Blogs
Freediving, Sailing And Yoga On The Red Sea With Sea To Sky
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Jeremy from Sea to Sky tells us about his experience on Aziab Yacht
Freediving, sailing, yoga, Red Sea… what a combination!! And combining all.. what an experience.
Even with a Scuba background, as an Instructor and a passionate teacher, never would I have imagined that I would be Freediving off a yacht in the middle of the Red Sea amongst 100’s of dolphins, Corals and a wreck, let alone starting or finishing the day with Yoga.
However, I am delighted I did and even happier to make this trip available to all of our Sea to Sky clients.
The story actually starts for me in Wadi Lahami. I had flown out of Italy, where we live, on the Sunday and arrived in Marsa Alam that evening.
The boat was moored at Hamata Port, not far from Wadi Lahami, so was perfect for me to stay there. It also gave me the excuse to dive the Fury Shoals for a day on the Monday before the transfer on Tuesday morning.
I awoke to a few missed calls from my two guests Sam and Harry. I digress a bit here, as Sam and his brother Harry had booked the trip through us and, as we offer more than a basic buy the trip and see you later type adventure, I made sure I accompanied them to ensure they had the best time.
I had arranged Sam’s hotel in Hurghada and local taxi to collect them from the airport to their hotel.
TOP TIP: buy a Vodaphone Sim card on arrival as this will save you so much aggravation over phone costs and network roaming. €20 will ensure you have enough data to last a week easily, and that’s with everyone hotspotting off you. Oh, and make sure the guys at the Vodaphone stall insert the sim card and activate it for you, as it saves any miscommunication.
Anyway, back to the story. Sam and Harry made their own way to Hamata, which ended up being to Wadi Lahami as they missed the transfer and jumped into a cab, but arrived safely and all three of us waited for the mini bus to collect us. The other guests meanwhile had all been collected in and around Hurghada and were on their way!
After a hearty breakfast, the mini bus arrived and transferred us to Hamata to meet the other guests and crew.
We arrived at Hamata at approx 12pm and introduced ourselves to the other guests and immediately started chatting and getting to know each other. The guests were:
- Nahla (Our freedive instructor and one of the loveliest people you could hope to meet)
- Sarah (A yoga instructor, but not on this trip, who’s passion is Pizza and Pancakes and her husband – in that order!!)
- Megan (An awesome French lady whom I’m sure brought her own banana tree with her, as she ate so many)
- Alex (Our star TV presenter, amazing freediver and all round superstar)
- Ingrid (Downhill skiing yogi who’s single handedly changed my mind about Yoga)
Oh and Sam and Harry – what can I say about those two!! Sam is a great friend whom I’ve know for many years and one person you can rely on. Harry was just an awesome guy – he had one weakness, and that was Pasta. Good god he can eat, love him!
The boat and crew
The boat is called Roaga and is a 50.5 Cyclades with 4 double cabins and one bunk bed style cabin. Two of the doubles have private bathrooms and the others are shared bathroom.
Downstairs was seating, the Galley and charging area, and upstairs is where we spent all our time, either eating or diving.
The boat is immaculately kept and looked after by Captain Mohammed Said, who funnily enough I knew from years ago whilst diving elsewhere. Mohammed number 2, who did everything all the time, Abu Selim the Masterchef and who also helped run the boat, and lastly Mahmoud Hassan, our guide and a funny and caring person.
We LOVED the crew and couldn’t ask for a better bunch of people.
Oh and the crew slept either outside on the deck or bench seating or in the galley area. How they do this trip after trip is beyond me, hats off to them.
Day 1
So after arriving on board settling our stuff into the cabins, it was time to depart and head to Om Elsheikh Island, arriving at 12:45pm, to moor up and have an awesome lunch of fresh lentils, cheese filo pastry and fresh salad.
We spent the afternoon chatting and snorkelling and generally getting to know each other better.
Day 2
We spent the day at the island, which was like someone had dropped a desert Island into the middle of the red Sea, it was so beautiful.
Day 2 was the also the start of our introduction to freediving with Nahla. We covered such areas as Recovery breath, breathing as well, dry static exercises and some static in the water. A great experience and I suddenly realised that freediving was going to be a challenge!!! But a good one.
The next challenge was Yoga. We all took the little zodiac to the island at 4pm to start session 1, Vinyasa. Wow is all I have to say, I have never been stretched or put into positions since forever, but a great, great session that was loved by all. Ingrid was very soothing and a great teacher. After Yoga we departed for Syaal Island, another paradise not far away.
I wont catalogue what we had for breakfast/lunch/dinner everyday but I can assure you it was fresh, tasted sublime, and we always had too much variety, just exquisite and how chef cooked all that food in the smallest galley in the world is beyond me. We always had fresh dates and fruit and snacks available at all times.
Day 3
Day 3 started with another session of Vinyasa Yoga on the Island at 07:30am, a great way to start the day, and after a great breakfast we had our freediving session. The session included Buoyancy check, how to equalise, duck dive and some line work to 5m. Another great session, fuelling our appetite for more of the same.
