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UAE: Abu Dhabi to Ghantoot | Dubai to RAK | Dibba to Khor Fakkan
Oman: Musandam | Damaniyites | Fahal Island | Bandar Khayran to Quriyat

For other descriptions of UAE dive sites: Carole Harris and Tony Schroder (c.2002) UAE Underwater Explorer, Explorer Publishing, ISBN 9768182-17-2

Diving around Abu Dhabi: In general, water temperatures range from 18 in coldest winter to over 30 in summer. Climate is mild allowing diving year-round (and hey, in the summer, how else you gonna cool off?). Sea conditions can be a problem during shamal season, but much of our diving is done in calm seas. There are some shallow reefs near Abu Dhabi but the best dives near here are the wrecks which are one to two hours away by boat. Visibility around Abu Dhabi is poor to mediocre with occasional lucid days and there can be a bit of current on the wrecks. The best diving in the UAE is off the east coast, where coral and fish life are more varied and vis slightly better. The best diving in the region is Oman, either north along the Musandam coast or just north of Muscat around the Damaniyite Islands, or around Fahal Island right off the Muscat Hyatt and Intercon Hotels. These latter areas generally require advanced diver certification, and in Musandam if you're not careful or well-led you can get into currents that are up and down as well as swiftly horizontal (the Damaniyite operators now take open water divers and put in at calm places where depth can vary, and shallow diving is usually the best there). At the far extreme, there is a supertanker in 87 meters of water off Ras Al Khaimah which we dive on air to about 50 meters, though you can go to the sand on mixed gases. Further afield, you can easily reach the Red Sea, the Maldives, and all of Southeast Asia from Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

I've sorted the dives around Abu Dhabi by Dates Visited so that you can see at a glance when it's been possible to get out to the far wrecks and when we've been constrained to diving inside the Breakwater for protection from rough seas. Dives elsewhere, where conditions are generally more forgiving year round, I've sorted the dives on Site Name.

UAE

Abu Dhabi to Ghantoot

I've sorted the dives around Abu Dhabi by Dates Visited so that you can see at a glance when it's been possible to get out to the far wrecks and when we've been constrained to diving inside the Breakwater for protection from rough seas. For example, you can see that diving in January was constrained to sheltered locations in 2000 and 2001, and in 2002 there were no BSAC dives at all on account of rough conditions.

Dives elsewhere, where conditions are generally more forgiving year round, I've sorted the dives on Site Name.

Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah

M.V. Dara mostly traveled between the Arabian Gulf and the Indian continent, carrying expatriate passengers who had employment in the Gulf States. She had accommodation for 20 1st Class, 54 2nd Class and 1377 deck passengers. She was heading from Oman when a bomb exploded on board, while off the coast of Dubai, on the 8th April 1961 which caused the vessel to eventually sink. It was never clearly established who planted the bomb, or why, but there was a high loss of life attributed to the incident, despite the fact that no one was on board when it sank. At the time, it was the worst peace time disasters on the high seas, second to the Titanic.There was a total of 819 on board, including 19 officers and 113 crew; and 238 died from burns or drowning. The M.V. Dara wreck lies in approximately 17 m of water and is in a 093°/273° direction with her bows pointing East. It lies on its starboard side, Which makes it ideal for Open Water Divers, Advance & Above.

Dibba to Khor Fakkan

OMAN

Musandam The map is from Al Marsa's informative web site and can be found in its original location by clicking here.

Damaniyites

Suwadi Turning
40 Q 0573792
UTM 2623698

Fahal Island

Bandar Khayran to Quriyat

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