Hurricane Shark Quest

AFTER 30 YEARS OF DIVING in the Red Sea, I realised that there was one area that, although very well-known, unaccountably I hadn’t visited. So this spring I joined a group of divers aboard the liveaboard Hurricane from the Tornado Fleet, on one of its southern adventures to the pristine reefs at the Brothers, Daedalus. and Elphinstone.

It was a Hurricane Shark Quest week, and with Diver’s Sharks & Rays special edition in mind, I travelled in hope of finding suitable content.

The remote eco-systems on the itinerary are situated in the middle of the Red Sea, making them perfect sites for finding sharks and other large pelagic species.

We left Port Ghalib and headed north to the two barren Brother Islands, arriving at 6 am. I was feeling excited about the week’s diving because, apart from never having visited these sites, I had never dived with three of the sharks to be found there –oceanic whitetips, hammerheads and threshers.

I was worried only about the possibility of not seeing any sharks, having witnessed the decline in populations of various shark species since I first visited the Red Sea.

Our guide Yasser gave us a detailed briefing. We would have three ways of conducting the dive, and these depended on the current.

The final decision would be made only after he had assessed the reef just before the dive-team entered the water. At that point we went for plan A, and decided to dive Little Brother from the north end.

With precision backward rolling from the pair of RIBs, the two groups entered the deep blue water to make a negative drop to the wall, where we congregated at 20m. The current whisked us briskly south, so we weren’t really able to stop on the wall to take pictures.

Yasser clanged his tank and pointed out into the open blue. Staring down to 25m below me, I could see the faint shape of a hammerhead shark – an exciting moment, if a brief one.

The giant swam off into the shadows, swaying from side to side and tilting its head upwards occasionally in an apparent effort to keep an eye on us.

We drifted on to the end of the reef, where the current softened. Above, we could see the mooring line tied off to the reef in the lee of the southern end of the island.

SUDDENLY, THERE WAS a further clanging of a tank. Annette, our other guide, pointed ahead. In the distance

I could see another shark, and this time the long tail indicated that it could only be a sleek thresher. Again the sighting was brief, but it was thrilling to see.

It was about time to head back to the boat, but we had been told there was a good chance to see the iconic oceanic whitetip shark too. And, almost on cue, the first of that species appeared from out of the blue – the third shark on my long-held wish-list!

A few minutes later, two more arrived. Shortly after that a larger shark turned up with a full complement of pilotfish. This was the one I really wanted to photograph.

I sat there motionless at about 10m, set my camera to manual shutter and aperture to give a nice deep-blue background, and set my flash to manual half-power, creating this lighting so that I could shoot from about 1-1.5m away. This would, in theory, fill the frame and give me the shot I wanted.

After a short wait the first shark came to within 1m of me, though with only a few of the pilotfish that make such pictures so viewable.

I sat patiently and enjoyed four passes from the other shark, but the one I most wanted as my model was keeping its distance. After 20 minutes I had average results, but not the shot I wanted.

IT WAS TIME for the long 11-hour transfer to Daedalus, famous for the strong currents that make it a good place for spotting hammerheads. The best place to see them there is on the northernmost plateau.

We kitted extra early at 5.30am and speedily left for the northern reef before any other boat could have a chance to follow us. After a current check, everybody dropped to 25m and waited.

Visibility was exceptional, making it possible for us to see the steeply dropping seabed at 60-70m below us.

On the reef, pipework was strewn all over the slope. The site had hardly been explored, so it could be that it contains an interesting wreck to explore on future trips. The guides say that much of the main hull lies beyond 100m, and this location is also subject to strong tides and down-currents.

The group hovered motionless in the blue, waited patiently until finally our first hammerhead appeared, 15m below us. The 2m shark turned its head 45° to eye the intruders in its hunting ground, then thrashed its tail and disappeared back into the grey depths.

We made our way up the reef and followed it around, coming across another shark, but both kept their distance. That might have been disheartening for me, but the big positive was that we had seen sharks in numbers on every dive since the beginning of this shark-dedicated trip.

Those dives extended to the hours of darkness, too. On the second night at Daedalus we noticed a large group of silky sharks congregating under the boat to intercept any scraps of food from the evening meal being thrown overboard.

A number of guests got out selfie sticks and improvised broomsticks to film the sharks at the rear dive-deck. This was highly entertaining, as we had up to four 2m sharks thrashing around under the boat. I was tempted to get into the water, but not sure if I would have ever get back out again!

The final part of this grand tour was a visit to Elphinstone. After the overnight crossing, it was difficult to moor in the windy, choppy conditions, and we managed to get in only one dive, at the northernmost plateau.

The current was strong, making it difficult to stay in one place. Below us a few grey reef, whitetip and blacktip sharks patrolled the rocky peninsula.

We spent just 10 minutes at 35-38m, continuously kicking just to stay in one spot, but it was certainly rewarding to see these amazing sleek creatures. I just wished I had brought my rebreather!

WE DECIDED TO STOP over instead at Marsa Shorna, a shallow sandy reef near Port Ghalib known as a good spot to see dugongs. None of us saw one under water, unfortunately, though we did see one surface in the distance.

Just as the boat was ready to go, a school of common dolphins swam by. Some of the group launched themselves into the murky waters and so spent the last 20 minutes of the trip snorkelling with this friendly school as they dived

and twisted below, squeaking and clicking. What a finale to an amazing week of diving!

I’d had the pleasure to be one of the first divers on Hurricane after a four-month refit, and the vessel did look superb. I thoroughly enjoyed my Hurricane experience. The crew was welcoming and I felt part of the family.