Bill Passmore - Underwater Photography
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Brothers - Simply Amazing

6/30/2023

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The Brother Islands are a world famous scuba diving destination. It offers some of the best diving in Egypt and the Red Sea.  These 2 small Islands (Little Brother and Big Brother) are famous for their wonderful pristine coral as well as being one of the best places in Egypt to dive with Sharks!
Here you can encounter the Oceanic Whitetip Shark, Schooling Hammerhead Sharks  as well as Grey Reef Sharks and Silvertip Sharks! The very rare Thresher Shark can also sometimes be spotted!
In addition, the Brothers Islands are home to a fantastic reef life with myriads of colourful reef fishes, pelagic fishes such as Barracudas, Giant trevallies, Tunas and even the magnificent Manta Ray!
Diving with sharks is just one of the mindblowing fish encounters you can experience while diving at Brother Islands in the Red Sea. With amazing vertical walls covered with corals and spectacular fish population, diving at the Islands is definitely unforgettable!

The Brothers Islands are located in the Middle of the Red Sea, about 150 km Southeast of Hurghada and 125km North of Marsa Alam and are only accessible by liveaboards.

We were able to do a number of dives here during our 2 weeks and it was AMAZING.  Coral formations and life like no other place I have ever experienced.  Negative entries, current, and life unrivaled anywhere!  Totally wrong camera set-up for the sharks and Manta but hey, still awed by this dive.  Can't wait to be back next year with a slightly different camera set-up.

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El Mina Wreck - Red Sea

6/27/2023

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Egypt is a country where diving is one of the most popular tourist activities, and Hurghada is currently the most visited city for fans of the underwater world. The main attractions in this area are coral reefs, but there are also a few wrecks. One of them is El Mina, which attracts many different kinds of divers.

The ship, a minesweeper for the Egyptian Navy, was built in Russia during the Soviet era, in the late 1950s. It is a T-43 class ship and the Egyptians had seven of them. It was 58 meters long and 8.5 meters wide, powered by a 2200hp diesel engine that could reach a top speed of 14 knots. The range of the ship, at a speed of 10 knots, was 3800 nautical miles. It was served by 65 crew members and its weapons consisted of four cannons, two machine guns and 32 mines.

Its sinking

The Egyptian-Israeli conflict, the so-called "War of Attrition", lasted from 1968 to 1970. It was characterized by Egyptian artillery attacks in the Suez Canal zone and Israeli air strikes. Just before the end of the war, on February 6, 1970, six Israeli planes flew from the east to the Hurghada region. The target of the attack was a military airport. Flying low above the sea, El Mina, anchored in front of the port of Hurghada, was spotted. The ship was recognized as a potential threat, so two Israeli planes were ordered to act. The first rocket to hit El Mino was the fatal one. In the explosion, the ship lost its mast and one turret with cannons. Almost immediately it rolled onto one side, floating on the surface of the sea. The planes then machine-gunned the already seriously damaged ship, sealing its fate, and El Mina disappeared quickly beneath the surface.

We encountered some current and some interesting visibility on this wreck dive but it added to the "feel" of the dive.  Another piece of history visitied

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The Wreck of the Salem Express

6/26/2023

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The Salem Express was a passenger ship that sank in the Red Sea. It is notable due to the heavy loss of life which occurred when she sank shortly after striking a reef at around 11:13pm on Saturday December 14, 1991

On its final voyage, the Salem Express sailed her usual 450 mile journey from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Safaga, Egypt, which took around 36 hours; they intended to unload 350 passengers, before continuing then sailing north to Suez. This route had been the ship's standard schedule since 1988. The ship's departure had been delayed by two days in Saudi Arabia due to a mechanical fault.[ The night of the sinking was stormy.

The ship ran aground on a coral reef between 6–10 miles off shore, after deviating from its planned route. The reef ripped a hole in the forward starboard bow, and knocked open the ship's bow door - allowing seawater into the car deck.] RoRo ferries are extremely vulnerable once the car-deck is breached

At around 11:13pm, a crash rocked the ship as it ran aground, and began shaking. Very soon after, it began listing to one side, and the lights went out. The captain sounded the distress signal. The ship was under water in close to 11 minutes, trapping hundreds below deck, and sank entirely within 20 minutes.

