Latest news

Camel Bar will be closed for renovation starting on 20 February. Sharm’s most famous bar will be extended outside, and completely remodeled inside. During the renovation, we’ll run a reduced schedule of live sports games via satellite, on the Terrace. Both the Terrace and Roof will continue to operate normally, with a full dinner and drinks menu. So if you’re in Sharm on 19 February, join us for live music from Screwdriver and our last big party before the launch of the new, more spacious Camel Bar in a few weeks' time.

Our instructor Beth was rewarded for waking up early on her day off, when she joined our trip to Dunraven on 12 February. Beth was diving above the group at about six metres, having just left the wreck to rejoin the reef, when a pod of seven dolphins sped past her. “The pod split around me as I hovered, watching open-mouthed in amazement!” said Beth. “I just aimed my camera and pressed, hoping some shots would come out”. This is one of Beth’s lucky images.

We exhibited at two dive shows last month, the Salon de la Plongée in Paris, and the Boot in Dusseldorf. It was a pleasure to meet so many of you at the shows. A record number of visitors attended in France, while the boat show in Germany was impressive as usual. Our next event is the London International Dive Show, on 28-29 March, where you can find us in the Red Sea zone. We hope to see you there!

Fortunately, accidents on our dive boats are rare. However, in case an accident occurs it is vital that knowledgeable staff are present to provide proper and rapid assistance. We are delighted that eight crew members from four Camel dive boats are now certified in Medic First Aid. Their course, which was led by Bianca and Ahmed, focused on primary care skills and knowledge. Congratulations to Mohamed and Ahmed from Ala Mansour, Saad and Reda from Chic 2, Mohamed and Mostafa from Sehss, plus Mohamed and Ramy from Wasser. We aim to train more crew members during February.

From 15-21 December we conducted research to identify new dive sites suitable for diver training, in collaboration with the Chamber for Diving and Watersports (CDWS) and Ras Mohammed National Park authorities. During a series of dives over several days, Camel instructors Francesco Germi, Deniz Aymer and Sven Kreische mapped the reef between Travco marina in Sharm El Sheikh and Marsa Ghozlani. The team collected data on wind and sea conditions, terrain, depths and quality and quantity of marine life. They identified 13 sites in which new moorings could be placed, making them suitable for diver training. The need for new training sites arises from the planned closure to dive boats of moorings at Ras Katy, to create zones for other users such as glass bottom boats. The team’s report has been submitted to CDWS and National Park authorities. It is expected that moorings will be installed at the new sites early in 2010.

An interview with Camel Chairman Hesham Gabr and instructor Cath Bates, plus underwater footage from our house reef at Royal Grand Sharm Resort, were screened during the recent climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The footage was shown on 18 December as part of a live television show which called for action by policy makers to prevent the death of coral reefs from global warming. The link-up between Copenhagen and the Red Sea was coordinated by Frank Schweikert, a marine biologist and filmmaker with Aldebaran, a German environmental research and media organization. Watch the Camel team on TV via You Tube (in English).