Malcolm Nobbs - Sept. 2004

In September 2004 Eve and I returned to the Mövenpick Resort El Quseir and the Subex Dive Centre for a one-week holiday with our friends Richard and Ann Preston. As is always the case Richard hired tanks and weights for his dives. To his surprise, he was given a pink weight belt with black spots on it. Naturally I was concerned that my buddy might feel a little ridiculous in his new attire. It was therefore only in the interests of posterity that I captured a couple of photographs of Richard wearing his new pink belt… and put these on my website!

The week proved to be the most memorable holiday yet in El Quseir. On only my second dive (Dive 920) I saw a Manta Ray in El Quadim Bay - I think my Subex dive guide, Vincent Sorgius, was as excited as I was. However I had seen Manta Rays before. But I had yet to see a Dugong so when Vincent mentioned that Dugongs were quite regularly seen at Sheich Malek, a dive site 50 kilometres south of El Quseir, I was keen to go there. Vincent needed little persuading but after nearly an hour’s search of the dive site (Dive 923) and without any sight of a Dugong, my optimism was rapidly fading. Then I heard a strange chirping sound. It was a Dugong on the surface behind me. It dived repeatedly from the surface down to the seabed where it would spend a couple of minutes before returning back up to the surface for air. The Dugong moved surprisingly quickly and was difficult to get close to. Usually by the time we reached it on the seabed it was ready to begin another ascent to the surface. A really magical experience and naturally one I was keen to repeat. Luckily for me, another Subex dive guide, Marco Doberenz, was willing to organise a second trip to Sheich Malek (Dive 933) and once again I was lucky enough to see a Dugong.

During this week in El Quseir, Richard and I regularly took the Subex Zodiac to the north side of the bay for dives back to the Mövenpick’s jetty. On one such dive (Dive 932) we noticed two dolphins following the Zodiac. We dropped over the side of the Zodiac and one of the dolphins came straight past me -it seemed huge and very powerful.

On my final day of diving, Richard and I decided to try to fin from the adjoining Flamenco Hotel’s jetty to the Movenpick’s jetty. I knew it was possible because one of the Subex guides, Hans Jürgen Scherp, had done this a few years earlier. However the Zodiac skipper was reluctant to take us to the Flamenco Hotel’s jetty, warning us that it would take three hours to fin back. Richard and I managed to persuade him and were dropped off by the Flamenco jetty. We intended to climb the Flamenco jetty ladder and take photographs of ourselves on the jetty before beginning the dive. However the Flamenco Dive Centre staff did not want us to climb up their ladder, let alone take any photographs. So we abandoned this idea, began the dive (Dive 935) and found that it took less than an hour to fin back to the Mövenpick’s jetty.

In addition to the Subex guides mentioned above, Hany Abdel Mobdy, Sabine Scheurer and Tanya Schneiter led some daytime dives and Weber Kobi and Claudia Calderone led two Night Dives. During this holiday Richard and Eve normally took turns to be my dive buddy but on other occasions Andy Seeholzer or Andreas Hannes partnered me.