One disadvantage of Bluff Point is that being an ideal place to wait to cross the Straights is gets busy – very busy! Once the safari boats are moored they tend not to want to move until they leave for the crossing and this does limit you to diving the Gubal Barge (as if diving anywhere in the Red Sea is limiting!!!). If you fancy pushing your dive guide into giving you some more adventurous dives (and especially if you arrive early at the site with plenty of daylight left) then ask about diving Big Gubal Island. Located about 10 mins boat ride to the SW of Bluff Point it is a deeper sloping wall dive with a lovely eel garden at around the 22m mark (see dive site directory’s write-up on this dive site). Another alternative (which will usually require you to go by boat tender) is the wreck of the Ulysses located around the SE tip of Bluff Point. This doesn’t require the main boat to be moved once moored for the night. When your guide tells you this requires calm weather it’s true. Not because of surface conditions, but because of the current. Bluff Point rests right at the side of the Gubal Straights and the north to south current can be horrendous. The Gubal Barge tends to be protected from this, but once round the corner the current runs. The Ulysses is pretty smashed up and starts just below the surface and slopes down to around 15m. It’s a nice dive and you can still see the boilers. You can also use Bluff Point as an overnight stay point before heading around to the other side of Big Gubal and the S.S Rosalie Muller (sister ship of the S.S Thistle gorm).
Probably Egyptian
Possibly Patrol boat
Length: 20-30 m
Sank: 1967
Max depth is 14m at the bow and 8m at the stern
• Barge from Ulysses salvage operation? • Egyptian or Israeli gunboat?
– Six-Day War, 1967 • We’ll probably never know for sure • Depth: 8 m – 14 metres
• Mooring Dive • Little to no current
• Max Depth: 14m • Max Time: 45 m
150bar Beware stonefish, scorpionfish, crocodile fish & lionfish!
Jacks • Napoleon Wrasse • Turtles – look out for Stumpy (her back left flipper) • Dolphins • Large Gorgonian fans • Sandy Plateau at 26 m • Sandy Plateau at 18m • Table Corals • Small cave • Eagle Rays • Look into the Blue for bigger fins.
