m.y. juliet - simply divingcarnatic, a 100-year-old wine cargo wreck, the rosalie moller and the...

Pre-departure Information

M.Y. JulietOonasdivers Ltd

16 Gildredge Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4RL

www.oonasdivers.com • [email protected] Tel. 01323 648924 • Fax. 01323 738387

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.oonasdivers.com/

IntroductionThis fantastic 28m twin-screw motor cruiser is fully equipped to charter and dive the northern Red Sea. Yasser Gouda, is proud to offer you the opportunity to share his generous hospitality aboard M.Y. Juliet. His attention to detail has created a liveaboard experience that will spoil you for the future - relax in comfort and let the crew do the rest! Included in your tour price are flights, transfers, 6 days liveaboard diving, full board and marine park fees. Cola, fanta & sprite are extra.

M.Y. Juliet has 7 en-suite, air-conditioned cabins with personal TV, video and internal telephones. Her light and airy mahogany-paneled cabins have plenty of storage space and are impeccable in their design. There are 2-twin berth cabins and 4 cabins where guests are presented with a large double or twin berth option. On the upper deck is an en-suite Master Cabin, with its own private entrance, double bed and mini-bar. Two spacious sun decks

provide plenty of relaxation areas which are partly shaded. It is supremely well laid out with a shower, equipment-rinsing facilities, and twin staircases leading to the large dive platform. Her main air-conditioned living area continues the airy, spacious theme and is equipped with TV, CD/DVD and stereo system.

Juliet’s helpful, charming crew delight in making you feel at home and your stay onboard very enjoyable. Always let us know if you have a birthday or anniversary to celebrate, as the crew love an excuse to party and prepare a banquet for you. You are always made to feel more than welcome on Juliet - Yasser’s kind hospitality is renowned by the many repeat guests he has each year.

The RouteJuliet departs from Sharm weekly throughout the year. Her exciting dive itinerary has plenty of variety and includes the very best coral reefs and islands between the Tiran and Gubal Straits as well as Ras Mohamed. Wreck dives are weather dependent, however, she usually covers Sha’b Abu Nuhas, famous for the Giannis D cargo vessel and the Carnatic, a 100-year-old wine cargo wreck, the Rosalie Moller and the S.S. Thistlegorm in Sha’b Ali.

Dives can be made from her tender, ensuring plenty of drift diving. She is fully equipped with comprehensive navigation and safety equipment and in addition has added a second powerful RIB.

Oonasdivers Ltd • Tel: 01323 648924 • Web: www.oonasdivers.com

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From Lydia’s Juliet Diary – Example Of A Diving Week

As we boarded we were greeted typical Egyptian style, huge smiles from crew and a glass of cold juice while we waited for our bags to be loaded on board, after a quick boat briefing were out of dock and heading towards the Gubal Straits for our first dive, the world famous “Dunraven” which sank in 1870 while returning from Bombay on route to Newcastle carrying her cargo of wool and cotton. As she is only 12km north of Ras Mohammed she is a popular first stop for many northern red sea liveaboards.

After the “Dunraven” we headed towards the “Kingston” often known as the “Sarah H” (named after the wife of the skipper who eventually found her until she was officially identified in the mid 1990’s) The Kingston was built in Sunderland by the Oswald Shipbuilding Company, and launched on 16th February 1871. She was technically described as an "Iron, Screw, Brigantine" and was one of a relatively new breed of ship which had a funnel as well as two masts. The Kingston struck Shag Rock in the early hours of February 20th 1881, she took 2 days slip from the reef and sink, she now rests in only 17m of water, due to her shallowness the coral life is abundant and makes for a fabulous photo opportunity.

Once finished with Kingston we all decided that although the winds were starting to whip up we were going to head off for the “Thistlegorm”, and boy did we make the right decision. Upon arriving at Shaab Ali everybody was surprised yet pleased to see that we had the whole 126m WWII beast to ourselves, and it would be that way for the next 3 dives.

