Bubbles March - April 2015

T HE A T LA M SUBA QUA C LUB E -M A G A Z I N E

MARCH / APRIL 2015 2015 Atlam Committee Members :Joseph Azzopardi President guzeppi56@gmail.com Anton Debattista Secretary andeb@go.net.mt Alfred Muscat PRO superfredie@yahoo.com Klaus Farrugia Treasurer klafster@gmail.com Reuben Borg Activity Officer reuben.borg@yahoo.com Alvin Pace Activity Officer tamsinjane@yahoo.com Victor Fabri Photography Off. vfabri@gmail.com

IN THIS ISSUE

page

• Note from the Editor 2 • “Doing it underwater” Lecture 2 • Atlam Photography Course - 2015

3/4

• Solomon Islands - Paolo Marino

5/7

• DOW- Lundy Island - Dorian Law

8/9

• Species Page - Brown Meagre - Edward Vella 10 • Children & Scuba Diving - Dorian Law

11/13

DIVE LOGS Qammieh Point - 12.04.15- Joe Formosa

14

Ghar it-Trozz - 26.04.15- Edward Vella

15

Dives Map - Joe Formosa

16

www.atlam.org Oceania armata - photo by Alan Mizzi

info@atlam.org

The Editorial Further on in this issue, the first boat dive logs of the year have started to appear. This year the boat dives are in the capable hands of Reuben Borg – freshly appointed Atlam Committee Activity Officer by President Guzi Azzopardi who has been organising the boat dives for many years. I am not sure if members take the time to realise what a hassle it is to organise a boat dive! For sure many phone calls - at any time of day (and night), selecting a dive site according to the forecast conditions – and this can turn out to be a hot topic especially if the forecaster has had a bad day. Then on top of everything there is the safety aspect, and the pairing of ‘loose’ divers into buddies of more or less similar skills. There is as well the financial aspect of collecting the divers money (although this chore is carried out very well by Guzi’s Mary), and paying off the skipper. For the organisers therefore there is no greater satisfaction than to see the dive boat sitting low in the water, full to the brim with divers, and another thing - please when back on the quay at Marfa after the dive take the time to say thank you (after having paid) to Reuben – it will be appreciated! This is a win-win situation.

Our new Committee has been quite busy organising social events – and I must say, very well attended social events. First came the fund raising barbecue held on the 18th March - to date this is the event that has for sure broken all attendance records at Bahar ic-Caghaq (160 guests). The barbecue event was organised by Caritas and a good number of diving schools and clubs. The objective was to raise funds to help professional diver Fredrick Catania, who was unlucky enough to suffer a disabling ‘bend’ which left him paralysed. It was an enjoyable evening, made nicer due to €2000 being collected – mission accomplished.

Starting off on the 26th, the now traditional Easter camping weekend was held at Comino. Other social events at the Bahar ic-Caghaq club house, were a Mixed Grill barbecue night on April 10th, and a Fenkata on the 30th. Special mention must of course be made of our super cook – George Mugliette – a true asset to our club!

As this Bubbles is being issued, sea temperatures have now gone up to an encouraging 17˚C, which means the seasonal divers would be thinking seriously of getting their diving equipment out of storage. Any problems with clothing items would be readily visible ( if it does not fit, do not blame it on the neoprene!), but most important of all, one has to make sure that the breathing apparatus is working perfectly before even thinking of approaching the water. Discovering problems during the first dive of the year is not recommended! Apart from the safety factor, it could spoil your dive and your buddy’s.

And finally, members are encouraged to enrol in the photography course being organised by Victor Fabri and run by Kevin Casha, one of the finest and most renowned photographers in Malta. Details may be seen in pages 3 & 4. This is a unique opportunity not to be missed.

