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It all started when we thought it would be a good idea to form a Dive center with more of a personal service. A daunting task when there were so many very big Dive Centers in Sharm, but we gave it a go, and it worked, and with us still being operational on our 21st Birthday with all the ups and down we have experienced on the way, gives testament to what we provide for the new and experienced diver, is what they want and what you want if you are reading this. 27th August 2005 Elite Diving was born. The logo and websites have all been created by Graphic Designer Greg Bottle, and he still works with elite diving today, and designs our art work for adverts and promotional items.
A big thank you goes to all members of staff from the office, ground staff, dive staff and boat crew, who contribute so much to the atmosphere that we create at Elite Diving, but the biggest thanks must go to the divers that keep coming back and spreading the word about the great times they spend with us here in Sharm El Sheikh and beyond. Keep on spreading that news guys. THANK YOU Due to a cancelation, we have one twin cabin available on our wreck Extravaganza week. This is a liveaboard that will leave from Hurghada on September 19th 2026 for one week and return to Hurghada on 26 September 2026.
The intention of the trip is to dive on as many wrecks as we can, however, saying that, some of the wrecks are quite shallow and some have been there for a long time so there is a lot of marine life that has made them their home. Some of these wrecks are further North than the regular wrecks and reefs Liveaboards itineraries, so there will be a chance of seeing different wrecks if you have already been on a Northern wreck safari. Saying that, such favourites like Thistlegorm, Gianis D, Krisoula K and Ulisis are on the list to be dived. Click on the link for more details of the trip and then contact us at [email protected] if you want to take up the last cabin. Wreck Extravaganza Link Almost everyone who dives with Elite Diving here in Sharm, makes a voluntary donation to the Sharm Hyperbaric chamber, which helps with the maintenance and running of the facility, so it’s always ready and operational to receive any diving emergencies. We want to stress, that this is no substitution for Sport Diving Insurance, as decompression treatment can be in the thousands of US Dollars for just one case. So make sure you have adequate insurance cover for hyperbaric treatment in the event of a diving accident. Sharm Hyperbaric chamber, is the only facility for decompression treatment in the whole of Sinai, giving us great peace of mind that here in Sharm, we have such a facility on our door step, and two of the finest Hyperbaric doctors who are world renowned for their knowledge and experience of treating diving emergencies. The photo above shows G, Elite Diving’s manager, passing the donation on to Dr Ahmed, who along with Dr Adle, are the resident Hyperbaric Doctors that treats the divers if they need to visit the chamber.
The hyperbaric chamber (more commonly known as the Dive Chamber), is used by divers who have experienced a pressure-related injury during their dive, helping to safely treat decompression sickness, also known as "the bends". There are other staff involved in the running and maintaining the facility, and the whole Dive Chamber team would like to thank the divers of Elite Diving for their contribution this year of 3,490 Euros or 4,000 USD. When a diver spots and photographs a certain shark here in Sharm, there is always a debate on what type of shark it is. Here is the true facts about these certain sharks as explained many times by our previous resident Marine Biologist and Dive instructor affectionately known as Taffro. (AKA Alec Jones). Photo Above Credited to Kat Mcquillan. The shark above (Stegostoma fasciatum) Is commonly known as a Leopard Shark, due to the spots on it when it becomes an adult, which resembles a land big cat “The Leopard”. However, Alec, due to his marine biology degree, informs us that it is an actual Zebra Shark, as when it is born, it has a dark body with yellowish whiteish stripes, resembling another land animal “The Zebra”. It’s not until it grows, that the stripes turns into hundreds of black spots. This is where the confusion comes from. These sharks are seen in the waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific. So their habitat is on tropical coral reefs and sandy plateaus, as in The Red Sea. Some website say they are Zebra Sharks when they are born, but transforms into Leopard Sharks when they grow, which is not actually true. A Zebra Shark dosent change it's breed by growing. So we will be pushing what Alec tells us, by saying it's a Zebra Shark. Off the Pacific coast of North America, you may get to spot a Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata). This is called a Leopard shark from birth. A totally different species to the Tropical Indo-pacific Zebra Shark. This is belonging to the Hound Shark family, and these sharks are born with black spots and black sadle shapes, and keep them all through adulthood. In fact, they are born a miniature version of their adult self. They live in kelp forests which due to the nature of where the kelp grows, is in shallow coastal waters. Photo Credited to Mr Alun. Another shark that is named after a big land cat, is The Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). Some of our divers have recently seen a few Tiger Sharks crusing below around the reefs in The Straits of Tiran, at approx 35/40 meters down beneath them, but with no photographic eveidence. This one above however, was photographed many years ago around 5 meters deep. Phot Credited to Kat McQuillan.
