Scuba Diving Blog by KitScuba

Often referred to as one of the worlds top 10 dives, I feel very privileged to have experienced this unique piece of history which has resided at the bottom of the ocean for over 60 years. The Thistlegorm was sunk by German bombers during the Second World War in the Red Sea whilst on route to deliver supplies to the 8th Army.

The supplies carried by the Thistlegorm range from land mines, shells, Weapons, Bedford Trucks, to BSA Motorcycles and even rubber boots. Exploring the wreck is quite amazing as you see many of these items still perfectly intact, you notice that even the tyres on the motorcycles are still fully inflated, which is quite amazing.

A word of caution though, there is also a large amount of live ammunition on-board, and I must admit, it was rather worrying to see less experienced divers clambering around the wreck, without regard for what they were touching or bumping into. It isn’t the easiest dive and therefore I feel dive masters or instructors need to assess the skills of their group before letting them loose in what could be a very hazardous environment. As a matter of fact the only real negative about this dive was the dive master, we were rushed and encouraged to forego our buddy checks, which we of course protested to, and completed our checks thoroughly. Amusingly, but also worryingly the dive master himself had forgotten to turn his own air on.

What makes the Thistlegorm such an amazing experience is more than just the wreck itself, it’s the way in which it was sunk and the history. Exploring the cargo holds, and finding the cargo is a real reminder of her purpose and the point in time when the world was a very different place. I would thoroughly recommend diving the Thistlegorm and will certainly remember this as one of my best dives.

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Some of the best dives I have ever experienced have been in the Maldives, and the Victory wreck was a fantastic dive. Whilst not quite as famous or grand as the Thistlegorm, the Victory is still a beautiful wreck, lots of marine life, with hard and soft corals now well established on it.

The Victory sank in 1981 and was a cargo ship, now located on the Western side of the Airport Island in the North Male Atoll at around 30 metres.

What makes my experience more memorable however were the diving conditions on the day, I’ve done my fair share of drift dives, so am quite accustomed to strong currents, but the conditions on this day were something else. It was like a gale force wind, entering the water we had to grab the shot line immediately otherwise we would have been a mile out to sea within a matter of minutes, this prospect is made considerably more daunting when you consider the fact that the dive boat cannot come and rescue you, as they cannot risk leaving the site when other divers in your group have already descended!

Fortunately I managed to secure myself on the shot line and once my buddy was in the water we started our descent, the current was so strong that we were actually horizontal and it genuinely felt like there was a gale blowing us as we pulled ourselves down the shot line against the current. Then came another challenge as we reached the top of the mast, releasing my grip on the shot line and pushing myself across to grab hold of another line about 4 metres away, of course the vision of being carried out to sea for miles flashed through my mind again. Once I had a secure grip on the second line I breathed a sigh of relief as the deck became clearly visible below. We descended to the deck and once there we were shielded from the current a free to explore, visibility was fantastic, but as we were only diving on air and not Nitrox the dive time was limited at 30 metres. We had also used more air than usual due to the increased effort to actually descend.

Back on board the boat we discussed the conditions, and whilst challenging agreed that’s what actually made the experience even more rewarding. On the way back past the capital Male we were fortunate enough to see a number of Dolphins swimming along right in front of the boat. All in all a fantastic days diving.

For further information or to receive a monthly e-magazine full of articles and scuba advice, please visit our online dive store. We also supply a vast range of scuba diving equipment as well as overseas dive property & dive holidays

We supply all scuba equipment from dive masks, snorkels, fins, wetsuits, drysuits, bcd’s, regulators, dive computers, underwater cameras, to dive luggage, dive jewellery, scuba diving flippers, and a vast range of dive accessories. We stock leading brands such as Body glove, Ralf tech, AP Valves, Northern Diver, Tilos, Coltri sub, Sola, Faber, Funky Fins & Aquamarine Jewellery with more manufacturers being added to the range all the time.

Tipping etiquette is one of those subjects that often causes concern and even embarrassment. Many of us often find ourselves thinking, should I tip? How much is a reasonable amount to tip? Or even who should I tip? This is further complicated abroad when we’re perhaps not as familiar with local customs and expectations.

Whilst I feel strongly that noone should feel under pressure to tip, particularly if you’re not a satisfied customer, I do feel that it is good to tip, after all in addition to ensuring you enjoy the dive, your scuba instructors & dive masters are responsible for your safety throughout the dive, so it’s good to show appreciation for this. The boat crew also have an important role to play in terms of making sure you’re safe, and also in many overseas countries they are not paid very much for their services and survive on the generosity of tourists rather than their wages alone.

It is customary to tip both the captain and the divemaster or instructor. I would recommend daily tipping, however if you know you will be diving with the same divemaster and crew for the duration of your stay, then it is of course perfectly acceptable to tip at the end.

In terms of a reasonable amount to tip, for the boat crew typically 10 - 15% is perfectly reasonable, and for the dive master 15% is absolutely fine, perhaps more if you feel the service received was above and beyond your expectations.

For further information or to receive a monthly e-magazine full of articles and scuba advice, please visit our online dive store. We also supply a vast range of scuba diving equipment as well as overseas dive property & dive holidays

We supply all scuba equipment from dive masks, snorkels, fins, wetsuits, drysuits, bcd’s, regulators, dive computers, underwater cameras, to dive luggage, dive jewellery, scuba diving flippers, and a vast range of dive accessories. We stock leading brands such as Body glove, Ralf tech, AP Valves, Northern Diver, Tilos, Coltri sub, Sola, Faber, Funky Fins & Aquamarine Jewellery with more manufacturers being added to the range all the time.