DQ Scuba Diving Adventures in Sudan E-Book

Sara Valla

• Herausgeber: Sara Valla
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Stories whispering about the sea. What you are about to read is a big adventure taking place in the Sudanese Sea. It may also be seen as a set of experiences that the author and the characters have really lived (and keep on living!) in the varicoloured world that moves around a live aboard that was called "Don Questo". Once upon a time the call of the wild drove men to explore and go beyond both borders drawn on maps and those tracked deep in their hearts. The story of Don Questo and its characters are the evidence that we are still allowed to dream, and that underwater paradises are still out there somewhere. Being passionate and adventurous is the thread that goes throughout this book. This book is dedicated to all scuba divers. Thanks to this book even those who are not bubble makers may discover the emotions that we feel when we go to the deep and are faced with its sea creatures and inhabitants. It is about adventures lived with our heads underwater (but not only) and stories that are whispering about the sea... ...of a great passion for the sea... ...of adrenaline rushes... ...of sharks and more sharks.

Leseprobe

INDEX

Title Page

Colophon

License

The author

Dedicated to...

Stories whispering about the sea - by Stefano Colombari

Don Questo map of scuba diving spots

Arriving to the South

Back home

Chapter 1 - Don Questo and Sudan

Chapter 2 - The "standard" Sudan

Chapter 3 - Sailing North

Chapter 4 - Discovering the South

Chapter 5 - Deep South: an incredible scuba diving adventure

Four-handed play

Acknowledgements

Note

Notes and Glossary

Sara Valla

DQ

scuba diving adventures

in Sudan

DQ, scuba diving adventures in Sudan

Streetlib, Sara Valla

ISBN 9788892583931

Cover:

- Created by: Sara Valla

- Graphics for “DQ” and illustration by Gionata Nenci, Johnny, T-HOUSE Artistic Concept Store 

E-book creation: Sara Valla

Scuba diving adventures in Sudan have been narrated by Sara Valla thanks to the contributions made by Francesco Bini, Stefano Colombari, Andrea Galliadi, Lorenzo Segalini.

English translation editing by Timothy (Tim) Sarney

English proof-reading by Erica Sarney

License

This work is subject to license:

Creative Commons Attribution - Non commercial - No derivatives 4.0 International.

To read the text of the license please visit the following web site: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.it.

It means that if you have purchased it or you received it as a gift from the author or from a friend of yours and you want to make a gift of it, photocopy it, or print it for yourself, you are permitted to do so without seeking authorization. If you decide to use the document as indicated above and you are willing to inform us, we will be pleased to hear from you.

You can write to the following address: [email protected]

It is not permitted to sell the document or use extracts from the document, unless you have received written authorization to do so from the author after contacting her.

If you have purchased this book you can also download any updates and appendices and picture books from the web site http://www.saraesteve.info.

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First digital edition in English: March 2016

ISBN ----

The author

by Mauro Sandrini

Sara Valla is a calm person... who quietly swims around oceans to meet sharks. The first time you hear her

To Rebecca:

Stories whispering about the sea

by Stefano Colombari

What you are about to read is a big adventure taking place in the Sudanese Sea. It may also be seen as a set of experiences that the author and the characters have really lived (and keep on living!) in the varicoloured world that moves around a live aboard that was called "Don Questo".

Once upon a time the call of the wild drove men to explore and go beyond both borders drawn on maps and those tracked deep in their hearts.

The story of Don Questo and its characters are the evidence that we are still allowed to dream, and that underwater paradises are still out there somewhere.

Being passionate and adventurous is the thread that goes throughout this book. This book is dedicated to all scuba divers. Thanks to this book even those who are not bubble makers may discover the emotions that we feel when we go to the deep and are faced with its sea creatures and inhabitants.

It is about adventures lived with our heads underwater (but not only) and stories that are whispering about the sea...

...of a great passion for the sea...

...of adrenaline rushes...

...of sharks and more sharks.

Map of the areas touched and the diving spots that are went through during Sudanese cruise routes on board of Don Questo.

Arriving to the South

“When we are at sea, we are free” (Jacques-Yves Cousteau)

South and south, in the middle of nothing, in the southernmost corner of the Sudanese Sea, touching waters on the border with Eritrea, getting closer.

All around you could only see wild and apparently bare isles, used by marine turtles, , boobies and ospreys to lay their eggs.

And the reef hid treasures under the surface.1

Tall and strongly built, stocky but proud, with a strong character and charming, she advanced solemnly in a self-confident way.

She was patient enough to accept the foaming lashings along her hips in husky moments, and she was able to wait to be tenderly touched by salted turquoise caresses in peaceful periods.

Don Questo was a unique vessel. And she was still the only one able to venture into the deepest south of the biggest African country, together with her captain, as fierce and as strong as she was; a foxy smile peeped out under the moustache, dark and lively eyes passed in a flash from irony to sarcasm, to the strength of an important decision. All this was apparently hidden below a calm surface, coming after many years sailing on the sea and a lot of experience.

After spending her childhood in the North Sea, she was young when she served fishermen to go fishing; after wearing the role of a boat for oceanographic research, her love for the Sudanese waters had transformed her, and Don Questo had become the companion for thousands of adventures for abyss Argonautes, who were fond of diving with enthusiasm in the womb of the deep south of the Red Sea.

Back home

Captain Lorenzo appeared on the deck, delivered a quick smile to the seventeen faces that were surprised at his appearance after such a long sailing, and welcomed them home...

On the port side twenty or so turnips had also arrived, maybe to say hello; they were showing off their shining backs while bobbing up and down at the water surface, which was caressed by a slight and nearly unperceivable breeze.2

The fins that were peering out of the water around the boat made it appear that tens of sharks were waiting to greet the arrival of the scuba divers.

