Standing on the Cherbourg

Today was a fun day diving, not that the others haven't been mind you. But today, I did a ship wreck dive. We started off the coast right in front of our hotel and swam to a depth of 18 meters or 60 feet. There was deep blue water with lots of fish and then all of the sudden appearing out of the deep blue was a French missile boat called the Cherbourg that had been sunk by the Israelis for a ship wreck dive.

SO COOL!!! I can't describe what it felt like to hover weightlessly over this hunk of metal that once spent it's life on the surface of the water. Most of the cargo doors had been removed so you could see into the cargo holds where fish had taken up residence. Where men once maned their stations, Huge blue angel fish and groupers now held down the fort from inside. The tower  you see in the picture to the left was still there and the seats on top of the captains bridge were still there just waiting to be sat in.

I peered in the square holes that were once the windows to the bridge only to see a huge blue angel fish as acting captain of the sunken vessel. The dive continued as we looked all over the vessel, just soaking in the experience. We continued on to see more very colorful fish, mating octopus, and a large school of Trumpet fish. It was a wonderful experience, and i'm so glad I took the advice to get certified for this trip.

Tonight the rest of group arrives after a very long almost 18 hours of travel to get here. After a good night's rest, they too will be able to experience some of the beauty of the Red Sea. 

More to come!