Blue Melody August 2011

The Indepth Gang

Helen Geall, Jenny Barnes, Jen McNish, Sue Upton, Barbara & Rose Arkell, Amanda & Tom Whorwood, Lousie & Sid Gray, Jane & Leon Comar, Hazel & Barry Stuart, Glyn Knowles, Ian Hayes, Drew Nicholson, Mike Hobbs, Steve Taylor, Geoff Anderson, Kevin Gleeson, Dave Henning, Miles Toon, Carl Haskell, Hamish Ogilvie and last but not least, our late entry John Stewart!

(Tim : you were missed and hope you are feeling better now! Your non -appearance confused the hell out of the Egyptian "port police" who could not cope with a last minute name change!)

The Blue Melody Crew

Guides: Elke and Abdu
Crew: Mohammed, Ahmed & Co! They all treated us royally and special thanks to the rib boys who helped us out on more than one occasion.

Our Trip

After what seemed like a very long flight and an even longer coach journey from Hurghada to Port Ghalib, we finally boarded Blue Melody, our home for the next week at about 1.00am on Saturday morning. The next day, once we had persuaded the officials that John Stewart was the new Tim, we finally set sail and experienced some great dives at Marsa Shouna, Elphinstone, The Brothers and Gota Abu Ramada, aptly named The Aquarium.

As the whole boat was filled by Indepth, it meant most of us knew each other and were used to the banter and abuse. A big welcome to Amanda and Tom, the Indepth newbies, who soon realised that if you can't beat them, join them!!

Seeing Drew's enthusiasm after the first dive was "bloody marvellous" and it only increased as the week went on. Glyn and Ian had waited 7 years to see sharks, Drew waited 4 days to see Hammerheads and Greys on Little Brother!

The sea was calm, the currents in general manageable and the marine life amazing. Jenny was happy she saw her wrecks eventually and Barb and Sue were chuffed that fewer night dives meant more time for aperitifs.

I think I speak for everyone when I say we had a great week away and look forward to more diving, eating, laughing, snoozing and boozing again soon.

The Boat - Blue Melody

Having scrutinised the other boats in the Blue O Two fleet, we came to the conclusion that Blue Melody has the best "chill deck" where we spent most of our time between dives. The new bar area and the ever popular new bean bags just enhanced the overall spec of the boat.

Well done to the sun worshippers who used the sun deck and roasted alive but achieved a tan. Not so well done to the rest of us who left the same colour as we started the holiday but who enjoyed the shade and snoozing below!

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Day 1: Marsa Shouna : reef, turtles, rays and sea grass!
Day 2: Elphinstone : hammedheads for some and reef
Day 3: Big Brother : stunning reefs and wrecks
Day 4: Big and Little Brother : sharks!
Day 5: Little Brother and the wrecks on Big Brother
Day 6: Gota Abu Ramada : the Aquarium and snorkellers!