Hello Sea Lovers!
This is my entry for the photocontest hosted by @marc-allaria. If you want to join, you can read the details here. Don't be shy and join this fun contest!
Boats, the theme of this week. Most people will think of boats moored in the harbor, a nice sunset with some boats on the horizon, ...
But stubborn is my middle name so I want to give this a twist. I will take you under the surface of the sea and let you discover some shipwrecks.
Spoiler: Sorry, I don't have pictures of the Titanic!
Behind this wreck lies a real sad story. The last voyage of the ship was from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt and had many pilgrims from Mecca onboard. It's still unclear what happened that day, but the ship took another route. Many people told me the captain was in a race with another ship who would be first in the harbor. The captain took a shortcut and hit the reef. The whole boat sank in 20 minutes. I spoke with family members of crew members who lost their live and they told this story. Later I found out that the captain was known for taking shortcuts. No one knows how many people died. The numbers are between 650-850.
Part of the ship is closed as there are still bodies in it. It is an official grave. Some parts are open and you can see the luggage of the passengers. It gave me a creepy feeling. I've been always attracted to shipwrecks and did a lot of dives on wrecks, but this was the one were you actually see the belongings of people who lost their live. After the dive I decided I would never go back to that dive site as a respect to the victims. At the time of the dive I really had mixed emotions. Yes, when you dive on a wreck the change that someone had died is big. But mostly you only see the metal or wood.
MV Salem Express hit the reef on Saturday December 14, 1991.