The official Lloyds Maritime Casualties Report claim there were 644 passengers in total - 180 survivors, 117 bodies recovered, out of 464 total victims. Another source gives the passengers as 650 persons - 578 passengers and 72 crew. A contemporary news report gives a slightly different total of 664 passengers, with 179 survivors and 485 missing at time of publication, with 71 crewmembers. The New York Times reported that only 10 out of 71 crewmembers had survived

Another very memorable and solemn dive in the Red Sea. 

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Thistlegorm - the Red Sea

6/23/2023

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The SS Thistlegorm is one of the most legendary wrecks in Egypt's Red Sea and undoubtedly ranks among the most impressive wreck dives anywhere on the planet. This fascinating WWII era ship lies in the Strait of Gubal – a narrow passageway of water connecting the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea – where it was brought to rest in 1941 following a German air attack. 

The Thistlegorm made three voyages to America, Argentina, and Dutch Antilles before its fateful and final voyage in the Egyptian Red Sea. On October 6, 1941, the ship and several other military vessels were discovered by German forces while at anchor in a safe harbour. During the bombing raid that followed, the hull was struck twice, resulting in catastrophic damage, and the Thistlegorm sank rapidly, claiming nine lives.

All but 9 of the crew escaped and the HMS Thistlegorm reached its final resting place 30m deep on the sandy sea bed, where she lies upright with her stern section separated from the main body by 20m. The ship is largely intact except for the impact area but the split hull reveals the invaluable cargo, where trucks, motorbikes, a train and even Wellington boots can be seen.
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On the stern the guns remain in excellent condition and the blast area is littered with artillery. The site offers so much to see that it takes 2 days of diving just to orientate yourself. Diving inside this section of the SS Thistlegorm you'll find BSA motorbikes, Morris automobiles, Bedford trucks, trailers and armoured cars, stowed tightly away as if still ready for use, many still with rubber tyres and glass windows intact. 

We did two dives on the historic wreck, two incredible dives in a strong current.  Experiencing history first hand is a special privilege.  Ironically the red fish in one of  the motorcycle shots are "soldier fish"
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Bonaire 2023 - and an update from Sosua

3/8/2023

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 Once again, it's been a while since I did a website update!  Thanks to everyone who subscribes and a special thanks to my new subscribers.  Hope you enjoy the photos.

Had an opportunity to visit Bonaire and dive with a couple friends, John and Kevin, for week in February.  Getting across to there was cool!  "ARAJET" from Santo Domingo to Curacao then "DIVI DIVI" on a Twin Otter across to Bonaire.  Both airlines are fantastic!  

John and Kevin picked me up and we went to Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn, a PADI 5 Star facility on the island.  It was pretty special as "Linda" whom I taught her rescue class in 1988 - has been a staple there since 1989, and she had no idea I was coming!   GREAT to see her again although I'm not 100% sure of what she told the other members of her team.  The next morning I was greeted by "Oh, we heard all about you and you are crazy".  Anyway - did my check dive - basically passed and we were off to spend a week (not nearly long enough) exploring dive sites.

This place is AMAZING!  By FAR, the healthiest reef(s) i have ever seen and yes, I do include GBR in that statement.  Shore diving is the norm here with the longest "swim" maybe 10 minutes over beautiful white sand. Then the reef drops down from maybe 30 feet to well over 100 - and it is COVERED in healthy corals and sponges.  My photos do not do it justice.

Big thanks to John, Kevn and Linda and the crew at Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn on Bonaire.

Next adventure - 2 weeks on a live-aboard in the Red Sea coming up in June!

Stay safe, stay healthy - and protect our oceans.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment!

Bill
PADi 200462
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December 2022 - Winter is coming!

12/4/2022

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Heading Into Winter

Been a while since an update, so spent a few hours redoing the website this morning.   Hope you like it.

Winter is coming quickly, the water is cooling down, the waves are getting bigger and visibility is getting limited!  No worries, we are still loving the diving here in the Dominican Republic.

Been spending the time working on the exposure triangle and strobe positioning.  Lots to learn and it is all good.  Working a bunch on wide angle - and a cool reason for that!  Keep reading!

It's pretty cool to be able to dive with the same people year after year.  I look forward to each and every one of you.  More than dive buddies, we have become good friends.  Huge thanks to Divecenter Merlin for the opportunity to be part of the team.

