STRAIT OF GUBAL

The Strait of Gubal connects the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea and is bordered to the west by the Egyptian coast and to the east by the Sinai peninsula. The Gulf of Suez is much shallower than the Gulf of Aqaba because of its different geological origin; its average depth is about 80 metres.

The canal through which ships pass into the Strait of Gubal - which is much wider than the Strait of Tiran - is flanked to the northeast by two outcrops called Beacon Rock and Shag Rock, both of which have beacons as well as the wrecks of the Dunraven and the Sara H. respectively. To the southwest the canal is delimited by the southern tip of the Shadwan Island (also known as Shaker Island on British maps), which also has a beacon, situated 15.2 miles from the one on Beacon Rock.

Alternatives &
r Stingray Station

Dunraven Wrack

Small Crack

Thistlegorm Wrack

The southeastern section of the strait is characterized by the presence of two massive, half-outcropping coral formations (called sha'ab in Arabic) that create a coral reef inside which there are shallow lagoons with sand floors.

On a level with the western side of the Ras Mohammed peninsula is Sha'ab Mahmud, about 6 miles long and 2.7 miles wide, delimited to the north and south by two smaller sha'abs called Sha'ab Surur and Sha'ab el-Utat. Sha'ab Mahmud consists of a coral reef oriented in a northwest-southeast direction, cut through on its western side by two channels, Small Crack and Big Crack, and completely open on its southern side. This vast lagoon is navigable and is usually used by the boats going to the diving sites in the Gubal region - which enter and exit via Big Crack or Big Passage, situated at 27°46.500`N and 34°03.000`E - because it is well sheltered from the waves.

The second large coral formation in the Strait of Gubal is Sha'ab Ali, situated north of Sha'ab Mahmud, extending for 8.3 miles in a northeast-southwest direction and separated from the Sinai coast by a canal with an average depth of 20-25 metres.

Sha'ab Ali is well known for the famous wreck of the Thistlegorm on its eastern side.
It surrounds a lagoon 7-10 metres deep, the entrance of which, marked by a series of luminous buoys, lies on its northeastern side. Diving boats often spend the night in this lagoon so that scuba divers can be at the site of the shipwreck at dawn, thus avoiding the arrival of the many boats from Sharm and Hurghada later in the morning.