2009 started well with a sneaky wee trip to Egypt and a weeks diving on Whirlwind.
Whirlwind Jan 1st-7th Northern Red Sea
Just back from a great fun week on Whirlwind (third time on this boat in three years) doing the popular Northern Wrecks and Reefs trip.
Whilrwind is getting a little tired but she’s still a lovely boat with a great crew and they provide fantastic food all week long.
All the Guests:
Backrow (left to right): Claire, Richie, David, Terry, Zoe, Me, Craig
Middle: Carol, William, James, Jenny, Ely, Harry, Richard, Dimitry, Nina
Front Row: Alyissa, Toby, Bryony, Jim & then Sammeh one of the Guides.
A great mixed crowd on the boat, with Jenny doing her 500th Dive (night dive on the thistlegorm wearing Pyjamas), me doing my 300th (Shark & J(Y)olanda Reef) and two others doing their 50th Dives and a young lad doing his AOW course during the week. We also had two Birthdays, Nina & Richie
We had great guides (Sammeh and William) that where up for a laugh and let you do as you wanted within safe limits (Penetration to the Rosie’s engine room is now off limits, due to a diver being lost in summer 2008).
I left the UK and 2008 with 283 Dives logged and returned with 301 Dives.
A couple of days before I left I got an email from Tony Backhurst staff to tell me I wouldnt be getting my last night in sharm EL Sheik as booked but would be staying on the boat out at sea.
I was not amused by this and I called the next morning to complain, I got a call back later on to say that on this occasion the trip would finish with one night in Sharm however all future trips would be last night at Sea.
To me this means the end of my dealings with Tornado Marine Fleet and Tony Backhurst, I wouldn’t spend a week in Sharm but I do like it to finish my holiday off.
Being stuck on a boat for 36 hours with no diving would drive me crazy!
Tornado Marine / also have changed their Nitrox charges to 90 Euros (from £60)for a Single cylinder and as I found out to my shock at the end of the week 150 Euros for a twin set (no mention was made of this at the start of the week during the briefing).
This meant using a twin set for the week cost £70 for the hire of the twin set and £150 for the Nitrox as the exchange rate offered was exactly Euro 1 to £ 1.
Highlights including being the only boat at most of the dive sites all week.
Being dropped in on the Giannas D in a three (with Jenny & Zoe) while the rest of the boat dived the Kimon M, having a wreck like the Giannas D to yourself is just amazing. We played Star wars in the engine room with our torches complete with Lightsaber noises (I was Darth Vader, Zoe was Obi Wan and Jenny was Not Amused (A cousin of Luke for those not familiar with the Star Wars charcters)).
Playing God on a night dive at the Barge as a big hungry Grouper used my torch to pounce on and eat any schooling fish.
I hired a ali 80 as a stage and got it filled with EAN50 which meant along with Craig (the poor bloke that wasnt amused with having to share a cabin with me after I puked in our sink on the first night and went to bed leaving it for the morning Well it was January the first and I’d had to stay sober on Hogmanay, oh boy!) my new buddy for the week, with whom surprisingly after the first night, we actually got on really well and done some good deco dives on the Rosalie Moller and the Thistlegorm with a nice dive to celebrate my 300th.
Craig and I also dived the Thistlegorm and let our third team member plan the Deco.
Wooly Wabbit taking time to plan the deco schedule (he done a better job than me!)
The last night in sharm was in the Bay View Hotel just a two minutes walk from the town centre.
I failed to do any shopping what so ever in sharm electing to have fun instead, with an afternoon chilling in the cafe’s, an evening starting at the camel rooftop and finishing in Buddha nightclub jumping around to eastern European Techno till 4am..
The hotel wasn’t somewhere Id stay a week in but it was adequate for a nights fun in Sharm.
So remember anybody planning a northern red sea liveaboard with Tony Backhurst this year, you’ll be on the boat at sea on your last night and all on board prices are now in Euros with Nitrox having gone up significantly.
Safe diving for 2009.
Davie.
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