UK Divers outing to the Red Sea aboard the MV. Tala September 2007 Report and pictures by Sazza

As you will know either from these boards or from personal experience the first trip was out of this world, so when Willo offered me a space on the September  trip he didn’t have an arm left!!!!

Starfish and her bloke Paul, Phil Osbourne and Zog were also aboard.

Now at first I was a little nervous of this trip, I didn’t know many of the people some i knew a little some of the names I knew from chatting on the forum....but I know Willo and the guys he dives with and I knew the level of diving was going to be way superior to mine and whilst I knew they’d be a good bunch I was still unsure of my diving......even though i knew id improved...

Still we do the usual sleep to airport etc and I have to say getting back on board was amazing it was like coming home and I was excited that this time we were doing the northern itinerary and I’d reach my 100th dive!!!!

Now I know dir gets a lot of ribbing on the UK Divers Forums but I must let you know that although everyone was dir and all totally nailed under water i couldn’t have met a nicer bunch of peeps not one superior bone in any of them and a total scream...(then again Willo would never associate with anyone who wasn’t.. nice that is) and for those that know the dir history we also had Andrew gorgeous and oh boy is that guy incredible under water and I’m not just saying that....plus also yup he’s a pretty cool guy and not at all as people may think.....

The night dive I didn’t log where was with Mike who then became my regular night dive buddy and loaned me his torch all week....not that i needed it with all the salvo's blasting about in the water and we jelled as buddies really well...saw some amazing stuff, starfish masses of prawns feather stars and the hugest grumpiest moray ever.....

The next dive was one of the best ever....as the standard of my diving had improved I buddied up with Fiona and was allowed to take a stage cylinder down and try a mix of 25/25...to increase dive time and depth.....I was so excited.....we dive the Rosalie Muller for 53 minutes and at an average of 35.9 m and did deco stops on the way up....i was so proud and pleased, I even did a gas switch at depth ok so it wasn’t pretty and I did rise up some but not badly badly, I controlled the whole thing pretty good even holding my stops on the way up Fiona and I seem even on this first dive to have an amazing connection underwater and she’s a great buddy it was incredible.....and felt so amazing on the gas mix, in fact id forgotten to mention id also done my nitrox for this trip and found an amazing difference just in how i felt...

The next dive was again on the Rosalie, descending down the shot the (we breath the stage first then go onto the back gas) I noticed a few bubbles escaping from the stage SPG it was facing away and as I turned it so I could check on what was happening it free flowed, I think we were reasonably deep, but managed to swap gas and regs etc, Fiona was there straight away and I held it to the surface....ok so nothing much to a lot of you but given how I was my history and confidence it was a major achievement dealing with it and staying calm. we swap the cylinder bobbing around in the water waiting for another then off again, and again had an excellent dive to 35m for 42 minutes again not much to some but my breathing rate has improved drastically and usually Fiona and I barley touch our back gas....

Another first and most amazing dive, we arrive at the Thistlegorm for a night dive mike again is my buddy along with starfish and Paul. wow oh wow oh wow yet again the most incredible dive ever hauntingly beautiful totally totally out of this world.

The next day do a further two dives, on the first Fiona and I go to the sea bed and swim out to look at the loco brilliant brilliant, then the third dive is my 100th, and back to the Thistlegorm with mo the dive guide who asks to join us and takes us on a wonderful tour, we penetrate the holds passing over rows upon rows of bikes cars guns you name it......

I’m  gasping with delight through the whole dive, it’s truly truly amazing, my gas switched are getting much better now even to the point that I’m hovering nicely just above the deck doing a switch when some very kind diver from another boat swims underneath me and just as I’m switching regs breaths out totally cocking my hover up......

but again i quickly regain control etc....Mo leads us back to the shot....at the shot he goes first and I see Fiona looking puzzled, she indicates she thinks it’s the wrong shot, but no mo gestures its the right one we both giggle and shrug and up we go holding stops etc etc....then mo starts looking about looking puzzled and as soon as its safe shoots to the surface leaving Fiona and I doing our last stop...

we are laughing our heads off now as we both know he's brought us up the wrong shot onto another boat!!!!! much laughter ensues on the surface as he has to whistle to our boat to get the zodiac to rescue us......needless to say he got ribbed all week about that.....

The week rolls by days merge into each other everyone jells and once again there's an incredible chilled atmosphere and I just love the time between dives when having eaten we all go to our various corners to read or snooze or listen to music whilst we motor to the next site, at times its lovely to wake up and hear the peace and watch everyone happily crashed and chilled.......

As I said the days do start to merge to the point I don’t know what day it is......one night I do know we had an impromptu party which was going very well, a boat moored near by clearly jealous of the fun we were having started cheering and yelling doing moonies and deck jumping into the water...they then decided to lead an assault on the Tala and joined our party which was hysterical.....

Another memorable occasion was one of the crossings later in the week that was at one point getting incredibly rough!!!!  Everything had to disappear of deck and those of us die hard’s had to huddle behind the bar on the lounger pads holding onto each other for dear life rolling and swaying around,  but wow it was incredible fun!!!!  Never laughed so much in all my life...

Then there was Fiona my buddy for most of the week she was great we had such fun and i have never laughed so so much underwater in all my life.....

Dive 101 was the Dunraven again spectacular and Fiona and i spotted the most humungous ever napoleon wrasse and the mother of all morays hiding away...

Dive 102 is Shark Reef Yolanda, no sharks though, it was a hard dive and I’m very very tired there's a hard current running so not a comfortable dive and I’m tired when i get on board so curl up in my bunk and slept through till lunch.

Dive 103 is another first...we get out so late and it’s a long ride out to the site the Marcus or Tile Ship...it’s getting darkish already...but still enough light not to warrant torches...I buddy with Paul as Fiona is off with the hubby on scooters again it’s a lovely little dive with lots of swim throughs and life, we meet up with mo and ascended together nice and slow, no need to rush and we know there’s  going to be a fair old wait for the rib and the surface is pretty rough....up on the surface we wait and wait and wait and wait its dusk when we get up and fully dark by the time a rib comes into sight, but its full so we have to wait more and more and more, but get picked up eventually.....I can’t say I’ve ever done day and a night dive in one, and it’s very different bobbing about on the surface in that dark!!!

104 is a lovely reef dive with the cutest ever clown fish giving me and Fiona real attitude...so so cute...105 is the Elminia with huge puffer fish and crocodile fish 106 is back to the Salam as lovely as ever....

And OMG dive 107 the something moon, we dived with curly Dave and it was the noisiest loudest wreck ever all creaking banging and moaning totally horrid, plus I have to say it was a tad boring....sorry but it was.......but then we went on the most amazing reef dive on the way back and racked up a total of 77 minutes in total which is my longest dive ever....

So that’s my second trip on the MV. Tala, the boat never ceases to amaze me comfortable brilliant plentiful food excellent staff and crew atmosphere great diving...and I was so impressed with Brad Sarah and Paul everyone was on twins or like me and Fiona with back gas and a stage plus ag Faisal Dave and Mo also dive twins on most dives yet everything is always ready always a good fill always the right gas mix, and it was so amazing t0 be given the opportunity to dive with a side slung cylinder do switches and try different gas mixes...my diving and confidence has improved no end.....

I’m not going to make an Oscar speech but I really do have to say thanks to those peeps all from and met through this forum (you know who you are) that without their help I wouldn’t be the diver I am now.

And I just can’t wait to go back on that boat........