A Scuba Experience with a Difference, Diving in Malta.

Dawn Dives News

Wrecks

Diving in Malta has been improved with the sinking of 2 wrecks close to each other at Ix-Xatt l-Ahmar in Gozo.

Dawn Dives organised an instructor only trip just a day after the sinking to investigate the site and familiarise themselves prior to taking customers on the wrecks. The vessels, Comino Land and Karwela sit upright on a sandy sea bed at depths between 43m and 18m making the site suitable for all levels of divers.

The wrecks project was financed by the Malta Tourist Authority and the European Union (EU) to develop niche tourism in the area. Funds have also been allocated for the installation of a recompression chamber on Gozo to compliment the ones already in existence on Malta, thus improving diver safety.

Dawn Dives owner, Warren D’Ancona said “On the exploratory dive we found fish were already shoaling around the superstructure and sea life investigating the wrecks and this should lead to the formation of a good reef ecology, projects like this help to boost the variety of dives available in Malta and make an attractive diving destination even better”.

Barracuda in Ramla Bay Malta!

Barracuda are having a boom year in Malta with shoals of baby fish being spotted on a daily basis throughout July and August.

New divers taking part in the discover scuba diving experience were treated to a show of force by these baby predators when 50 or so began shoaling near to the house reef at only 3 metres below the surface.

Instructor Kevin Harvey and his students were gob smacked when they began their usual 3pm fish feed and found these perfectly formed but miniature barracuda surrounding them.

Said Kevin, “it was an amazing experience, with even the new divers realising how lucky they were to have witnessed this event. Hopefully they will find it comfortable and stay around for more divers to have a good look at. My only problem is, now that they are doing their Open Water Course they expect a spectacle like this every time! It shouldn’t be too hard though as the house reef boasts many interesting species such as octopus, cuttlefish, moray eels and bream. We have even seen the ramora ‘shark sucker’ fish following snorkellers around.”

SO why not visit the seas of Malta and join in on the fun.

Dolphin sightings in 2006.

Our Instructor, Danny Jones who has been diving the local waters for over two years now encountered his first dolphin in 2006. Whilst enjoying a dive with customers on the wreck of the Um El- Faroud in April, a bottlenose dolphin swam alongside the group for approx. 20 seconds. In the winter months, the water is slightly cooler and attracts bigger pelagic fish which the marine mammals feed from.

Danny said, “I have seen dolphins on the surface here in the winter months before, but this is my first sighting of a wild dolphin underwater in more than 9 years of diving. When I turned to check the group I noticed a dark shadow at the edge of the visibility, and my first reaction was ‘it’s a shark’ then as it came for a closer look, the recognisable shape and familiar smile came into view. I suppose it wanted to check out the strange bubble blowing creatures in its domain and when it realised we weren’t a threat or food, it swam away. An encounter like this is magical and it will be one I remember for a very long time.”

2006 has been a great year for unusual sightings, the Sun fish (mola mola) has been seen around the submarine, an extremely rare pipefish was found in Gozo and angler fish have been seen in the sand near the Rozi.

Sightings have been fairly frequent this year, with at least 3 dive centres reporting dolphins underwater. So if you want to see these majestic creatures, the sooner you dive in Malta, the greater your chances are.

Kindly Contact us about Diving in Malta or for any further information or bookings.