So this past weekend was our dive weekend…2 days on a Dhow, tiny cabins, bunk beds and 6 dives…a definite adventure to be had!
Two weeks on the job and I already had to ask for time off to leave the office early, in order to make it to the Port of Dibba in Oman by 6pm. We hit the road just after 4pm on Thursday afternoon, and as luck would have it, traffic was bad. Worrying that we were going to be really late (as Tom Tom was telling us we would be 30 min late at this point) we called ahead and left a message notifying the tour company that we were en route, but likely to be late. Once off Sheikh Zayed Road (Dubai’s main highway to and from everywhere) we managed to make up some time (our ears still ringing from the constant pinging of the cruise control screaming at us for going over 120km per hour) and so by the time we arrived we were only 15 minutes late – only to be told we were the first to arrive! We got our dive gear and headed for the red Dhow which would be our home for the next 2 days (alongside it was a yellow Dhow doing the same diving tour and like us had only 2 people on board, waiting for the rest of their group to arrive). I can’t remember exactly how long it was that we waited, but it was at least 1.5hrs to 2 hours when the rest of the group finally arrived. All of whom had travelled from Abu Dhabi (thereby adding another 2 hours or so travel time to their journey) and who knew that the boats wouldn't leave until everyone had arrived, something our tour operator had failed to mention to us. But now we know...for next time.
Once every one was settled into their cabins, we finally set off, for what would be a 4 hour boat ride to where we would anchor for the night, and be close enough to the first dive spot for the early morning (7.30am) dive. Whilst the boat was en route, dinner was served and what a spread it was...the first of many. After dinner and a bit of socializing, people started to head off to bed, in order to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the early start the next day. As you can imagine the Dhow is not the quietest of boats and since the engines were still going, and it was a beautiful evening Mark and I opted to sleep on 2 of the sun lounges on the top deck, with the plan of moving to the cabin once we had arrived at the spot we would be anchoring at and where the engines would be shut off. Sleep came quickly to me, my body still getting used to the early morning starts of being back at work. Around 2am or so, I woke to the sounds of the captain and the crew shouting to each other whilst trying to dock and I glimpsed (from their torches flashing) the view we would awake to in the morning. At this point Mark and I decided to head down to our cabin where we slept soundlessly for the rest of the ‘morning’. Before we knew it my alarm was going off…and it was time to rise and shine and get that wetsuit on (the one and only time it would actually be dry) for the early morning dive. Once outside in the daylight we weren’t disappointed with the mountainous rocks which surrounded us, a welcome change in scenery again from the endless flat areas of Dubai. We were briefed on our dive before starting to gear up for the first time since Zanzibar in December. As always my nerves started wreaking havoc…I wander if I will ever not be nervous before a dive?
Anyway, we jumped on to the speedboat (which had been towed behind the Dhow) which would take us to our first dive site, called Red Island. We started checking our gear, before following up with our buddy checks - the rhyme we were taught for the buddy checks, always manages to escape me at the crucial times…something like ‘blonde woman really are dumb’…fitting I know…standing for BCD, weights, releases, air, d (which I still can’t remember). Anyway when we were happy from the once over of each other’s equipment, everyone did their backwards rolls off the boat and checked our buoyancy. Not having dived in the UAE before we weren’t quite sure what kind of weights we would need, but after a few unsuccessful attempts at descending with 4kg, then 6kg weights (something I guess should have been quite comforting, knowing that I wasn’t just going to sink), we finally decided on 8kg weights for me (which I had used in Egypt…and considering how close we are to Egypt, I guess it makes sense that the salt quantity in the water would be about the same or similar).
So down we went… the water was about 25° which oddly enough is probably about the coldest water temperature we have dived in so far (how spoilt we have been) considering it isn’t exactly cold…yet after being down between 15 – 30 meters for about 15 – 20mins I started to feel the cold and it was quite fascinating seeing your hands, nails and Mark’s head turn the various shades of blue they turned. The visibility was only about 5 – 8 meters, which I believe is quite good for the area and just in general for diving (again how spoilt we have been with almost 20 – 30 meters visibility we have been lucky enough to experience so far) and the water was a shade of green (as opposed to the crystal blue we had become accustomed to). Having said all that, it wasn’t too bad and actually made for an interesting and different kind of diving experience….
After our first dive, we were treated to another fantastic spread, this time for breakfast, and soon our day pretty much consisted of diving, eating, resting, diving, eating, resting on repeat. We did 4 dives on the first day (all at different sites), where we saw various things, although pretty much the same kinds of things each time, from moray eels, sea slugs, sea worms (although they look more like snakes) parrot fish, barracuda, lion fish, scorpion fish, electric rays and much more. On our 3rd dive, Mark spotted the hugest turtle I have ever seen (and our first turtle we have seen whilst diving). It was perched on a rock at the bottom of the ocean, just chilling…we actually thought it was a rock at first, before eventually realizing that it was indeed a turtle. Hovering (or should I floating) near it for awhile we just watched it...intrigued...before it eventually got tired of being on show and it moved and swam off, with such grace and elegance for such a large animal. A little further along we saw another large turtle…well what again at first looked like a huge white rock, until we got a little closer and realized it was unfortunately actually a dead turtle on its back (feet and all still in tact - so it couldn’t have been dead for too long). Our fourth and final dive on day 1 was a night dive - Mark and my first experience of a night dive! Needless to say I was very nervous yet again, considering I don’t think I have ever actually swam in the sea at night, never mind being 12 – 15 meters down in the sea at night, armed with only a torch. The group all stayed close together and once about 10m down, we found a sandy spot where we all kneeled together and turned off the torches to watch the flourescence show, which was probably the best part! We then all headed off again, torches back on for the rest of the dive, spotting again some more lion fish and another first… some fish sleeping in between rocks – seriously they were all piled on top of each other napping away. Other than that, a few bumps here and there from people bumping into each other, the dive went off hitch free and my nerves again had been for nothing. I’m glad we can now say we have done a night dive, but it’s not something I will be rushing to do again very soon.
Back on the boat, it was time for dinner, followed by yet more socializing (the group onboard consisted of 4 English friends, and another group of 4 work colleagues from various places (Canada, Germany, Sweden and a Zimbo), and then Mark and I)) before heading off to bed. Four dives in one day, amongst the sleeping and eating can really take it out of you…and we were sound asleep in no time at all, not even bothering about the noise of the engine this time whilst the Dhow moved again to be closer for the next morning’s early dive spot.
Day 2, we only had two dives (to make up the six in total), one at 8am and another about midday. On our last dive we experienced some stronger currents, which as the Dive Master had informed us in the briefing was a bit like a washing machine…something which at the time I couldn’t quite understand. But once caught up in it, the description couldn’t have been more apt. Having a little trouble with my buoyancy near the end of the dive, didn’t help when caught up in the current, as I tried not to just shoot up to the surface (without doing the necessary safety stop after being down 30 meters) so I had to hang on to Mark at one point who helped pull me down further until we managed to get through the current that was making us bob around like dirty socks, and back into a calmer area where we could do our safety stop.Back at the surface it was time for lunch again before we headed back to the Port of Dibba…after an enjoyable weekend and successful diving experience, where we almost doubled the number of dives we had done to date. I now have 19 dive notches on my belt and an even 20 notches (from his extra dive in SA just before our wedding) on Mark’s belt! And another tick off the Dubai adventures list…
