Red Sea, Egypt · Big Brother Island
Big Brother A lighthouse on a pinnacle, two great wrecks and the sharks between them
GPS 26° 18.707′ N · 34° 50.789′ E
Broadly, an isolated marine-park pinnacle rising from an eight-hundred-metre abyss, legendary for its shark action. Big Brother carries the lighthouse and both wrecks: the Numidia on the northern tip and the Aida on the northwestern wall.
Fifty logged dives is the legal minimum here, not a suggestion. Night diving is prohibited at this site, because divers have been carried out into open sea by the current in the past. Whatever the plan says, stay close to the reef.
Big Brother Island
Big Brother counts as one of the most beautiful and most popular dive sites in the Red Sea. The island runs four hundred and eighty metres long, sixty-one kilometres north-east of El Quseir, out in the middle of the sea. There it climbs from a seabed at eight hundred metres to stand ten metres above the surface.
Because of that position it is fully exposed to wind and waves, and strong currents run around it constantly. Those currents carry an enormous amount of plankton and nutrients onto the reef walls. Consequently the fish life is extraordinary and the coral diversity is remarkable.
The same exposure and the same depth also make the diving difficult. Egyptian law therefore sets a minimum of fifty logged dives before anyone gets in the water here. Furthermore, night diving is now prohibited outright, after incautious divers were swept into open sea in the past.
The island and its lighthouse are ringed by a narrow fringing reef whose walls plunge into the deep. To the north-west the reef opens into a plateau three hundred metres long, densely covered in coral, sloping to ten metres before it drops to the seafloor. To the south, meanwhile, a drop-off leads to a small ridge at thirty metres, which is an ideal place to find sharks.
What makes Big Brother different
Few other places in the Red Sea carry reef walls as splendidly overgrown as these. Sea fans grow packed against hard and soft corals, surrounded by countless anthias and surgeonfish, while barracuda and shoals of jacks and snappers hang out in the blue.
Nowhere in the Red Sea, though, is the chance of finding sharks as great as it is at the northern and southern tips of this island. That is the real reason boats come.
A third wreck, and it is not for you. Karim 2 sank on 5 June 2004 near the southern tip and now lies past seventy metres. It is accessible to technical divers only, and there is deliberately no route for it on this page.
What defines Big Brother
Ultimately five things bring boats out here, and between them they explain the whole reputation of the site.
The 1883 Victorian lighthouse
Namely an operational stone lighthouse thirty-one metres high on Big Brother, still manned by the Egyptian military and serving as an iconic offshore beacon.
The Numidia, the railway wreck
Namely the British cargo ship, almost 138 metres long, that ran aground in 1901. She now hangs vertically off the northern tip, starting at ten metres and plunging past eighty.
The Aida wreck
Also an Egyptian supply vessel, which struck the island during a storm in 1957. Her hull rests at a sharp angle on the northwestern wall, with the engine at seven metres and the hull running from thirty-five down to sixty-five.
The southern cleaning station
Notably a wide reef ledge on the south of Big Brother, between thirty and forty metres, where pelagic thresher sharks come at dawn to be cleaned.
Longimanus patrol grounds
Above all the open-water surface layers around the mooring lines, where curious oceanic whitetips congregate to investigate the vessels themselves.
Four dive routes at Big Brother
Broadly, four routes cover the island, however the current decides which one you are given rather than you choosing. Therefore listen to the briefing on the boat instead of the plan you were told the night before.
Route A: the Numidia
Dropped by zodiac directly up-current of the northern tip. Descend immediately, otherwise you are swept over the reef top before you reach anything. The bow starts in the shallows, while the main superstructure falls dramatically down the wall.
Peer down the open cargo holds to see the remaining railway wheels, keeping a close eye on your depth while you do it. Afterwards, exit the wreck and drift the vibrant eastern wall with the reef on your right shoulder.
Firstly, go by RIB to the water above the Numidia and descend quickly to the wreck, then take shelter from the current against it. Sharks are often out in the blue here while you do. After exploring the wreck, ascend along it to twenty metres and swim back towards the boat.
Since the current usually sets to the west, dive along the western side with it on your left shoulder. Depending on your air consumption you may reach the mooring yourself. Otherwise the RIB collects you.
Route B: the Aida, northwestern wall
Zodiac drop over the northwestern wall, descending directly onto the midsection of the wreck. Explore the heavily encrusted engine room structures around thirty metres, watching for large groupers hiding inside the metal frames.
Then ride the dominant north-to-south current along the vertical wall and let it carry you back towards the mooring lines at the southern plateau.
Similarly, go by RIB to the point above the Aida. Drop to thirty metres and explore the wreck briefly rather than thoroughly, because the depth and the current both work against you. Afterwards, dive back along the reef to the mooring, keeping the reef on your left shoulder.
