Save the Lighthouse Gorgonia in Dahab!

Working at night with Toby the lightman!
The cement is carefully poured into the mold!

fixing the plastic tubes that will hold the chains for the transportation...

Mixing the cement!

This is the project that we build-up after the set-up of an artificial reef in Switzerland in the year 2000 (lake Geneva). The Idea came from a Reef ball to finally give a real base to the hughe 2 meter wide gorgonia from the Lighhouse in Dahab Egypt. The gorgonia that was fixed at the reef (-30 meters) and lost his anchorage because of the current and is now just attached by a rope.

The german TV channel ZDF did a movie about this gorgonia a few weeks ago...

We builded with cement a concrete ball of about 300 kg, shaped as a artificial reef http://www.reefball.com/ we added a special mixture so that micro-organism stick on the concrete. The project consist to give a solid base to the gorgonia so that it will be able to take the nutrients in the current for insure his survival.

We will be bringing this concrete block on the 30th of this month to 30 meters depth. Then we will move the stem of the Gorgonia into this artificial reef and cement the base of the Gorgonia into the reefball.

This project has been set-up by Tom Steiner, Ian and Jessica (Volunteer Rangers Red Sea), Dean (our concrete specialist :-). We would like also say thanks to Toby for his great Light holding work and he will be part of the dive team that will move the block and make the underwaer work.

We will keep you on the track!