Sudan, 2004 by Richard Scarsbrook.
The Sudanese Red Sea has long been on my ‘must do’ list. Our first attempt was in 1995 when Jen arranged a two-week TSAC club trip on the Colona IV. The plan was to sail from Hurghada to Sudanese waters and back. Unfortunately shortly after we had paid in full the travel agent informed us that the boat had sunk in a storm! Eventually we got our money back, but the trip was cancelled, and the Colona IV is now a training dive in 70 metres for people doing trimix courses. Almost a decade later, eight of us including four of the original team finally got to dive Sudan, in October 2004. We had some fabulous diving, but the trip was not without its problems.
Sudan
Sudan is an enormous country, the largest in Africa, and about ten times the area of the UK. It has a relatively short coastline extending about 500 miles from Egypt in the north to Ethiopia in the south. The border with Egypt is disputed – the official border runs along the 22nd parallel, but there is also an ‘administrative border’ which meets the sea about 100 miles along the coast to the north. The Egyptian ‘deep south’ dive sites Zabargad and Rocky Island lie 20 miles north of the latter and 100 miles north of the former. All the dive trips in Sudan run from Port Sudan, which is in the northeast of the country. Port Sudan itself has little to recommend it as a tourist destination, but it’s a long way from Darfur or any of the other troubled areas of the country, and is safe to visit. To the north and south there are mountains, but to be honest, on this trip we saw very little of the country. At the time of writing there are no UK government travel advisories against the area, although there are against other parts of Sudan.
Sudan
Off the Sudanese coast from October to December the winds blow at Force 2-4 from the north for about 30% of the time, and from the south for 40% of the time. From January to March they blow from the north at Force 4 for about 50% of the time, and from the south at Force 3 for 30% of the time. Winds are weakest in April and May, blowing from the north for 60% of the time, at Force 3 or less. In summer the wind is normally from the north or west at Force 4; there can be dust storms, and it is very hot, 40ºC or more. In September westerlies become less frequent, northerlies become more frequent, and the typical strength eases to Force 3. Occasional storms with associated strong winds can occur in any season. Daytime heating of the land can cause winds to be deflected towards the coast and to increase in strength. We observed winds up to 25 knots during the afternoon on some days. The sea temperature never falls below 25ºC, and on our trip it was as high as 32ºC on some dives. It doesn’t rain.
Travel
I booked the trip as a package through Tony Backhurst Scuba Travel (TBST). The deal included flights; one night in a Cairo hotel in each direction; transfers; and seven nights on the liveaboard. There’s an evening flight to Cairo on the way out, but the onward flight to Port Sudan isn’t until the following evening, so I arranged a visit to the Pyramids and Cairo museum to fill in the time for six of us who hadn’t been before. The cost was about £1250 each, including the discount for booking the whole boat, which was shared out between the members of the trip. On top of this you need visas and travel permits for Sudan, which have to be arranged in advance and cost about US$200, and two visas for Egypt which you buy at the airport for US$10 each.
At the time of booking the boat was to be the Conda Vannessa, about which I’d heard only good reports. About a month before we were due to depart I had a call from TBST informing me that the Conda Vannessa had gone to Egypt for the summer (as all the liveaboards do – it’s too hot in Sudan) and would not be returning. The proposed substitute was Freedom, an Italian-built Austrian-owned ketch. After looking at the specifications and photographs TBST sent, and doing a bit of research on the internet, it seemed that Freedom was a well-equipped boat with a good reputation, and so it turned out (see below).