Keep Diving

Edward Vella evella@onvol.net

ATLAM Photography Course

BY KEVIN CASHA

Photos courtesy of Kevin Casha

Master SWPP; FMIPP; FSWPP; AMPS;AMPA; Hon FMPS. Master of Fine Arts in Digital Arts President Malta Institute of Professional Photography; Hon Life Member MIPP, MPS Technical Co-ordinator Malta National Picture Archive

ATLAM Foundation Photography Course - 2015

BY KEVIN CASHA

Master SWPP; FMIPP; FSWPP; AMPS;AMPA; Hon FMPS. Master of Fine Arts in Digital Arts President Malta Institute of Professional Photography; Hon Life Member MIPP, MPS Technical Co-ordinator Malta National Picture Archive

At the Clubhouse Ba˙ar iç-Çag˙aq and on locations

Everyone is invited to participate

PROGRAMME

Monday 1st June – 8 pm

INTRODUCTION - PARTICIPANTS INTRO - EXPLOIT YOUR CAMERA & EQUIPMENT - ASSIGNMENT BRIEF

Monday 8th June – 8 pm UNDERSTANDING LIGHT - RAW FILES Sunday 14th June – 9 am LOCATION WORKSHOP: PRACTICAL (Selmun Barracks or Birgu Waterfront) (Morning session) Monday 15th June – 8 pm COMPOSITION IN PHOTOGRAPHY Monday 22nd June – 8 pm WHAT MAKES A GREAT IMAGE? - MAKING ART Monday 6th July -8 pm

ASSIGNMENT - ASSESSMENT

Participants are to attend on time as the course will start without any delays.

Participants are to hand in 3 JPG images they consider as their best photos at the start of the course.

Assignment to consist of 3 images on a theme of participants’ own choice.

R E G I S T R AT I O N • The fee for the course is €80 for paid up Atlam Members and €110 for non members.

• A deposit of €40 is to be paid on registration and the balance on the first day of the course.

• Registrations are open to ALL interested whether divers and non-divers.

• Registrations including deposit are to be made personally at until the 21st of May at Atlam Subaqua clubhouse on any Thursday from 9:00 pm Please contact Antida Muscat or Victor Fabri on 99242254 for more information Photos courtesy of Kevin Casha

Munda

Wrecks and big fish Diving Experiences from Paolo Marino

Munda is a small village on the island of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands.

Today it is of not much importance, but during WWII it saw a lot of bloody action. Occupied by the Japanese in 1942, Munda became a major airport and military base during the battle for Guadalcanal. Then in 1943 it was heavily bombarded by the Americans and finally occupied after fierce fighting by of US Marines. Till the end of the war it was used as a fighters’ and then as a bombers’ base by the Americans.

Several airplane wrecks are still present at divable depths in the area and this, coupled with beautiful walls covered in coral fans and presence of big fish, make of Munda an amazingly diverse diving destination.

The only operating dive centre is Dive Munda. As the owners (an English couple) frankly admit, Dive Munda has passed its glory days. They established the centre 7 years ago, but the business has been very slow in the last two years and they are now running the diving with only a 6 meter hard hull boat that is not particularly comfortable.

Still the operations are conducted in a professional and safe manner.

MUSHROOM ISLAND is a nice wall dive.

The bottom is beyond the 100m range, so big fish from the deep are often sighted. We had a close encounter with around 20 scalloped hammerheads that came up to check us up and swam around for a couple of minutes!

AUSSIE POINT is another sheer wall that promised nice encounters. We saw a big shoal of jacks, a small group of big barracuda and a lonely scalloped The dive centre is located inside Agnes hammerhead. lodge hotel, that is the only decent accommodation and restaurant in SECRET SPOT is again a vertical wall.

A group of 10 pilot whales swam by us town. just at the edge of visibility. Eagle rays All dive sites are located in about half and turtles were also seen. an hour ride from Munda.

