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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 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
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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
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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
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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
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