News
Deptherapy takes on the wreck diving challenge in Malta
Imagine for a moment – if you can – that you are a diver with Chronic PTSD from your service in Afghanistan. Would you be able to dive and penetrate a wreck at 20 metres, with your mask ‘blacked out’? Then be taken off the penetration line and find your way back onto it without being able to see it? Then work out which direction you are heading? Would you be able to do that without a panic attack or a stress-induced flashback?
80% of beneficiaries diving with Scuba Diving rehabilitation charity Deptherapy have Chronic or Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) often in addition to physical injuries. Yet on a recent expedition to Malta, eight Deptherapy divers successfully completed their skills and drills to perfection, without panic, but with the confidence to trust their dive buddies and the highly experienced instructional team – a true testament to the rigorous Deptherapy training process and the development of its divers to face and surpass such challenges.
This September, eight beneficiaries and three instructors headed to St Julien’s Bay for a week’s diving expedition focused on Malta’s historical wrecks using the RAID Advanced Wreck Course as the training model. The aim of the course was to develop the skillset and confidence of those who will lead teams on the 2022 Marine Biology Red Sea expedition on Roots’ Red Sea’s liveaboard Big Blue. The liveaboard is funded by a grant from the Armed Forces’ Covenant Fund Trust.
The week’s diving was based at the Divewise Dive Centre and as usual, Alan and Viv Whitehead were the perfect hosts. Since leaving the EU, visiting British Instructors cannot teach in Malta and so a RAID Instructor, Joe – one of the Divewise / Techwise team – was assigned to Team Deptherapy for the week.
The plan had been to hit the ground running on the first day with some theory, followed by SMB skills on the house reef but sadly the weather had different ideas. For the first time since April, the heavens opened with heavy rain accompanied by thunder, lightning, and high winds. The normally calm and protected house reef resembled a wave machine and although the team did manage one dive in the afternoon, many subsequently felt unwell.
The forecast didn’t bode much better for the next few days and so the original plan to complete the course on days two and three was amended, with the main focus being to complete the four required dives by the end of the week.
The weather improved significantly within a couple of days and the team were able to dive HMS Maori, a boat with a tremendous history and one of the vessels that tracked the Bismarck in World War II.
Everyone was enthused for the next day diving from a boat at Comino but again, high winds made boat diving impossible and a shore dive at the recently sunk P33 ex East German patrol boat was second choice, followed by easier access to a shallow harbour wreck. A further trip to the P33 was also scuppered by high winds but the team enjoyed the P29 wreck in popular Cirkewwa which has a couple of wrecks, swimthroughs and reef to explore.
The last day of diving, after having COVID tests first thing, was on the Tugboat which was reached by rib from the dive centre, Fortunately, the team were able to complete their skills – resulting in eight very happy RAID Advanced Wreck Divers.
Deptherapy beneficiary and Trustee Michael Hawley said:
“A great week of diving, pity about the weather. The course is outstanding and the challenges pretty massive, but everyone responded positively. Lots of new skills were learnt and we worked together as a team to live up to our mantra to adapt and overcome.”
A note: From an adaptive teaching point of view many of Malta’s dive sites are not easily accessible even for able bodied divers and would be almost totally inaccessible to wheelchairs or many prosthetic wearers. With a considerable amount of money being generated by scuba divers travelling to Malta it would be a good investment for the Maltese Government to make dive sites more accessible to all divers.
Deptherapy’s thanks go to Alan, Viv and Joe at Divewise for their excellent support, and to the beneficiaries and volunteer instructors of Team Deptherapy for rising to and surpassing each and every challenge during the week.
For more information about the work of Deptherapy and Deptherapy Education visit www.deptherapy.co.uk.
Photos: Deptherapy / Martin Weddell
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 3
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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