Bluff Point, however, is only an hour's sailing from the general search area for the Rosalie Moller and, with this in mind, Ali Baba invited me to join him and Captain Mohammed Said Hassan. Captain Hassan is widely regarded as the second best Captain in the entire Red Sea. Not that he minds being second best - everyone acknowledges his father as the outstanding figure in this regard - and he located the Thistlegorm in 1963!
Captain Hassan handed me a chart and asked me to plot a certain position. Where he got it I do not know - but it was right on the edge of the general search area. He smiled "We go tomorrow" he said and at 0630 hrs the engines coughed into life. This normally provides an early morning call for all those on board, but today there was an added element of excitement and few were still asleep. Most of us were checking we had a "good fill." Every time Ali Baba looked at me he smiled and said two words "Rosie Muller!" - and somehow, I suspect the ship will eventually become known by this slightly altered name. By 0800 hrs we were searching.
Now, I must confess, the last time I discovered a shipwreck (well sort of!) was 16 years ago. So, my natural optimism was being tempered by a distinct lack of information. I was well aware that the chances of success were slim - in fact we had no chance at all. True, we did know something about a ship that no longer existed and a very approximate location - but altogether hardly enough... To make matters worse, none of us had quite realised before we sailed that the Miss Nouran was not equipped for searching - no reason why she should be. Apart from thick mooring/anchor lines, we had nothing and apart from fenders - no buoys. On top of that, not one Diver had a reel or SMB.
Another very important element to be taken into consideration was the fact that my fellow passengers were all paying guests and here to enjoy as much Diving as possible during their one-week holiday. They had not paid to waste time going up and down in search of something that was, in all honesty, probably not even there!. Ideally, we might have gone diving first - but the search area was well away from the recognised sites and there really was nothing else readily available. Everyone agreed, therefore, we search for Two Hours and no more.
The ensuing search then quickly became a team effort. Chris Gleadow - one of the technical divers, took charge of the GPS - and, sitting right in front of the Captain, directed him accordingly. I watched the Decca screen and had my compass ready to take bearings. Others joined us from time to time and there was a high degree of expectation as the boat was slowly conned - first one way and then another.
Captain Hassan handed me a chart and asked me to plot a certain position. Where he got it I do not know - but it was right on the edge of the general search area. He smiled "We go tomorrow" he said and at 0630 hrs the engines coughed into life. This normally provides an early morning call for all those on board, but today there was an added element of excitement and few were still asleep. Most of us were checking we had a "good fill." Every time Ali Baba looked at me he smiled and said two words "Rosie Muller!" - and somehow, I suspect the ship will eventually become known by this slightly altered name. By 0800 hrs we were searching.
Now, I must confess, the last time I discovered a shipwreck (well sort of!) was 16 years ago. So, my natural optimism was being tempered by a distinct lack of information. I was well aware that the chances of success were slim - in fact we had no chance at all. True, we did know something about a ship that no longer existed and a very approximate location - but altogether hardly enough... To make matters worse, none of us had quite realised before we sailed that the Miss Nouran was not equipped for searching - no reason why she should be. Apart from thick mooring/anchor lines, we had nothing and apart from fenders - no buoys. On top of that, not one Diver had a reel or SMB.
Another very important element to be taken into consideration was the fact that my fellow passengers were all paying guests and here to enjoy as much Diving as possible during their one-week holiday. They had not paid to waste time going up and down in search of something that was, in all honesty, probably not even there!. Ideally, we might have gone diving first - but the search area was well away from the recognised sites and there really was nothing else readily available. Everyone agreed, therefore, we search for Two Hours and no more.
The ensuing search then quickly became a team effort. Chris Gleadow - one of the technical divers, took charge of the GPS - and, sitting right in front of the Captain, directed him accordingly. I watched the Decca screen and had my compass ready to take bearings. Others joined us from time to time and there was a high degree of expectation as the boat was slowly conned - first one way and then another.
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