News
Jack Ingle Malta Wreck Diving Expedition 2019
After excellent expeditions in 2018, Jack Ingle is planning more trips to Malta in 2019.
The dates are:
- Week 1: 1st to 7th May 2019
- Week 2: 7th to 13th May 2019
- Week 3: 13th to 19th November 2019
The diving is stunning with excellent visibility and excellent WW1 and WW2 wrecks, with the dives around the 40 to 70 metre range. The expeditions will cost £800 per diver, which includes 5 days boat diving (from a Technical Dive Boat with Divers lift), self catering accommodation (high quality apartments), group vehicle hire, transfers to and from airport and dive sites, air and hire of twinsets (or Rebreather cylinders).
There is also a deco station with support diver and back up gas on the line. Nitrox, Helium and stage Deco cylinders are available but not included in the overall price.
Flights are available to Malta at around £180. Flight details and how to book them will be sent to you later once your place has been confirmed.
The actual dives planned will be arranged around the group of divers and will be dependent on their wishes, qualifications and experience. Please discuss this with Jack Ingle. All divers must be a minimum of Dive Leader, Divemaster or equivalent. Some of the sites available are listed below but there are many more:
Le Polynesienne: This wreck was a French liner. Length 156 metres powered by a steam engine from 12 coal boilers giving her a cruising speed of 17 knots. She was hit by a torpedo from a German U boat in 1918 and lays in 60 metres of water. This is a stunning wreck and one you will want to visit more than once.
HMS Stubborn: This is a British Submarine P238 (S class), built in 1942 and is 66 metres long, she is sitting in 56 metres of water at a 10 degree list. Her armaments were 7 torpedo tubes, a 3 inch gun on the fore deck and one 20mm machine gun behind the conning tower. She carried a crew of 44 men and was scuttled at the end of the war.
HMS Southwold: This is a Hunt Class Destroyer and is 86 metres in length. The Southwold was escorting other vessels when she struck a mine (1942), was taking in tow to Malta but sank before making the safe haven. She sits in 70 metres on her starboard side. She has two sections and needs more than one dive to visit both Bow and Stern
Schnell Boat: German MTB boat, intact wreck, 2WW, torpedoes still in tubes, great dive, 70 metres
Other sites: This area is littered with many wrecks, mainly from the WW2 era, some of these include, Hellespont, HMS St Angelo, Imperial Eagle, HM Drifter Eddy, El Faroud and many more.
To book your place or to find out more information please contact Jack Ingle on telephone: 0208 650 6089, mobile: 07759404891 or e-mail: Jack@jackingle.co.uk
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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