I first visited the Red Sea early in 1989 and dived the pristine reefs of Daedalus reef, the Brothers Islands and Ras Mohammed. I was en route from Brisbane, Australia to Marmaris in southern Turkey on board the tall ship ‘Amorina’. There were many experienced divers on board and we had experienced some amazing sights on the Great Barrier Reef, the Maldives and by the time we got to the Red Sea, we thought that it would take a lot to impress us. The offshore reefs of Daedalus and the Brothers, being 40 miles from land were pristine ‘gardens of eden’ in the sea, but more surprising was the tip of the Sinai further north, at Ras Mohammed. Here, the reefs are immediately offshore and even in the 1980’s, fledgeling dive operations had begun to attract divers from all around the world.

Today, thousands of divers visit the northern Red Sea every week and it is a major part of the Egyptian tourist industry. Over the years, as operations and boats grew exponentially, many standards were allowed to slip but now both the Ras Mohammed National Park seems to be very well run. I was pleasantly surprised to find reefs and marine life in very good shape on a recent return to the waters of the Sinai.