P39 and DAUNTLESS are the wrecks SHARK POINT is the most consistent of two US WWII planes. They are full of site to see big fish, provided the current different types of cleaner shrimps that is right. It’s a pointed reef going into will gladly climb on your hands for a deep water. I did this dive twice and good manicure service! we saw several grey reef sharks, eagle rays, a couple of mobulas very close, a big stingray on the sand, the resident groups of barracudas and batfish plus the usual complement of reef fish.

P39 US WWII Plane

The CORSAIR is another US plane wreck lying in 51m of water; this was the deepest dive of the lot. There was a big stingray laying close to it. The shallow reef on top is also a pleasant spots to spend your deco time with corals and reef fish.

The CAVE is an interesting dive that starts from the shallow side (you have actually to walk few metres to the entrance) of an island. You proceed to a narrow passage that takes you underneath the island for about 100 m.

A safety line has been setup to guide you to the exit. At the end there in a dome shaped chamber with various fan corals that opens up in the middle of a vertical wall at about 33m. The dive then goes on along the wall decorated by nice corals.

Cleaner Shrimps

We also came across some big lobsters in a crack and some reef sharks down deep under us.

NBIGOHE-NBIGOHE is a wall dive full of nice corals and fish life. We came across 6 eagle rays, various turtles and jacks.

There is only one shipwreck in the area at diveable depths: a WWII Japanese cargo ship. Unfortunately we could not dive on it for bureaucratic reason. The local village chief that “owns� the wreck was asking too much money to allow divers on it.

US Plane F4U Corsair

Article compiled by Dorian Law

Photo: Courtesy of National Trust Pess Office

Lundy Island Bristol Channel England

Destination: Lundy Island, the largest island in the Bristol Channel, is located 20 kms North – Northwest of Devon. This granite island, about 4 kms long and 1km wide, with about one thousand acres of unspoiled nature and a population of about 25 people is exposed to all kinds of weather, including winds, currents and fog, which have contributed to the number of wrecks to be found around the island.

It is England’s first Marine Nature Reserve and Conservation Zone, and forms part of the National Trust. The British Pound (Sterling) is the main currency although the Euro is also used.

Getting there: Most of the diving boats depart from the small harbour of Ilfracombe, northern Devon. The closest airports are Exeter (EXT) and Bristol (BRS). The cost for an 8 hr 1 stop flight to Exeter costs €530. This combined AirMalta – Flybee flight makes a connection at Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG). Ryanair flight to Bristol takes 4hrs and costs €290. Another option is a combined Vuelling - AirMalta 13hr flight to Cardiff (CWL), at €400 with a stop at Barcellona (BCL).

Ilfracombe is a 4hour drive from London.

Facilities: Accommodation, from hotels to selfcatering apartments, is available in Ilfracombe and the choice depends on personal budget. Trimstone Self-Catering Cottages offer weekly packages at €400 for 4 persons. Bed and breakfast prices at Acorn Lodge Guest house start at €60 per night for a double room. The same type of accommodation at Ilfracombe Carlton Hotel costs €80 per night. A 2 day diving package with Dive 90 costs €200. Full equipment hire costs around €50 daily, while cylinder / weight hiring costs €10.

2 day 4 dive packages cost about €300 if staying on the island. The price is kept low because the dive boat stays overnight on the island, thus avoiding the trip back.

The best dive packages are obtained through UK diving clubs who also opt to use camping facilities and cost sharing to keep the cost of the trip as low as possible.

No liveaboard service is available in the area.

If staying on Lundy Island (highly recommended), accommodation is provided in one of 23 very individual selfcatering properties available for short breaks and weekly holiday lets. Campsite prices are at €2 per person per night (/ ppn) with toilet and shower facilities.

You might also sleep at the Old School at €35/ppn or at the Castle Keep South at €20/ppn. There is also a pub, a church, a working farm and three lighthouses on the island. Marisco Tavern / Pub provides a restaurant and social centre for Island staff and staying guests as well as catering for the large numbers of day-trippers arriving on the Oldenburg or visiting ships such as the paddle steamer Waverley. Food prices at the tavern vary around €15 for main course; expect to spend around €30 daily for food.

