Gordon Reef Approach

Sharm El Sheikh · South Sinai · Egypt

The Gordon Reef Approach takes divers along the exposed northern wall of the southernmost reef in the Strait of Tiran, where the full force of the strait's current delivers one of the Red Sea's most exhilarating drift dives. While Gordon Reef's sheltered side is a standard Sharm El Sheikh day trip, the approach wall faces the open strait and attracts pelagic life commensurate with the energy of its waters. The dive boat positioned upstream, and the briefing was serious. Negative entry, descend to the wall edge at fifteen metres, drift south with the reef on the left shoulder. Surface marker buoys mandatory. The current was running at approximately two knots, strong enough to make swimming against it futile. I dropped into blue water and kicked to the wall edge, where the reef materialised from the visibility. The gorgonian fans along this wall are enormous, oriented perpendicular to the current to maximise plankton capture. Schools of anthias in pink and orange clouds surrounded them, feeding on the same current-borne nutrients. The pelagic life arrived quickly. A grey reef shark cruised past at the limit of visibility. A school of bigeye trevally, perhaps two hundred strong, held formation in the blue off the reef edge. Napoleon wrasse appeared, their bulk seemingly unaffected by the current. At twenty-five metres, a cleaning station on a prominent coral head attracted a procession of visitors. Moray eels extended from the reef face, mouths agape. The current swept us past in minutes, the reef scrolling like a film. Above on the reef flat, the dark shape of the Louilla wreck was visible against the sunlight, a navigational cautionary tale that has become Gordon Reef's most recognisable feature. The drift delivered us to the reef's southern tip where the boat collected us in calmer water. The entire wall took twenty-five minutes, covering perhaps six hundred metres of reef.