After leaving wet and windy UK, we experienced a very bumpy landing in warm and windy Egypt. The excellent administration enabled a smooth transfer from the airport to the boat by a coach which was more luxurious than we were lead to believe. We arrived at the live-aboard, the Makharita and were welcomed by the friendly crew, who would be our hosts for the expedition. After a long day we were allocated our cabins and by this time, we were all ready for sleep, but the high winds ensured we didn’t get that much!

We waited for our final crew member who had flown all the way from Cyprus because he had heard how reputable the previous expeditions had been. After an early briefing and re-supply of sea sickness tablets to the non sailors amongst us, we set sail to brave the high seas. As we sailed the conditions were rougher than anticipated, and on more than one occasion the propeller left the water.

The routine consisted of dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, night dive, eat sleep, maximum dives achieved for the hardiest was 20 dives in six days. The dives enabled all of us to experience the wonderful environment underwater, with its beautiful corals, clear blue water and abundant marine life. It was apparent as the week developed that the confidence and ability of the novice divers improved. This was primarily due to the expertise of the instructors and the fact that divers completed their ocean diver qualification during the expedition.

The ocean diver qualification enabled divers to be paired off without the need for instructors. This enabled the instructors to provide individual training to the less confident divers, and by the end of the week, they were gaining confidence in their own abilities.

Overall, this expedition was for training, which was definitely evident in the way the diver’s abilities progressed during the week. It was also about team building, leadership skills and especially for everyone to have an enjoyable experience, which was achieved and apparent by the end of the week as everyone left for home with smiles on their faces and fond memories.