To get to Heathrow for our flight to Cairo, six of us flew together from Manchester with BMI, having arranged to meet Anne and Tim at Heathrow. On the day the six of us checked in at lunchtime at Manchester, and our bags were checked through to Cairo. We went through to departures, bought a round of drinks, and relaxed looking forward to our holiday. When we arrived at the Egyptair transfer desk in Heathrow after the short flight from Manchester, we discovered to our horror that the Cairo flight was heavily overbooked and our entire group had been bumped. Egyptair staff wanted to put us in a London hotel overnight and send us on the next day’s Egyptair flight. Eventually after Daniel at TBST and I repeatedly pointed out that this would miss our connection to Port Sudan which only flies once a week, they rerouted us via Athens. As a result of this we arrived 14 hours late in Cairo, missing a night’s sleep in the hotel which we had paid for, and 6 of us missing the tour of the Pyramids and Cairo Museum. What really annoyed us all apart from the bumping itself was the total lack of customer service which followed. Nobody apologised. At Heathrow, just an offer of somewhere comfortable to sit and a cup of coffee would have been nice. They eventually gave us a food voucher, but by the time we were able to use it all the outlets had stopped serving except one sandwich bar. After we left Heathrow, nobody from Egyptair got in touch with us – nobody met us at Athens; we had no offer of accommodation (we “slept” on the hard floor at the airport); nobody offered refreshments; and when we checked in for the Egyptair flight at Athens we received no priority treatment (in fact I had to protest when we were put behind a large group whose rep had jumped the queue). Absolutely appalling. Eventually in January after several letters via TBST and much heel-dragging on Egyptair’s part we got a fairly derisory amount of compensation. I’m still awaiting a reply to my email to their ironically-named wecare@egyptair.com.eg
The rest of the travel was relatively stress-free. Sudan Airways operates an ancient Boeing 727, but check-in was quite easy (the passage smoothed by helpers from Traveline, TBST’s agents in Cairo and Port Sudan, who were superb), and the flights were on time (apparently we were lucky). Check-in for the return Egyptair flight at Cairo was chaotic, but the flights were on time. The food and service on all the flights was mediocre. Neither airline serves alcohol.
For the return night in Cairo Traveline organised a trip to the Son et Lumiere show at the Pyramids for us. To be honest, the show itself is pretty tacky, but it was interesting to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx, and I’m glad I went. The most memorable part of the evening was the drive from the airport. We had only 40 minutes to make the 40km trip through Cairo traffic, but our driver made it. It was a real white-knuckle ride, not for the faint-hearted. He deserved his baksheesh.
I’d like to return to Sudan, but obviously we won’t be flying with Egyptair. A quick check on the internet shows that lots of other airlines fly from the UK to Cairo with schedules that fit with the flights to Port Sudan. Also, we bought our connecting flights from Manchester to Heathrow on the internet (TBST weren’t keen to do it for us). Next time I would insist on through tickets from point of origin (Manchester for most of us) to final destination, so that if any of your flights are late, there’s no doubt that it is the airline’s responsibility.
Finally there and a Port Sudan sunset
Health
Sudan is a third-world country, and has more than its fair share of endemic diseases, coupled with limited healthcare. You should check with your doctor to see what vaccinations you need. Jen and I often travel to exotic locations and didn’t require any extra vaccinations or medication for this trip. The risk of malaria is low on the Red Sea coast, but some of our party took anti-malarial drugs anyway. At the airport on departure you have to get two cards stamped: a yellow one confirming you have not visited a yellow fever area; and a rather frightening pink one confirming you have not visited a haemorraghic fever zone. Without these you will be refused entry to Egypt.
Three of our party had nasty bouts of diarrhea and vomiting, with Jen and JU being laid low for three days. It’s important to take some medical supplies with you, including antibiotics, iprofloxacin is recommended), an anti-diarrheal such as Lomotil or Immodium, and plenty of rehydration salts such as Dioralyte. Taking at least one sterile kit (needles, syringes, cannulae, etc and maybe sterile IV fluids as well) is also a good idea. Travel insurance which covers medical expenses, emergency evacuation, and repatriation is essential.
There are no recompression chambers in Sudan (except on the Don Questo, though whether it is available I couldn’t say). The nearest is in Saudi Arabia at Jeddah, about 150 miles away.
Money
Sudan is essentially cash only. I don’t think there are any ATMs, and credit cards are not widely accepted. We paid for all the local costs (visas, travel permit, tips and purchases on the boat) with US dollars we had brought with us.
Our Dive boat, “Freedom”
MY Freedom
MY Freedom is an elegant 27 metre motor-sailer. Most of the time we just motored – she has twin 220HP diesels – but on the last day we motor-sailed back towards Port Sudan under the large foresail. The sun was setting over the desert as we approached the coast. It was a memorable passage.
She takes 8 or 9 divers, and has a crew of 5 including the owner/skipper Rudiger. There is a comfortable saloon, and a covered outside dining area. The cabins are air-conditioned, but even so at times it was more comfortable to sleep on deck. There is plenty of shade on the boat – absolutely essential in the fierce sun (which melted the glue on my favourite shoes!). There are 2 heads and showers. One is part of an ensuite double cabin, so access might be a problem if the guests are individuals and couples who didn’t know each other before and don’t get on. It wasn’t a problem for us.