These scuba diving individuals, who had travelled to "chase" sharks, to archive their memory inside their minds, or on usb keys as pictures and movies, looked somehow restless... or maybe just excited. They had finally arrived to Habili Lory, where the real Deep South adventure started, there in the archipelago of the Suakin islands.

The group of scuba divers was there with secret objectives and hopes; they were not going to tell anybody, as the spell might break...

What was kept aside for that handful of scuba divers by that ocean corner where only a few ventured and where you might still hope for surprises and unique encounters?

CHAPTER ONE

Don Questo and Sudan

Don Questo

Who was Don Questo?

The legend dates back to very old times.

The study of sailing books and all the transcriptions, during an expedition made in search of the origins, had revealed that Don Questo was an English landowner.

Strange name for an English guy; nevertheless the alleged questionable Sicilian origins of the name were never proven, and the family root traces had been lost. He also seemed to be willing to have them forgotten, thanks to his actions.

Well-educated, a lot of reading interests, he was fascinated in particular by the work of Edward Forbes, a compatriot who was born in Douglas, the capital city of the Isle of Man, which was part of the Britannic monarchy. Douglas looks at the sea rising and is exactly at the confluence of two rivers, the Dhoo and the Glass, that both go on their way together, joined as the River Douglas, to a lively flow into the Bay of Douglas.

Douglas was not only widely known because of her connection with the Gibb brothers and with the band of the Bee Gees in the sixties and eighties of the twentieth century; it was also the birth place of Edward Forbes in 1800. Naturalist and lover of literature, Edward also liked writing, composing poems and drawing, ever since he was a child. Once he grew up, he travelled to Norway, France, Switzerland, Greece and Germany, and he published some biology books including History of British Starfish and Report on the Mollusca and Radiata of the Aegean Sea.

Not only did he observe, but he also experimented. He also inserted illustrations and humorous appendices to his texts. Forbes was also convinced that the deepest areas of the sea below one hundred and fifty metres were not able to host any living being; we now know that he was very wrong about that.

We were in the Sixties of the twentieth century, and Don Questo decided it was time to start building his oceanic fishing vessel, to leave all of his terrestrial activities to his son. More than half a century of his life was behind him, he had already buried two wives and had decided to spend the rest of his life as a solitary wolf.

He took agreements with Cochrane & Sons shipyards in Selby and settled in the North Yorkshire, in the Viking town that was widely known for the channel, the harbour and the mastery of the shipyards; he remained there for all the time that was necessary to make his dream come true, which happened in 1964, with a boat that was known under the name of "Edward Forbes".

During her existence the boat had changed her name three times, First it changed from "Edward Forbes" to "Don Questo", the second time it became Ciprea and was used as an oceanographic ship for scientific and technological research.

When Lorenzo and Francesco decided to start their Sudanese scuba diving adventures there were many important considerations. Among these there was the name of the boat, and her transfer into the Sudan.

Don Questo is back

Old superstitions advise against changing the name of a boat; superstition is quite important among sailors, with rites to propitiate the gods and rituals that often have nothing to do with religion, rules and norms that are not written but recognized among many. Never bring an umbrella on board, if you do not want to drive sailors mad. Some recommend not to sneeze while going on board. English and French for once seemed to agree on not having to whistle at the sea on certain occasions. Changing the name of the boat was one of those important matters discussed. The boat is a lively being with a soul in the opinion of all those who live on it every day, and she has a name that brings with it history, good and bad qualities, and character.

Nevertheless, Ciprea did not seem to Lorenzo a charismatic name; character was necessary to undergo such an adventure. After reviewing the original documentation, Captain Lorenzo decided to pick one of the older names, that also included the origins of the previous one. It was therefore not a real change, it only meant going back to the past, to face the future with renewed courage and determination. And so that is how Don Questo was back on the sea. She was not yet aware of all the adventures that were waiting for her; she had only heard of Africa in the harbours, where the boats whisper secrets at night, when their confidences are covered and protected by the lapping of waves.

It was his turn

When she had arrived in Sudan via the Suez Canal it was still under the name of Ciprea.

It was Francesco who carried out that crossing. As an Engineer he was perfectly qualified, he had spent his life on boats. He was more of a sailor than a scuba diver in those times. When he had accepted to become a partner in the adventure is was because he loved the sea and he considered it a pleasant environment. He had noticed they needed a cheque more than a collaborator, so he had clearly and solemnly stated he would only participate in the venture in a financial aspect.

If you looked at him you might feel uneasy, as his hair, beard and moustache made him look harsh. And he liked the fact that his character looked gruff. He had fun making fun of the unfortunate he chose, appearing caustic; but if you managed to get to know him better, you discovered he could be pleasant and funny. Under his mask and the ironic smile, once he understood you had discovered his secret, he could hardly be serious again. Somebody explained that during one of his previous lives he sometimes wanted to look really cruel, so he wore a jacket and tie, took a very stiff attitude and got quite an irritated expression.

They were sitting at the table of a "trattoria" in the hills somewhere between Emilia, Tuscany and Liguria. A delicious smell of mushrooms was coming from the kitchen, typical of such a humid land. The table had been dressed by a quite traditional red and white squared tablecloth. A basket had previously contained some pieces of a fragrant bread cooked in a wood oven, but this was now empty, in spite of them not having ordered, yet.

They finally agreed on having a new partner who would mainly act as a financer, nothing more than this.

Not long after, he lifted the telephone receiver and discovered that the Ciprea had to be brought to the Sudan... Lorenzo could not do that, he was busy in Egypt, and nobody else was available. He was able to sail, he was an expert and therefore one of the few suitable for such a trip. He did [...]