Preparing for the first dive
Cruise Director Ahmed
Half of the 22-strong company had already arrived from eight different European countries , and there was also a bleary-eyed traveller from New York . At first , there was a split between the two factions , seated on opposite sides of the salon . However , a sense of unity settled in over the week as the divers came to know each other .
Oh Brother
Taking advantage of a weather window , the Explorer set off on the overnight haul to the Brother Islands , 93 miles southeast of Hurghada . Big Brother is home to two wrecks at ( just about ) recreational depth , but we started off with a dive off the south point in search of sharks .
As ever , I despaired at the sight of a column of shark-deterrent bubbles emanating from the deep . Nevertheless , some of the guys had a pretty good encounter with a thresher shark . I was relieved that these young divers didn ’ t suffer any decompression illness ( DCI ) as a result of the additional depth they
Batfish school at Yolanda
Soft corals at Big Brother
Gorgonian fan forest at Little Brother
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