Jackson Reef.
The northernmost of the four Tiran reefs: an oval reef with steep walls, a coral garden, and a sheltered shallow area on the south side where boats moor. Dives normally follow the wall south-west from the mooring, watching the blue for sharks, tuna and trevally. Scalloped hammerheads gather off the north side from July. The remains of the wreck of the Lara lie on the north side of the reef.
What's down there.
- Steep walls
- Sheltered shallow area on the south side (called 'the Aquarium' by Oonas) and the south-side mooring
- Coral garden on the eastern side
- Remains of the Lara on the north side
- Open water off the north side, where hammerheads gather in season
- Scalloped hammerhead sharks (July onwards)
- Grey and whitetip reef sharks
- Hawksbill turtles
- Napoleon wrasse
- Giant moray eels
- Tuna and giant trevally
- Anthias and Red Sea bannerfish
- Blue-spotted stingrays
- Octopus
- Soft corals in the reef inlets
The reef rises to within about a metre of the surface. At the mooring on the south side the wall reaches about 40 m; Red Sea Diving College limits dives to 30 m, and Wannadive gives a maximum of 60 m. Remains of the Lara lie on top of the reef on the north side, and the main part of that wreck is at 40 m or more.
There is usually a noticeable current. Boats moor on the sheltered south side. The dive descends the wall and heads south-west with the reef on the right, then returns through the shallows. Current at the western end can be too strong to swim back against. The reef can also be dived as a drift towards the east. It is rated intermediate to advanced. Boat time from Na'ama Bay is about 90 minutes (pro-taucher); liveaboard.com says day boats leave Sharm el-Sheikh at about 06:00 and reach the Straits at about 08:00. Hammerheads are reported from July to November (Oonas) or peaking in July–September (liveaboard.com), so early June comes before the usual season. Protected status: Tiran Island was part of Ras Mohammed National Park (Wikipedia); the sources consulted do not state the reefs' own designation or whether a park fee was charged for them in 2007–09. pro-taucher says passports and the full Egyptian visa were needed for trips to the Tiran reefs. Tiran Island was transferred to Saudi Arabia in 2017 (see region notes).
How it got there.
The four Tiran reefs are named after British cartographers (Wikipedia). According to Oonas Dive Club, the Lara, whose remains lie on the northern part of the reef, sank in 1980.
3 dives.
From the log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.