Non-diving activities include bird watching and flora / fauna photography. Walking is the best way to discover the island between or after dives. The northern side offers breath-taking views of the Atlantic meeting the granite walls of the island, the southern side takes you to the 13th century Marisco Castle, while climbers might be observed on the granite walls of Devil’s Slide on the western coast. Other prehistoric remains are scattered on the island. Snorkeling around the island is not to be missed since encounters with seals is guaranteed. If visiting during the August Bank holiday weekend you might participate in the Lundy ‘Lympics’, including three-legged racing and egg-spoon races.

Package cost: A 3day dive package, 7 day stay on Lundy and mainland, with flight, and 2 daily dives costs around €1200 depending on the choice of accommodation. About €200 is expected to be spent on food and leisure such as the fishing trip and climbing.

Dives: The following are the most dived sites around Lundy Island. With over 200 recorded wrecks, Lundy should be Europe’s wreck diving destination. Unfortunately, only about 15 wrecks are intact to any degree, the others having been ravaged by the sea and time and only a few remnants remain on the seabed. The SS Carmine Filomena, an Italian passenger / cargo steamer sunk at Mouse Island in 1937 lays at 15meters, while the wreck of the singlescrew coaster Robert lies on its starboard side at 25meters. The last wreck to be found is that of the protected wreck Iona2 at 20meters (special permit has to be issued to dive the wreck). The SS Thistlemor, sister ship of Egypt’s famous Thistlegorme, lies in 25meters. The most dived wreck on the island is that of the Duncan Class Battleship HMS Montagu, sunk at Shutter Island, now resting at a depth of 12 meters.

The most scenic dives include, Knowl Pinns, with 2pinnacles in open water down to 24meters, 200mt East of Three quarter Wall Bay and the drop-off to 40 meters at Gannets Rock. All around the island, encounters with seals is guaranteed especially on the more protected East side of the island. Basking sharks, sunfish, bottlenose and common dolphins are also frequent visitors to Lundy Island. Nearly all the island and inshore wrecks can be explored by snorkeling due to the relatively shallow depths. Safe dive planning should

take into consideration the unpredictable weather and tidal movements; thus diving with the locals is imperative for divers who normally do not include tide-times in their usual plans.

Difficulty level: Medium - High.

Depth: 6 to 30+ meters.

Visibility: 5 to 20 meters.

Wrecks: Average.

Caves: Low. Walls: Average.

Snorkeling: Average.

Marine life diversity: Average for fish and low for corals.

Big fish: Average .

Water temperature: 10 – 19 °C. Best time of the year: May - September.

Kelp - Photo: Mike Deaton Courtesy of Lundy.org.uk

Species Page Research by Edward Vella

Brown Meagre

Photo: Tano Rolé

During casual discussions among local divers, there seems to be the impression that sightings of Brown Meagre or as it is locally known Gurbell, are becoming more infrequent.

No particular reason for this is given, but fishing, probably spear fishing, could be a major contributing factor. The discussion drifts that way, because this is a territorial fish and therefore does not migrate – in other words, if a

(Gurbell) - Sciaena umbra

spear fisherman discovers a colony, chances are there will be follow-up sessions in that location until probably the Brown Meagres are to all effects, wiped out.

As a further incentive for fishing, it has excellent tasting flesh. In Turkey for example, it was so overfished that the authorities had to intervene and its fishing was banned – now recently it has been opened up for non-commercial sport fishing only in the hope that stocks will recover.

Brown Meagre are bottom dwellers, not normally found at great depths, where they feed on smaller fish and small invertebrates. Large examples can grow to half a metre and weigh anything up to 7 kg. This is an elegant looking fish, with its pointed snout and silvery scales. One gets the impression that the silver coloration has a yellowish tinge.

This is due to narrow yellow bands running along its body.

The dorsal and caudal (tail) fins are also yellow.