Route C: northern side
Again, go by RIB to the east of the northern plateau. Descend to thirty metres and swim with the reef on your right shoulder. Because the current carries you, you should manage to reach the boat to the south. If not, the RIB picks you up.
Route D: southern plateau
Instead, enter directly from the liveaboard and dive along the reef wall heading south. At thirty metres you reach the southern plateau, and at its southern tip you keep a lookout for sharks out in the blue.
Always stay close to the reef here. Otherwise the current will sweep you out into the ocean, which is exactly how this site earned its reputation. Afterwards, return to the boat.
The Numidia, on the northern tip of Big Brother
Built 1901 · Lost 20 July 1901 · Northern tip
The ship and the night she was lost
The steamship Numidia was designed as a cargo ship, built and launched in 1901 by D & W Henderson & Co. in Glasgow. At almost a hundred and thirty-eight metres, or almost 138, she counted as a true giant of her time, and consequently her sinking drew enormous attention. Her owner, Anchor Line Ltd., put the veteran captain John Craig in command.
Initially her maiden voyage ran through the Suez Canal to Calcutta without incident. Back in England she was loaded with rails and wheels for the construction of the Indian railways, then sailed for Calcutta again at the beginning of July 1901, by way of the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Suez.
Later, Captain Craig had the bridge when the beacon of Big Brother appeared on the horizon during the night of 19 to 20 July. He set the course for the coming hours, handed the ship to his second mate, James Tulloch, and went below to his cabin. At around two in the morning a great blow shook her. Craig reached the bridge to find the Numidia aground on the reef in front of the island.
The cause has never been established, though one hypothesis is that the second mate fell asleep. With her bow aground on the reef plateau, every attempt to tow her off failed. Therefore the crew was evacuated to the island and the cargo transferred to other ships. After several weeks she could no longer withstand the elements and broke in two in front of her central superstructures. Her stern slipped over the edge and now leans keel downwards against the reef, while her bow has been worn away by wind and waves until it looks fused with the reef top.
Exploring the Numidia at Big Brother
The Numidia is rightfully considered one of the finest wrecks in the world. Her original size, the splendid corals and the high probability of sharks out in the blue create an atmosphere nothing else quite matches.
Notably, remains of her cargo and bow already appear at ten metres on top of the reef, which is so thick with hard and soft corals that this alone would justify the dive. At around twenty metres the central superstructures, the cabins and the remains of the bridge start to grow out of the reef. Since the wooden planking rotted away long ago, the steel frame, the railings and the davits are left as a wonderful photographic subject.
The Numidia by depth
When the visibility is good you can make out the stern and the helm below. Strong currents often run about the wreck, however, so exploring her is only wise for experienced divers.
The Aida
GPS 26° 18.901′ N · 34° 50.513′ E · Lost 15 September 1957
A lighthouse tender, a torpedo attack and a storm
The steamship Aida was commissioned in 1911 by the Egyptian Ports and Lighthouses Administration and built by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire in Nantes. She was designed as a combined cargo and passenger ship, so her job was supplying the lighthouses of the Red Sea. Her first thirty years passed without notable incident.
Subsequently she reappears in the records of Lloyd’s Register only in 1941. When the German Wehrmacht launched an aerial assault on Red Sea shipping on 6 October that year, she was spotted by a Heinkel He 111 and attacked with torpedoes. Unlike the Thistlegorm and the Rosalie Moller, which lay at anchor during those attacks, the Aida was under way at full speed and therefore a far harder target.
Remarkably, her captain avoided a direct hit by altering course at the last possible moment, and the surprised pilot flew his aircraft into the ship’s mast. She was badly damaged, yet she was salvaged and repaired. After the war the British left her to the Egyptian Navy as a cargo ship.
The night she was lost
In that role she sailed for Big Brother on 15 September 1957, carrying a hundred and fifty-seven military personnel. Fierce storms crossed the Red Sea that day, and while trying to dock at the lighthouse pier she struck the reef and sprang a leak. Water poured in and began weighing down the stern.
Immediately a distress signal went out. The Norwegian tugboat Bergehus arrived and took seventy-seven people aboard, while the rest were evacuated onto the island. Remarkably, nobody died. She drifted slowly along the reef, every attempt to save her failed, and she settled onto the northern plateau with her bow caught. Once the load grew too great she broke in two in front of the central superstructures. Her stern sank into the depths while her bow stayed on the reef top and was gradually destroyed by wind and waves. Today only her engine lies there, at seven metres.
Exploring the wreck
Initially the remains appear at seven metres, where the engine and the last of the bow lie right on top of the reef. Below them, on the northwestern face of the northern plateau, the hull and stern rest keel downwards on a ledge.
