Jackfish Alley

The drift starts at a white mark on the cliff and drops to a cave in the wall.1 The wall is porous, with small crevices and a couple of caves that each have separate entrances and exits. A dog-leg swim-through sits at 5 m, and a second at 15 m climbs back up to 5 m; it can also be dived in reverse. Past the wall the reef gives way to a sandy plateau and the dive splits into two options.

The alley is the strip of sand between the reef edge and a satellite reef about 50 m off. Jacks school here, which gave the site its name, and blue-spotted, feathertail and eagle rays turn up on the sand. The satellite reef is a run of pinnacles with soft corals and gorgonian fans, reached through a coral garden at 10-18 m. One pinnacle at 12-14 m holds glassfish, scorpionfish and lionfish, and barracuda hang at the cleaning station. The drop-off at the satellite reef's edge usually runs stronger current, which brings the bigger fish in to feed.

Under the drift sits the largest emperor fish spawning ground in Ras Mohammed National Park and in the whole Red Sea.1 Spangled emperors gather over the sandy plateau, which lies around 20 m, and the park patrols the site in the breeding season. The plateau is a working reef as well as a dive.

The plateau was a fishing ground before it was a dive, and the older name Fisherman's Bank records that.1 The later names, Jackfish Alley and Stingray Alley, come from the jacks and blue-spotted stingrays in the alley.

The mooring lines at the site were removed under the park's management, so it is a drift only.1 That arrangement dates from 2007, so confirm with your operator that it still holds, and expect a surface pickup at the end of the drift with a marker buoy deployed.

Current is the variable. It is mild to strong depending on the day, and at the satellite reef's drop-off it usually picks up, so that edge is where to decide with your guide whether to carry on or turn back along the alley.