This is the incredible story of ‘Dave’ the hawksbill turtle, his dangerous dabble with death and how with the help of the Sharm community he recovered from injury and returned back to the sea.

Any regular diver on Shark and Yolanda reefs has probably met Dave before. He is quite distinctive due to the old injury to the rear of his shell. Dave obviously does not have much luck with boat propellers, but this old injury was nothing compared to his next encounter with metal on shell.

Sinai Divers discovered Dave on a Shark and Yolanda drift dive. He was sitting on the seabed with a deep gash on the top of his shell. The impact of the propeller had cut through his shell and deep into his flesh. Without knowing if Dave could swim, and more importantly if he could go up to the surface for air, there was no doubt about what to do with Dave. The divers carefully brought him to the surface and took him aboard their dive boat. The rangers from Ras Mohammed National Park were immediately contacted, and so the rescue adventures of Dave began.

Dave was something of a dilemma to the Park boys as they had not previously treated a wounded turtle. After much deliberation it was decided to transfer Dave to Dolphinella where the resident veterinarian might have some idea about what to do. So from the crystal clear waters of Shark Reef, within days Dave ended up in a kiddie pool. It might seem outrageous but, hold your tongues, with limited knowledge on turtle medics the main concerns were that the wound was dressed and cleaned and that Dave wouldn’t drown (from weakness and the inability to lift his head), and would be fed. All of this was done by the Dolphinella staff, who due to no prior knowledge of hawksbills, mistakenly attempted to feed him with only sea-grass, which might not have been the most effective diet considering his condition.

The kiddie pool was by no means to be Dave’s destiny. In move that I guess might have been in defiance to his wounds and his new surroundings, Dave broke the pool, but little did he know that things would get worse before they got better. Dave’s new destination was a kid’s inflatable boat filled with water half way up his shell. This meant that the wound stayed dry, but on the downside was also exposed to the mid-day heat.

In a matter of days Dave had gone from his certain death, to dive boat, to Ras Mohammed office, to a kiddie pool, to rubber dingy and then finally to a slightly larger pool, which unfortunately still presented the same problems of over-exposure during the day. With weeks passing without any proper knowledge treatment, Dave began to deteriorate. The water temperature in the pool dropped dramatically at night to as low as 11 degrees, something that was later discovered to be cold-stunning Dave and definitely not conducive to recovery. Dave was also not eating.

Miss Eman Aly, a zoologist and environmental researcher at the Sinai protectorates’ wildlife unit, began to despair about Dave, as he was weakening by the day and nobody knew what to do. As a last ditch attempt, she decided to contact Dr. Ahmed from the decompression chamber, who would hopefully know someone or something.

Rest assured the good old Sharm grapevine worked well, and within hours Dr. Ahmed contacted James Tunney who just happened to live in the same block as Patrick Olbrechis a well known local European vet. The message was received that Dave was undoubtedly dying and so the race against time began. Patrick, a volunteer consultant for the Egypt Desert Organisation and responsible for wildlife in the natural environment, agreed to take a look at Dave so a quick visit was made to his poolside which verified his ailing condition, and then the team got to work researching on the internet. The team contacted Project AWARE, marine Connection and several other organisations that put them in contact with some specialist doctors in the field of turtle rehabilitation. Patrick could then discuss Dave’s treatment and finally start his recovery program.

From Dave’s dire position, things were slowly starting to look up. On the advice of the experts Dave then took a trip to the Sharm medical centre to have an x-ray and blood tests. Due to the plummeting temperature conditions in the pool, it was decided Dave’s recovery would accelerate if he was returned to his environment where the temperature keeps to an average of 23 degrees.

So on the 23rd January Dave and his ‘home’ the kiddies inflatable boat where transferred to the back of a National Park pick-up to head for Marsa Bireka and with an entourage fit for a king Dave was sped away as the check-point guys looked on in disbelief. I guess it’s not every day they see a turtle riding shot-gun. On arrival it was apparent that the constructed enclosure would not provide the adequate protection Dave needed, however all was not lost as it was decided to let Dave have his first swim.

By this stage Dave had been dramatically dieting and had become super-waif, with his weakened waistline would he have the strength to hold his head up to breathe? It was with great anticipation that the team watched as Dave took to the water. Within seconds the strong survival instincts kicked in. He lifted his head to breathe and then turned sea-ward and began to dive. Dave was not ready for the big blue so a tether was attached around his shell, and with much amusement we ‘walked’ the turtle up and down the bay. Dave was happy and I’m sure there was a wink in his eye. Unfortunately he needed to return to Dolphinella for just a couple more days before a new enclosure could be made.

With the assistance of Miss Aly, the National Park and a keen bus-load of Red Sea Diving College staff, a new enclosure was quickly erected. It was team work, everyone working for the same goal to set Dave free; all recovered and fit. The instructors did Dave’s check dive and it was declared he had passed his buoyancy control with flying (or diving) colours. He performed a nail-biting breathe hold dive to 3m for 30 minutes before gliding to the surface for air. Over the next few days Dave improved dramatically. The Red Sea Diving College and National Park staff continued to check on him in his enclosure, documenting his improvement. However Dave was still not eating, so it was decided to force feed him, not an easy task but one taken with the utmost care and sensitivity. With the expertise from Dave’s internet friends, he was tipped at a 45 degree angle and fed liquidized squid and fish. He soon began to eat from hand fed shrimp, his preferred dish.

There was one final hurdle before Dave could go; his broken shell. With advice from experts all over the world, a plaster cast mould was made of the contour of his shell. A fibre cast copy was then made from the mould and adhered over the break with special salt resistant glue. Dave’s shell would naturally grow and eventually push off the fibre-glass patch.

Finally on February 3rd Dave was ready to return to the sea. He was released from the shore by Shark Observatory with a great send off. It was a beautiful sight to see him swim over the drop off and into the blue after such a long and difficult experience. James Tunney joined him in the water to watch his return. He surfaced several times for air before turning and going straight for James’s camera as if to say goodbye before swimming off in the direction of Shark Reef.

Dave’s story is a testament to the Sharm Community spirit. I am sure Dave is thanking everyone from the Sinai Diver guys who picked him up, to Dolphinella who tried their best, Patrick and James who got the ball rolling, the internet experts and the great team effort of The Red Sea College and National Park staff who committed many hours to his full recovery.