A breakdown of our yearly international trip, this time heading to Malta 🎉
Day 0 (Saturday)
As soon as uni broke up for Easter, we headed straight to Malta for five days of diving! Some of us flew from Gatwick and had some essential pre-flight pints at spoons. Once at the gate, we naturally had to make fun of Thomas, our upcoming pres, having to pay £50 for his oversized carry-on. The fun didn’t stop there – the fake exec got the party started with some apewol spwitz on the plane (they told us 4 would be cheaper than 3 🤔😍). Others were already waiting for us in Malta after getting the silly 6am flights. We dived with Divewise Malta and stayed in Gżira for 9 nights, from the 15th to the 24th of March.
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Day 1 (Sunday)
We started our first full day in Malta with a brisk half an hour walk to the dive centre (they did offer a lift but Antoni said no), carrying our kit. When we were there, we organised our kit into boxes as well as trying things on, for those who were renting. Later on the group split up to explore Valletta or the local beaches. In the evening, drinks and cigars were had on our accommodation rooftop terrace, and dinner was enjoyed at Sally Port Pizzeria with another club member, who happened to also be in Malta. Actually, enjoyed doesn’t quite describe it. Let’s just say we were very happy…
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Day 2 (Monday)
Our first day of diving involved a shore dive from the beach next to the centre to make sure everyone was comfortable and settled in their kit. Later on, we changed sites and dived the HMS Maori, a WWII wreck at about 14 meters deep at the edge of Grand Harbour. It was a great start to the week, with very high visibility. Starry weevers and bottles of gin were dotted about in the sand around the wreck.
HMS Maori was one of the 16 tribal class built for the Royal Navy just before the breakout of the second world war. It sunk in 1942 after being struck by a bomb in her engine room whilst at anchor in Grand Harbour. She was moved to Sliema creek later in the year due to the harbour being used. Read more about the Maori in this article by the club boiler-enthusiast, Samuel Parker.
Monday the 17th was St Patrick’s day, which was a surprisingly big celebration in Malta. The streets were filled with crowds, beer stands and music from the early afternoon and continued late into the night. Some of our club members had a wild night!
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Day 3 (Tuesday)
On day 2, we headed to Ċirkewwa to dive some more wrecks. We dived the Rozi, which was a tug boat, and formerly named the Rossgarth! (Stoney Cove frequenters rejoice). We also dived the P29, which used to be a patrol boat. More experienced divers in a group penetrated the wrecks, entering from the stern and traversing through to the bow in a variety of swimthroughs. An array of marine life was visible, including nudibranchs, rainbow wrasse, and scorpionfish. Moray eels also lurked around. Our Ocean Divers explored the reef including really cool arches and caves, spotting plenty of marine life.
Let’s say you’re on a budget on holiday, and decide to cook at your apartment instead of splurging on eating out. What a wise and mature decision! And naturally, what do you buy at the Malta Lidl, to fuel yourself for the upcoming diving day? Baked beans, of course. Local produce you say? No, that would be silly.
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Day 4 (Wednesday)
Everyone was excited for the Um El-Faroud on day 3 of diving! A 110-meter-long oil tanker, it sits at 38 meters, and only a 10-minute swim from the shore! We swam at around 10-15 meters in open water to get to the wreck. The vis was incredible as the sea floor was clearly visible below us! We descended slowly as we approached the wreck, and explored the outside, including swimming through the balcony corridors.
For those who penetrated the wreck, dive one involved swimming into the split, then across the deck to the bow, before going into the chain locker, unfortunately after Liam had already kicked the silt up first. On the second dive, they headed into from stern on portside, then onto the deck above the engine room. They dropped in on top of the engines and onto the walkways next to them, and finally spiralling out across 3 decks. Rules were definitely complied with and no deco was necessary for anyone in the group 🤨 (never signal deco time remaining in front of Ronan Moore Bethel). Other than that, I had a bit of a yolo moment myself, and my computer added a naughty minute to my safety stop, unfortunately birthing the nickname “deco teo” for the rest of my life.
The marine life was also amazing at this site. We saw some flying gurnards on the seabed below us. There was a huge group of fish that swam past my group, which was a very cool experience. Lots of nudis hung onto plants growing from the wreck. On the way back, a moray eel was seen peeking out of a pipe. The day was a success and many people considered it their favourite site!
