Cruising Through Dahlak Archipelago

Few regions in the world offer a better opportunity for yacht cruising than the Dahlak Archipelago, consisting of more than 350 islands. The abundance of fish life and the exquisite corals have made the Dahlak Islands, a scuba divers’ paradise, and an aquatic wonderland. Charter Yachts are available in Massawa and provide not only facilities for cruising, but also scuba diving and other water sports.

The Dahlak islets are true desert islands, with almost barren soil appearing simply flat with sand beds or barren rocks, which occasionally drift out to sea. Much of Eritrea’s 1,200 km mainland coast such as the island shores is virtually deserted. Divers have not visited many Dahalk reefs for more than 30 years since the 1960’s. Depending on their depth and coral formations, different reefs are suited to either fully equipped scuba divers or snore kellers to get to both the populated and the inhabited islands; you might want to consider a boat with at least 25hp D5HL engine.

And if you’re also lucky, you may possibly get a chance to see turtles, notably the hawksbill, leather bucks, and green species. Such of excitement comes on encountering sharks, for which the Red Sea is well renowned. Despite the general impression however, shark attacks on summers along the reefs of the Red Sea have been extremely unusual.

The coast of Massawa is also renowned for shipwrecks, with some of them reclaiming only 3m below the surface which others are as far as 4km deep. These wrecks include World War II Italian warships, frigates, and even tanks with a number of them still in very good condition.

Life under sea, off the Massawa east coast, opens up a veritable treasure chest of colorful fish and exotic corals. Some distinctive forms are the ‘fan coral’ or Garogonacea, the ‘tree corals’ from the Nephiidea family, the ‘fire corals’ or Milipora an dohters.

N.B.

This ecology needs protecting if drivers are to enjoy the diversity and beauty of these waters for years to come. There are some basic rules to remember to help protect the environment. Please remember never to collect live shells.