This day was also the day we departed for Sataya Reef, home of the dolphins. We left at 3pm and arrived approx 3 hours later, ready and anticipating the following day.
Day 4
The highlight of the trip, Sataya!!!
We arrived at Sataya to be met by hundreds of Dolphins in their natural playground / resting place before their nightly excursions for food. We jumped in at 07:30hrs and stayed with them for just about two hours….the freediving was magical. Just being up close and personal with such creatures was indescribable.
After another amazing breakfast at 10am we had another freedive session with Nahla, covering linework, body position and becoming streamlined in the water – not easy but so satisfying.
Lunch was at 2.30pm and after a brief rest and sunbathe we were back in before the dolphins went out for the night.
Thanks must go to Mohammed Said for constantly navigating the pinnacles of Sataya and dropping us in on top (not literally of course!) of the dolphin pods. I think this day was the culmination of the all the best days together as in the morning and afternoon we were literally the only divers there and could play and swim with the dolphins without stress.
Day 5
Last day at Sataya……. and, after jumping in at 07:30am, we again swam with the dolphins for a few hours, only coming out for breakfast at 10am.
After breakfast we all either relaxed or played off the boat on floaties – or if you were Sam, Harry and Mahmoud, showing off their athletic somersaults from the boat. I have to mention Megan who’s climbing skills were something to behold.
After lunch we headed to Halawi reef to swim with barracudas, a beautiful turtle and amazing Corals that only the Red Sea can deliver, a lovely change.
We then headed back to Sataya to practice our free immersion to 11m, another great experience.
A few games on the boat were followed by an amazing dinner!!! We gave the chef a night off and cooked up a storm in the galley ourselves, mostly Alex who’s passion for chopping really shone through.
Day 6
Last but one day…….we left Sataya at 07:15 and sailed to the Abu Galawa wreck arriving at 08:15ish.
The wreck was a beautiful dive and so many hard corals to look at, a wonderful sight. We dived for about one and a half hours and then had breakfast before leaving for our long sail back to Om Elsheikh where I think by then we had all dived out (only Alex went for a dive).
Then the storms hit us. I have worked and been coming to Egypt for over 15 years and have never seen storms like this, just ask Alex. The lightening was a wonderful sight (and at the same time a little bit frightening!).
Day 7
Time to go home. We arrived back at Hamata in the morning after mooring up in the bay overnight, and after banana pancakes made by Sam and Alex, we packed and said our goodbyes. The transport arrived at 10am to take us all to our respective destinations.
Boat Yoga
So apart from the Vinyasa sessions on the islands we had Yin Yoga every evening on the boat. This, speaking as an expert of course(!!!), is a more relaxed Yoga, holding postures for a few minutes. An ideal Yoga for the limited space on a yacht and with the combination of the relaxed postures, boat sways and Ingrid’s voice, most evenings I left my body and landed I don’t know where – loved it.
Well that’s it for the blog, I think I have covered everything on what was a trip of a lifetime. I have made many friends, and unlike a lot of trips, we will stay in touch and we will meet up again.
Big thanks go to Omar and Yousra for running a professional and slick operation, the crew who I cant praise enough and to each and everyone of you, Sarah, Megan, Ingrid, Sam, Harry, Nahla and of course Alex.
If anyone is thinking of Booking I am more than happy to talk through with you every aspect, so rest assured you can be prepared and a little better informed of the magical experience you WILL have.
The Highlight
I think the highlight for me was Sarah – I have never witnessed such joy on someone’s face whilst swimming with dolphins!
Aziab SeaFaris and Sea to Sky
I have known Omar and Yousra, the owners of Aziab SeaFaris for a couple of years now. Filomena had met Yousra and Omar 5 years ago at Wadi Lahami in Southern Egypt. My first impressions of Omar was what a chilled out and gentle soul he was, very articulate and above all, professional. When we were looking at add an Egyptian based diving, sailing and yoga experience together, we approached Omar to ask if we could collaborate / partner with them, as experts in the region, and we were delighted when he said yes.
Please get in touch to find out more about this fabulous experience.
Join Sea to Sky and embark on new diving adventures! Visit www.myseatosky.co.uk for more information.
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Shark Trust Expedition Dives in The Bahamas
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In our last blog we talked about why the Shark Trust had been in The Bahamas in December. With the underwater part of the expedition focused on getting 360 footage for a new immersive shark experience, OneOcean360: A Shark Story, that will be launched later this year. Now, let’s tell you a little bit more about the diving we did, along some more surprising shark sightings!
The Shark Trust 3-island expedition, which was fully funded and supported by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, started in Nassau. And we were booked to do 2 days of diving with Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas. We packed in as much diving as possible, leaving as soon as the boat was loaded and returning as the sun was setting, covering 7 dive sites over the 2 days, with a mix of reef and wrecks to ensure we got as much varied footage as possible.
