Sharm El Sheikh · Egypt · Reef · Drift
Gordon Reef
The freighter Loullia aground on the reef since 1981
Area photo: patano · CC BY-SA 3.0
The southernmost of the Straits of Tiran reefs and the closest to Sharm El Sheikh, made up of a shallow plateau with a mooring and drop-offs fanning out from the centre. The sand plateau at the foot of the reef runs from 10 to 24 m. The freighter Loullia has stood aground on the northern section since 1981.
Where it is and how deep
27.9848° N, 34.4512° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Boats tie to the mooring on the shallow plateau, and the dive runs out from there across the sand at the foot of the reef, which lies between 10 and 24 m, with drop-offs fanning out from the centre of the site. Of the Tiran reefs this is the easiest in terms of experience and ability, although currents can occasionally sweep over the plateau.
The plateau is where the dive is. The drums on the bottom are worth going through for octopus and moray eels, in particular peppered and yellow-edged morays, and eagle rays and whitetip reef sharks pass as you drift along. Out at the edges of the plateau, where it drops away, Napoleon wrasse and triggerfish work the shoulder. Above all of it, on the northern section, the corroded hull of the Loullia stands on the reef, a surface landmark rather than part of the dive.
Background
The Loullia was a Panamanian freighter, 107.6 m long and 14 m wide, with a draught of 5.8 m and a tonnage of 3,460 gross register tons. On 29 September 1981 she ran onto the reef at full force and stood almost completely on it for years afterwards. The corroded wreck still marks the surface of the northern section of Gordon Reef and is the landmark divers and boat crews use to place the site.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Eagle rays
- Reef sharks
- Napoleon wrasse
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Sharm El Sheikh: Hammerhead sightings at Tiran peak June–September; winter winds can make Tiran crossings choppier.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Gordon Reef?+
The sand plateau at the foot of the reef, where the boats moor and most of the dive happens, runs from 10 to 24 m. Drop-offs fan out from the centre of the site and continue deeper, but the plateau is the dive.
Sources
- Gordon Reef — Scubago
- Diving in the Straits of Tiran, Egypt — Dive The World
- Gordon-Riff — Wikivoyage (German)
More dive sites in Sharm El Sheikh
Reef
Anemones holding a permanent population of anemonefish
Reef
Two enormous caves filled with shoaling glassfish
Scalloped hammerheads off the back of the reef in late summer
A 1984 freighter broken up in 10 to 12 m of water
Coral blocks from 2 to 40 m on a sea-grass bottom
Table corals still intact on a slope opened to divers recently
A column of gorgonian fans standing from 14 to 28 m
A freighter's bathroom cargo scattered across the reef at 25 m
Similar dives elsewhere
An anemone garden of 40-plus anemonefish above a 35 m plateau
Freediving lines to 40 m and a scrap-metal elephant on the sand
A mushroom-shaped reef with a labyrinth of caves along its south side
Eagle rays over the two narrow gutters at the southern tip