Sea Child in Sudan: Diving and Snorkeling the Red Sea and Sanganeb Reef

Sanganeb Reef and Light House,  April 9, 2016

When Sea Child was in Fiji in 2010, I took a Padi Certification Course with Subsurface Fiji and earned my Open Water Diver Cert.  Eric had earned his NAUI Certificate back in 1973, a much more challenging dive course that included rescue, cpr, and real emergency situations that were much more involved than my 3-day dive course.  In other words, his skill at diving is far superior than my Open Water Diver.  And his passion for diving inspired me to pursue a sport that we both can enjoy on Sea Child.  

We set Sea Child up with a dive compressor and spare parts, 4 sets of dive gear and the necessary wetsuits and weights. The bountiful, stunning reefs in Fiji were easily explored from the decks of Sea Child.  Diving became a number one activity and we sought out destinations that would allow us to continue the pursuit of my new passion.  As we sailed on from Fiji,  we explored the unique rock formations of Poor Knights, New Zealand; The Coolidge Wreck in Santo, Vanuatu; Isle of Pines, New Caledonia; Great Barrier Reef, Australia; Komodo National Park, Indonesia; Similan and Surin Islands, Thailand; Andaman Islands, India; and Maldives.  All these spectacular dive locations were unique in their own right.  But none of those locations matched the serenity, clarity, and diversity of diving in the Red Sea.

The beauty and color of the corals of Red Sea Coast, Sudan
photo by Tamara Barto

While in the Port of Suakin (Sawakin), our agent and friend, Mohammed, shared his copy of the dive book, Blu Sudan, by Maria Christina Pulliero.  This treasured copy was signed by the author to Mohammed, and he generously allowed us to take a few pictures of some of the incredible dive sites offshore the coast of Sudan.  

Book courtesy of Mohammed, Port Suakin Agent

 Sawakin (Suakin) is located SSW of Sanganeb Reef, the UMBRIA is located just off Port Sudan

As we motor-sailed out of Suakin (Sawakin) Harbor, Eric made 30 gallons of fresh water and by 1100 we were tied up at the mooring field of our first dive stop, the UMBRIA.  Lying in the shelter of Wingate Reef, the Umbria was sunk on June 9, 1940 by her Italian captain.  Italy had entered WWII that day, and rather than have the British take her cargo of bombs and weapons, not to mention cases and cases of Italian wines, she was sunk and sits on her port side 30-38 meters deep.  She is over 150 meters in length and can be explored in her entirety.  Since she was purposely sunk, there is no collision damage or other wreckage to her hull.  

When we arrived at the UMBRIA site, we were the only vessel there and the two of us were able to explore one of the worlds best dive sites by ourselves.  Her eery, underwater caverns are filled with supplies strewn about and we were able to swim inside her cargo holds. It was a bit disorienting for me to dive in a ship on her side, and as we went deeper (our max depth 22 meters) we found hundreds of empty wine bottles, car parts, and stacks of bombs.  We explored for over 57 minutes, in awe at the incredible clarity of the water and the unique hard and soft corals teeming with sea life.  The salinity of the Red Sea required us both to use a bit more weight than our past dives, and the exhilaration of our first Red Sea dive kept us both pumped as we returned to Sea Child alone at the reef.  

Tamara at the light house, Sanganeb Reef

Eric at the base of the 258-step lighthouse

We continued out east to Sanganeb Reef (19 degrees, 439.1N, 37 degrees, 268E) 14 NM NE of Port Sudan.  The reef was a short 2 hour sail from the UMBRIA, with full main and jib.  Channel 16 VHF was busy with “live fire exercise” announcements broadcast every 15 minutes that would continue through the night, some 60 NM from our location at Sanganeb.  These radio broadcasts had become so frequent they were almost a daily occurrance and as we sailed up the Red Sea a log entry was recorded as to lat/long and type of exercise.  This particular announcement was being hailed by Coalition Warships with security security security easily understood in English.   

We set the anchor at 1630 and enjoyed a quiet night at the remote and deserted reef.  The stars overhead shone brilliantly in the dark sky, the peace brought on by slight waves washing over Sanganeb.  On Sunday morning, April 10, we woke to a beautifully clear and sunny day at the epic reef.  Her colors of blue green edged with darker purples and blues surrounded the Sanganeb Lighthouse.  We took the dinghy to the lighthouse early, meeting some very nice Sudanese men who sold t-shirts and coffee cups to support the maintenance of the lighthouse itself.  We climbed the 258 circular steps to the lens at the top of the lighthouse and were stunned by the fantastic view of the Red Sea, with Sea Child sitting alone just off the northern edge of the reef.  The visibility was easy +20 miles and again the stunning Red Sea opened up before us.  Thrilled as we were, we returned to Sea Child to continue our underwater exploration of Sanganeb, and we were again enthralled by the beauty of the Red Sea.

Large, colorful giant clam

Eric just above Sanganeb Reef

We grabbed our masks, snorkels and fins to swim the outer rim of Sanganeb Reef and caught our breath at the stunning beauty surrounding us.  Its hard to find words to describe the crystal clear waters filled with schools of pelagic and reef fishes.  The kaleidoscope of colorful corals mixed with the tight gathering of giant clams opened up before us as we floated just above the reef.  We swam to the far eastern edge of Sanganeb Reef, gazing into the deep blue waters of the Red Sea.  The wondrous blue water was before us, clear and refreshing and full of life.  The visibility was again spectacular and all sea life was vibrant and healthy and full of fish ~ a bountiful experience far surpassing the recovering reefs of the Maldives and Great Barrier Reef.  We gasped at this incredible beauty, this marvelous experience to visit a reef so remote, so removed from mass tourism.  We felt blessed and beyond thrilled at the opportunity to be off the coast of Sudan, in the Red Sea, just above the breathtaking Sanganeb Reef. 

The view of the reef, with Sea Child in the distance.  We were the only boat there!

The incredible reefs edge at Sanganeb Reef, Sudan 
Photo by Tamara Barto

As we returned to Sea Child, we grabbed some rags to wipe her waterline which was floating a good 2” higher than she did in the Indian Ocean.  Interestingly, we were surprised at the absence of any growth on her bottom. Any algae that was present wiped off with ease.  Eric believes the salinity content of the Red Sea worked with us to prevent much growth on the bottom ~ a stark contrast to the rapid growth we fought continuously throughout SE Asia.  After a quick lunch, we took advantage of the weather to head N towards Egypt and Port Ghalib, 435 NM north. 

SEA CHILD floats over 2" above water in the Red Sea

Please come back for more of our Red Sea Adventure.  Up next, sailing to Egypt and more diving!

Please visit blusudan.com for more information about the incredible experiences and trips in diving Sudan.