News
Malta & Gozo: European Divers Meeting and Diving the MV Karwela
To celebrate Malta’s presidency of the European Union in 2017, the Malta Tourism Authority organised a European Divers Meeting and we were lucky enough to be invited along. As you have seen in our last post, we are based on Gozo and managed to get a day of diving in before the festivities started. Divers and journalists from all over the European Union have gathered to celebrate the diving here. The divers were spread over the many dive centres in Malta and Gozo, but on Tuesday night they all got together for the first time at the Popeye Centre on Malta (where the film starring Robin Williams was filmed).
Over 100 dive centre owners and employees, divers and journalists from the dive magazines throughout Europe gathered for a drink and meal together. The evening also included the launch of a new degree in diving (http://www.isdsm.edu.mt/) which will cover the full range of diving topics, from safety and diving medicine to conservation and biology. It is the first of its kind and will allow students to enrol and learn online, whilst also getting credit for any existing qualifications. A talk about the changing marine life of the islands followed, with posters handed out to all the dive centres to help them and their clients report “alien” species that are either known to exist already in these waters, or for those expected here soon.
The next day was the big event of the week, with all the divers gathering on Gozo to dive the MV Karwela wreck. First thing in the morning, the wreck was adorned with a flag from each country in the European Union attached to the hull rails as a form of celebration. The Karwela wreck lies, upright, in 40m of water off the south coast of Gozo. There is a kitting up area at the top of the hill, where refreshments were laid on for all who came and dived. DAN also had a tent setup to collect dive data from divers (along with Doppler bubble tests) to enhance their research.
Our host dive centre, Calypso Diving Centre, were a huge help to us. With Caroline still injured from a previous fall, their instructors and divemasters carried our dive gear down to the water (and back up the hill for us). We could not have done it without them! We also met up with Facebook friend Pete Bullen, Gozo’s most famous underwater photographer and promised to go to the opening night of his exhibition (more on this in our next post).
The wreck is just a short surface swim or dive from the shoreline. Its most famous feature is a central staircase but with the bottom step at 38m you do not get too much time to admire it… and capture your image. It was great to see all the flags lining the outside rail of the ship and, as an added bonus, we found a seahorse on the way back up.
The day was certainly a success, with so many divers from so many countries coming together to celebrate at the same dive site. There was a great atmosphere and most divers took advantage and did several dives (or free dives) over the day. More on our trip in our next post soon!
For more from Nick and Caroline, visit www.frogfishphotography.com
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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