Pumpkin Patch saw us hang out with a very chilled turtle while Caribbean Reef Sharks swam along the drop off beside us. We visited a “wreck” structure built for the filming of a James Bond film that was now covered in bright corals and home to a multitude of reef fish. Steel Forest saw us diver some “proper” wrecks that have been sunk alongside each other. Glass fish swirled under overhangs and larger fish hung motionless in the wheelhouse. Southern Sting rays lay buried in the sandy seabed alongside. Our final dive of the day, as the sun started to set, Ridges, combined a reef and wreck where we caught a fleeting glimpse of a Bull Shark as we ascended the line. It was a great diving day that gave us the perfect introduction to the underwater world of The Bahamas.
Our second day was going to focus on getting close up footage of Caribbean Reef Sharks on both wrecks and reef. The Ray of Hope and Big Crabs wrecks are perfect for this. With our guide placing bait boxes inside the wrecks to attract the sharks, and with our cameras setup on the wreck structure, we could back away and let the sharks do their thing without us disturbing them or being in the 360 filming frame. With clear water and plenty of sharks, the footage we came away with in pretty striking.
Next stop: Bimini. Great Hammerhead Sharks are the number one attraction here. And we were able to join Neal Watsons Bimini Scuba for a 2-tank dive with these magnificent sharks, along with the Nurse Sharks that like to join in with the experience. But we were also able to snorkel with juvenile Lemon Sharks in the Mangroves, see Bull Sharks and spotted eagle rays from a submarine experience and from the dock side. Our second day of diving saw us dive the SS Sapona wreck and then experience the Caribbean Reef Sharks on the reef. Bimini really does allow you to pack in a load of shark and ray experiences in a short space of time.
Finally, we headed to Grand Bahama. Whilst much of our time was spent above the water meeting people working to conserve different marine habitats (watch this space for more information on this) – we did manage to squeeze in a couple of dives on the reefs here and were delighted to see both Caribbean Reef Shark and Southern Stingrays on both. Our final shark and ray experience saw us take a tour to Sandy Cay with Keith Cooper. We were able to get footage of stingrays, lemon and blacktip reef sharks on the seagrass and over the sandy seabed. Sometimes just in ankle deep water.
If you are heading to the Go Diving Show – then you will be able to see a short 360 film, using our VR headsets, that shows many of these experiences. Please come and say hello to the Shark Trust team on the Diverse Travel stand (340). We will also be on The Bahamas stand twice a day to chat to people about our experiences on the islands. And Diverse travel will have special offers on travel to The Bahamas should you want to follow in our fin-kicks.
To find out more about the work of he Shark Trust and how you can support us, visit out website www.sharktrust.org
News
Filming 360 in The Bahamas
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In December 2024, the Shark Trust had a very special opportunity to film sharks and rays in The Bahamas. Frogfish Photography are the Bahamas Dive Ambassadors for the UK. And Caroline, Deputy Editor at Scubaverse, is the Marketing Manager at the Shark Trust. So, when the need arose to film footage of several species of shark and ray for a new Shark Trust project, The Bahamas seemed the perfect fit. A huge thank you is needed here to the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. As they stepped in to fully support the trip both financially and practically. Ensuring that the filming expedition ran smoothly, and that we got as much time as possible in the water with sharks and rays, during the 10 day, 3 island trip.
The Bahamas is famous for its sharks and rays. Divers flock there to experience getting up close to a range of species. Our itinerary saw us visit Nassau, Bimini and Grand Bahama. It packed in as many in-water experiences as possible and had us dive, snorkel, and even take a submarine to experience them in a variety of different habitats and to capture them on film. We saw 148 sharks and rays from 8 different species (all of which have been logged on the Shark Trust Shark Log!).
But why were we there? The expedition was designed to fulfil the needs of two new projects being launched by the Shark Trust in 2025. The filming done underwater on this trip was the start of creating OneOcean360: A Shark Story. A new 360 immersive experience designed primarily for immersive domes and planetariums. The film will be the nearest experience to getting in the water with sharks and rays without getting wet! It will bring the world of sharks to an audience that may never get the chance to experience it first-hand. A Shark Story aims to deepen people’s understanding of sharks, uncovering and illustrating why they are so wonderful as well as being vital to marine ecosystems.
The film is being made in collaboration with Real Immersive. Also based in Plymouth, they have an immersive dome and are providing the technical expertise behind creating this unique experience. Reviewing the footage in the dome has been an invaluable part of the process. Both inspiring the team and allow us to refine the filming techniques to suit this immersive theatre.
You might imagine that we are using expensive cameras and even more expensive housings. But this is not the case. The entire project is being filmed using Insta360 X4 cameras. With only a few simple additions to the standard dive setup. The INON weight plate allowed us to attach this camera to a dive weight, set it down on sand or wreck, and then swim away and let the sharks be the stars. And the results are very exciting. The film will be ready this autumn. It will be accompanied by an educational pack for teachers to take away after school trips to see the film. Encouraging all those that see it to continue learning about these incredible animals.
You can support the creation of OneOcean360: A Shark Story by heading to the crowdfunder page and donating or selecting a reward.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/a-shark-story
Read about the shark and ray dives we did on Nassau, Bimini and Grand Bahama in our next blog post coming soon on Scubaverse.
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