News
Malta & Gozo: A little dip before the European Divers Meeting
We were invited to take part in the European Divers Meeting in Gozo this week. Of course, we jumped at the opportunity, as we have never dived in either Malta or Gozo before, even though it is just a short hop from home. Before the actual celebrations got started, we were given the chance to dive with Calypso Diving for a day to see some of the cavern and reef dives that were on offer.
Now usually, the diving in Gozo is shore based, with a host of dive sites that have dedicated stairs and ladders to reach the dive sites, but, as Caroline had had a small accident on the staircase at home and was unable to get up and down very easily, the team at Calypso were brilliant and took us to our two dive sites by boat.
We dived Cathedral Cave and Crocodile Rock. Alas, just as we were heading out for the first dive, the sky clouded over, lighting and thunder flashed and boomed and all the beautiful natural light that would usually cascade into this cavern disappeared! But the dive was still great, as somewhat unusually, you can surface in this cavern. It even has a supply of fresh air so you can have a chat half way through the dive. As you turn to face back out to sea, the window reflects on the surface and it is a super place to grab a shot of your buddy in the blue.
The weather was no better after lunch (this is the only day of rain in ages and is extremely unusual) but we headed to a site near to the famous Blue Hole and where the Azure Window used to be. It is called Crocodile Rock, not because Elton John once dived here, but because the rock poking out just about the waves really does look a lot like a crocodile. There is a steep wall that drops vertically to over 40m but we stayed shallower looking for marine life. We found a huge nudibranch, a cuttlefish, lobster, scorpionfish and the highlight of the dive was a small school of barracuda that was happy to allow us to get up close and take a few pictures.
Just as we finished the dive, the sun came out! So, at least, we had a pleasant boat ride back to the dive centre. There was no time to hang around so we hastily rinsed our gear and ran to get changed, as the official opening of the event was being held that evening over in Malta and we had a ferry to catch!
So we will tell you more in our next post…
For more from Nick and Caroline, visit www.frogfishphotography.com
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
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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