Tag: hammerhead

Hammerhead “hunt”

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

If we are talking about the Sudanese Red Sea, we must emphasise that you can expect to dive with sharks at most dive sites. Sudan’s truly unique trait is when you are surrounded by a school of sharks so large, you cannot see beyond it and even the most experienced dive guides used to seeing plenty of sharks are left in an awe. In short, this is exactly what has happened this week.

And this is Shaab Jibna in the next second…
Hammerhead at Shaab Jibna in Sudan
We have had an exciting week. We ran into a couple reef sharks on the southern side of Sanganeb already on the first day and the next morning the hammerheads showed up too on the northern side. Shaab Rumi was exceptional this week with lots of reef sharks, a school of 20 hammerheads, dolphins and turtles. The week was crowned by Jibna where we found ourselves right in the midst of 50 hammerheads at 30 metres. We were literally doused with hammerheads, a virtual cloud surrounding us. This has been the best shark week so far!

We must add though that we had to modify our original tour plan scheduled for this week because of the strong winds. Instead of heading north, we navigated more towards the south as we were not able to go farther than Shaab Rumi. Although Angarosh was left out of the itinerary, Jibna was well worth this little detour. Here is why:

Tip of the week:
If there is a place where your best bet is to dive with Nitrox, it is Sudan! We often swim to 20-40m depths along drop-offs and reef walls.

Why use Nitrox:
– longer bottom time
– shorter surface time
– longer repeat dives
– safety! – using O2 tables, keeping to the maximum depth
– less change for narcosis

This is where we were this week:
Divesites Red Sea Sudan
OUR LAST-MINUTE OFFER
April 28, 2014 – May 5, 2014 — Andromeda — Sudan-South tour
Book by April 21, 2014 over the phone or in e-mail!

If you wish to know more about how to dive in Sudan, click here!
Magyar nyelven: www.redseaboats.hu/szudan/
In English: http://www.sudan-diving.com
По-русски: www.sudan-diving.ru

Nemo, hammerhead and manta in Sudan!

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

If it’s the beginning of February, then it must be our tried and true routine again! What else than a Sudan safari? We are over our first tour and of course, there was much to see, from Nemo to hammerheads with a manta for excitement.

Air temperature: 20-28C
Water temperature: 23-24C
Wind: calm in the first part of the week, stronger on the last day
Visibility: 10-15m

We are sailing in the North in the first couple of months of the season, a favourite of ours as it covers some of the greatest sites like Shaam Rumi, the wreck of Umbria, Angarosh and Cousteau’s Precontinent II.

Liveaboard in SudanWe cheered after every dive because we found all inhabitants where they always are. The reefs amazed us with the same vibrating colour cavalcade pulsing with life as every time before. The world is rich in gems that you just must see and one of them is – without being biased – the Sudanese Red Sea.

We dived with sharks at the “sharky” sites, with grey reef and hammerhead sharks, of course. At times 2-3 hammerheads were circling around us and there were times when 10-15 of them popped in for a visit. We dived with a gigantic school of barracudas at Sanganeb and we spotted a manta at Quita el Banna, 1-2m from us!

This group was experienced and well prepared. We thank you for choosing us!

Scuba divers on AndromedaTip of the week:

Important notice to all who are flying to Port Sudan via Dubai!

All guests who are not flying to Dubai with Emirates Airlines, must go to the transfer desk in Dubai as they arrive where they must request their luggage to be transferred onto the FlyDubai flight to Port Sudan. The transfer fee will be about USD50.

You do not need to collect your luggage, only request it to be transferred.

The checked-in luggage will not be transferred automatically, it will have to be requested in Dubai. (The luggage of guests flying with Emirates Airlines will be checked all the way through Port Sudan.)

If the luggage is not checked for the Port Sudan flight, it will not arrive in time or at all in Port Sudan.

Guests must go through the same procedure when returning from Port Sudan and ask their luggage to be transferred onto their homebound flight. There will be no charge on the way back.

Please make sure to label all luggage well (name, phone number, address, destination, etc.).

Sunrise in SudanThis is where we were this week:

Shaab Suedi – Gota Shambaia; Angarosh – Angarosh – Merlo – Gota Shambaia; Qita el Banna – Qita el Banna – Shaab Suedi – Shaab Suedi; Shaab Rumi – Shaab Rumi – Precontinent II – Precontinent II; Shaab Rumi – Sanganeb – Sanganeb – Umbria; Umbria – Umbria

Our LAST-MINUTE offer:

March 3-10, 2014 *** Andromeda *** Sudan-North tour
Book by February 28, 2014
Only 5 available places left
Book via e-mail!

A new week, new hopes. We will be back next week again and let you know what we will have seen.

