Page 141 - Bugle Autumn 2014

EX ARABIAN TIGER 2014
In February 2014 certain members of The Band and Bugles of The Rifles along with members of various other units deployed
to Egypt on a diving expedition in the Red Sea, organised by LCpl Matt Egan and LCpl Christina Campbell. The following is an account of some of the highlights of a very successful trip.
0600hrs ready for the first dive which allowed us to see some early morning predators. Two dolphins were spotted
and some of us were fortunate enough to swim with them. We then practised drills
in the shallows around the reef expanding our skills in buoyancy control, rescue drills and deploying a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB). Our second dive of the day involved a short trip out on the inflatable boat to get to another wreck called Ulysses. This was visually stunning with minimal current and gave us our first opportunity
was time to deploy a DSMB to indicate
our position to the inflatable. After lunch
we then moved onto the highlight of the entire trip, SS Thistlegorm. This wreck is
a British naval ship that was sunk during World War 2 whilst delivering vast quantities of military supplies such as trucks, tanks and weapons. Most of this can still be recognised despite the large amount of sealife now growing on it.
The following day allowed us to explore SS Thistlegorm further with the deepest dive of the trip so far at 30m. Some truly awe-inspiring sights were experienced including the massive propeller. Later on that day we visited a wreck entitled Giannis D which lies on the seabed at a 45o angle and so, due to the feeling of weightlessness underwater, upon entering the hull divers feel rather disorientated. This may explain the fact that one of our groups ended up surfacing in an air-pocket. What they didn’t realise is that there was a layer of oil floating on the surface. When they returned to the boat they were a real mess and had to spend ages scrubbing the oil off their kit before even getting back onto the boat, giving us ample opportunity to have a good laugh at their expense!
On the last day of diving we had the luxury of a half-hour
The first day of travel to Hurghada
on the coast of the Red Sea was met with great excitement. We had an early morning muster parade at the band block at 0415hrs before departing to Gatwick Airport. Everything went
smoothly at check-in
enabling us to visit
Wetherspoons for a few
swift halves before the
flight. With the group
split into two flights we
all left for Hurghada on
our respective 4.5 hour
flights. Upon arrival,
the group were met by Blue O Two dive representatives who transferred us to the Marriot Hotel where the Blue Horizon was moored. After an initial brief we set up our dive kit and ate before going to bed early.
A wake up call at 0515hrs was accompanied by a brew ready for the first dive brief of the day. We left the marina and headed out to a location called Poseidon Reef, an excellent first dive site for those training amongst us. We were split into groups and then we started our Sports Diver training, mostly doing drills and getting used to our kit. Marine life to note at this point was a giant moray eel who took
great pleasure in swimming very close to
us on the first dive! Later in the afternoon we moved to another dive site called The Barge, situated close to the island of Umm Gosh. We arrived at a paradise of sunny beaches and amazing clear blue water. More training was undertaken at this point followed by spectacular diving around the wreck. Visibility around The Barge was excellent and a whole range of marine
life was observed namely crocodile fish, common lion and trumpet fish.
The first brief of the day started at
to enter a hull, known as penetration. Upon surfacing, great care had to be taken entering the inflatable because de-kitting had to be done in the water and no one wanted
to lose any expensive
kit! Our last dive of the day was a night dive, to experience the
night predators and the territorial nature of lionfish that enjoy stalking the light from our diving torches. We were all exhausted by this point but those of us still in training had to take our BSAC Sports Diver theory test which proved challenging. Nevertheless, we completed this
Marine life to note at this point was a giant moray eel who took great pleasure in swimming very close to us on the first dive!
at 2315hrs and all involved could finally go to bed and look forward to an early start as newly qualified Sports Divers!
Some truly awe-inspiring sights were experienced
lie in until 0600hrs. To allow time for the nitrogen levels in our blood to resume a safe level for flying we stopped diving at lunchtime and
An early morning
brief was followed by an hour long journey to the Kingston. Once we arrived and moored up a short distance away we split into groups ready for an inflatable ride
to exit over the wreck itself. The water was so clear you could see the wreck immediately. We all went to our maximum depth of 25 metres and then worked our way back to the ship to penetrate the hull. After swimming through shoals of glass fish and seeing a few moray eels we then worked our way to the coral reef. We then gently drifted along the reef wall until it
then took the official expedition photos of the group. This gave us chance then to thoroughly wash the kit and leave it out to dry in the heat of the midday sun. Due to the fact that dehydration increases the risk of decompression illness whilst diving, we had mainly remained teetotal so far during the trip. However, now that we had finished diving we had no such limitations and were able to make the most of the nightlife in Hurghada, safe in the knowledge that we could catch up on our sleep on the plane the following day.
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