UKDIVING TRAVELSPECIAL
Elke Bojanowski inspects vehicles in the Thistlegorm holds
The FOMO factor
After a spell at Tiran , we headed south again , revisiting Ras Mohammed on the way to the Thistlegorm . Most SCUBA readers will know the Thistlegorm ’ s story , but for new divers I should briefly explain that it is possibly the most popular dive site among UK-based divers .
Why ? It ’ s a Second World War wreck – a British cargo steamship – with a dramatic story , sunk by German bomber aircraft south of Ras Mohammed in 1941 . The Thistlegorm lies on its side with colossal damage in the midships area , the site of the explosion that sunk her . For visiting divers , the wreck presents a living museum of wartime munitions and equipment , including motorcycles , locomotive engines , armoured vehicles and aircraft wings . Small wonder it tops every readers ’ poll I have ever run .
Such is the popularity of the Thistlegorm , it can attract a crowd of liveaboards and day boats . To get the wreck to yourself is a rare thing , earning you some serious bragging rights . There were a few vessels when we arrived , but they were getting ready to leave the site , perhaps because the current had picked up .
I buddied up with Romilly Locklear , a BSAC veteran making a comeback with a smart new camera , and we headed out to the stern to photograph the gun and the propeller . There was a current , the sort you think you can work with , but you ’ re only kidding yourself ; as we swam beyond the wreck ’ s shelter nature laughed in the face of our valiant-but-doomed attempts to make photos . A big Napoleon wrasse briefly appeared from the milky open water , took one look at me , then let the current carry it briskly away .
Feeling my age , I skipped the night dive . But Sam was still in FOMO mode and joined the small group who heeded not the siren song of the Sakara . They emerged triumphant with stories of a dive to savour , having the world ’ s most popular dive site completely to themselves , at night , with no current and ... clear water ! My own FOMO levels went through the roof .
A tasselled scorpionfish near the Thistlegorm bow
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