White Knight

The dive

White Knight (operators also write it White Knights) lies in a wide bay roughly a kilometre north of Shark's Bay, and Red Sea Marine describes it as the closest dive site to the Shark's Bay jetty. It is dived from a boat, either on one of the moorings or as a drift generally run towards Shark's Bay. The ground divides in two: to the north-east a sandy plateau that runs from the fringing reef at about 3 m out to a drop-off at 18-20 m, and to the south-west the canyon that gives the site its shape, with a rolling reef beside it.

The canyon is the reason people dive here. Its head sits shallow, the walls are hard coral, and small side passages lead back to the main reef; Diversion Dive Travel and Emperor Divers both place swim-throughs at about 10 m and about 35 m. Sources do not agree on how far down it goes: Camel Dive Club describes it running from 5 to 50 m, Red Sea Marine puts the bottom at 40 m, and Red Sea Diving College caps its own dive at 30 m. Take the shallow figure as the working plan. Red Sea Diving College also notes a second cave at 18 m that needs a light and a line and is only for divers trained for it. Sand pours down the canyon almost continuously, which is why the site was originally called Wichita Falls.

About 100 m north of the canyon, between roughly 8 and 15 m, is an eel garden, and many dives start there and follow the reef along. Small pinnacles on the reef carry anemones with anemonefish, and the site is described as macro-heavy: nudibranchs and pipefish are the usual finds. Triggerfish work the sandy slopes and groupers shelter in the canyon. Diversion Dive Travel notes the bay traps plankton year round, and Red Sea Marine reports mantas and eagle rays here in summer. On the south-west side lie the remains of a sunken dive boat, with old cylinders and engine parts scattered on the reef.

• Sand-floored canyon with swim-throughs at about 10 m and 35 m
• Eel garden between 8 and 15 m, about 100 m north of the canyon
• Sandy plateau from the fringing reef at 3 m out to a drop-off at 18-20 m
• Remains of a sunken dive boat, cylinders and engine parts, on the south-west side
• Anemones with anemonefish on small pinnacles; nudibranchs and pipefish for macro

Conditions

A boat drop in a sheltered wide bay, usually on a mooring, over a sandy plateau that starts at about 3 m on the fringe reef and steps down to 18-20 m. Guides run it either as a static mooring dive or as a gentle drift, so a normal day is one where current chooses the direction rather than sets the difficulty. Sand moving down the canyon is a permanent feature of the site, so expect the water inside the canyon to be less clear than the water over the reef.

On current: Sources describe this as a site without habitually strong current: Red Sea Diving College rates it beginner to intermediate and Red Sea Marine says it can be dived either on a mooring or as a drift, generally towards Shark's Bay, meaning the guide picks the profile from the day's flow rather than fighting it. Plan the direction on the boat, not underwater. The depth figures are the one real disagreement: Camel Dive Club gives the canyon as 5 to 50 m and Red Sea Marine bottoms it at 40 m, while Red Sea Diving College holds its dives to 30 m. The conservative 30 m limit is the one recorded here.