Snorkelling and Diving in Oman
Snorkelling and Diving in Oman Rod Salm and Robert Baldwin
Published with the support and encouragement of
Contents Introduction
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Oman’s seas and coasts
6 11
16
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83
Some useful rules to know
19
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Diving clubs and operators
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Site descriptions
71
Choosing and using your snorkelling gear
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Appendix 1. Where to buy equipment
95
Appendix 2. Service and mainmain -
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Glossary
97
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Acknowledgements
104
tenance of your diving equipment 96
ntroduction
ntroduction iving mergencies Naval Recompression Chamber 24-hour emergency telephone number: +968 99350587
Scuba divers float effortlessly over a reef in Oman’s waters.
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•
This number will connect you with the Duty Diving Officer, Said bin Sultan Naval Base, Wudam. Please ensure you have adequate and up-to-date diving medical insurance, as there will be a cost to use the recompression chamber.
•
The Armed Forces Hospital at Al Khoud will accept all diving emergencies and will carry out initial assessment assessment and stabilization prior to transfer to Wudam.
•
The emergency wards of both The Royal Hospital and Al Khoula Hospital can deal with stings, cuts, bites, fractures fractures and other injuries. Private hospitals in Muscat, such as the Shatti Hospital and Muscat Private Hospital are also well equipped to deal with such emergencies. Make sure you know the most direct route to these place.
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A single clownfish nestles in the swollen tentacles of its host anemone.
ntroduction w y . y y p ; . T , y w p xp w w q x w. y p, yw y pp, y . y p p . T w . Fy, y : The Coral Seas of Muscat, Seashells of Southern Arabia Red Sea Safety . y , py, py,
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Snorkelling in the Musandam region, especially close to the Strait of Hormuz is diverse and exciting, with a varied and colourful array of marine life.
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The Musandam Peninsula provides great snorkelling and diving opportunities for tourists in the midst of spectacular landscape.
ntroduction Hints for boat handlers Avoid anchoring on coral: your anchor can destroy 50 years of coral growth in five minutes. •
Where possible anchor in sand off the edge of the reef, or look for large white patches of sand in the reef and anchor there.
•
If sand patches are small or difficult to find, swim the anchor down and set it in sand by hand.
•
Always check the anchor is properly set in sand and that the chain or rope is unlikely to snag coral.
Seas of Muscat, Corals Of Oman, The Living Seas, Marine Life of the Southern Gulf, Seashells of Oman Seashells of Eastern Arabia, Red Sea Invertebrates, I nvertebrates, Coastal Fishes of Oman, Red Sea Reef Fishes, Sharks of Arabia Red Sea Safety, w . p y F F C. , Fishes of the Souk South Arabian Reef Fishes x . w - w . y , , , p p p. y
ite descriptions
ite descriptions Bommie Bay l: B By h f by f B khy by b y (m 12, 14). h : 1–5 h by, 2.5–10 fuh u. : a-y-u, bu h w y uh u w h.
These goatfishes are so named for the pair of barbels attached beneath their chin.
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w x f w . a bu- f b f u u by y f h h f h , ju h f h bh ( 12). Th f buy wh fh. Th h w-u . a, yh f b, wh h whu y f h b f u h f. Th h f h ff u h f fh, u h uuu g’ bufyfh – hb yu y y w ( 11).
fu: a y bh hw by h wh bu , uy h h-w . Th bu f h bommies h h u 3.5 , hy fu f h. ahuh hw f , h f x. h w bu h, bu w – x f hw x h f . a h h u h f , h y ub by x f ff wh h f bu fy u- f. Th xy h w x
Parrotfishes are diurnal and by night cram themselves into crevices to rest.
w y uy, whh b h w by y h b wy f h h, f bu h - wh y f. Th f h by y f , fh u. F h h h bw mh b, b w h u h bh b u xuh yu f bu 8.30 . Caution: Take care in winter not to get trapped here by strong north winds.
Spider conches are now rare in the Sultanate of Oman due to souvenir hunting.
ite descriptions
ite descriptions Sand Dunes Bay l: a w by y f B By, u By y bh b by w u (m 12). h : 1–7 h by 17 h j h . : a-y-u, bu h w uh u h w h, uy u Juy, Fbuy mh. fu: a w f f h f h h by ( 15), f y f bu , by h f ff . Th b f ufw h f, bu y . Wh h f h f h h b by uh ufu f f , bf y f x .
Soft corals create a surprising rainbow of colour and provide a hiding place to small fish.
Elegant columnar corals form an impres sive approach to this reef.
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An octopus changes colour and shape flamboyantly during a mating ritual.
ite descriptions Al Munassir Wreck l: axy 200 uh- f h h B By, a mu W by b-h buy buy whh w ‘ W’. h : 12–28.5 . : a-y-u. fu: Th a mu w u a 21, 2003 by h y y f w f x. Th h y b h f 28.5 wh h bw f uh-w w h h. a 84 h wh u 16 hh, h w ff ub ub hb f h z z f f – u f x by . l h f fh u h w
ite descriptions Caution:Always Caution: Always be careful when wreck diving to avoid jagged projections. projections.
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Featherduster worms defend themselves via sensitivity to light, touch and water motion.
Khaysat ash Shaikh l: Th f buff uh- f khy (m 12), whh b h by b , f by , khy h hh b h by h u-ff h f h Y–a fh . h : 1–21 . : a-y-u, bu h uh w wh w uh u.
The Emperor Angelfish enjoys clean surroundings with plenty of hiding places.
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by ub h by b uh, b by -w . Tw h uh f h h f hu b f ub h h f y, h, , wh fh ( 18), h . Th uh h f h h bu h w by hw by wh w w f bh, f f- bu h hw. Ufuy, Ufuy, y f h . Hw, u huh h h h f h by yu bufu hw f by ufu f , whh u bu f f fh ( 19).
ite descriptions
ite descriptions
Ras Abu Da’ud l: abu 10 hw f Quyy (m 13). h : 1–24 . : a-y-u, bu h w uh h w h. fu: Th f h y h – u h ff h h ufw f bw h. Tw u, bh ff h . Th h f h x f ( 1), h u f whh w w yu f w w . h u hy h
The Moorish idol is easily indentified by its long, white sickleshaped dorsal fin.
f bw 16–25 uh f h h w wh u f , f y b , wh h fh f u. Th h f fu h, b
The endangered hawksbill turtle takes its name from its unusual beaklike mouth.
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my b ub h b by b h . F h b h w f y bh h uh f h buff, y hw u h h f f h bh ( 3). Fh-wh h w x wy f . Caution: Strong currents sweep round the headland and islet, posing a danger to the unwary.
ite descriptions
ite descriptions
Cuttlefishes, if approached slowly, may reach out their tentacles to be stroked gently.
Although the featherstar appears plantlike, it is actually related to the starfish family.
Qurayyat Wreck
Ras al Hadd Wreck
Raha or Hoon’s Bay
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l: f mb , bu h by W Bq (m 14, 1).
h : 2–15 .
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Makalla Wabar or Tiwi Beach l: Fu by F h f Tw h Quyy–u . h : 2–12 .
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: Bw b my/Ju, bf h wh ufub. fu: Th w ff x , h jyb by h f . Th w y y b fy b x. h bufyfh, whh y u h u f u 20 fh; h h h f bu f h .
h : 1–12 .
fu: Th by h by h hw u uh, b h f f h uxu Caution: Strong currents, made worse by ground swell, can sweep parts of the wreck.