At thirty-five metres you reach the point where the hull broke. The central superstructures start here and are badly damaged; only the gangway on the port side is reasonably preserved. Further on lies the quarterdeck, whose wooden planking rotted away long ago, leaving the steel structures fully exposed.
Meanwhile heavy winches sit on the deck in front of the cargo hatches. The mainmast has broken off, while extended davits appear at regular intervals along the railings, and the remains of the helm can be seen down at the stern.
The Aida by depth
Bring a light, and treat the depth seriously. The whole wreck is richly covered in coral, which only shows its colour under a dive light. Diving the Aida is nevertheless reserved for experienced divers, because the real wreck does not begin until thirty-five metres and the current here can be strong.
Marine life at Big Brother
The isolation is the whole explanation. This pinnacle stands alone in open ocean, so it acts as a magnet for ocean-going sharks, schooling pelagics and dense communities of anthias. Meanwhile the current runs plankton across the walls without stopping.
Oceanic whitetip
Namely the shark people come for, out in the blue rather than along the coral. Most often near the tips.
Grey reef shark
Also common along the walls and over the plateaus, particularly early in the morning.
Hammerhead
Meanwhile a genuine possibility here rather than a story, though never something to plan a dive around.
Barracuda and jacks
Certainly out in the blue in numbers, with snappers shoaling alongside them off the wall.
Tuna
Notably fast and usually gone before a camera is ready. Look outward rather than down.
Sea fans and corals
Above all the walls themselves: sea fans packed against hard and soft corals, clouded with anthias and surgeonfish.
Diving with oceanic whitetips at Big Brother
Typically longimanus are curious rather than aggressive, and they investigate boats and divers deliberately. Consequently the behaviour that keeps you safe is not the behaviour most people expect. Read this before the briefing rather than after it.
Diving conditions at Big Brother
Visibility
30–50 m. Exceptional open-ocean clarity, largely unaffected by coastal runoff because there is no coast anywhere near.
Water temperature
23–29°C. Namely 23 to 24 degrees through winter, rising to 27 or 29 in summer.
Recommended level
Advanced open water, 50+ logged dives, mandatory. Sheer drop-offs, serious blue-water currents and surface swell make this strictly an advanced destination.
Access
Liveaboard only. It takes an overnight steam, typically seven to nine hours, from Hurghada, Safaga or Port Ghalib.
Planning a dive at Big Brother
Who Big Brother suits
Certainly fifty logged dives is the legal floor rather than the sensible one. Realistically you want solid experience in current, good buoyancy on a wall, and the discipline to watch a computer while something large crosses the blue behind you.
Because both wrecks run deep, and because the Aida does not really begin until thirty-five metres, nitrox and a conservative plan both earn their place here.
Getting there
Only by liveaboard. The island sits sixty-one kilometres offshore, so there is no day boat and no shore access. Getting here means an overnight steam of seven to nine hours from Hurghada, Safaga or Port Ghalib, which is why this island appears on offshore safari itineraries rather than local schedules.
When to go
Generally summer and early autumn give the calmest crossings, while the oceanic whitetip sightings people talk about cluster in autumn. Winter brings wind, and wind here cancels the whole trip rather than moving it.
Depth at a glance
More Red Sea diving
- What is a liveaboard — how life on board actually works, since this island can only be reached that way.
- Liveaboard dive techniques — negative entries, SMB deployment and exits in swell, which is exactly what these walls ask for.
- What divers need on board — the packing checklist for a Red Sea safari.
- The boats that run these routes: Sea Fox, Sea Treasure, My Simba and Bismarck.
- redsealiveaboard.net — Red Sea safari schedules and availability.
Big Brother: frequently asked questions
How many dives do you need to dive Big Brother?
Fifty logged dives, and that is a legal requirement rather than a guideline. The current and the depth here justify it.
Can you night dive at Big Brother?
No. Night diving is prohibited at this site, because divers were carried out into open sea by the current in the past.
Which wrecks lie on the island?
Namely two: the Numidia on the northern tip and the Aida on the northwestern wall. Karim 2 lies past seventy metres and is technical only.
How deep is the Numidia?
Broadly, her cargo remains start at ten metres and her main deck at forty, while the propeller sits around eighty metres on the seafloor. She is almost 138 metres long.
How deep is the Aida?
Her engine lies at seven metres on the reef top, though the hull itself runs from thirty-five metres down to sixty-five.
Are you guaranteed to see sharks?
Never guaranteed, although nowhere in the Red Sea gives you a better chance. The northern and southern tips are where they turn up.
Can you reach Big Brother on a day trip?
No. Namely because the island sits sixty-one kilometres offshore, so it is reached by liveaboard only.
What are you waiting for?
Book your adventure
Simply tell us which experience you want, then leave the rest to us. If you are unsure whether Big Brother suits your certification and recent logbook and recent logbook, our team will talk it through with you before you commit to anything.
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