Diving With The Carnatic
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Sha'b Abu Nuhas is one of those Reefs that, to put it simply, is in the wrong place - as many a ship's captain has discovered to his cost. It is a prime example of a Coral Reef that barely reaches the surface and, from a distance therefore, is not easily seen at all.
Today, of course, there are radar reflectors and small solar-powered lights situated on top of the Reef - and all regularly maintained in the most difficult of circumstances, but one hundred and thirty years ago things were very different.
Unfortunately, at least as far as shipping is concerned, Abu Nuhas lies right at the very edge of the busy shipping lane called the Straits of Gobal. This is the southernmost end of the Gulf of Suez - where the north west Red Sea begins to narrow. Even today, these are hazardous waters - imagine how treacherous they must have been at night without any form of warning light.
The Peninsula & Oriental Passenger Steamer "Carnatic" was built by Samuda Bros of London and technically described as an "iron framed planked passenger steamer of 1776 tons." Her dimensions were 294.7' x 38.1' x 25.4' and in addition to her square-rigged sails, she was powered by a single 4 cylinder compound inverted engine producing a very handsome 2,442 HP - also built in London, by Messrs Humphrys and Tennant.
The Carnatic was launched in December 1862 and, after successful sea trials, was registered by P & O (though that abbreviation was not used in those days) in the March of 1863 before sailing for Calcutta on June 27th.
For most of her working life, P & O employed the vessel between Suez, Bombay and China and latterly she had been the proud command of Captain P. B. Jones - one of the ablest officers of the company.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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