A curious feature, which I learned during the compilation of this article, is that Brown Meagre, particularly males, can actually produce a drumming sound. This is done by beating abdominal muscles against their swim bladder.

Photo: Mario Micallef

These sounds are used as mating calls, or possibly for locating each other when visibility is low.

This obviously implies that the fish must have a good sense of hearing.

Apparently this ability to produce sound also has its down side, as this broadcast makes it easy for Bottlenose Dolphins to locate them!

Photo: Edward Vella

May-June :­ Parrot Fish - Marzpan Photo: Veronica Busutill

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS

Children and Scuba Diving by Dorian Law

Dear Atlam divers,

‘Should children be allowed to dive?’. In this case, dive means, diving as a sport or hobby following a diving course. This is a double-edged sword (argument). On one side, enthusiasm, joy of learning and participating in a new sport at a young age, maybe with other members of the family who already are divers, on the other side, dive safety and its physical demands.

In my search for a balanced and un-biased answer I came across a two part article, portraying the opposite sides of this subject. The article in favour is written by Tracy Myer (TM), a PADI IDC Staff Instructor in Edmonton, Canada, while that against is written by David Harmon (DH), an openwater instructor and research scientist from New York City.

I will quote parts of these articles and add further research to show both sides of the coin, leaving the reader to decide for himself on which side of the sword to stay. At the end of the article I will include my choice, hoping not to influence that of the reader or any club member. The full article can be read at the following link; http://www.scubadiving.com/training/ ask-expert/ask-expert-should-kids-under12-dive.

‘If a child under the age of 12 is physically, mentally and emotionally able to handle the skills and understand the knowledge needed to scuba dive and wants to learn, he or she should be able to get certified’ TM. ‘Children under 12 should not be allowed to dive. For every mature 10-year-old out there, I can find you an immature

12-year-old, and therein lies the crux: The line must be drawn somewhere, even if it feels arbitrary, and the age of 12 is a good minimum, for psychological and physiological reasons’ DH.

In the introductory section of the articles, both writers try to set a limit of the minimum age. They use subjects ranging from physique to maturity, to back such choice of age. A child’s physical condition can be easily assessed, especially if backed by a medical certificate from a competent doctor specialized in diving. Although the first diving course is targeted for children and specialized equipment for children is available on the market, one must not forget that diving is a strenuous sport that might put undue pressure on the still developing skeletal bones and joints of children under the age of 18. Maturity, mental and emotional stability are harder to assess when you consider that not all diving instructors are child psychologists!

Sending a child to a ‘shrink’, just to get his opinion on the child’s ability to dive might seem too much for the child to bear at such a young age.

Then who should decide for the child?

Should the decision be left to the parents or should the instructor decide? At the end, the instructor is legally responsible for the students in the water. So, ‘What is the age limit set by training agencies?’.

C.M.A.S. (Confederation Mondiale Des Activities Subaquatiques) sets a diving age limit of 14 years for anyone interested in starting a CMAS 1 Star scuba diving course and at least 15 years old to do the CMAS 2 Star. The course content does not differ

from an adult course. Aged 12, a child can participate in a BSAC (British Sub Aqua Club) Ocean Diver course and at 14 years in a BSAC Sport Diver course.

A child, 8 years or older can participate in a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Bubblemaker or Seal Team program. This pool based program covers basic scuba diving skills such as breathing underwater, mask clearing and regulator recovery. A 10 year old child can start a PADI Junior or Open Water Diver course, with theory classes, confined (mainly pool) and open water dives. CMAS, BSAC and PADI require that the participants in these courses have adequate swimming skills and be in good physical health. No prior experience with scuba diving is required.

In her article, TM quotes from PADI: Children and Scuba Diving: A Resource

Guide for Instructors and Parents. ‘PADI suggests that if the following questions can be answered in the affirmative, a child might be ready to enroll in a scuba-divingcertification course: • Does the child want to learn to dive? (This should not be merely the desire of his parents and friends.)

