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

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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		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
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
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Minimal facilities: one poorly lit camera table and one rinse tank

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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,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

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