UKDIVING TRAVELSPECIAL
Anthias basslets feeding above fire coral at The Alternatives
The cleaning stations were all busy , angelfish and bannerfish fluttering patiently while nimble cleaner wrasse went about their business , plucking dead skin and parasites from their clients . The reef bristled with life , its shadows concealing coral grouper , while hawkfish perched regally on the fire coral .
The Alternatives
This charter was a photography workshop led by my friend , the photo-pro Saeed Rashid . It was Saeed who first recommended the epic Scuba Scene , with its many refinements . The 48-metre titan is so big it sometimes looks like a building looming over the harbour when it ’ s in dock . The capacious salon is the key feature , but there ’ s also a cinema room with a giant screen much loved by gamers , and a separate dining room below deck level . Oh , and a plunge pool , for those who don ’ t like to dry out between dives . Situating the galley below deck creates more room for cabins above the water line , which in turn makes for better evacuation routes .
Our cruise director for this trip was Elke Bojanowski , who also serves as dive guide and biologist . A respected figure in shark conservation , Elke ’ s work cataloguing and studying sharks in the Red Sea has contributed greatly to our understanding of these creatures and their role in the ecosystem .
The liveaboard pushed north across the Strait of Gobal , heading for the Sinai Peninsula . It was initially too windy to dive
Ras Mohammed , which is open to those northerly winds , so instead we had two dives at The Alternatives , a series of patch reefs and pinnacles just around the corner , in the lee of the wind .
The Alternatives present a handy ‘ option b ’ when conditions prevent diving at the Thistlegorm wreck or Ras Mohammed . The site allows divers to get close to a wide range of Red Sea fauna in easy conditions and shallow water . Underwater filmmaker Peter Scoones used it as a key location for his award-winning 1994 documentary , Malice in Wonderland , which revealed the predatory relationships of the Red Sea ’ s coral communities .
As we finned between towers of coral , I thought about that classic film and what I
66 Christmas tree worms
Blue spotted stingray