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Ras Gomaa
Egypt · reef · advanced
22–30 madvancedDeepboat entry
Ras Gomaa
A submerged ledge in the gap between Woodhouse and Jackson whose top is already at 22 m, dived only when the strait lets you.
Max depth22–30 m
Required leveladvanced
Entry typeboat
Visibility20 m
The dive
Ras Gomaa, also written Ras Goma or Gomaa Reef, is not one of the four named reefs of the Straits of Tiran. It is a submerged reef in the water between the northern end of Woodhouse and Jackson, and it never breaks the surface: its shallowest point is about 22 m, and from there it runs north and drops away to meet the seabed at roughly 50 m. Deep South Divers describe it simply as a ledge exposed to the flow of the strait, which is the whole of the site in one line.
That flow is the reason it exists as a dive and the reason it is rarely done. The strait narrows between Tiran Island and Sinai and drains through two passages of very different depth, which is what makes the current here strong and hard to predict. Red Sea Marine run Gomaa only in very calm conditions, starting from the sandy road at Woodhouse after a current check has confirmed the flow is running north, and they will not take a diver who is not carrying a surface marker, because the risk on this one is being swept into open water rather than anything on the reef. The same confluence between Jackson and Woodhouse carries a mooring line at about 24 m that guides call the Shark Lookout, where divers hang and watch the blue.
Because the top is already at 22 m, there is no shallow part to this dive. You spend the dive between roughly 22 and 30 m, per divers logging it on Wannadive, then leave the reef and ascend in blue water on a bag. The reward is the open-water traffic the current brings: Red Sea Marine cite large pelagic fish and rays, and the same water at Jackson next door has a scalloped hammerhead season from around mid-June to early October, peaking in August and September.
Write this one off your plan if you are not already comfortable at 30 m in current. On the great majority of Tiran days the boat will dive Woodhouse or Jackson instead, which is why very little has been written about Gomaa and why our confidence here is low.
- A submerged reef that never breaks the surface, topping out at about 22 m
- The Shark Lookout line at about 24 m in the Jackson-Woodhouse confluence
- Open-water traffic pulled in by the strait's current: large pelagics and rays
- Rarely dived, because the conditions gate is narrow
Please note before you go
- Strong and unpredictable current in the strait, reported at 1 to 2 knots, with a real risk of being swept into open water
- No shallow reef: the top of the site is about 22 m, so the whole dive is deep and the ascent is in blue water
- The reef continues past recreational depth, dropping to roughly 50 m
- Shipping and dive-boat traffic in the strait; a surface marker is treated as mandatory
- Disorienting blue water off the reef edge
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, on a Tiran day trip or a liveaboard out of Sharm el-Sheikh; about 85 minutes from Na'ama Bay port. The dive is normally entered from the sandy road at the end of Woodhouse Reef and worked north onto the submerged reef, so it is run as an extension of a Woodhouse dive rather than its own drop.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
Conditions, not paperwork. The operator description we read runs it only in very calm conditions and only after a current check confirms northward flow, and refuses divers without a surface marker. Expect it to be called off far more often than it is dived.
Season
Two things line up in summer and early autumn. Deep South Divers put the strait's scalloped hammerhead season from about mid-June or July to early October, peaking in August and September, and August is also the warmest water at about 28 C by Dive The World's figures. The gating factor is still sea state on the day rather than the month.
Conditions
Visibility20 m
Currentstrong
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range22–30 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsquiet
Day boats reach the Tiran reefs in roughly 85 minutes from Na'ama Bay, per Wannadive's entry for this site, and Gomaa is dived off the same trip as Woodhouse. Dive The World give the strait 20 to 25 m of visibility and water from about 22 C in February to 28 C in August; divers logging this pin report a wider 10 to 30 m spread, so we have taken the lower end. Most days the current makes the dive impossible and the boat goes to a named reef instead.
On current: The defining problem. The strait's flow is driven by two shipping passages of unequal depth, Enterprise at about 250 m and Grafton at about 70 m, which makes the current here strong and unpredictable rather than simply tidal. Divers logging the site on Wannadive report 1 to 2 knots; Red Sea Marine will only run it when conditions are very calm and a check confirms the current is setting north, and require a surface marker because of the risk of being carried into open water. Sources do not agree on how hard it is: Wannadive's contributors tag it at CMAS three-star or divemaster level, while the operator description says only experienced divers. Treat the harder reading as the real one.
Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Questions & answers
How deep is Ras Gomaa?
There is no shallow part. The reef is submerged, with its shallowest point at about 22 m, and it runs north and drops away to roughly 50 m where it meets the seabed. Divers logging the site report an average around 27 m and a maximum around 30 m, so a normal recreational profile sits in a 22 to 30 m band with a blue-water ascent afterwards.
Is Ras Gomaa the same as Jackson or Woodhouse Reef?
No, but it is dived off them. Gomaa is a separate submerged reef in the gap between the northern end of Woodhouse and Jackson, and it never breaks the surface, unlike the four named Tiran reefs. Operators enter from the sandy road at the end of Woodhouse and work north onto it, so in practice it is an extension of a Woodhouse dive.
Is Ras Gomaa suitable for beginners?
No, and it is not really an intermediate site either. The top of the reef is already at 22 m, the strait runs 1 to 2 knots, and you finish by leaving the reef and ascending in open blue water on a marker buoy. Contributors on Wannadive put it at CMAS three-star or divemaster level and the operator description says experienced divers only.
