Hamda sits on the northeast side of Big Giftun, about an hour out, and goes by several names · Umm Dom, Hamata, Stone Beach. It is a small plateau dropping from 15 to 35 m, bordered on both sides by a drop-off that turns into a steep wall. The reef slope starts just below the surface and goes vertical quickly, which is what gives the site its character.
- Depth
- 15-35 m
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Season
- Apr - Nov
- Boat ride
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Hamda
The plan of the reef
On the chart
Hamda
60 min from the marina
Topography and dive profile
A small plateau falling from around 15 m to 35 m, with a drop-off on each side that runs over into a steep wall. The slope begins just under the surface and turns vertical fast, continuing well past recreational depth.
The west end is the busy corner: bannerfish, bluecheek and masked butterflyfish, yellow snapper, goatfish and sweetlips all hold ground there. Big morays sit in the reef, jacks patrol the edge, and turtles and crocodilefish are regular. Hamda works as a cleaning station, so smaller fish gather waiting for larger species to come in · which is why eagle rays and, more rarely, leopard sharks appear.
What you'll see
- ◇Big moray eels
- ◇Jacks
- ◇Green turtles
- ◇Crocodilefish
- ◇Eagle rays (occasional)
Who it suits
PADI Advanced Open Water for the wall. The current is usually gentle and the shallow reef is manageable for anyone, but the site is a wall dive by nature and the drop continues past 40 m, so depth discipline matters. A drift here belongs to divers with drift experience, not to a first boat dive.
When the captain runs this site
About an hour out on the Giftun rotation, usually the deeper of a pair with a shallower second dive. The captain calls the drift on the day. Standard 2-tank day rate.
Frequently asked
Local usage. The same site appears as Hamda, Umm Dom, Hamata and Stone Beach depending on which centre you ask. It is one reef on the northeast side of Big Giftun, whatever the boat calls it.
Past recreational limits. The plateau runs 15 to 35 m and the wall keeps falling beyond 40 m. We dive the plateau and the upper wall and turn the dive well above the point where the slope stops being interesting.
A spot on the reef where small fish set up and larger animals come in to have parasites picked off. Hamda has one, which is why bigger visitors like eagle rays turn up here more often than the surrounding reef would suggest.