On Saturday 3 June 2006 a group of 18 CSSC members set out for a week’s diving in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.  The majority were experienced divers, but a significant number were trying the sport for the first time.  Some were aiming to take and pass the demanding ‘Rescue Diver’ course, whilst others were content to dive purely for enjoyment.  I was somewhere in the middle of the experience scale, having obtained my basic Open Water Diver certification last year and aiming to take the Advanced qualification which would enable me to dive deeper (to 30m instead of 18m) and undertake dives on wrecks and at night.

Sharm El Sheikh, lies along a series of bays at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.  It is already a major tourist centre, with every major hotel chain represented.  There is a wide selection of shops, restaurants, bars and clubs, but building work continues apace with more developments underway along the coast.  The resort is clean and modern and the people are unfailingly polite and obliging.  What it lacks, or did during the period of our stay, is visitors.  Most of the restaurants we saw in the evenings were only  a quarter full, if that, and we were told that bookings are well down on the same period last year, with the French and Italians being particularly noticeable by their absence.  It is debatable whether the loss of custom is as a result of the terrorist bombings that occurred at Dahab, some 50 miles away, in March, or if competition from the World Cup is to blame.  Either way, there are substantial discounts available at the moment, with one couple we met having bought their flights and one week’s B & B in a 4* hotel for just £270 per person.

Credit for organising the trip goes to Pete Ellis, who used the CSSC website to advertise for participants.  In the event it attracted interest from members throughout the UK, from as far north as Scotland, and as far south as Andover.  Pete had chosen Sharm El Sheikh because of the quality of the diving available, and the excellent value for money that Egypt can offer.  By ‘quality’ I mean the underwater scenery and marine life, which is nothing short of spectacular, and the clear, warm water, typically 24C.  I hesitate to include sunshine under the ‘quality’ heading because with temperatures consistently in the high 30’s and, on a couple of days, reaching 41C, it was necessary to take care not to become sunburnt.

Pete’s choice of the Oonas Dive Centre as our base for the week proved to be inspired.  Oonas are a very professional outfit who are large enough to have all the diving equipment, facilities (including three day boats) and instructors needed to satisfy our group’s varied requirements, whilst being small enough to provide a friendly, personal service.  An important bonus was the fact that Oonas have their own medium size hotel, which allowed our group to stay together, avoiding the need for taxis to and from the centre in the mornings and evenings.  The Oonas centre is located at one end of Naama Bay, which is the leading resort within the Sharm area, with a wide selection of restaurants only a short walk away.

Hopefully the accompanying photographs will give some idea of the diving element of the trip.  Over the course of six days we were able to visit a range of different locations and dive on some of the most interesting reefs in the world, including some in the Ras Mohamed National Park.  Also, some of us were fortunate enough to be able to explore wrecks and to dive at night.  Highlights included seeing dolphins, turtles and rays whilst diving and, on one occasion, a shark, although it only stayed around for 30 seconds or so and I was looking the other way at the time.  For me though, the elaborate coral formations and their vivid colours were a revelation.