Day 3 - The Narc Shark and the Deep Blue - 12/01/2016

Shark & Yolanda reefs are two of the more spectacular reefs in the northern Red Sea. Although, I sometimes think they are so vast and sweeping that vista sometimes that you miss the life that makes its life there. It was on the this reef that I had my first narc of the week. Dives one and two of the day were on this reef.

I always like to keep my eyes on the deep blue. It's where you see sharks and some of the bigger marine life. Well on dive one I was squinting into the blue and I saw one. Well, I thought I did. It seems it was a turtle, but at 35.5m and working hard into a head current it was definitely a narc shark at the very least. I chased it, until my dive computers started playing the classic hits of disco-electonica sending me up to more sensible depths. Meanwhile, the rest of the group looked on bemused. I rallied at the end of Yolanda and regrouped my senses. It was a great dive though! Back on the boat I was the butt of the jokes. I didn't mind, I saw a narc-shark.

For the Kingmaker, a large Napoleon Wrasse seemed to hold his attention. It's not the best picture, but you can certainly see the scale of it.

Our second dive saw the Kingmaker who knew this reef well take a short cut across 'the saddle' between the reefs in the deep blue. I think the we went into slightly deeper blue than expected because we arrived on Yolanda Reef on the shallow remnants of the Yolanda from which the reef takes its name. We also arrived before everyone else. The upside was that we got to spend a lot longer on Satellite Reef and with a turtle we'd seen earlier.

The third and fourth dives of the day were at Beacon Rock. The highlight of the dives here was getting to dive on the wreck of a liveaboard that sunk here a few years ago. There really wasn't that much to see. Although Hells Kells did spot a warted nudibranch of some kind.*

Turtle

Kingmaker & Napoleon Wrasse

Turtle

* I know, it's amazing how nonchalant you become about some of the diving very quickly.