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
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.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 1
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
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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