The first site was a new one for everyone, including the Captain. Sha’ab Ata is at the far southern end of the uncharted area and is crowned with a small beacon to warn any captain stupid enough to wander out of the shipping lanes, which lead to Port Sudan, that the area is fraught with danger. Ata’s coral platform is sausage shaped on the surface and the gradation of blues radiating outwards looked promising.

Hitting the water and looking down as the first person to see a new reef fills the soul with a sense of achievement. During the descent, I saw stepped ledges leading towards the depths and at 30m we stopped and started forward. The hard corals were pristine and the number of intact and healthy table corals were, I’m sure, reminiscent of how the northern Red Sea used to be. In these now popular dive sites the delicate, slow growing coral species are the fist things to be sat on, smashed through and toppled over, but here that was not the case. Nothing had been touched by the hand of man. Fishermen sometimes came to this reef, but their small boats had done little if any damage.

Finning along the south side of the main reef, we were shadowed by a small tuna, which was interested in what we were. I say small, but it was a fair- sized fish in the same way a baby elephant is a fair sized animal. It cruised the ocean side of our group throughout the dive only breaking off when the last person was in the boat.

Large reef fish through were harder to find. Grouper were visible, but their numbers kept in control by the fishermen, and we were still not far enough from the shore for many pelagic species. Still, there was a large shoal of black snapper, the odd batfish, coral trout, a mass of butterflyfish and angelfish and several juvenile Napoleon wrasse. It was a pretty reef, not exceptional in terms of excitement, but it held the beauty of a glamour model with good colours and pristine corals.

From Ata, the Ciprea headed east into the oceanic Red Sea for real to one of the few places that provide boats sanctuary from wind and waves. Heading beam on wasn’t particularly the nicest way to make a sea crossing, but the quickest, and with a northwesterly blowing there wasn’t much alternative, but the Ciprea is a metal vessel, built for the North Sea and rode the water well – Hamdoo lilla!

There are wonderful diving holidays to experience especially Indonesia diving and South Africa diving. To find out more please go to http://www.divingworld.co.uk/.

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