The food was plentiful and tasty, with a choice of dishes at each meal. Breakfast was generally a permutation of eggs, bread, cheese, jam, yogurts and fruit, and sometimes pancakes. Other meals typically included pasta, rice, meat and/or fresh fish, and salad. The chef baked a fresh cake every day. There is a bar on board.
The navigational equipment was the most impressive I have seen on any dive boat. As well as dedicated hardware there were several laptops integrated into the system. You could look at a large colour plotter showing the ship’s position, with radar images and details about individual targets overlaid on it, and with the latest satellite weather picture overlaid on top. The boat just bristles with electronics. There is a satellite telephone, an email facility, several VCRs, a non-linear video editing suite, a DVD player, TV screens, etc, etc.
The tender is excellent, the best I have seen on a boat of this size. It is a 6 metre RIB with a 120HP inboard diesel, decent electronics, and a fresh water shower.
Soft Coral
Diving
The diving was fantastic. Compared with the Egyptian Red Sea the dive sites are deserted. We saw three other liveaboards in the harbour – Don Questo an Italian motor boat which looked a bit scruffy, Baron Noir a French motor boat, and one other motor sailer. There is also an Emperor Divers day boat operation based at the Hilton hotel. After leaving port we saw the French boat once, and a day boat once. Apart from that we had the reefs to ourselves, and we were the only party on the dive sites. We did two or three dives a day. As far as I know, none of the boats offer more than this – not a problem for our party, since we all prefer quality to quantity.
The standard run on a one-week charter is north from Port Sudan to Sha’b Suadi and back, visiting Sha’b Rumi, Sanganeb, and the Umbria en route, but the itinerary is flexible. We chose to omit Sha’b Suadi since it is an extra 40 mile round trip to reach it, and we weren’t attracted by its main claim to fame, the wreck of the Blue Bell an upside-down cargo vessel carrying Toyota trucks and cars. Instead we finished our cruise by going south to the little-dived Sha’b Anbar. All the anchorages were calm, peaceful, and well-protected from the surrounding ocean. There was much more bird life than I have seen in the northern Red Sea, including a spectacular sea owl.
Although sometimes Rudiger dived with us at the nicest sites, the dives were not guided. I think that guided diving would be provided if required, but we had specifically asked for unguided. There was a current of up to one knot over the plateau at the end of the reefs, where the best fish action was. In some cases the current was pushing you away from the reef into deep water. The recommended route for these dives was to fin against the current back into the shelter of the reef after visiting the point. However we found this to be unnecessarily hard work, and wasteful of air. A better plan (in calm weather, with divers who are up to the job) is to go with the flow, loiter at the point (a reef hook might be useful), then ascend under a delayed SMB. You get a shorter dive, but spend more time at the best spot.
Ordance on the Umbria
Wingate Reef 19°38N 37°17E
This reef lies only a few miles to the north of Port Sudan. There are many wrecks on and around Wingate and Towartit just to the south, which are major anchorages for vessels awaiting entry to Port Sudan. There are over a dozen charted wrecks within a 10 mile radius of Port Sudan, and probably many others uncharted, all barely dived if at all. The most famous wreck, and the only one we dived, is the Umbria. She is a 155 metre Italian cargo vessel built in Hamburg in 1911. She sank in June 1940. At the time the Umbria was carrying war supplies – mainly ammunition and building materials. Italy was about to enter the war and her captain believed that the British were
about to seize his ship so he scuttled her. The wreck lies intact on her port side at an angle of about 45 degrees, in barely 30 metres of water. The starboard davits break the surface, and the engine room can easily be penetrated at a depth of only 15 metres.
Swim through on The Umbria
The massive starboard propeller stands clear of the seabed, but the port propeller is buried. There are four main holds, each one stacked with bombs and shells, and a variety of sacks and boxes. In the hold just forward of the bridge and accommodation (which is midships) there are some intact Fiat cars tucked away on the starboard side. The visibility is good (about 15m), the water is warm, and there are no currents. The wreck is covered in coral, teeming with fish, and has neither been salvaged nor vandalised. There are many easily-entered spaces and passages with sunlight filtering down into them. The Umbria is a superb, world-class wreck dive. We made three dives on her, including one at night, and each time had the wreck to ourselves.
