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Weather & Time in Malta
MALTASSIST SEARCH
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| H.M.S.
Maori
This British Destroyer was
seriously damaged during the air raid of Valetta Harbour in
1943. As initial attempts to salvage the ship proved in
vain, the Maori was stripped from weaponry & dragged to
its final resting place next to Fort St. Elmo.
Should
you wish to penetrate the wreck, make sure you are properly
trained. Maintain a good buoyancy and
use a frog kick to keep the sediment down.
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You will see
some nice groupers and an octopus on regular occasions. As
the wreck is getting older, watch for sharp metal object as
you might damage your equipment. On the way
back, you will enjoy the vegetation on the reef border and
as you swim back towards the exit point, you might see
flying gurnards or bream varieties.
As the entry
point is shallow, you can easily do your safety stop while
enjoying the exit area.
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Tug
Boats at Zonqor Point
The No.10 &
St. Michael Tugboats are laying behind each other at the centre of
the harbour entrance. Entrance point is at the
North East side
of the harbour (in front of Marsascala swimming pool). The first part
is quite shallow. As few significant marker points are available,
you need your compass to find your way. You will see the “Tugs”
after a relaxed swim of 10 minutes at a depth of 20 meter.
Both boats are in a good shape, No. 10 is 16 meter long. Once you
have seen No.10 completely, swim to the stern. You will see the 2nd
tug at approximately 50 meter. Before there used to be a rope
connecting both ships but that is no longer available. Personally I
prefer the second tug more as it is bigger and offers more room to
look round, so I advice you to spend e.g. 10 minutes on tug one and
use the remaining time to discover tug 2.
Should you wish
so, you can penetrate both boats but make sure you are properly
trained (and have discussed this option in your dive planning).
On the way back,
you will notice that you can easily do the safety stop while
swimming towards the exit point.
| Blenheim
Bomber Plane
The Blenheim Bomber is a
plane with an unclear history. Whether the plane had
difficulty on returning back to base or whether just dumped
by its crew, we don’t know. The plane landed on its belly
but lost the front of the cabin and nose wheel.
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| As
it is located of the coast of
Delimara
, you will need a boat to get there. Equipment is prepared
beforehand and stored on board. At the place of destination
(once a descent line is dropped) you can do the final check
on your equipment, leave the boat and assemble at the
surface with your buddies.
Sometimes there might be a
current so it is important to hold on to the descent line
and descent as fast as possible. Since the dive will reach
just over 40 meters and as it is in “mid-water”, this
dive is only available for the more experienced divers among
us. Upon ascending, we will do our mandatory safety stop at
a deco station. After surfacing, we will climb on board.
Once we will have collected the marker buoy, we will leave
the “Blenheim Bomber” to rest.
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The Blenheim
Bomber is one of the most desired dives in
Malta
but only very few diving centres are committed/able to take
you there. MALTASSIST does! We organize weekly trips
and take your photos that will make friends jealous back
home! |
Delimara
Point
Just outside
Fort
Delimara
is a small island and reef. This dive is possible from land but you
would need to make a jump from several meters height, cross a busy
shipping route and require a surface swim to reach the dive spot at
the back of the island. Therefore it is more comfortable to do this
dive by boat.
We will descent with our anchor line and find the entrance to the
swim-through cave at approximately 12 meters depth. We can also
choose to descent further from the steep wall , signalling the end of
the reef. This will take us to a sandy bottom at max 25 meter.
During the dive planning we will discuss your preference.
Once we have
explored the cave exit, we will turn to the right and continue our
way along the wall. At the end of the reef (while reaching our
non-decompression limits), we will swim back to the exit point on a
more shallow platform (12m) and finally reach the boat again.
Zurrieq
Valley
This site is
known as a popular tourist destination (the “Blue Grotto”) and
can be visited if you wish. As a result, the entrance & exit
points are subject to heavy surface boat traffic. Make sure you stay
on the inside of the buoys and you’ll be OK.
Once we descent,
we will cross the valley. Depending on your preference and dive
plan, we say goodbye to the divers who turn south and continue their
way to the Um El Faroud wreck. We however will descent further and
visit the “
Bell
Tower
Cave
”. This cave has 3 entrances. I prefer to use the lowest one but
take care not to throw up too much sediment as you will loose much
of your visibility.
Afterwards we
continue our way along the wall, where we will find another cave.
After this we will start our way back. The area is know as “The
Aquarium” as you will find so many different kinds of species. As
a result the area is also popular as a night dive spot because you
don’t have to go deep to see beautiful sea life.
| Um
El Faroud
In September 1998, the Um
El Faroud (10.000 tons and 110 meter long!) was shuttled
approximately 140 meter from your entry point.
The ship had previously
lain in
Valletta
harbour for a period of 3 years, after a big explosion on
board killed 9 dockyard workers.
The ship lays beautifully
on a sandy bottom at max. 34 meter.
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We can tell you in advance one dive is not enough to explore
the whole ship.
