Ras Katy

The dive normally starts on the mooring, between the fringing reef and the top of the main pinnacle, and becomes a semi-drift. The standard circuit winds round the large pinnacles, never deeper than 18 m, with glassfish gathered on the gorgonian fans. Between reef and pinnacles lies a sheltered sandy lane with many pairs of gobies and shrimps.

Two extensions go below the circuit, for divers with the depth in hand. At the southern corner the reef juts out near 26 m, where a large group of Red Sea bannerfish and red-tooth triggerfish sits over it, and a big fan coral thick with glassfish waits on the way back. The other is the shark: stay shallow for 10-15 minutes first, then head for the point where one operator reports a resident white tip reef shark at about 28 m.

Pinnacles that reach the surface give Ras Katy its shape, and they are why one structure serves so many people: courses, check dives, night dives, snorkellers swimming out from the beach. The bay position keeps the water sheltered, and the sandy lane at the foot of the reef rewards a slow look for gobies, shrimps and crocodilefish.

Divers who take the shark option are asked not to chase it, and the resident is said to stay in the area when left alone.

Fire coral grows on the pinnacles, and scorpionfish and lionfish sit in the sand and crevices, so hover over the lane. The current is usually mild but can pick up toward the corner in the direction of Temple; check drift and air there before committing to the southern leg. Snorkellers share the pinnacle tops with dive and glass-bottom boats, which is why the swim is recommended early in the morning only.

The site is diveable all year, with water of 20-23 C in winter and 27-29 C at the surface in summer. Divers log white tip reef sharks here mostly from July to November, and eagle rays in late summer and autumn.