Jon Greenbaum on the prop of The Umbria
Sha’b Rumi 19°57N 37°24?E
Sha’b Rumi is a reef about two miles long which lies about 25 miles north from Port Sudan, 10 miles offshore. We stayed here for two nights, and dived four different sites.
Sudanese Shark-life
South Plateau – This was a fantastic site. The plateau starts at about 20m close up against the reef, and drops gently to about 30m over a horizontal distance of 100m, before plunging away to the depths. We encountered the strongest currents of the trip here. Reef sharks appeared as soon as we entered the water, and stayed very close throughout the whole of the time on the plateau. There were several large shoals of fish and many barracuda. Then a school of 20+ hammerheads cruised past. It was like being in a scene from the BBC’s Blue Planet.
Conshelf II – In 1963 Jacques Cousteau ran an experiment in which five men lived for a month in an underwater habitat at this site just outside the entrance to Sha’b Rumi lagoon. The habitat itself has been removed, but a large mushroom-shaped garage, complete with airspace inside, an underwater toolshed, and some shark cages, all remain pretty much intact in around 10 metres. This is a fascinating trip into diving history, not to be missed.
Jacques Cousteau’s Conshelf experiment
North Plateau – This plateau is deeper at 40 metres than the one at the south of the reef. There was a north-going current of about half a knot on the east and west sides of the reef, but it was slack at the point itself. It was a nice floaty dive, with sharks deep down, and a variety of fish life including large groupers. The south was better though.
Southwest side – This was a gentle drift north along a very steep wall festooned with pristine coral, starting from the beacon and ending up near to Conshelf.
Sanganeb 19°45N 37°26E
Sanganeb is an oceanic atoll about four miles long, rising from water 800m deep. It lies about 12 miles south of Sha’b Rumi. At the south end is a 50m tall British-built lighthouse. You can visit the lighthouse on presentation of a ‘gift’ (cigarettes, fresh fruit, etc) to the crew who man it. The view from the top is spectacular, and you can get a mobile phone signal there as well! Around the base of the lightouse are the salvaged remains of a yacht once owned by Elizabeth Taylor. It was neglected by its crew, and eventually sank after the bilge pumps stopped working.
Barracuda at Sanganeb
North Plateau – The plateau itself is deep at 50m, and we didn’t see anything spectacular. However just off the reef at the SW corner of the plateau we encountered an enormous swirling shoal of mature barracuda – another Blue Planet moment. There were also many other shoals of fish seen throughout the dive. World-class.
Southwest point – The plateau here is only about 30m, and it is exceptionally pretty with many magnificent specimens of pink soft coral. We also saw shoaling fish and the odd shark.
Sha’b Anbar 19°17N 37°42E
Sha’b Anbar lies 30 miles southeast of Sanganeb, about 20 miles offshore. The reef is about five miles long, but has only one safe anchorage (with a very tricky entrance), at its northern end. According to Rudiger, it is seldom dived.
Northwest point – It was blowing easterly F5 the first time we dived here, and the sea was rough over the plateau, so we drifted gently south down the west side along a pretty 70° slope. The next day it was calmer and we visited the plateau itself. There are two shelves, a large one at 25m and a smaller one at about 55m. There were hammerheads and reef sharks on the deep shelf. Visibility was well over 30m. Another world-class dive, ended by a drift down the west wall, where we saw a large shoal of parrotfish patrolling vertically up and down the reef.
Sha’b Anbar
Pinnacle in entrance to anchorage – We made a spiral dive around this pinnacle which rises from about 25m to 8m and has pristine coral, lots of small fish action, and passing shoals of bluefish.
West wall 200m south of entrance – A virgin site for MY Freedom, there were exceptionally pretty towers and gullies from 3-15m, and a vertical dropoff from 30m to the depths.
Summary
Sudan has some magnificent diving, and every dive is good. The reefs are unspoiled and uncrowded, and the Umbria is a superb wreck. MY Freedom is a very nice boat I’d be happy to use again. It isn’t cheap to dive Sudan but it is good value. It’s an adventurous trip and you should be prepared for hassle at some point during the expedition but it’s worth it (but not on the London to Cairo leg, so avoid Egyptair). The standard itinerary is brilliant and well worth doing and I suspect that, for adventurous groups or repeat visitors, as good or better diving will be found to the south of Port Sudan; and for wreck enthusiasts, great exploratory diving around the Towartit and Wingate reefs just outside Port Sudan.
All pictures from the trip by Tim Nicholson.
Rick Scarsbrook
