The Phreatic Zone

Intro
So here’s an account of my recent dive trip to Egypt with Red Sea Explorers

I’ve decided to post this in 5 separate sections firstly to get it out and about and secondly to allow me to plough through the raw footage and still to make the entire report more colourful; so I hope you enjoy…..

 
This trip was organised a year before hand and the brain child of Faisal Khalaf (Dave’s boss), Mel Smith (Dave’s mum) and Dave Williamson (Dave’s mate) as a 21^st  birthday surprise for Dave Smith or Tired Dave as he’s more commonly known.

 
TDave is also a forum member of YD and DIRx to name but a few, so filling this trip initially and covering the team as people dropped out…. by word of mouth only became a real task to keep secret!

 
Dave left Capernwray some 2 years ago as a DM and is now lucky enough to work for Red Sea Explorers as a crew member of MV Tala; but don’t be under the illusion that this is a holiday for him, this guy really grafts!!

 
The team list was made up bth by DIR and non-DIR divers which turned out pretty well in my opinion. Dianne and Brad Williamson were there to complete their OW courses with Dave and Dave’s sister Charley and friend Sarah had only recently got their qualifications so it’s fair to say we had a real mix of divers onboard. There were also a couple of RB divers (Martin & Nicola) who were happy to bimble around with OC at recreational depths and then we had us lot which consisted of 7 GUE Tech 1 divers, 1 DIR-F (TDI Trimix) and a couple interested in DIR (Dom & Marianne). My wife Keira and Dave’s dad Roy would also be participating in some try dives throughout the week.

 
Day 1
Arrival at Manchester airport was uneventful and we managed to hook up with the majority of the guys/gals at the gate. After a 5.5hr flight we arrived at Hurgardha Airport, where we were soon to be met by an RSE rep and transported down to MV Tala some 2.5hrs south.

 
We arrived at the boat to be greeted by Faisal, Andrew Georgitsis (AG), Mo and Tala and an apparently unfazed TDave!

 
As it transpired, the guys had just finished building our twin sets and turning the boat around from their previous trip a few minutes before we arrived.

 
It’s also worth noting that I have yet to see Dave fazed by anything, but you could tell that he was pleased to see his pals and family and appreciative that he would have a relatively easy week with regards diving and language barrier.

…So, onto the diving