Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Hurricane (Tornado Marine Fleet) in
Red Sea/Southern Red Sea

Hurricane (Tornado Marine Fleet): "Relaxed, pretty diving on the Hurricane", Sep, 2018,

by Sara Martin, Ontario, Canada ( 1 report). Report 10568.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments We booked the Hurricane, a 12-cabin liveaboard part of the Tornado Marine Fleet, for a week in early September 2018. The package, from the UK's Scuba Travel, included flights to and from Gatwick plus transfers. As always, the logistics courtesy of Scuba Travel were impeccable. Our fellow travellers were entirely English.

Our cabin on the Hurricane was comfortable and a decent size. Although we had no issues, others on board suffered from diesel fumes or abnormally strong toilet smells.

The food was very skilfully cooked, but the selection of dishes catered to northern European tastes. We would have liked more Middle Eastern options.

The dive guides provided very good briefings, and readily permitted divers to deviate from their suggested dive plans within reason. No one was ever penalized for coming up a few minutes past the recommended 60-minute cut-off. We often chose to head off on our own rather than keep to the guide's pace.

On to the diving itself. From Port Ghalib, we were supposed to travel to Daedalus Reef, St. John's Reef, and then on to Zabargad and Rocky Islands. The Egyptian military, unfortunately, just then decided to close Zabargad and Rocky in order to conduct training, forcing some improvisation.

Daedalus Reef was terrific, with very healthy corals, but due to the very warm water in early September we only briefly spotted one oceanic whitetip shark. At St. John's Reef and the nearby Fury Shoals, we noticed a fair bit of dead reef that hadn't been there on our first visit to the area in 2011.

I don't want to paint too negative a picture. The typical southern Red Sea dive included stunning hard corals close to the surface with plenty of colourful reef fish milling about. Minimal current made the dives incredibly relaxing and photography a breeze. Those seeking big fish (at least at this time of year) or varied macro would be advised to head elsewhere, however.

Oddly for early September, we experienced a fair bit of wind and chop, making for some rough night-time crossings. We understand that normally the seas are calm around this time; the wind picks up later in October.

If you're looking for easy, pretty dives at an extremely reasonable price, the Red Sea (and the southern areas in particular) are a great choice.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Bonaire, Indonesia, Ontario, Red Sea
Closest Airport Marsa Alam Getting There Direct charter flight from London booked as part of a package through Scuba Travel

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, dry Seas choppy, no currents
Water Temp 28-30°C / 82-86°F Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 25-35 M / 82-115 Ft

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Guides didn't strictly enforce limits, and divers were usually free to dive independently
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 1 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Minimal facilities: one poorly lit camera table and one rinse tank
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 118 dive reviews of Red Sea and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest, Dive & Adventure Travel
A full service dive travel agency that specializes in Africa. We know Africa. Red Sea Diving, Antiquities, Safari, Wildlife.

Want to assemble your own collection of Red Sea reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.09 seconds