The trip wouldn’t have been complete without a girls’ night! The five of us had a lovely dinner at The Bell in Valletta. They served fresh seafood and some of us tried scallops for the first time – yum! Much wine was drunk. A must-visit place for seafood lovers.
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Day 5 (Thursday)
Our group split up on day 4, the twinset twats going for another day on the Faroud, while the rest of us headed to Gozo! We completed a dive in the Inland Sea, swimming through the cavern with boats going past above us. This included a wall dive, which was very colourful and full of life. Our second dives were in the Blue Hole. It was an incredible dive – the vis was amazing. We swam up a chimney-like tunnel and explored a small cave. The dives were very scenic and definitely up there with some of my favourite dives.
Faroud divers also had lots of fun. On their first dive, they went around the far side of the stern, in via the deck and out via the split, across to the bow, into the original oil storage compartments in buddy pairs, then into a narrow corridor via a head first entry (Antoni and Sam entering upside down and were left trying to do a barrel roll in a skinny corridor because they just had to be special). On dive 2, they same again on portside of the stern, this time after going by the propeller, did a similar tour of the engine room and explored up the structure again, Antoni and Sam had a little look at the top of the superstructure, before leaving due to someone’s gas 😒.
In the evening we gathered everyone for a whole group meal out. We went to The Brew Bar and Grill, recommended to us by someone at the dive centre due to their unlimited chicken wings offer 😋. It was a great night and many chicken wings were consumed and profound messages shared.
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Day 6 (Friday)
On day 5 of diving, some people chose to go back to Ċirkewwa to dive the P29 and the Rozi again (“Mike got Ben into holes he didn’t think he’d stand a chance of fitting in” – Denys & Liam 2025). Others chose to dive a new wreck – the X127 Lighter, another WWII wreck, which sits on a slope from 8 to 22 meters. The vis on the final day was much lower (although still 5 meters) – but it just reminded us of home, making it that extra bit special. The wreck looked almost mystical with torch beams visible in the murky water. Arsehole twinset divers were able to enter through windows and have a rummage inside. The toilet and the yellow wellies were welcome additions to the dive.
We ended the diving week with the HMS Maori from day 1. The vis was lower on this day (15 meters). Some groups were lucky enough to see an octopus hiding below a rock! It was great to explore the wreck for a second time. Sam, after an excellent demonstration of properly securing a DSMB, had the time of his life, attempting to fulfil his dream of getting wedged under the gun turret. Unluckily for him and luckily for Malta emergency services, he made it back to shore that day. It was a great end to the week, and the dive centre staff made it even better by throwing us a pizza party once we’d washed all our kit.
Our dive centre Divewise were incredibly helpful with sorting out kit, planning dives and organising and transporting a group of 18. All of our dives were done on Nitrox. We definitely recommend them to anyone planning to dive in Malta! It had been a long but incredible week of waking up early (some earlier than others), diving, and washing kit back at the centre (everyone’s favourite part). The trip had been some of our members’ first dives since qualifying as Ocean Divers, so hopefully it leaves a lasting impression on them and they continue to dive! (UK diving in winter may not have been enough to convince them).
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Days 7 & 8 (The Weekend)
On the weekend we went to Mdina to see the Old City. The sandstone buildings, churches and views of the landscape were incredible. I tried the famed Malta prickly pear juice at a cafe – it tasted like a strange mix of tomato, carrot and perhaps pear. I would recommend it to tomato juice enjoyers. The catacombs and the National Museum also played a part in the visit.
On Saturday we walked around the local coasts, took the ferry to Valletta, and visited the Maritime museum. And we ended the holiday on a very happy note.
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Hometime
Soon enough, it was time to head back home to assignments and responsibilities. A 3am transfer to the airport was organised for a group flying in the wee hours of the morning, and naturally this meant sleeping was out of the question. Others enjoyed the rest of the day in town before heading to the airport for afternoon flights. Others walked back to the dive centre after forgetting an essential piece of kit. And that was that.
Thanks to everyone who came and made the week great fun! See you all next year 😸
Check out more photos from the trip in our gallery!
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Written by Teodora Varga
Edited by Antoni Zyla
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