Little Brother Island lies only 2 km southeast of Big Brother Island and is in no regard an inferior dive site to its big brother. With its length of 170 m, the uninhabited island is much smaller, though equally exposed to the Red Sea. The often strong breezes over the surrounding open sea give rise to big waves that make entering and leaving the water difficult, and the strong currents flowing along the reef walls can drastically change their intensity during a dive and sweep incautious divers out into the open sea. They also occasionally circulate near the southern tip leading to unexpected countercurrents. All of this makes the small island a challenging dive site unsuitable for beginners. The moorings I lie to the south of the island and are always well frequented making solitary dives rather rare.
Because of its size, it is theoretically possible to swim around Little Brother Island in a single dive. However, it is often not possible because of the strong current, which is why three dive routes are described below allowing you to explore all sides of the island.
Duration: 45-55 min. Difficulty:*** Here it is important that your RIB driver is familiar with the area. If your point of entry is not precise, you will be unable to reach the end of the plateau A at 40 m, because you will be diving against the current. Descend along the plateau A as quickly as possible, because you will hardly find any shelter from the current. Stop briefly at the rocky protrusion A to look for sharks and then swim back to the boat along the western wall A keeping the reef on your left shoulder. Be sure to stay close to the reef. If you leave the reef below the mooring to reach the boat, take into account that you may have to dive against the current because of its occasional circulation here.
Little Brother Island is surrounded by a narrow, abundantly overgrown fringing reef, whose walls A reach the seafloor at a depth of over 700 m. Their upper part has numerous recesses and overhangs A, and the walls themselves are full of hard and soft corals and host large sea fan gardens A A at a depth of 50 m. Dense shoals of damselfish, surgeonfish, snappers and tuna swim about, and divers are often followed by curious Napolean fish. To the northwest, a slanting plateau A extends the reef base by about 150 m. At a depth of 16 m, it slopes and forms a rocky protrusion A at 40 m before dropping into the depths. The current split up at this slope providing an excellent place to find big fish. Sharks are also often found around the reef’s southern tip A. As to the north, grey reef sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, and sometimes even hammerheads and thresher sharks can be found here at a depth of 30 m or more, and even a tiger shark has reportedly been seen here before.
Duration: about 40 min. Difficulty: ** This area is usually sheltered from the currents and big waves. Dive directly from the boat to the southern tip at 40 m. Briefly look for sharks close to the sea fan garden A and then ascend again. Turn around and return to the boat 1 with the reef on your right shoulder
Route A: northern plateau-western side
D Route B: southern tip
Duration: 40-50 min. Difficulty: *** Go by RIB to the eastern side of the northern plateau. Dive to a depth of 30 m and swim along the reef keeping it on your right shoulder. Slowly ascend around the southern tip back to the boat 1.