The first dive on the Thistlegorm was around 3pm, for a few people on board this was their first chance to see this casualty of war, to be the only boat on the Thistlegorm is a rarity these days so the group decided to take full advantage and stay moored on her overnight thus being able to complete a night dive (too spooky for me) and still enough time to get an early one in before the hoards of day boats appeared.

I wasn’t sure about mooring overnight in such an exposed area, mainly because I can suffer from sea sickness but, even though the winds picked up and the waters got a little more chunky Juliet remained stable enough for me to be able to get a good night’s sleep, about 3.30am I heard the engines start as the skipper didn’t want to put a strain on our mooring lines, other than that I would have thought we were back in the lagoon.

Juliet’s best features aren’t just her comfortable cabins or her airy saloon, the crew are all fantastic and the food was exceptional. I must admit I have never seen so much choice, breakfast would be the normal cold meats, cheeses, toast, pastries, hard boiled eggs, cereal & fruit etc, but then we would be offered omelettes, scrambled eggs, pancakes, falafel and lord knows what else our cook thought he may have missed out, lunch and dinner also offered the same amount of choices and the same huge portions, in fact every time I have received feedback from our guests who have spent time on board Juliet everyone mentions the superb quality and huge quantity of food.

The last night, in liveaboard tradition, we had our end of holiday party, the chef baked us a cake, the Sakkara’s came out of the fridge and the crew grabbed their drums and a zodiac was sent back to Sharm harbor to collect Yasser, the boats owner, we reflected on our week and partied into the early hours. The following morning we packed up our kit and disembarked to return to the Oonas Club before flying home.


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Equipment hire & Courses

All items below must be booked in advance here in the UK but are payable locally on board, Euro, Sterling, Egyptian Pound, US Dollar are accepted on all boats, Credit Cards are accepted but will carry a surcharge of 5%. All prices are inclusive of Egyptian sales tax.

Equipment Hire Per Day

REGULATOR €9.00

B.C.D. €9.00

FULL WETSUIT €8.00

HALF WETSUIT €6.00

MASK €4.00

BOOTS €3.00

FINS €4.00

TORCH €8.00

SNORKEL €1.00

WRIST MOUNT DEPTH GAUGE €2.00

COMPASS €3.00

COMPUTOR ( IF AVAILABLE ) €10.00

M.Y. Juliet charge a maximum of €25 per person, per day for full equipment hire. Computers, if required are an additional €10.

All courses below are based on being booked and paid for in advance, courses may cost more if you chose to take them when you are on site. Prices are for courses only and exclude any training materials or certification, certification payable locally for €35.

Courses Price in £

Scuba Review (1/2 day) £70

Advanced Open Water (2 days) £140

Rescue Diver (3 days) £220

Nitrox (2 days) £100

Specialities (price per dive) £35

Nitrox is available and can be booked in advance here in the UK for £75 for unlimited fills.


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Tour Overview

Arrival In Egypt

Once you arrive at Sharm airport you will be greeted by the Oonasdivers representative, he will be holding an Oonasdivers board so that he can be easily identified. The representative will give you your Egyptian entrance visa so that you can proceed through immigration as quickly as possible. Once you have collected your luggage you will meet outside of the airport with the representative who will then take your £15 for your entrance visa, you will then be lead to your air-conditioned mini bus for the onward transfer to your boat.

Once you arrive on board you will be given a welcome drink before the boat and safety briefing begins, after which you head down to your cabin to get moved in before dinner.

Setting Sail

Juliet generally sets sail the night you arrive, so you wake up in the morning refreshed and ready for your shake down dive.

Dive Timetable

The dive plan during the course of the week on average starts with a 05.30am dive briefing, at this time tea, coffee, water & biscuits are available, once back on board and after breakfast you will take another dive, after lunch you take your 3rd dive, then later a night dive before dinner.