• Is the child comfortable in the water, and can he swim?

• Does the child have a sufficient attention span to listen to and learn from class discussions, pool and open-water briefings and other interactions with an instructor?

• Can the child learn, remember, and apply multiple safety rules and principles?

• Can the child feel comfortable telling an unfamiliar adult (instructor or dive master) about any discomfort or if not understanding something?’.

The main difference between these organizations is the build-up from an early age. Some might argue that behind the fancy names given to the various courses for children is the commercial aspect of the sport. Rightly so in most cases, but, building up in experience during time spent underwater is a huge asset gained, even for the prices paid.

In Malta the most recent Diving Regulations came into force in 2012. There are no restrictions on age. The decision on minimum age is at the discretion of the instructor and as stipulated by the training agency for those undertaking a diving qualification. Written parental / guardian consent is required for all divers under age 18.

Setting an age limit of 12 or younger is a bit premature in both articles, when only considering what can be seen or evaluated and not considering what the side effects of diving on the child would bring. A better evaluation of the risks involved can be obtained from the article, ‘PADI: The Undersea Journal: First Quarter 2001.

DAN’s (Divers Alert Network) response’. It is available at http://www.deep-six.com/ page105.htm, and I quote parts of the answers from the questions posed; ‘Are children more susceptible to oxygen toxicity?

Clinical experience… shows no particular difference in susceptibility of children down to age 8 to either pulmonary or CNS oxygen toxicity.

Are growing bones more susceptible to injury from decompression sickness or silent bubbles?

In growing children up to the age of 18, bones continue to grow from a region

called the physis, which, in long bones (arms and legs), is near each end. The main causes of injury to this region are weight bearing sports activities… we support time and depth restrictions for children.

Limiting 10 and 11 year old children to a maximum depth of 12 metres avoids this issue almost entirely.

Is there any difference in the lung tissue or chest wall, which might make children more susceptible to pulmonary barotrauma?

Up to about age 8 the pulmonary alveoli are still multiplying, pulmonary elasticity is decreased, and chest wall compliance increased. This puts children 8 and younger at a theoretical increased risk of pulmonary barotrauma…

Do children have an increased propensity for ear barotrauma?

Up to age 8, the Eustachian tube, which is responsible for equalizing the middle ear, is more tortuous compared to adults…. found barotrauma and ear infections to be the most common medical sequel to diving’.

many questions remain, in particular the effect on key developmental processes at this tender age. Unfortunately, unless the U.S. Navy starts shoving kids in hyperbaric chambers, we may never know the answers to these questions.

The usual approach in all things scuba is to err on the conservative side, with consideration for an ‘acceptable’ amount of risk. With adults this risk has been quantified, but it remains a question mark with young children. Usually a few daring souls volunteer themselves as the experimental group, paving the way to turn that question into a hard number. We shudder at the involuntary methods used to obtain good data (military personnel, immigrant workers, etc.), yet does a child, who must have informed legal consent made by you, the parent, truly count as a volunteer?’ DH.

The family bonding and environmental argument.

DAN’s response was made according to the relevant medical data available at the time. Parents’ concerns are normally concentrated around these questions. It seems hard to expect that data regards children and diving be collected in the same manner as that collected in the past for adults. DH puts this into the right perspective in the central part of his article.

‘Diving is a great activity for the family to do together - it involves exercise, exploration and shared experiences.

Given the desire, everyone in the family can participate… Allowing children to dive will hopefully spark a greater respect for the marine environment and a sense of awe that will become the foundation for a lifelong commitment to protecting our oceans.’ writes TM.

‘We are still attempting to understand the effects of diving on human physiology.

