Steve Coren
Underwater Photographer

Northern Egyptian Red Sea

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The youngest of the seven seas, the Northern Egyptian Red Sea has some of the most developed reef systems in the world. It is surrounded by deserts and bounded by the Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia. Reef building corals require warm clear water with a minimum of sedimentation. A desert climate helps attain these conditions. The lack of sedimentation allows substantial light to penetrate to great epochs which is needed for the growth of coral reefs systems. Large storms, hurricanes and typhoons are very damaging to coral reefs and the lack of such activity in the Red Sea promotes a sustained coral reef growth. The Red Sea is a somewhat enclosed system which has resulted in a number of species of marine life being endemic to the Red Sea. The Egyptian Red Sea provides some of the finest diving sites in the world. Much of the diving around the southern Sinai Peninsula is wall diving while the reefs off Ras Muhammed and the islands of the Tiran Strait are descending reefs. The abundance and beauty of the coral reef systems are breathtaking. Depending on the season, different species congregate such as whale sharks and Carcharhinus Longanimus, white tip sharks distinguished by the ragged white markings on their pectoral and dorsal fins as well as the distinctive rounded tip of its dorsal fin. The clearness of the Red Sea waters creates a wonderful underwater photography medium.

It is a unique feeling toi surface in the waters of the Red Sea and observe the contrast of the blue green water bounded by red deserts and mountains.

The immense ancient beauty of the Red Sea tends to obscure the fact that this area has also been the site of many wars which have left their relics.  During World War II, the route around Africa and into the Gulf of Suez was strategically vital in order for British ships to transport war materials to British troops in North Africa since U-boat activity made the Mediterranean Sea route too hazardous. One of the holy grails of diving is the British freighter Thistlegorm. On October 6, 1941, this 415-foot, 5,000-ton armed merchant ship lay at anchor with other supply ships at Sha’ab Ali Reef at the entrance to the Gulf of Suez.  The Thistlegorm had sailed from Glasgow loaded with ammunition, mines, shells, trucks, boots, clothing, motorbikes, wagons, supplies and even a locomotive and railway tanker cars.  A German Heinkel He III on a raid out of Crete exploded two bombs on the stern (rear) deck and quickly sank the Thistlegorm. She lies upright in depth in excess of 100 feet. Swift currents often sweep across this site and it requires advanced diving abilities.

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H.M.S. Thistlegorm

H.M.S. Thistlegorm

The Thistlegorm story starts at the Yards of J. L. Thompson and sons at Sunderland, for the Albyn Line. It was here that the 4898 ton, 415ft, cargo ship was built in 1940. She was driven by a triple expansion stream engine, built by North East Marine Engineering, which could deliver some 1850 hp driving her along at a speed of 10 knots.
She was one of a number of “Thistle” ships owned and operated by the Albyn Line. Each vessel carried the emblem of Scotland, the thistle, which formed the prefix of each vessels name followed by a Gaelic word; Thistledhu,Thistlegorm, Thistleglen and Thistlenuir.
Soon after completion she was quickly requisitioned by the navy for allied WW2 duties and armed with the guns which she still carries today – world war one vintage guns in fact. By September of 1941 she had completed three successful voyages (America, Argentina and the Dutch Antilles). Her next however, was to be her last.

U-Boat 853

U-Boat 853

One of the more interesting dive sites is on U=boat U-853. This submarine lies in approximately 120 of water about 8 miles east of Block Island, Rhode Island and is a well-known site for advanced divers. U-853, a Type IXC/40 submarine, was constructed in 1942 and saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic. She sank almost 6000 tons of allied shipping. In February 1945, she was sent to the Easy =coast of the United ad States to harass American shipping. On May 5, 1945, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. Karl Dönitz, recalled all U&-boats to return to their bases. However, U-853 either did not receive the message or possibly ignored it.

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Some of the best diving in the world is in the South Pacific. Destinations such as the Solomon Islands, the Philippines and Indonesia contain some of the lushest most dense coral reef systems found anywhere. Their reefs teem with sea creatures of all sizes and shapes and framed by gorgeous coral reefs.
For those who have some knowledge of World War Two history in the Pacific, the Solomon Islands were the focus of major land and sea battles between 1942 and 1943. Guadalcanal, the main island, evokes horrific memories of bloody battles as the US strove to eject the Japanese from Guadalcanal in order to capture the airport, called Cactus Field. This was the only island in the Solomon’s that contained the ability to handle large and constant air traffic. There’ve were smaller airports such as on New Georgia Island, but Cactus Field was the largest and most important in terms of depriving the Japanese of a significant air base and securing the base for American troops and materials to move westward. It was part of the plan for the US to hop-scotcvh its way westward form island to island to eventually press a large-scale attack of the Japanese mainland. The Solomons form parallel arms of three islands. In WWII, the sea between these two arms was called the “Slot”. This was a main focus of attacks of Japanese planes and ships as the US desperately clung to its beachhead on Guadalcanal, captured the runways and moved up the chain of the Solomons to Bougainville and onward to New Guinea.