Travelogue Liveaboard Red Sea July 2019 with Omeira spirit
Strait of Tiran - Ras Mohammed - Thistlegorm - Rosalie Moller - Abu Nuhas
Once again we wanted to make a wreck tour in the Red Sea, the tender promised a nice combination of wreck and reef dives. The
trip also gave us the opportunity to take part in a photo workshop by Tobias Friedrich.
The approach to Hurghada with Condor was without incident. Punctually we landed together with our luggage and were transported
to the port immediately. We were the last guests on board, a total of 15 divers.
The Omneia Spirit is a new ship with plenty of room for everyone. Most cabins are on the bright main deck
and offer a beautiful view of the sea. One of the two sun decks is equipped with a large dining area.
so you can eat outside every evening. The dive deck is also very generously designed and at last there are
hangers for the suits also for the small people.
In the anteroom to the dive deck there is an area for the photographers which will also be expanded next year.
Den ersten Tag und die ersten drei Tauchgänge verbrachten wir an dem eher langweiligen Riff Gota Abu Ramada, leider waren die
Rettungsinseln von einer Behörde kurzfristig konfisziert worden, ohne die wir dann doch nicht starten wollten. Die Workshop
Teilnehmer nutzten die Zeit für Übungen mit und ohne künstliches Licht und für erste Briefings von Tobias, die Ergebnisse
waren teilweise sehr überraschend.
Der zweite Tag bot dafür viele schöne Momente vor den Tiran Inseln. Thomas Reef und das Wrack "Million Hope" mit einem
danebenstehenden toll bewachsenen Lastkran wurden betaucht. Kurz vor Sonnenuntergang wurden dann Halb- und Halb-Aufnahmen vor
Ras Um Sid / Ras Katy geübt.
Ras Mohammed erfreute uns mit vielen Fischschwärmen, einem seehr zutraulichen Napoleon und einer hungrigen Schildkröte. An der
Thistlegorm wurde ein Motorrad mit der passenden Beleuchtung in Szene gesetzt. Abends setzten wir dann auf eine unbewohnte
Insel über, nach einem "Beach-Clean-Up" gab es das Abendessen unter Sternenbeleuchtung am Strand.
We dived the northern end of the island of Gubal the following day (Bluff Point & Barge).
Scorpionfish, stonefish and moray eels, in the lagoon we also found some interesting macro motifs. The bang of the day but
after the second dive the sighting was first made by a group of 4 dolphins, which were accompanied by a smaller whale shark.
A great experience, which unfortunately nobody could capture photographically, because we all had macro lenses on our cameras.
The last two dives were done at the wreck of Rosalie Moller, unfortunately here the
visibility was very poor.
The fifth day offered again the opportunity for different lighting techniques, which we tried out under the guidance of Tobias.
The combination of artificial light and natural daylight again produced great results. The two wrecks Giannis D and
Chrisoula K at Abu Nuhas could also be dived inside very nice, we had very good visibility and were
the only ship on the scene early at least in the morning.
The time flew very fast again, on the last day we dived twice into the beautiful reef Um Gammar,
and then we went back to the harbour. The afternoon we spent with washing the equipment, dismantling the camera equipment
and packing and then there was already the last dinner on board.
The check-in staff at Hurghada Airport again invested a lot of time in checking our luggage, including hand luggage,
was thoroughly weighed and checked, extra charges for only minor overrides were collected, boarding passes checked several times
and stamped and the checks entered in any books. All in all very time-consuming and annoying,
if you disregard the security aspect.
Last but not least a big and heartfelt thank you to the wonderful crew of the Omneia Spirit. We wish you always good and
safe trips, we'll definitely be back.
In the anteroom to the dive deck there is an area for the photographers which will also be expanded next year.