Last Days Diving

On your last day of diving you will be able to complete 3 dives before your diving part of your holiday is over, Juliet often stays outside of the dock for the last night, however you can always arrange with the dive guide if you would like to bring her in so that you can spend an evening on land, Juliet’s crew will always try to accommodate when logistically possible.

Last Day

On your last day, shortly after breakfast you will be transferred to the Oonas Dive Club. There are toilets and showers available for your use, and your luggage can be left at the centre. The day is now your to spend at leisure, either shopping or relaxing at the Oonas Clubs roof top bar.

Please ensure that you have enough money to be able to purchase your meals, drinks, and any souvenirs. Approximately 2.5hrs before your flight you will be collected for your short transfer back to your airport.


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Travel Information

Liveaboard Cabin Arrangements

All our liveaboards have twin berth cabins. Individuals will have to share if the boat is full. Men and women will have to share a cabin if ‘same sex’ cabins are unavailable.

Language

The official language is Arabic though English and many other European languages are widely spoken.

Religion

Muslim & Christian.

Tipping

We are frequently asked about tipping the crew and staff – how much, and in what currency. We recommend a tip of about £20 per guest or the equivalent alternate currency.

Time

GMT + 2.

Electricity

115-220 volts Continental 2-pin plugs are standard, a European 3 pin adaptor will be required.

Average Egyptian temperatures - Air

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec20° 22° 24° 28° 32° 34° 37° 39° 37° 34° 26° 22°

Average Egyptian temperatures - Sea

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 20° 20° 21° 22° 24° 25° 26° 28° 28° 26° 24° 22°

Dive Sites

All dive sites and itineraries are sea condition dependent and are decided by the skipper and dive guide. Wrecks tend to lie in exposed locations with navigation hazards. We do not promote ‘Wreck’ charters because it is unrealistic to ask a skipper to compromise the safety of his guests, crew & boat when sea conditions are not favorable. Likewise, we do not guarantee sharks as although reef sharks are territorial they tend to be very shy and the larger pelagic sharks are cruisers and you are simply lucky if you spot them.

Dive Guides

Your dive guide has a responsibility to cater for the least experienced diver onboard. If you feel that you would like to do more advanced diving than that being offered, if the guide is looking after someone with less experience, - speak to the guide and at their discretion you should be able to conduct your own dives in buddy pairs. As we are frequently a good distance from a recompression chamber, none of the dives are decompression dives and the maximum depth is 40m. The guides will give briefings before each dive - if you feel that you require a more in-depth briefing, please tell the guide and they will be pleased to elaborate.


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Passport & Visa

All nationalities require a valid passport (valid for at least six months from the date of entry), English and EU guests can obtain an entrance visa on arrival for €20.

Communications

Most mobile phones will work until you reach St Johns.

Currency

Euro, Sterling, Egyptian Pound, US Dollar are accepted on all boats, Credit Cards are accepted on Blue Seas & Blue Pearl. All prices are inclusive of Egyptian sales tax, and Credit Cards carry NO surcharge.

Health Information

It is recommended that you are immunised against typhoid and polio. Before travelling overseas it is always advisable to speak to your GP or other qualified medical practitioner.

Baggage

A 20kg hold baggage and 5kg hand limit will be imposed upon any itinerary involving charter flights, Excel airways offer a concessionary 10kg (not guaranteed, see XL.com for further details) and additional sports equipment allowance can be purchased for £15 from Thomson flights by calling 0870 607 6757.

Contacts

If relations wish to contact you urgently, they should telephone the Oonasdivers office on 01323 648924.

Insurance

Comprehensive insurance is a vital part of your holiday and it is a condition of booking that you have such cover, it should cover all aspects of your holiday including diving, please provide us your policy details for our files. Oonasdivers can supply a Scubasure policy from as little as £40 please ask us for more details or a sample policy.


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Oonasdivers & M.Y. Juliet

Wish You A Safe And Happy Diving Experience


m.y. juliet - simply divingcarnatic, a 100-year-old wine cargo wreck, the rosalie moller and the...

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