Ocean Diving in Malta

by Jon Gunns

BACKGROUND

Having spent some time learning to dive in a variety of cold and muddy quarries our club decided that the time had come to spread our wings and try out some warm waters with good visibility. Karl Firth took on selection of a suitable venue and determined that Malta offered all that we needed with the added bonus that the local population speaks English and provides a good quality of beer. (The fact that he has Maltese relations did not affect his decision!)

The group that eventually deployed to Malta comprised 7 PADI Open Water Divers, one almost qualified BSAC Dive Leader and 2 BSAC Advanced Divers/Instructors. During the week we hoped to enjoy diving in better conditions and specifically to:

Transfer all PADI Open Water divers to BSAC Ocean diver equivalent.
To start training towards BSAC Sport Diver.
To complete the Dive Leader training for our nearly qualified member.

Early investigation by Karl had identified Buddies Dive Cove in Buggiba as a potential dive company to use and Rupert and Audrey who run the company provided great assistance during both the planning and the execution of the trip. They were particularly flexible in providing for our needs and ensuring that all the training we needed to undertake could be achieved within the framework of their diving plans.

We arrived at out hotel in the Carolina Hotel, Bugibba on Saturday and quickly sorted out the necessary hire kit ready for diving on Sunday.

THE DIVING

Our first dive on Sunday was a check-out dive at Ghar Lapsi. This dive introduced us to typical Maltese shore-diving conditions; although there was a relatively easy entry into the water, the vehicles had to be parked some way from the site and a degree of mountaineering was necessary to reach the water's edge. The dive itself offered the opportunity to adapt to the local diving conditions with this being many people's first salt water dive. Buoyancy control was a particular concern and much attention was paid to this important aspect.

The second dive at this site was a more settled affair as everyone had learned lessons from the first dive and we could all concentrate more on the environment. The site offered good visibility but not a lot of marine life; the high spot was the chance to delve into a small cavern.

The bulk of the group were diving in shortie wet suits which offered adequate thermal protection but resulted in some minor cuts and stings from sharp rocks and urchins. Some of the older members of the group opted for 5mm full body wet suits.

On Monday we ventured to a particularly popular site at Cirkewwa. The first dive here was to see a statue of the Madonna, placed in a niche at 15 metres to bring good luck. The second dive included a short swim through. Again, visibility was good but there was not a lot of marine life. The lack of marine life was compensated by the number of other divers on the site and care had to be paid to avoid groups surfacing or descending into our own groups.

On this evening, one of our number experienced pain in his shoulder. Consultation with Rupert from Buddies resulted in him quickly being placed on oxygen and then whisked to the recompression chamber at St Lukes Hospital where muscle injury rather than a bend was quickly diagnosed.

Tuesday saw poor weather with rain and grey skies. The original plan to dive the wreck of HMS MAORI had to be scrapped and we dived twice on a more sheltered site on Manuel Island, including on the wreck of a barge.

Each day, after diving, the opportunity was taken to deliver Sport Diving lectures with all lessons covered during the week. We were fortunate that the Carolina Hotel has a large open space on the top floor and we were able to use this for the lessons.
By Wednesday the weather had improved, although it remained changeable, sometimes threatening more rain. Buddies had organised 2 boat dives for the day and we loaded our kit onto the colourful Calypso II, those more susceptible to seasickness looking somewhat apprehensive and enquiring what had happened to Calypso I. An hour long ride took us to Comino where we dived at Lantern Point and then into a cavern at Crystal Bay Caves. The cavern was an interesting experience; the top of the cavern was above sea level and the whole area was brightly lit. It was particularly impressive to roll onto your back and watch the exhaled air bubbles rising between the rocky walls. The journey back was against the wind and many of the group enjoyed an additional and unintentional wetting as waves broke over the bow.

Thursday was to be our final diving day as we had an early morning flight home booked for Saturday morning. With the weather still somewhat unpredictable we returned to Cirkewwa and enjoyed 2 more dives here. Two of the more experienced of our group were able to enjoy a dive onto the wreck of the Rozia in 30+ metres and they reported seeing considerable quantities of sea life. The remainder of our group enjoyed a shallower experience. It was very noticeable how much all of the trainees had improved their skills during the week, in particular, buoyancy control was far better.

Thursday evening as reserved for the traditional end of diving party and the opportunity was taken on Friday for some sight-seeing around Valletta before our 7.30 am flight home on Saturday morning.






CONCLUSION

Thanks to the good offices of Buddies Dive Cove we achieved all of the expedition aims. We now have one additional Dive Leader and 7 qualified Ocean Divers, all of who have completed their theory training towards Sport Diver as well as 2 of the open water lessons.

Overall, Malta offers good diving conditions for training, although the 'mountaineering' required before entering at some sites may not be an attractive option for all people. The lack of marine life at shallow depths was a great disappointment and would detract from the enjoyment of more qualified divers. There does, however, appear to be more life at greater depths.

ORGANISATION

We flew with Air Malta which offered a good service. Air Malta offers additional baggage allowance to divers provided this is mentioned when booking the flight.

We stayed at Carolina Hotel, St Anthony Street, Bugibba. The total cost for 5 twin rooms, half board for one week was £750. Although the hotel could not supply packed meals, they were happy for us to make our own lunch while at breakfast. Meals were satisfactory without being exceptional. Rooms were en suite and satisfactory but did not have air conditioning. Even in early September this left us hot and sweaty; the middle of Summer would have been very uncomfortable. Carolina Hotel has a web site Here and can be contacted on +356 2157 1534.

Buddies Dive Cove is based at 24/2 Pioneer Road, Bugibba. For a 10 dive package for our group, including full kit hire for 8, we paid 2,400 Euros, which included a 10% discount for group booking. Buddies has a web site Here and can be contacted on +356 2157 6266.


WORD FOR THE WISE

A stay in the recompression chamber can be expensive. Fortunately, Malta recognises the European Health Insurance Card, which replaced the old E111 form and this covers all costs associated with the chamber. It is recommended that all divers ensure that they keep this card handy in case of emergencies.