Again no boat out at the weekend as a few of us regulars were at DSDC helping them with their champagne problem. There was a great deal less of it at the club by the time we had finished. Unfortunately this meant we missed diving with Chris De Klerk who was in the country for the first time since he left last year. Next time hopefully.
The week wasn’t devoid of underwater activity. Geoff sent this report:
Seven years ago Mr. Hamad Alzaabi of Al Jazeera Diving & Swimming Center embarked on a mission to create his own artificial reef just a few kilometres outside Port Hamra, RAK. The reef consists of numerous hollow pyramid shaped concrete blocks (~1m in height), of Mr. Alzaabi’s own design, which have been deposited progressively to create a structure almost 150m in length.
Approximately 30 of these blocks have been sponsored by Petrofac as part of their environmental commitment and I joined Mr. Alzaabi this week to see some of these blocks being installed, including a dive on the reef itself. Six blocks with buoyancy aids to assist with installation were loaded onto a typical coastal fishing boat and ferried out to the site.
After tipping the blocks into the water near the head of the reef we entered the water ourselves and watched Mr. Alzaabi and his co-worker manouvre the blocks into position. We then took a tour of the reef and although the visibility was poor (2-3m at best) it was evident that the reef was home to numerous varieties of fish and corals including sponge and reed type. I saw several nudibranchs and was lucky enough to see a turtle as well. The reef lies in about 9-10m of water and is easily accessible from Port Hamra.
Al Jazeera Diving & Swimming Center
Tel. 07 244 5331
The week wasn’t devoid of underwater activity. Geoff sent this report:
Seven years ago Mr. Hamad Alzaabi of Al Jazeera Diving & Swimming Center embarked on a mission to create his own artificial reef just a few kilometres outside Port Hamra, RAK. The reef consists of numerous hollow pyramid shaped concrete blocks (~1m in height), of Mr. Alzaabi’s own design, which have been deposited progressively to create a structure almost 150m in length.
Approximately 30 of these blocks have been sponsored by Petrofac as part of their environmental commitment and I joined Mr. Alzaabi this week to see some of these blocks being installed, including a dive on the reef itself. Six blocks with buoyancy aids to assist with installation were loaded onto a typical coastal fishing boat and ferried out to the site.
After tipping the blocks into the water near the head of the reef we entered the water ourselves and watched Mr. Alzaabi and his co-worker manouvre the blocks into position. We then took a tour of the reef and although the visibility was poor (2-3m at best) it was evident that the reef was home to numerous varieties of fish and corals including sponge and reed type. I saw several nudibranchs and was lucky enough to see a turtle as well. The reef lies in about 9-10m of water and is easily accessible from Port Hamra.
Al Jazeera Diving & Swimming Center
Tel. 07 244 5331