And
believe me you want to go again! Whether you want to stay on
the outside & roam around the cargo tanks, or enter the
bridge and engine room it doesn’t make a difference,
you’ll love it!
After
crossing the valley, we will swim at a depth of 10 meter
till we reach the back of the tanker. We will have a good
chance we will be welcomed by a schools of fish such as
amberjack, hunting tuna or varieties of breams.
Although
the wreck is still quite new, you will be surprised by the
amount of fish life it already attracts!
As the
ship is so big, you can easily lose track of time.
Therefore, regular checks on your remaining deco time and
air consumption are required!
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Ghar
Lapsi
This
site is situated just underneath a parking area. After a
steep climb down, we will enter the quiet shallow water.
This entrance is ideal for try dives and/or new divers. Big
boulders and lots of small fish will immediately make you
understand why people take up diving as a hobby!
New
divers will slowly descent and make a dive on the reef at
max 15 meter.
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More
experienced divers will want to discover the cave
of
Ghar Lapsi
. It has several entrances & exits, creating beautiful
images through sun reflexes.
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This dive is
ideal for divers, who wish to make long shallow dives.
There’s lots of animal life here.
| Anchor
Bay
“Popeye
Village” is more commonly used for this well know bay in
the South-West of Malta. Some years ago this bay was used to
create the setting for the film “Popeye”,
starring Robin Williams.
For the dive, we will take
another road down to the jetty from where you can see the
tourist attraction. We enter the water with a giant stride
into the water and continue our way south along the left
wall. This dive is a shallow one but you will enjoy the fish
varieties and large boulders on your way.
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The
visibility will improve once we reach the open sea. After
approximately 10 minutes, we will reach a big cave at 10 m
depth. You can surface here to enjoy the dome shaped
ceiling. After leaving the cave we continue slightly further
to see and swim through a small arch window. After this we
will turn back slowly towards the bay again.
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Due
to the vegetation and rock formations, you might come across
octopus, small groupers, parrot fish and different kinds of
rockfish.
Paradise
Bay
Although situated
at a very popular diving area, this dive is not so well known. Most
divers prefer (are suggested) to dive at the dive spots in Cirkewwa,
such as “The Madonna”, Tug boat “Rozi” and “The Arch”.
As a result, on a
nice summer day, many dive centres will queue to let their
divers in the water. Reduced visibility and underwater traffic jams
are common. But never in “
Paradise
Bay”!
We enter the
water form the new entrance and leave all divers behind, turning to
the left. After we reach the drop off, we descent to17 meter and
cross the channel. Keeping the wall on our left side, we can admire
the steep walls and many fish varieties. Halfway the dive we come
across some big boulders, piled on each other. We can swim
underneath some and zigzag slowly towards a big natural arch. We
continue our dive towards the exit point with the wall on our right
side. Big fire worms will crawl along the steep walls and many sea
urchins will cover every hole in the wall. Finally we ascend again
over the plateau and exit the water.
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“Madonna”,
Marfa Point
The South
West wall, near the Gozo crossing terminal in Cirkewwa, is a
very popular dive area. Both beginners as experienced divers
will find something of their liking here.
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The wall
has several small caves, tunnels & swim through
situations, which make the dive even more interesting. But
the wall is so nice that you don’t really need them.
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A “must
see” dive is the “Madonna”. The site is named after a
statue of the “Holy Mary”, which stands at the entrance
of a small cave at 18 meter.
The dive
concentrates around a shallow plateau of max 10m, so ideal
for new divers. More advanced divers will “fall” of the
plateau till max 26 meters.
However
most interesting parts happen around 10 – 18 meter,
therefore this site is also popular for night diving!
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| Lots
of fish life is hiding in the wall such as conger eel or
hunting fish such as amberjacks & schools of barracuda.
Don’t focus only on the wall, if you are lucky you might
even see a ray. |
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“The
Arch”, Marfa Point
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The
Cirkewwa Arch is situated to the west of Marfa point, on the
edge of the reef at around 15 meters.
It is
basically a cave with no roof but a very nice one. Almost
hidden, in harmony with its surroundings.
We enter
the water near the jetty and follow the reef wall towards
the West. It is possible to approach on a deeper level but
this depends on the divers preference.
We will
come across a small swim trough cave and continue (in the
beginning) mainly over Neptune Grass. Sometimes you might
come across some current but the chance of seeing schools of
barracuda and a lonely Ray makes up for it.
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The Arch
is impressive as we swim underneath it. Later we slowly swim
back over the reef wall. Parrot fish and varieties of bream
will accompany us on our journey back to the exit point.
From the
deep we might even see divers coming back from the Tugboat
Rozi as this dive shares part of the route with this famous
wreck.
Tug
Boat Rozi, Marfa Point
The Rozi (40 meter long)
was sunk in 1992 to act as an underwater attraction for
tourist, while on a “underwater safari”. These trips no
longer take place but the Rozi remained beautifully in place
and has developed itself to one of the most popular dive
spots in
Malta.