If you would like to have more information about scuba diving in the Sudanese Red Sea on a Liveaboard:
In English: www.sudan-diving.com
www.cassiopeiasafari.com/sudan
Oroszul: www.sudan-diving.ru

In focus – the grey reef shark

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

This week the hammerhead sharks took backstage to the grey reef sharks. And did they ever perform – they were seen at almost all reefs. The first two days were a bit windy then the seas calmed down.

Tour date: April 22-29, 2013
Itinerary: Sudan-Ultimate
Air temperatures: 35C
Water temperatures: 27C
Visibility: 30m

port sudan, harbor, sudan, liveabaords, diving, safari, cruise, boat, red seaBecause of the winds, we had to start the tour in the north where this time there were no currents, so there were no hammerheads either. BUT there were plenty of grey reef sharks and very up close. As the other boats had arrived at Shaab Rumi, we moved on to Sanganeb. There were hammerheads at Logan Reef but it was impossible to stay on the plateau for longer than 30 seconds because of the strong currents. We were hoping that we might be able to catch some at Jibna but there were no currents there either, so after one dive, we continued on to the North side of Sanganeb. Here, we got lucky. Both our groups had the chance to meet up with a school of 20 hammerheads.

scuba diving, dive, sudan, Andromeda, red sea, liveaboard, shark, CousteauBesides the usual shark dives, we must also mention that Cousteau’s Precontinent is getting more and more colourful by the year! It is amazing how the seas had accepted and made their own the used-to-be underwater research base. If you decide to take part in a Sudan safari, we strongly recommend watching Cousteau’s movie “Precontinent 2”. This way it will be even more exciting to dive at this site in person.

sudan, liveaboard, red sea, cruise, diving, safari, boat Day 1: Precontinent, Shaab Rumi, Precontinent
Day 2: Shaab Rumi, Shaab Rumi, Sanganeb South, Sanganeb South
Day 3: Sanganeb South, Shaab Jibna, Shaab Anbar North, Shaab Anbar Lagoon
Day 4: Logan Reef, Logan Reef, Shaab Anbar South, Shaab Anbar Lagoon
Day 5: Shaab Jibna, Sanganeb North, Sanganeb North, Umbria
Day 6: Umbria, Umbria

A new week, new hopes. We will be back next week again and let you know what we will have seen.

In case you have missed out on our previous reports, you can catch up by following these links:

Caught between dolphins and sharks
Scooters in action!
Sudan, the Jolly, under and above water
An Eiffel Tower in Sudan
Manta, hammerhead, barracuda!
The sharks winked back!
Angarosh, the “Mother of Sharks”
A perfect start in Sudan!
Fish parade in the month of the Pisces!

Sudan, the Jolly, under and above water

Posted on by Livia (Volgyesi) Hertelendy

Five nations represented themselves last week on our Sudan tour. They have had such a blast that several of them are already planning their next year’s safari with us. There were guests from Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Holland and Germany, all jolly individuals, so our crew was also doing a happy dance this week.

Tour date: March 23 – 30, 2013
Itinerary: Sudan-North
Air temperature: 30-35C
Water temperature: 26-27C
Visibility: 30m

Life was just as lively under the water. At Sanganeb, for example, we ran into a school of hammerheads, head count – 30. Of course this was not the only place for hammerheads. We met up with some at Angarosh, at Qita el Banna and at Shaab Rumi. This week the currents were mild, it was barely windy and the seas were calm.

Although the first 2 days were a bit on the windy side, we were able to sail all the way up North and visited all the dive sites in our itinerary:

Day 1: Shab Suedi, Gota Shambaia, Gota Shambaia
Day 2: Abington, Angarosh, Angarosh, Shambaia
Day 3: Qita el Banna, Blue Belt, Precontinent, Precontinent
Day 4: Shaab Rumi, Shaab Rumi, Sanganeb North, Sanganeb West
Day 5: Sanganeb North, Sanganeb South, Sanganeb South, Umbria
Day 6: Umbria, Umbria

The group chose to spend the last day onboard taking it easy and taking a leisurely walk in the harbour, instead of visiting Suakin. Indeed, the giant cargo ships anchored in the harbour provide for an interesting attraction. Andromeda, with her respectable 40-meter length, was dwarfed by these giants and looked more like a small toy boat on the water. After walking by the marina and through the town of Port Sudan, most people are amazed by how clean it is, how pleasant its atmosphere is and how liveable it is. The best part of town is the street where the market and the shops are where the vendors are not at all pushy, they are friendly to invite you to check out their goods. Sudanese people, in general, are not at all pushy or forceful. They are curious and pretty low-key, very loveable people.

A new week, new hopes and we will be back next week with the latest from Sudan.

If you missed any of the past weeks’ events, you can catch up by clicking on the links below:

An Eiffel Tower in Sudan
Manta, hammerhead, barracuda!
The sharks winked back!
Angarosh, the “Mother of Sharks”
A perfect start in Sudan!
Fish parade in the month of the Pisces!