I Dived in The Most Dangerous Place in the World: Diving into a Sink Hole (Blue Hole, Dahab)
or so it was argued.
I never knew I would be diving in what was arguably the deadliest dive spot in the world, so much so that there are careers formed around people retrieving bodies from the sea bed. The Big Blue has claimed an estimate 130-150 lives in the last 10-15 years (or link here). That's more than one diver's life per month on average.
So why dive here?
The thrill. Of course. And the novelty to claim that you have done it.
Aside from that, "The Bell" (coral reef along the drop off wall outside the sink hole) has abundance of corals and small marine lives, the site itself is worth diving for. (But wait, is that all there is to it?)
So why dive here?
The thrill. Of course. And the novelty to claim that you have done it.
Aside from that, "The Bell" (coral reef along the drop off wall outside the sink hole) has abundance of corals and small marine lives, the site itself is worth diving for. (But wait, is that all there is to it?)
The real allure is hidden within the Blue Hole, a secret that has most people flocking here.
Frankly, a sink hole underwater is generally, quite simply put, boring. There is no coral life beneath the surface reef zone, it's completely dark underneath, and diving too deep is, a no brainer, risky. Even for experienced diver, every deep diving poses a threat to a certain level.
Well, don't dive that deep then, I hear you say.
That's not what Blue Hole is all about. The secret is this.
At 60 meters beneath the sea level, there is a narrow cave-like tunnel that connects the Blue Hole to the Bell (outside sea world), and while most of the time it is completely dark, during a specific small window time frame of the day, the light shines through from outside, lighting up the inside of the tunnel and reaching the Blue Hole. Just like this photo.
(Thank you whoever took this shot, so the rest of us humans don't have to risk our lives knowing what it's like down there)
Diving the Blue Hole is like discovering a hidden passage in a forbidden tomb and finding treasures very few can claim. You heard about it, now you want to see it for yourself, and then conquer it.
Why is it so dangerous?
You see, the recreational depth limit is 40 meters.
At 60 meters, you're on your own. No recreational dive guide will bring you down. Most people who die there also starts drowning at that depth.
Because as you go deeper, your sink faster; it doesn't help that in the red sea, you need more weights to dive due to the water density and the thick wetsuit you'll be wearing; while the weights aid in your descend, after a certain depth, it can work against you and pull you down faster than you realise; narcosis hits, you drown. That's how buoyancy works.
(Read my post on the difference between diving in tropical waters vs the red sea)
The Blue Hole is 110-150 meters deep, while the sea bed just outside of the sink hole is more than 400 meters deep.
While I didn't have the courage to visit that tunnel, I would have in my more careless and adventurous youth. I will post a video at a later time once I compile the footages showcasing my dive at the bell and into the sink hole.
What do you think? Given the chance, would you dive into the Blue Hole?
1 kissed Nicole
EPIC!!!! Now that you've done it.... where to next Nicole?
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