Also known as: Wood House Reef, Woodhouse - Straits of Tiran
Narrow Tiran reef about a kilometre long, dived only as a drift past a canyon and a whirl of currents nicknamed the washing machine.
Last updated October 2026
Woodhouse is a drift along the eastern side of a long, narrow reef. No boat can shelter beside it, so the current sets the pace and the group goes with it.
On the northern half of that side a canyon opens at about 30 metres, deeper than Open Water divers go. A large red anemone beside it draws photographers. Turtles, jackfish and eagle rays are the animals to hope for along the wall.
Toward the northern end the current strengthens. Beyond it, in the channel between Woodhouse and Jackson Reef, lies the area divers call the washing machine, named for a powerful eddy of whirling currents and strong winds.
Woodhouse is the longest and narrowest of the four Tiran reefs, a blade roughly a kilometre from end to end. It stands in open water in the middle of the gulf between two marked shipping lanes.
The canyon and the strongest current both lie toward the northern end, so plan depth and gas with both in mind. Ships use the lanes on either side of the reef, which makes a deployed marker buoy part of every ascent.
What makes this dive site stand out.
Too narrow for boats to shelter beside, so every dive here is a drift
Opens at about 30m on the northern half of the eastern side
A powerful eddy of whirling currents between this reef and Jackson Reef
A large red anemone beside the canyon is a favourite photography subject
28.0019°N, 34.4662°E
Tiran trips can be restricted by north winds.
Likely Open Water for the shallow wall; the canyon at about 30m lies beyond Open Water depth limits.
Summary
A drift along the eastern side, with strong current at the northern end that rewards drift experience.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
Multi-day safari boats with this site on their itinerary.
41m, 26-guest wooden liveaboard running Master Liveaboards' full Egyptian Red Sea catalogue from Hurghada and Port Ghalib, from northern wrecks and Tiran through the offshore Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone to the far-south Rocky, Zabargad and St John's reefs.
Red Sea Explorers' largest liveaboard: 37.5m, 28 guests across 14 cabins, running the same GUE-leaning offshore and deep-south Egypt route catalogue.
Red Sea Explorers' tech flagship: a 37m, 22-guest steel liveaboard with a full trimix/CCR fill station and scooters for offshore and deep-south Egypt safaris.
44m, 28-guest wooden liveaboard and the Sea Serpent Fleet's technical flagship, running the fleet's shared Egyptian Red Sea route pool: offshore Brothers-Daedalus-Elphinstone, northern wrecks and the Strait of Tiran, and southern St John's and Fury Shoals.
Teak-finished 42m, 24-guest liveaboard running Seawolf's full Egypt catalog from Hurghada and Port Ghalib, from northern wrecks and the Strait of Tiran to the Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone and the Deep South.
40m, 26-guest wooden liveaboard (SS Glorious Miss Nouran) running the Sea Serpent Fleet's shared Egyptian Red Sea pool: Brothers-Daedalus-Elphinstone, northern wrecks and Tiran, St John's and Fury Shoals, with a panoramic suite and rebreather support.
34m, 20-guest steel liveaboard running Tornado's full Egypt spread, from northern wrecks through the Brothers and Daedalus to a Deep South St John's week.
43m, 24-guest liveaboard built 2016, running Blue Planet's named Egypt routes from Hurghada and Port Ghalib, from northern wrecks and Tiran through Brothers, Daedalus and the Zabargad-Rocky Deep South, with free nitrox.
The reef stands in the middle of the Gulf of Aqaba between two marked shipping lanes. The CSCL Hamburg, a 4,250 TEU container ship, ran aground in the gulf on 31 December 2009. Woodhouse is one of the Tiran reefs mentioned in connection with it, but the ship's owner names only the gulf.
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