Why is Ras Gomaa dived so rarely?
Because the conditions gate is narrow. The Straits of Tiran drain through two passages of very different depth, which makes the current strong and hard to predict, and the operator we read will only run Gomaa in very calm conditions and only after a check confirms the current is setting north. On most Tiran days the boat dives a named reef instead.
Can you snorkel at Ras Gomaa?
No. Nothing here comes near the surface, the shallowest coral is roughly 22 m down, and the current that makes the site worth diving would carry a snorkeller into the shipping channel. If you are on a Tiran boat and want to snorkel, the shallow lagoon reefs along the western side of Tiran Island are the place.
What will I see at Ras Gomaa?
The point of the dive is what passes in the blue: the operator cites large pelagic fish and rays pulled in by the current. On the reef itself, records around this pin are the northern Red Sea standards, sea goldies, blackside and longnose hawkfish, coral hind, coronation trout, blue triggerfish, Suez fusiliers, bluefin and orangespotted trevally, humphead wrasse and giant moray, with blue-spotted ribbontail rays on the sand.
When is the best time to dive Ras Gomaa?
Summer into early autumn. Deep South Divers put the strait's scalloped hammerhead season from about mid-June or July to early October, with August and September the peak, and August is also the warmest water at around 28 C. That said, the month matters less than the sea state on the day, since a rough or wrong-running current cancels the dive whatever the calendar says.
Do I need a surface marker buoy at Ras Gomaa?
Yes, and it is not optional. The operator description states divers should attempt this reef only if carrying a surface marker, because the real hazard is being swept off the reef into open water rather than anything on the reef itself. You ascend away from the wall in blue water inside a busy strait, so the boat needs to see you before you surface.
Life recorded at Ras Gomaa
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 11 recordsCheilinus undulatusoccasional · 5 recordsGymnothorax javanicusoccasional · 5 recordsTursiops truncatusrare · 4 recordsBalistoides viridescensrare · 3 records
Pseudanthias squamipinnisoccasional · 22 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 22 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 16 |
| Epibulus insidiator | occasional | 15 |
| Cephalopholis miniata | occasional | 15 |
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 11 |
| Coris aygula | occasional | 9 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 9 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 9 |
| Arothron stellatus | occasional | 8 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | occasional | 8 |
| Heniochus diphreutes | occasional | 8 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 8 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | occasional | 8 |
| Balistapus undulatus | occasional | 8 |
| Caesio suevica | occasional | 8 |
| Tridacna maxima | occasional | 7 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | occasional | 7 |
| Variola louti | occasional | 7 |
| Genicanthus caudovittatus | occasional | 7 |
| Arothron diadematus | occasional | 6 |
| Grampus griseus | occasional | 6 |
| Pomacanthus maculosus | occasional | 6 |
| Odonus niger | occasional | 6 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | occasional | 6 |
| Chaetodon melannotus | occasional | 5 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | occasional | 5 |
| Caranx melampygus | occasional | 5 |
| Cheilinus undulatus | occasional | 5 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | occasional | 5 |
| Naso hexacanthus | occasional | 5 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | occasional | 5 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | occasional | 5 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 4 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | rare | 4 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | rare | 4 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 4 |
| Chromodoris quadricolor | rare | 4 |
| Chromis pembae | rare | 4 |
| Pseudanthias taeniatus | rare | 4 |
| Flavocaranx bajad | rare | 4 |
| Tursiops truncatus | rare | 4 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 3 |
| Pseudobalistes fuscus | rare | 3 |
| Pseudodax moluccanus | rare | 3 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | rare | 3 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 3 |
| Siganus stellatus | rare | 3 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | rare | 3 |
| Balistoides viridescens | rare | 3 |
| Chromis flavaxilla | rare | 3 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 3 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 3 |
| Macolor niger | rare | 3 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 3 |
| Sargocentron spiniferum | rare | 3 |
| Neopomacentrus miryae | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 3 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | rare | 3 |
| Oxycirrhites typus | rare | 3 |
| Caesio lunaris | rare | 3 |
Nearby sites in Sinai
Explore all sitesJackson Reef0.4 km
SinaiThe northernmost Tiran reef, with the stripped hull of the Lara on its north point and the strait's most reliable hammerhead corner below it.
Woodhouse Reef0.8 km
SinaiThe long thin reef in the middle of the Straits of Tiran: no mooring, no shelter, one drift from south to north.
Thomas Reef1.9 km
SinaiThe smallest of the four Tiran reefs, dived as a drift because there is nowhere to moor, with a canyon at 35 m that is a technical dive and not part of the recreational plan.
South Laguna Reef, Tiran Island2.1 km
SinaiThe larger half of Tiran's western lagoon and the strait's best shelter: a shallow hard-coral lagoon drifted along its outer wall between the Laguna entrance and the green beacon.
Kormoran / Zingara Wreck - Tiran2.8 km
SinaiAn 82 m phosphate carrier broken across the shallow north edge of Laguna Reef, dived inside 12 m on the days the Straits of Tiran let you.
Gordon Reef3.0 km
SinaiThe southernmost Tiran reef: a freighter still aground on the north end, a shallow plateau on the south, and the sandy hollow divers call the Shark Pool.
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