The Indo-pacific Zebra Shark above, has a long sweeping tail, almost the same length as it’s body, whereas the North American Pacific coast Leopard Shark below, has a typical hound shark tail. Many divers looking to progress overlook Rescue Diver, assuming it’s only for those aiming to go professional. But in reality, it’s often considered one of the most rewarding certifications for recreational divers. Instead of just building your own experience, it’s about understanding the divers around you - recognising stress early, preventing problems before they happen and knowing how to respond if something doesn’t go to plan. You’ll develop stronger awareness, better control in real situations and a completely different way of thinking underwater.
It will make you a better all-round diver. Interested in taking your diving to the next level? Send us an email at [email protected] today! We have Two Liveaboards that we have spaces for. The first Liveaboard has one cabin left for our Wreck Extravaganza which departs from Hurghada on 19th September 2026. The cabin is a twin cabin with two single beds, Ideal for a diver and a buddy or a couple. The cost for the Liveaboard is £990 per person. Get in touch by emailing [email protected] if you'd like to show interest in taking the last cabin for this Wreck adventure. See more details on the trip by clicking the following link Wreck Extravaganza The Second Liveaboard trip place is being offered by Jean Gendron, who travels all the way from Canada just to dive with us in Sharm. Jean can't make the trip due to unforeseen circumstances so is offering his place up on The Black Pearl a 5 Star Liveaboard, which sets sail from Palau Micronesia on 20th February 2027. Jean's place, needs to be shared with another male who has already taken one of the births in the cabin. So there is one birth still left on the trip for another male. All other divers on this trip are also regular divers with Elite Diving in Sharm. Even G and Alun will be on the same trip.
On 6th October 1941 during World War 2, SS Thistlegorm a British Merchant Ship was on secondment to the British Military in the war effort in North Africa. It was spotted by two German Heinkel He 111 Bommers, that attacked and sank her near Shab Ali in the Gulf of Suez. There she still lies, and is regularly dived by recreational divers. The wreck is applauded as one of the best shipwrecks in the world to dive recreationally, as it has so much of it's cargo still to be seen due to the ease of entry and exit of the holds and plenty of light that penetrates the wreckage, and also for the marine life that has made it their home. Although we dive on her most weeks, each year we also run a special trip as a commemorative trip to dive her on the anniversary and to pay homage to those merchant seamen and Royal Navy that lost their lives on that night. Nine souls in all were lost that fateful night. In 2016 on the 75th Anniversary of the sinking of Thistlegorm, we laid a biodegradable poppy wreath on the ship. We have dived the wreck every year on the 6th October ever since. Apart from the 6th October being the Anniversary of the sinking, it is also Elite Diving's founder Alun Evans' Birthday. This year is made a little more special, as Alun, will be celebrating his 70th Birthday on the same day and plans to dive on her to celebrate that as Thistlegorm is one of his favourite dives.
If you want to join Alun on this special day, just email our office to indicate your interest. We usually have approximately 26 divers each year diving Thistlegorm on the Anniversary of it sinking, and the boat we hire can take many more, so let us know if you would like to join the party. To join us on this special day, contact [email protected] The Lucky winner of our Dive show prize draw this year is Maya Hidajat, who lives in St Albans in Herts, and has been diving since 1998. Seen above relaxing on a hammock after a dive out in Malapascu Philippines. She will be visiting Sharm to collect her prize with a dive buddy and her eight your old son, who enjoys snorkelling, so he's in for a real treat also. Maya is an advanced diver and enjoys diving in warmer waters, usually South East Asia where she hails from. It will be the first time in Sharm for her, and I'm sure it won't be the last, once she samples what the diving is like here and that it's much closer to the UK than other palces of the similar qulity. We asked our old friend and collegue to come and pick out the winner at the end of the Go Diving Show. Alec "Taffro" Jones was the dive center manager with us in Sharm for many years, and now is Sales Manager at Suunto UK, and was attending the Suunto stand this year, he jumped at the chance when offered to draw out the winning ticket for this years prize. So all of you who know Alec well, and entered the draw, it's his fault you never won LOL. Maya will be very happy with Alec’s effort, when he pulled out her entry ticket.
If you can't recognise him without his Taffro, Alec is the one in the middle with dark hair. A big difference to when he had sun bleached locks and no haircut for five years while working in Sharm, hense the nickname Taffro, as he is also Welsh with an affro type hair style back in the day. Alec was also featured on the front cover of Diver magazine back in 2014 during his tenure with Elite Diving in Sharm. |
Alun EvansOwner of Elite Diving with Divers United, has a wealth of diving experience and has been diving since 1984. Archives
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