Well, an exciting new year coming up.  Off to Bonaire for a week in February and then to Egypt and the Red Sea for two weeks on a liveaboard with friends.  Thistlegorm - see you soon.  Wrecks of the North Red Sea!

Enjoy the photos - leave a comment please, and to each and every one of you - have a great holiday season.

Take care and keep our oceans clean.

Bill
PADI 200462

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May 2022 - Finally an update!

5/10/2022

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Wow, been quite a year so far!
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Well, this has been an interesting year so far - but also a really good one!

Finally hit the 100 dive plateau  - well for this year!   Thanks huge to Divecenter Merlin and all my friends who have been here to dive with me.  You are all very special to me.  You make diving FUN!

Not such a good year for photos though!  Been struggling.  Huge thanks to Bennie for letting me use his lens!  The fish-eye photos are kind of cool!  Need to get out with some of my photos buddies and just "play" for a few dives.   On that note, a new lens on the way for the 5D!   That should be fun!

On a different note - got diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma on Feb.4.   A bit of a shock but hey, there you go!  The great news - was able to get operated on here within 2 weeks and all is well.   And the cost for everything - 2000 RD Pesos. $46 Canadian dollars!   I LOVE this country!

Just a quick one today so thanks for reading.  Please leave a comment and I hope you enjoy the photos!

Take care and keep our oceans clean.

Bill
​PADI 200462


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September - clear water and hot weather!

9/1/2021

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Welcome Tropical Storm Fred

8/11/2021

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A rainy day here in Sosua and with Tropical Storm Fred expected to hit us this afternoon, the powers that be have shut down all water activity for today, so no diving!  Gives me a chance to update my blog and clean the cameras though!

The diving the last month has been great and it is great to see old friends coming back to enjoy our warm clear waters.  Had great dives with Tom from California and Taurean and Emily from New York as well as all my friends from Germany!  Love diving with fellow photographers!

The macro life right now is fantastic here in our bay.  All types of tiny frogfish, including the Hairy Frogfish pictured in the slideshow up above.  These little guys look like a piece of seaweed on the sand but get up close and you can see the eyes and the tiny feet!  Trying to get a decent backlit photo of one of them but no such luck - yet!

A passing turtle waved "Hi" at Deep Wall a few weeks ago and really was just plain lucky to get a photo of it!  Sometimes, that is all you need.

Seahorses!  We have a LOT of seahorses in our waters right now and some of these are getting BIG, well about 4 or 5 inches tall.  These creatures are usually very shy and tend to turn away from the camera so pretty happy to finally be able to capture some decent shots of these amazing creatures.

It's been a great month of diving here with my friends at Divecenter Merlin.  Check their website out!  www.divecenter-merlin.com

Thanks again to EXP vision for the great masks.  Really loving these.  EXP VISION DIRECT on Amazon.

Thanks for visiting my page and please leave a comment!

Enjoy the summer, stay safe and please keep our oceans healthy

Bill
PADI 200462
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July 18th, 2021

7/18/2021

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Wow, Summer is here, the ocean is getting warmer, the visibility is improving, and hurricane season has started!  Lots to talk about this time!

Website Update:  Over the next couple weeks the website will have a revamp - hopefully for the  better.  Stay tuned and subscribe to the updates if you like!  It is always appreciated.  Please leave a comment on the blog or on the website comments page.

Sponsorship:  Pretty excited to be sponsored by EXP Vision!  These masks are honestly the best I have ever used AND they are extremely affordable.  Super soft skirts, seal amazing and best of all - they are fog free!  They advertise that they are coated with an anti-fog agent and YES they really are!  Be sure and check out their Amazon Store: Amazon.com: EXP VISION DIRECT  

Scubaverse: Was very honored and humbled to win the Scubaverse May photo contest.   Scubaverse is an amazing resource for anything related to diving.  An international magazine and they receive entries from all over the world for the photo contests.   Check these guys out at: 
www.scubaverse.com

On another note - loving  the Canon 5D.  Acquired an 8 inch dome port and a fisheye lens and loving it!  Nice to use a full frame camera!

The world is slowly starting to return to "normal" and it has been great diving with old friends here in Sosua, Dominican Republic.  Stay safe everyone, enjoy the ocean, save our reefs, enjoy the photos!  (there are a lot in the slideshow this month)

Bill
​PADI 200462











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