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Bluff Point (Small Gubal island)
Egypt · reef · beginner
5–35 mbeginnerOWboat entry
MEDIA5 items
Bluff Point (Small Gubal island)
A lighthouse-marked wall on the tip of Little Gubal with a small barge wreck in the lee: the northern Red Sea's default night dive.
Max depth5–35 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Bluff Point is the northeastern tip of Little Gubal Island in the Gulf of Suez, marked by an automatic lighthouse. The dive starts at that northeastern point and runs south along a coral wall that drops to about 35 m. The current here pushes southward and can be strong, and the standard advice is to stay close to the wall, which shelters you from it - a drift with a handrail rather than a blue-water drift. The upper wall is rugged and cut with small canyons where scorpionfish sit; further south the wall softens into a platform at 15-20 m that leads into a sheltered bay.
The bay holds the wreck. Descriptions differ: one operator places a small modern wreck about 20 m long at roughly 10 m in the middle of the bay, another places a barge wreck on the reef 300 m north of the lighthouse starting at 5 m and sloping to 25 m under large fan corals on the drop-off. Locally it is usually said to be a barge lost in 1973, and there is not a great deal of it left. We could not reconcile the two descriptions from the sources we read, so we do not assert which is right.
What Bluff Point is actually known for is night diving. Gubal Island gives protected anchorage, which means liveaboards crossing the Strait moor here and this is where the night dive happens; both operator descriptions call it a good night dive and one calls the day dive pleasant and undemanding. The wreck fragments and the shallow reef fill up after dark with octopus, cuttlefish and enormous numbers of shrimp whose eyes throw the torchlight back at you.
Our occurrence records for this site are among the richest of the Gubal batch, headed by giant moray, twoband anemonefish, geometric moray, common lionfish, tiger cardinalfish and crocodilefish - which fits an operator description that singles out large morays and Napoleon wrasse.
- Northeastern tip of Little Gubal, marked by an automatic lighthouse; a coral wall dropping to about 35 m
- Current pushes south along the wall - stay close in and it shelters you
- A small wreck in the sheltered bay: descriptions vary between a 20 m wreck at 10 m and a barge from 5 m to 25 m
- The northern Red Sea's standard night dive, because Gubal gives protected overnight anchorage
- Octopus, cuttlefish and huge numbers of shrimp after dark; large morays and Napoleon wrasse by day
Please note before you go
- Current runs south along the wall and can be strong; the shelter is the wall itself, so getting blown off it puts you in open water down-current
- The wall drops to about 35 m, so it is easy to go deeper than planned on a site otherwise treated as easy
- Night diving is the main activity here, with all the usual navigation, buddy-contact and light-failure issues
- Scorpionfish sit in the canyons of the upper wall and are easy to put a hand on
- This is a liveaboard overnight anchorage, so there is boat traffic and there are moored vessels overhead
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, on Little Gubal Island in the Strait of Gubal, and in practice liveaboard. Boats moor here for the night on the sheltered side, which is precisely why the site is dived - it is the stop between the northern wrecks and the crossing of the Strait. The Ulysses wreck is on the northern reef of the same island.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Season
No source we read gives a season. The site is a fixture of northern Red Sea liveaboard routes year round because the island provides overnight shelter. The wider Gubal area is choppier in winter, with average wave heights around 0.6-0.8 m and effectively no rainfall in any month.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range5–35 m
Environmentreef
Coralrecovering
Crowdsbusy
A wall dive along the northeastern tip of an island, run from north to south with the current. Stay close to the wall and it shelters you; further south it eases into a 15-20 m platform and a sheltered bay with a small wreck in it. Water around 29 C in the warm season. The bay is a protected overnight anchorage, which is why this ends up being the night dive.
On current: One operator describes a strong current pushing divers southward along the wall, with the wall itself giving shelter if you stay close; the same source calls the dive pleasant and undemanding. Depths disagree between sources: a wall to about 35 m and a 15-20 m platform in one description, a barge from 5 m sloping to 25 m in another. We record 5-35 m to cover both. No source we read gives a typical visibility figure for this site, so we leave it null. Water is quoted at about 29 C in the warm season.
Dives & underwater footage
Questions & answers
Where exactly is Bluff Point?
At the northeastern tip of Little Gubal Island in the Gulf of Suez, marked by an automatic lighthouse. The Ulysses wreck lies on the northern reef of the same island, so liveaboards commonly dive both on the same stop.
How deep is it?
The coral wall descends to about 35 m, and further south it eases into a platform at 15-20 m running into a sheltered bay. The wreck in the bay is placed at about 10 m by one operator and at 5 m sloping to 25 m by another. We record a 5-35 m range to cover both accounts.
What is the wreck here?
A small one, and the descriptions do not agree. One operator puts a modern wreck about 20 m long at roughly 10 m in the middle of the bay; another describes a barge wreck on the reef 300 m north of the lighthouse, starting at 5 m and sloping to 25 m beneath large fan corals. It is locally said to be a barge lost in 1973 and there is not much left of it either way.
Why is it famous as a night dive?
Because Gubal Island gives protected overnight anchorage, so liveaboards working the northern route moor here before crossing the Strait, and this is where the night dive falls. Operators describe it as good after dark: octopus and cuttlefish come out and the shallow reef fills with shrimp whose eyes reflect torchlight.
