Brothers & Daedalus · Egypt · Wall · Pinnacle
Big Brother Island
Sheer wall, constant current and two ships draped down the same rock
Photo: Alexander Vasenin · CC BY-SA 3.0
Big Brother is the larger of two isolated rock pinnacles standing in open water off Egypt's mainland, ringed by sheer wall and swept by current that runs around the island more or less constantly. Its flanks carry the Aida and Numidia wrecks below a plateau top at 10 m, and oceanic whitetip, grey reef and thresher sharks are all on the list here.
Where it is and how deep
26.3118° N, 34.8465° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Dives here run as one-way drifts. Strong current moves around the island more or less constantly, so the guide picks whichever face is workable that morning and the group drops upcurrent and lets the water carry it along the wall. Visibility is usually 30 to 50 m, which means the rock on one side and open blue on the other are both in view for most of the dive.
The island itself is a simple shape: a hard top with a plateau around 10 m where cargo remains lie scattered, and wall below it on every side. The two ships are draped down the flank rather than sitting on a seabed. The Numidia's bow reaches to within 8 m of the surface, while the Aida's hull runs down to 65 m, so recreational groups work the shallow end of either and turn.
The shark list is the reason boats make the crossing: oceanic whitetips, grey reef sharks, thresher sharks and scalloped hammerheads, with dogtooth tuna, giant trevally and schooling barracuda alongside them. Dives finish with a hang in open water rather than a shallow reef pass, and night diving is prohibited at this site.
Background
A lighthouse built by the British in 1883 stands 31 metres high on the island, and both wrecks below it belong to that lighthouse's story. The cargo steamer Numidia struck the northern reef in July 1901, months after her launch, and the Italian ship Aida II was smashed onto the rocks near the jetty in September 1957 while delivering goods and lighthouse staff to the island's coast guard station.
Marine life and season
- Oceanic whitetips
- Reef sharks
- Thresher sharks
- Hammerheads
- Tuna
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Brothers & Daedalus: Boats run the offshore route from March to December; schooling hammerheads peak at Daedalus from June to August.
Know before you go
- Current runs around the island constantly and divers have been carried out into open sea by it; stay tight to the guide and ascend in the blue with a surface marker buoy rather than fighting back.
- The site is fully exposed to wind and waves, so surface conditions can make a pickup awkward even when the dive itself went to plan.
- Night diving is prohibited here, so the last dive of the day has to be finished before dark.
Photos from Big Brother Island
W.Strickling · CC BY-SA 4.0
Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
SCUBA diving at Big brother island Egypt with sharks · Somogyi Martin on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is diving at Big Brother?+
The plateau top is around 10 m and the wall runs far deeper. The deep sections of the two wrecks run to 65 m, and a propeller at 80 m is technical territory. Recreational groups dive the shallow end of the wall and the upper parts of either ship.
How much experience do you need for Big Brother?+
Operators set a minimum of around 50 logged dives. Current runs strong enough that divers have been carried out into open sea, and access is liveaboard only, seven to nine hours from Hurghada, Safaga or Port Ghalib.
What sharks are seen at Big Brother?+
Oceanic whitetips, grey reef sharks, thresher sharks and scalloped hammerheads are all recorded here, and dogtooth tuna, giant trevally and schooling barracuda work the same water.
Sources
- Big Brother – Red Sea Diving Marine Park Dive Sites — Red Sea Diving Marine Park
- El Ikhwa Islands — Wikipedia
- Brother Islands Diving, Red Sea - Egypt — Dive The World
- The Incredible Story of the SS Numidia Wreck - 2025 Guide — MarsaAlam.com
- Aida II Wreck — GoodDive.com
- Aida II Wreck on Big Brother, Red Sea — Scuba Travel
Photo credits
- The narrow rock islet of Big Brother with its lighthouse, seen from a dive boat by Alexander Vasenin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Divers navigating the coral-encrusted deck beams of a wreck off Big Brother by W.Strickling, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A large humphead Napoleon wrasse cruising over the reef by Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Divers silhouetted in open water surrounded by a dense cloud of orange anthias by Derek Keats, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
In The Logbook
- Why things look bigger underwaterOcean science · 12 min read
- The best wall dives in the worldWalls & drop-offs · 11 min read
- What is decompression sickness (the bends)?Body & health · 18 min read
- Why do you pee when diving, and tire after?Body & health · 12 min read
- Malapascua thresher sharks: Monad or Kimud?Big animals · 11 min read
- How long to wait before flying after divingBody & health · 8 min read
- Why is the sea blue? Water filters out redOcean science · 7 min read
- Why your ears hurt diving, and how to stop itBody & health · 8 min read
- Where to dive with oceanic whitetip sharksBig animals · 11 min read
- When and where to dive with hammerheadsBig animals · 16 min read
More dive sites in Brothers & Daedalus
Wreck
Intact superstructure on a hull that stands almost vertical
A 20 m-wide ridge to 60 m off Big Brother's shark-patrolled point
A lighthouse on a seamount that climbs from 450 metres of water
Great hammerheads rise from the deep for a look, then drop away
Railway wheels at 8 m on a hull that runs down to 80 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Two plateaus on the Red Sea's only atoll, hammerheads at 45 m
Grey reefs and hammerheads off an exposed pinnacle
Mother of Sharks: hammerheads and tigers on a lone pinnacle
2015-05-02_12-44-25_Brothers-5831.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
A chimney at the northeast corner of the erg