 Lighthouse on Shag Rock | ||
| Shag rock · S / S Kingston الصخور الخشنة | ||
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The Shag rock (German: Shag rocks, Arabic:الصخور الخشنة, aṣ-Ṣuchūr al-Hashna, „rough rocks") is a egyptian Coral reef in the Strait of Gūbāl in the south of the Gulf of Suez, in the south of the Shaʿb ʿAlī (Arabic:شعب علي, Shaʿb ʿAlī, „ʿAlī Reef"). In 1881 the S / S Kingston steam sailor. The relatively shallow depth in which the wreck lies and the intact underwater world make the wreck a special experience for Diver and become an underwater photographer.
background
The reef Shag rock is to the east of the Strait of Gūbāl (Arabic:مضيق جوبال, Maḍīq Ǧūbāl, „Strait of Ǧūbāl“), The southern gate of the Gulf of Suez. The elliptical reef, about 1.1 kilometers long from north to south, forms the southernmost point of Shaʿb ʿAlī, the ʿAlī reef, from which it is about a mile away. Until the sinking point of the S / S Thistlegorm it's six miles. The reef top is about half a meter under water. In the southeast of the reef was a 1 lighthouse(27 ° 46 ′ 29 ″ N.33 ° 53 '9 "E) built.
His Names got it from shags European shag or Common shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelis), a species of bird in the cormorant family. When the water recedes at low tide and parts of the reef roof rise out of the water, the reef is populated by shags and other cormorants who settle here to fish.
On the northwest side the ran S / S Kingston on February 22, 1881 on the reef. Sometimes the wrong name Sarah H. is given for the wreck. But there was never such a ship. The British steam sailor and cargo ship S / S Kingston was built in 1871 by the Oswald Shipbuilding Co. in Pallion, Sunderland for the Commercial S. S. Co. It was 78 meters long, ten meters wide and had a tonnage of 1,450 GRT. In addition to the two sailing masts, it could also be powered by a steam engine. The 130 hp two-cylinder engine gave the ship a maximum speed of eleven knots.
The ship was being led by Captain Cousins when it was sailing from London to Yemeni Port city Aden hit the reef with a cargo of coal on February 22, 1881. The crew had tried unsuccessfully for two days to get the ship back from the reef. The accident did not claim any fatalities.
getting there
Visiting the reef and the wreck is usually part of a liveaboard safari to the south of the Gulf of Suez, which is in Sharm esch-Sheikh or Hurghada begins. The location of the reef can be seen from the lighthouse on the southern tip. The safari ships usually anchor at the southern tip of the reef. Here you get into a rubber dinghy (Zodiac) that takes the divers to the wreck in the northwest of the reef.
Tourist Attractions
Not only is it worth visiting the wreck itself, but also the intact reef with its marine fauna and flora.
The current runs from north to south, splits at the reef and reaches up to four knots at the tips.
The dive to the wreck of the 2 S / S Kingston(27 ° 46 ′ 42 ″ N.33 ° 52 '34 "E.), which is four to 17 meters on the northwest side of the reef, usually starts at the stern of the ship. The rudder and the four-bladed propeller are about 15 meters deep.
The once wooden ceiling is now rotten, so that you can only see the frames of the ship. This means that large areas of the ship are well illuminated. The exposed spare propeller and two steam boilers are located on the deck. The two masts are on the starboard side of the ship.
The ship is already largely covered by hard corals. The nearby reef is also home to numerous hard and soft corals. Reef residents include moray eels, turtles, perch, snapper, mackerel, barbel, and surgeon fish.
Due to the shallow depth of the wreck and the coral garden, the visit is also suitable as the last dive of the day.
Kitchen and accommodation
Accommodation and meals are provided on the safari ships.
trips
Visiting the reef can be combined with other dive sites in the Strait of Gūbāl Connect as part of a liveaboard.
literature
- : Sinai Diving Guide: Part 1; German edition. Verona: Geodia, 2005, ISBN 978-88-87177-66-4 . Dive site 35.
Web links
- Kingston on wrecksite.eu (free registration required).
