that the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Strong winds (5s gusting to 7s) kept us stuck in port, dashing any hopes of a final dive.
I was among the lucky few to not be laid low by the rapidly spreading “Snefro Flu”, those of us feeling well enough decided to uphold UBUC’s longest-standing tradition: day drinking when weather prevents diving. Spirits remained high despite the cancellation, ensuring our final day was memorable even if it was not underwater.
Saturday 21st (Alex)
After a week aboard Snefro Love, it was finally time for us to sadly disembark. As most people were flying back during the evening, we had booked a day pass at the Faraana Reef Resort which was almost entirely populated by Italian and Russian tourists. With no activities to do in the resort, we lounged around on the beach, swam in the sea, and took advantage of the all-inclusive bar!
Once time to travel home, we departed to the airport and boarded our flights with most heading back to Bristol and some heading to London on some rather grim night flights back. However, even this part of the trip was up in jeopardy as the captain of the Bristol flight threatened to divert the plane as two people (who had likely overindulged in their all-inclusive hotel bar) were being abusive to the stewards! Having landed back at Bristol itching to go home and sleep we were all informed to stay seated as police officers entered the plane to arrest the perpetrator!
Overall a fantastic trip, despite the few setbacks!