Contents this month:

• Wreck Hunt - Search for the Shillong.
• Di-wreck-tory - New wreck directory.
• About Me - More about Peter.
• Special Offers - our specials.

• Having trouble viewing this email? View the online version here.

Prepared: 24 July 2008.

Hello there!
My name is Peter Collings and I have just taken on an additional role at Aquatours. I have over 30 years of diving experience and specialise in wreck diving & wreck discovery...read more.

We have a few exciting 'wreck hunting' trips scheduled, and have been working hard to provide an extremely detailed wreck directory for the Egyptian Red Sea. I hope you enjoy reading my first news letter.
Happy Diving,
Peter Collings & the team at Aquatours

WRECK HUNT: Search for the Shillong

Over the past 5 years, we have been lucky enough to discover many new wrecks in the Egyptian Red Sea; the most recent being the S.S. TURKIA. Our journeys high into the gulf of Suez are groundbreaking - we have gone further than any other safari boat, thanks to Captain Tarek, skipper of the Hyatt live-aboard. Most of our target list, some 20 vessels, have now been located, identified and surveyed during our wreck exploration weeks. One wreck however has eluded us - the P&0 steamer SHILLONG.

On September 14th 2008 we will once again set out on a mission to find the wreck of the Shillong. Local fishermen, who have confirmed we are in the right place, will join us, and we will have on board the latest side scan image processing equipment thanks to TRITEK of Aberdeen (for a review please see Sport Diver Magazine - July 2008).

En route we will 'warm up' on the Thistlegorm before heading north - first stop is a large unidentified wreck near Gebal el Ziet. We will then head for Ras Galib and Ras Shukier where our search will begin. Additional dives on the Scalaria, Bakr and Aboudy will be slotted in between searches and a night dive on the Birchwood 2will also be offered. Finally we will call in on the Rosalie Moller, thus diving all three WW2 victims in one week. A special set of unique log book stickers will also be available on board.

Full historical presentations on all the wrecks will be given, and guests will have the opportunity to learn new skills in wreck searching techniques, survey and identification methods, as well as specific wreck diving skills.

The wreck is there - just waiting to be found! Many of our regular members have signed up, eager once again to be the FIRST - why not join us? The date is 14th September 2008 and the price £1178 per person.

Please contact us for more details or to make a booking.

DI-WRECK-TORY: Aquatours new Red Sea wreck directory

I have been diving and discovering Red Sea wrecks since the very early 80's, and during all this time I have researched and accumulated a wealth of information, pictures and diagrams. Myself and Aquatours would like to share this with the diving community.

We have been working on a directory of Red Sea wrecks, and hope to make it the largest & most detailed resource of information available on the net. Each wreck has information of it's history prior to sinking, how it came to be wrecked, it's discovery and a description of it's condition for diving today. In some cases there is even a recommend dive plan. Each wreck is fully illustrated with pictures, which can be enlarged to full size by clicking on them, and Google Earth links so that the wrecks relative location can be clearly seen.

Right: The front page of our wreck di-wreck-tory.

Since Aquatours is in the unique position of having an 'old school' Red Sea explorer on staff, we have access to Peter's entire Red Sea photo collection, much dating back to the early 80's. There are some very interesting period wreck pictures that many will have never seen before. The image to the left was taken from the bridge of the Giannis D in April 1983 - just a day after she hit the reef at Abu Nuhas - and before she went under for good.

We plan to update the directory regularly and add more wrecks. In the future we hope to expand it to cover wrecks in all the destinations that we offer.

ABOUT PETER: Who am I?

"With over 30 years experience, who better than myself, Peter Collings, to take you on an exciting exploratory tour of some of the worlds best shipwrecks?

Regarded by many as the leading expert on the subject, my book "Shipwrecks of the Egyptian Red Sea" has been described as a definitive work, but my endless search for new and undiscovered wrecks will soon produce an update covering the entire Egyptian coastline.

Above Image: The Jolanda (Yolanda) aka 'The Toilet Wreck', at Ras Mohammed. Photographed in 1983 by Peter Collings, with Lawson Wood mid frame. The wreck was atop the reef until 1985, when it slipped down into the depths (145-180m), leaving behind it's cargo of bathroom fittings and a BMW motor car.

Left image: The bow of the Bakr stands proudly on the sea bed, in just 12m of water.

I will be leading no less than 20 escorted trips throughout the year, (although many are already full), sharing my knowledge and experience, providing 1st hand advice on wrecks, photography and marine life, and generally ensuring you get the most from your trip. Several of the trips will allocate time to search for some 20 new wrecks, as far north as Ras Garib in the Gulf of Suez, utilizing the latest side scan sonar units." The 2008 season will see a new standard in our safaris. We are now using the superb HYATT out of SHARM. New wrecks include the AL QAHER, ABOUDY, ALASKA, AL KAFHAIN, BAKR, HEBAT ALLAH, EL ARISH, OTTOMAN TRADER, SARAH, SCALARIA and ZIETIEH.

Background...

Peter's own company, DEEP LENS, was established in 1983 to provide support in publishing his underwater photographs, articles and books. In the early 90's Peter's photographic workshops, held monthly in the Egyptian Red Sea, led to the first wreck safaris and deep south expeditions. By 1995 Peter was established as the leading authority on Egyptian shipwrecks and in 1996 SHIPWRECKS OF THE EGYPTIAN RED SEA was published and today remains the most accurate and comprehensive book on the subject yet published.

Right image: The launch of the S. S. Thistlegorm. She was to sink just 1 year later.

In 1996, Peter's contribution to diving both world wide and indeed around his native shores of North East England, won him the prestigious SSI PLATINUM PRO 5000 Award. The citation; "For an outstanding contributution to diving over 25 years." To date he has written a total of 8 books and his photographs and diving articles have been published world wide on a monthly basis. He is a regular contributor to DIVE and to H2O MAGAZINE.

In 2000, in conjunction with TORNADO MARINE, Peter began an intensive program of exploratory wreck safari's using the superb CYCLONE in the Northern Red Sea. 2003 saw that theme extend into the Gulf of Suez and the southern regions of Egypt. Both Peter and Ayman Mussan, owner of the Tornado fleet, were awarded the RED SEA GOVERNORS GENERALS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE for their contribution to tourism and acknowledgement of Peter's work in shipwreck discovery and identification.

Aquatours SPECIAL OFFERS

We have a few special offers, particularly for the Maldives for 31st August and 14th September 2008.
Please see our Special Offers page for further details.

• Contact us and how to book.