Is there current?
Yes. One operator describes a strong current pushing divers southward along the wall and advises staying as close to the wall as possible, because the wall itself gives shelter. The same source still calls the dive pleasant and not very demanding, so it is manageable current rather than a blue-water drift.
Is it suitable for beginners?
Broadly yes - it is described as a pleasant, undemanding dive that also works at night. The two things to watch are the southward current along the wall and the fact that the wall drops to 35 m, so it is easy to end up deeper than planned on a site that otherwise feels easy.
What will I see?
By day, large morays and Napoleon wrasse along the wall, scorpionfish in the canyons of the upper section, and big fan corals on the drop-off. Our own occurrence records here are among the richest in this part of the Strait: giant moray, twoband anemonefish, geometric moray, common lionfish, tiger cardinalfish and crocodilefish. At night, octopus, cuttlefish and enormous numbers of shrimp.
Life recorded at Bluff Point (Small Gubal island)
74 species within 1.5 km · OBISGymnothorax javanicusoccasional · 21 recordsTaeniura lymmarare · 4 recordsSynanceia verrucosarare · 2 recordsSepioteuthis lessonianarare · 1 records
Amphiprion bicinctusoccasional · 11 records
Tursiops aduncusoccasional · 10 records
All 74 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Gymnothorax javanicus | occasional | 21 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 11 |
| Tursiops aduncus | occasional | 10 |
| Gymnothorax griseus | occasional | 9 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 8 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | occasional | 7 |
| Sargocentron diadema | occasional | 6 |
| Cheilodipterus macrodon | occasional | 6 |
| Papilloculiceps longiceps | occasional | 6 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | occasional | 5 |
| Hemigymnus melapterus | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon larvatus | rare | 4 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 4 |
| Chromodoris quadricolor | rare | 4 |
| Abudefduf sexfasciatus | rare | 4 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | rare | 4 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 4 |
| Taeniura lymma | rare | 4 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 4 |
| Anampses meleagrides | rare | 4 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 4 |
| Dardanus tinctor | rare | 3 |
| Tenellia sibogae | rare | 3 |
| Fromia ghardaqana | rare | 3 |
| Sargocentron marisrubri | rare | 3 |
| Coris cuvieri | rare | 3 |
| Gymnothorax undulatus | rare | 3 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | rare | 3 |
| Pomacanthus maculosus | rare | 3 |
| Scorpaenopsis diabolus | rare | 3 |
| Stenopus hispidus | rare | 3 |
| Sufflamen albicaudatum | rare | 3 |
| Dascyllus trimaculatus | rare | 3 |
| Heniochus intermedius | rare | 2 |
| Ostracion cyanurus | rare | 2 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 2 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 2 |
| Pseudochromis fridmani | rare | 2 |
| Parapriacanthus guentheri | rare | 2 |
| Caranx ignobilis | rare | 2 |
| Dascyllus marginatus | rare | 2 |
| Epinephelus tauvina | rare | 2 |
| Chromis flavaxilla | rare | 2 |
| Gymnothorax flavimarginatus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 2 |
| Scolopsis ghanam | rare | 2 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 2 |
| Siganus rivulatus | rare | 2 |
| Scarus fuscopurpureus | rare | 2 |
| Millepora dichotoma | rare | 2 |
| Synanceia verrucosa | rare | 2 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 2 |
| Aethaloperca rogaa | rare | 2 |
| Variola louti | rare | 2 |
| Balistapus undulatus | rare | 2 |
| Cheilinus abudjubbe | rare | 2 |
| Coris aygula | rare | 2 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 2 |
| Diadema setosum | rare | 1 |
| Acanthurus sohal | rare | 1 |
| Coris caudimacula | rare | 1 |
| Chromodoris africana | rare | 1 |
| Scuticaria tigrina | rare | 1 |
| Platax orbicularis | rare | 1 |
| Plectropomus marisrubri | rare | 1 |
| Bodianus axillaris | rare | 1 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | rare | 1 |
| Saurida gracilis | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 1 |
| Arothron stellatus | rare | 1 |
| Sepioteuthis lessoniana | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Abu Nuhas
Explore all sitesUlysses, wreck0.8 km
Abu NuhasAn 1870s iron 'China Boat' on her port side down the reef of Little Gubal, from 4 m to 28 m, with the wooden decks long rotted open.
Rosalie Moller4.3 km
Abu NuhasThe Thistlegorm's forgotten sister: a coal collier bombed two nights later, sitting upright and intact at 30-50 m off Gubal.
Umm Usk11.1 km
Abu NuhasA horseshoe reef in the Strait of Gubal whose sheltered lagoon is a safari-boat overnight mooring, which is why most people who dive it do so at night.
Shag Rock (Kingston)12.7 km
SinaiAn 1881 coal steamer lying upright against a beacon-marked reef in the Gubal shipping channel, shallow enough to spend the whole dive on.
Siyoul Lagoon14.2 km
Abu NuhasThe sheltered north end of the Small Siyul reef in the Gubal Strait, where the boat moors behind the reef and the dive runs over sand and coral blocks.
El Gilwa15.3 km
Abu NuhasThe broken side of Siyul island: coral blocks and pinnacles standing on sand, with three moorings so the dive can be replanned around whichever way the current is running.
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