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| We enter the
water near the old jetty and set our course along the reef
for approximately 15 minutes. You can swim directly, but
like this you can keep your orientation better and enjoy the
dive more! The wreck lays at 36 meter but the bridge can be
visited around 30 meter. The clear water will allow you even
to stay shallower and thus stretch your dive time. You can
enter on several places such as where the engine used to be
and the wheelhouse.
On your way back, we pass a
large anchor and depending on our air reserves continue
along the wall towards the exit point.
This exiting dive will
combine many interesting aspects of diving and you will
remember this dive for sure. The beautiful settings, clear
water and fish life will impress you!
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L’Ahrax
Point
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Image a cave of 30 meter
with only part roof. That is L-Ahrax point, also known as
the inland sea.
Outside the cave, we more
the boat in at approximately 18 meter water. After having
discovered the sea contours with beautiful big boulders and
small swim through situations, we will notice that the rock
seems to have cracked open, leaving nicely covered channels
wit lots of fish life.
Octopus, morey eel, parrot
fish, together with (sometimes) big electric rays make this
spot even more beautiful.
Finally we make the turn
towards the cave. First things you will notice is
beautifully covered walls and a spectacular light fall in
the inland sea.
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As the walls are so nice we will surface
quickly to obtain a good look at the area. After a few
minutes we will descent again and continue our round in the
cave, covering even small connected caves. We leave the inland sea
through another exit and slowly swim back towards the boat.
This dive is highly
recommended for divers, who appreciate nature’s beauty.
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HMS
Stubborn Submarine
Another
Maltese highlight is the war hero HMS Stubborn submarine.
The sub lays in almost 60 meter of water and is thus only
available to experienced divers with deep water experience.
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The ship
is still intact and in good shape, something you will notice
as we descent. The water is generally clear and you will be
able to see the ship from around 35 meter already!
We can
clearly see the torpedo tubes and the tower. Due to its
depth, this will be a short dive with a decompression stop
at 5 meter for several minutes but certainly worth the
effort.
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As the dive is beyond recreational diving limits, we will
request you to participate on other deep dives with us,
prior to this spectacular dive. In addition, we will not do
another dive the same day.
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| St.
Paul
’s Channel |
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A short
boat trip will take us to the North side of
St. Paul
’s Islands
, just off the coast of
Bugibba
.
Upon
descending we will notice a platform at around 10 meter and
a drop off till max 25 meter.
The
platform is home for several fish varieties such as groupers
and parrot fish.
The Channel shelters us from light current and offers a nice
wall with big boulders. Under the big rocks we might find
octopus and several bream families.
After
discovering the channel we finally will slowly ascend to the
platform again.
This site
even offers a spectacular setting for more experienced night
divers.
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| Imperial
Eagle
This copy ship of the
legendary Jacques Cousteau’s “Calypso” once served a
ferry around the Maltese
Islands.
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shuttled several years ago and lays on a sandy bottom at a
few hundred meters of the Qawra coast in a U-shaped corner
of the reef at a depth of 40 meter.
The steering wheel is the
best known photographic feature of this long ship.
But the surrounding reef
walls and statue of Lord Jesus will also make you remember
this site.
Around the ship we might
find really big conger eel, while on the deck we normally
find varieties of small breams and rockfish.
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While
returning from the wreck, we’ll see some big groupers
“hiding” in the corners of the reef walls.
Due to its
depth in clear “mid water”, we will use a descend line
for guidance and slowly “fall” on the wreck. Safe
penetration is possible, as the gangways are spacious and
free from obstacles.
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While
reaching our “zero time” we will ascend over the reef
and pass from the statue. The descend line will serve again
for guidance and for our safety stop.
The Imperial
Eagle is only visited by few dive centres (due to its
position) and therefore special to visit. Its unique
location has now been designated as a protected marine
underwater park.
Qawra
Reef
The steep drop
off till 35 meter, just of the coast in
Salina
, offers (besides a nice rough wall) several big caves. Bigger types
of fish, octopus and eel hide in these nicely vegetated rocks. The
site marks the beginning of a shallower part in the North side of
Malta, where the reef top comes to approximately 17 meter.
Predatorial fish such as barracuda, dentex, tuna and amberjacks
frequently roam around the site, searching for the smaller fish
types, which seek protection on the reef borders. Their speed and
calculated approaches are beautiful to witness over the slightly
vegetated & sloping reef walls. Parrot fish and varieties of
grouper, cardinal fish and bream colour the top of the reef.
The site is only
known to few dive centres and that is just the way we like it! Once
you have been there you’ll understand why!
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Merkanti
reef, Sliema
Just
outside the
Neptunes
water polo club in Sliema is a nice shallow reef, ideal for
new divers. Nicely vegetated with
Neptune
grass we will find underwater structures, which have
survived the brutal winter “gregal” for centuries.
The site will reach around
11 meter maximum so we can look forward to a long and
pleasant dive. Moray eel, octopus and several rockfish,
besides the more common bream etc, are frequently spotted
here in the small channels and swim through situations.
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