Malta in June?

[ScubaBaby]

Hoppy

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Did you make it over to do anything in Gozo ?

 

[Hoppy]

Only to go look around.

Did the Churches and the Azure Window.

It wasnt really a dive trip as my other half doesnt dive (yet), so I didnt want to leave her on her own too much

Gozo does look nice though, some of the sites are a fair walk though aren;t they ?

Cheers
Hoppy

 

[db8us]

ScubaBaby once bubbled...

There was another dive I didnt do - I can not remember what it was called now - but it was on a wreck (ferry) and the entry was jumping in from 8 feet of rock face - I wouldnt have minded but the waves were crashing over 1/2 way up and I could see the back of my head decorating the rocks........not a pretty image so I opted out!!

This must have been the Xlendi ferry ! Nice wreck and easy to penetrate.

Also i wanted to say that most dives on Malta/Gozo are deeper than the average caribean dive....

Michael

 

[mobymark]

You should try Gozo for Diving. We have our rough walks and our easy ones. Most Dive centers provide boat dives to all sites, including rough walks like the Blue Hole or long swims like the Double Arch. Either way, the dives are good.

 

[Lawrence Debono]

You should try Gozo for Diving. We have our rough walks and our easy ones. Most Dive centers provide boat dives to all sites, including rough walks like the Blue Hole or long swims like the Double Arch. Either way, the dives are good.

Mark, the problem with the dive boats in Malta or Gozo, is exposure. Dive stores need more exposure of their product and offer boat dives the second a visitor steps in their store. They have to be aggressive. Other places like the US, UK, Red Sea, Caribbean, Australia, S. Africa, Canada, etc, thrive on charter boats. Loads of money is made out of charters. Some even have recompression chambers, filling stations and full accommodation. I've been in other places and I had seen the difference. A lot of divers like to roll their gear from their car or hotel to the dock and on to the boat. Hop along for the ride, do the dive or two, and come back.

Having said all that I loved diving in Malta and Gozo, and personally I don't mind the adventure and the hikes. I had the opportunity to do some deep mixed gas diving, caverns, wrecks, night…... I was only disappointed once when a boat operator turned us down for a dive on a WW1 freighter off the south coast. His excuse was that his coordinates were lost. Thank God that only the nitrox fills were done and the trimix tanks weren't ready. That p155ed me off big time. There was a lot of planning done for that dive. Other than that the diving is A1 and my personal opinion is that Gozo has much nicer shore dives than Malta but Malta has more historical wrecks.

Lawrence

 

[DORSETBOY]

I'd go for gozo myself, if only to dive blue hole / azure window / inland sea area... very nice!

 

[mobymark]

Hey Lawrence, just got back from the German dive show in Dusseldorf. Busy. Lots of new toys on the market! Thats were you see dive boats! I agree with you about pushing the boat diving but i think that is slowly changing. When one dive center gets a boat and the other dive centers see how much clients it brings in, then the next step for them is to get a bigger and better one. But we will never be able to compete with the live aboards ive seen advertised this last week at the dive show. I mean we do not need them, especially in Gozo as everthing is close buy or within 20 minutes. But still nice to look at.!

 

[Louie]

Yes there are long treks and no it's not the tropics.

But Gozo has its charms and some of the dives are wonderful.

Don't forget Cathedral Cove if you do decide to go that way.

I went to Gozo in June a couple of years ago and dived with one of the guys who are operating this outfit now:

http://www.divebluewaters.com/

They can arrange diving or holiday packages and Franco is a lovely dude.

 

[mobymark]

Try www.mobydivesgozo.com and see the videos of all the local dive sites in Gozo.

 

[mobymark]

Anyboby going to be at the London Dive Show in March? We will be there on Stand P.V.40. Come and say hello. It always good to put a face and voice to a name.