Ras Um Sid.
A headland close to Sharm el-Sheikh's harbour, with a steep wall covered in large gorgonian fans, coral pinnacles to the west of the point and a wide plateau. It can be dived from a boat or from the shore, usually as a drift or semi-drift. SCUBA Travel names it with Ras Mohammed, the Straits of Tiran and the Thistlegorm among the main diving areas reached from Sharm.
What's down there.
- Gorgonian fans on the wall
- Coral pinnacles west of the point
- Large plateau
- Shallow coral for the safety stop
- Gorgonian fans and soft corals
- Bannerfish
- Sweetlips
- Groupers
- Blue-spotted stingrays
- Stonefish
- Occasional pelagic fish on the plateau
- Whale sharks reported (Wannadive)
A steep wall covered in gorgonian fans leads down to a large plateau. Red Sea Diving College limits dives to 30 m; Wannadive gives an average of 20 m and a maximum of 40 m. No source gives a figure for the reef top.
Current is medium and occasionally strong around the point. With little current the site can be done as a mooring dive; otherwise it is a semi-drift or drift down the wall and across the plateau (Red Sea Diving College). It can be reached by boat or from the shore: under 30 minutes by boat from the harbour area (Wannadive), or about 45 minutes from Na'ama Bay (pro-taucher). It is rated intermediate. Protected status: not established from the sources consulted.
2 dives.
From the log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.