The Excalibur is the wreck of a 28 m steel tugboat that sank in 1996 just off the eastern wall of Big Giftun island. She lies upright on the sandy slope at 32 m, with the wheelhouse at 22 m and the bow railings at 24 m. The dive is a single-pass exterior tour of a small but intact wreck, often combined with a wall dive on the neighbouring Giftun reef as the second tank. Advanced Open Water minimum because of the depth profile.
- Depth
- 22-32 m
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Season
- Apr - Nov
- Boat ride
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Topography and dive profile
Upright on a sandy slope, bow pointing east into deeper water. Length 28 m, beam 8 m. The wheelhouse and small cargo deck sit at 22-24 m, the propeller and rudder at 32 m. The hull is largely intact with the original mast and railing, encrusted with hard coral after nearly 30 years. Glassfish swarms inside the open wheelhouse, visible from outside through the windows. Resident giant lionfish patrol the bow railing.
We drop on the wheelhouse for the orientation, run the perimeter to the propeller, then ascend back along the port side and end the dive on the upper deck for the safety stop. Bottom time is the limiting factor at this depth · usually 25-30 minutes on the wreck before we ascend.
What you'll see
- ◇Glassfish in the bridge
- ◇Resident lionfish
- ◇Stingrays on sand
- ◇Big puffers
Who it suits
PADI Advanced Open Water minimum. Nitrox 32 strongly recommended for the bottom-time gain at 25-30 m. Wreck Diver specialty divers can request a survey-only dive (no penetration · we don't run penetration on the Excalibur).
When the captain runs this site
When the captain commits to the eastern Giftun rotation, the Excalibur is one of the deeper sites in the day's pair. Standard 2-tank day rate at €45 plus €5 deep-dive supplement. Often paired with Banana Reef or Erg Somaya as the shallower second dive.