Our first yacht cruise around the Red Sea islands and lagoons

We booked our May 2022 trip at the very last minute (only a couple of months before we were due to fly out) due to uncertainty caused by covid and the war in Europe. However, as often happens, impromptu decisions tend to be good ones. Furthermore, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the kitesurfing world champion for 2020 and 2021, Hannah Whitely will be on board with us with one of the best videographers around, Andy Troy, courtesy of our hosts – the Egyptian Cruising Company.

There were no convenient flights from London and southern England where most of us live, so we decided to join the rest of the group in Sofia a day earlier and have a pre-safari party, get a couple of hours sleep and get to the airport the day after. The chartered flight from Sofia to Hurghada McDonnell Douglas MD-82 with Balkan Holidays was uneventful, which is always good for a flight. At Hurghada airport we were met by Hamada, who we later realised was also our deep dive guide.

As soon as we arrived at the airport at about 11am we started checking the wind forecast as most of us were itching to get on the water. This was quickly organised with Hamada. After a quick pit stop for fruits and unloading of the luggage at the yacht, most of us headed straight to a kitesurfing spot towards El Gouna. A piece of advice, if you ever go to Egypt on a beach holiday other than a Yacht trip, make sure you book at El Gouna, not Hurghada. It is much tidier, cleaner and has all the facilities, amenities, security and restaurants you will need.

After a quick kitesurfing session, we headed back to the Marina and began to board the yacht. This is when I saw my cabin – a 2.5 x 3m, two bed, cozy, en-suite room. The upper deck cabins were roomier and with better views through large panoramic windows, so we left them for the couples. 

We had our first dinner on board the yacht and chatted in the restaurant area.

I believe everyone was happy with the quality and the quantity of the food throughout the trip. Our host from the Egyptian Cursing company made sure we got a fresh catch of fish and calamari from the passing by fishing boats.  I personally loved the fresh mango juice in the morning. 

On Sunday, the first day at sea, there was no wind so we did some snorkeling, diving and swimming with dolphins and taking underwater pictures of fish and corrals.

 A great start to the cruise. This part of our trip was captured well by Hannah Whiteley in her first of three episodes:

On day two the wind was slightly stronger but still not good enough for surfing so we did some more diving and wakeboarding. The better divers went to explore The Ulysses ship wreck on the bottom of Red Sea. You can read more, by clicking on the link below, on the history of the ship and its faithful journey. https://www.redseawreckproject.com/dive-sites/u-red-sea-wreck-diving-database/ulysses/

 On day 3 we got the winds we came for and most of us were up at dawn ready for action. This was described well by Hannah Whiteley in her second episode.

The next few days we kited from 6am to 6pm with all of us improving our skills immensely. Some have tried to learn for years unsuccessfully with inconsistent winds, deep waters or different equipment. Here we had all of the above and great instructors so progression was quick and easy.  Even those who came only for diving caught the “kite virus” and took lessons. The trip finished at the Hurghada marina with partying till dawn and then sadly coming back home.

Here is the final episode of Hannah Whiteley’s Egypt videos: