The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady

Text and photos: Agnieszka Krotecka-Elbendary and Nabil Elbendary

From the charming Dahab we go overland to Sharm el-Sheikh and then, by boat, to a place the existence of which was up to recently known to very few people. They were mainly local fishermen going fishing somewhere between Hurgada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

It Cousteau, together with a team of enthusiastic scientists from his research vessel "CALYPSO", performeda series of dives that ended up in the discoveryof a ship wreck sunken during World War II –SS Thistlegorm. In 1986, residents and divers fromHurghada learnt about the existence of the IronLady, but kept this information secret fearing thattourists from Sharm el-Sheikh would destroy thewreck. Only a few years later the secret came tolight. Despite the express prohibition of plunderingthe ship, many of its elements and objects on the deck began to disappear.

Therefore, despite the attempts to keep it secret,the SS Thistlegorm wreck was officially "discovered",and her story became one of the main, mostexciting plots of the stories from World War II. As oftoday, it is at the top of the list of the most interestingdiving sites in Egypt and is a kind of a crowning of expeditions of diving enthusiasts from all over the world.

Each of us has probably heard about a unique wreck resting at the depth of 30 m in the waters of the Red Sea. No doubt, many of you had a chance to dive there. It impresses with its size, abundance of attractions, availability as well as diversity and colors of undersea life. SS Thistlegorm belongs to places that you will love and never forget. We are her absolute fans! In the middle of the wreck you can find military machinery (including rifles, trucks, ammunition… really!), clothing and breathtaking air bubbles under the ceilings of the decks. Moving between successive segments we can meet the beautiful blue moray leaning out shyly at the level of our eyes... It's impossible to have enough of a beautiful spectacle of "aircraft fireworks" which come out of the lower floors of the wreck. The size of the ship also amazes. The more than 100-meter giant encourages us to pay another visit: the first dive around the wreck to assess and admire the size and beauty of this underwater giant. The second allows exploration of larger compartments. Near the wreck there is its anchor, which – by the way – is in a perfect place to anchor your safari boat remainig at the site overnight. It should be noted that diving on the sunken freighter does not belong to the easiest, so inexperienced divers and beginners are not allowed to go there. The diving difficulties are influenced by very strong surface and underwater currents, changing their direction depending on the time of day, lack of references, distance from the shore and

the crowds (!!!) of diving tourists. A very important role plays here an experienced guide, who should have a rich history of diving on this particular wreck, to know how to carry out a safe expedition and how to lead the group to fully benefit the pleasure of immersion.

This majestic ship attracts thousands of divers each year with its charm. Some appreciate its beauty and retain in memory its allure and uniqueness. Others, meanwhile, are not able to behave responsibly and destroy this underwater wonder, whether because of the lack of skills, or simple because of negligence. The devastations are caused mainly by lack of professionalism and experience in mooring diving boats on the wreck. Until recently, guides and instructors tied the safaris boats with chains and metal cords to moving or sensitive parts of the ship.

Today there are points on the wreck, where boats can be anchored with the use of ropes. Boat mooring is very difficult and requires experience, vast knowledge and maps of the vessel in the head to secure the rope in such a way that neither the boat nor the wreckage will suffer damage. It is worth mentioning that every

It impresses with its size, abundance of attractions, availability as well as diversity and colors of undersea life. SS Thistlegorm belongs to places that you will love and never forget.

safari boat must be moored in two different places on the wreck to maintain stability. Large safari boats that stay for overnight dives at the site must use 4–5 ropes to keep the balance. One boat = two ropes, a few boats = a dozen ropes… let the part be poorly anchored, and the misfortune's ready. Moreover, during summer months we can often meet on average 8 diving boats from Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada. On each boat there are approx. 25 divers, performing 2 dives, which gives us 200 divers and 400 dives… Inexperienced divers with poor buoyancy and without adequate surveillance hit the fragile parts of the wreck or deliberately change its condition, eg. scratching the sediment and rust of the machinery to see the hidden inscription, which causes irreversible damage. The Iron Lady is not only a beauty in herself, but also home to exceptional, colourful coral reefs and underwater creatures such as barracudas, tuna, lionfish, Serranidae and clownfish. The air bubbles mentioned above, although they are eye-catching, promote corrosion because of the oxygen contained in them. In order to protect the SS Thistlegorm from further alarming destruction (today, unfortunately, we will not see masts, a captain's bridge, small cartridges and rifles) several projects have been

created that are trying to establish a daily limit for diving boats on the wreck, appointing guides / instructors authorized to moor a safari boat and designation of the places for mooring. It was possible to come to an agreement over the last point, although not all the captains with their crews take to the heart the welfare of the national heritage. It is our duty to respect the underwater beauty, both created by mother nature, as well as by human hands. Remember this the next time you jump into the water.

SS Thistlegorm

British merchant cruiser

Date of construction – April 1940

Date of sinking – October 1941

Displacement – 4 898 tones

Dimensions

● length – 126 m

● width – 18 m

Crew – 41

Death toll – 9

Armament

● 120 mm anti-aircraft gun

● machine gun

Cargo

●● Trucks Leyland and Albion

●● heavy goods vehicles Morris Commercial

●● Universal Carrier armoured vehicles

●● Norton 16h and BSA M20 motorcycles

●● Bren machine guns

●● ammunition

●● Lee Enfield Rifles

●● Wellington Boots

●● Aircraft parts

●● carriages

2 steam locomotives LMS Stanier Class 8F

History of journeys

●● to America for railway rails and aircraft parts

●● to Argentina for cereals

●● to western India for sugar and rum

●● the last journey to Suez Canal

Information and photos: http://thethistlegormproject.com