Few studies have been performed on children, although those that have, show negligible difference in bubble formation (a leading indicator of decompression sickness) compared with adults. However,

DH replies, ‘Diving with your children can be a wonderful bonding experience…

But we shouldn’t be hasty. No matter how cool diving is, kids have a tendency to avoid those things forced on them by their parents. Besides, the restrictions set by most agencies on what they (and you)

can do, may make diving with children less exciting than you envisioned.’

I think everyone agrees that family diving enhances the family bonding experiences, as does swimming, picnics, a walk in the park and many other family based recreational activities. The difference is the time spent versus the risk factor. Children can be taught, or better still, they should be educated with regards to caring for and loving the marine environment. This should be done irrespective of them being divers or not.

A child’s water skills prior to diving.

These are the minimum water skills requirements that I think any child should have prior to starting diving, irrespective of age. These basic skills should be done without the use of mask and fins, unless otherwise stated. The performance of these skills will also serve as a judgment of the child’s physical condition and his relaxed state of mind in and under water.

When observing the child, it is advisable to wear a mask to evaluate and correct any defect in the proper technique execution.

Floating. The ability to float shows that a child is relaxed in the water and ready for more complex skills. Nervous or anxious children will always move when in the water because subconsciously they are not comfortable. Relaxed muscles also use less oxygen. Children under 12 should be confident in a vertical floating position and should not panic with the float-sink movement while breathing in and out. If a child seeks to hold to floatation devices while in deeper water, it might be an indication of a lack in floating skills. In slightly choppy water, children of this

age group should be able to float, using hand and feet when required. Floating on the back is a must for all kids to learn as this is the primary safety position when a swimmer is tired and cannot reach the safety of shore. It is also the first step towards learning the backstroke, a relaxed swimming stroke and the most preferred technique for surface rescue towing.

Floating for 30 minutes is a good indicator.

Swimming strokes. The level of skill sought is far from competitive swimming levels of the age group. On the other hand, a child who can only perform a paddling stroke (similar to a swimming dog) does not have the required swimming skills to start diving. The three basic strokes are the crawl (freestyle), breast and back. A 50 metre swim (2 pools length), for each style (not necessarily in succession), at a comfortable pace, can indicate the skill level or lack in any one style. The breast stroke seems to be the first technique that young swimmers learn. Great distances, even in choppy waters can be achieved with minimum energy expenditure when using the correct technique for a breast stroke. The crawl is better known as freestyle, due to the fact that any style can be used to propel forward. It is not a requirement to put the head underwater during any phase of the stroke or to keep it straight. Swimmers are sometimes seen turning their head left and right with every stroke or punching the water when the hand enters the water (recovery phase). Although these erratic movements decrease the efficiency of the stroke, they are just esthetics and can be easily identified with observation and adjusted in young swimmers. Even if not absolutely essential for diving, many children (and adults) are not capable of performing the

backstroke, but it can easily be learnt in steps. Having first mastered back floating, encourage the child to start kicking with the feet (back kicking), then progress with using the arms in conjunction with the feet or the arms alone. In choppy waters a 12 years old child should be able to swim against the waves using the breast and crawl strokes. Many children fail to develop any swimming skills, because when at the seaside, they mainly play on the sand or in shallower waters. Physical activity is good and should be encouraged, but if you wish your children to be good swimmers, you should apply the, ‘We go to the sea to swim, not play!’ attitude.

Bobbing. This involves floating with legs held together and straight while exhaling slowly until the head goes underwater. The eyes have to be kept open. When the child needs to breath again, only the arms shall be used. This exercise evaluates the child’s ability to keep eyes open underwater and the level of control or anxiety when needing to breath. Sudden kicking with the legs, especially once underwater, are clear indications that the child is not relaxed in this position. A further help to reach this level, involves the child standing straight up in chin deep water, with hands held out to the sides, then going down to a squat position before returning to the straight position, repeated several times.

This should be performed slowly, with eyes opened.

Snorkeling. This involves the use of a mask, snorkel and fins. The child should be able to demonstrate a calm attitude whilst swimming, both when breathing through the snorkel and also without a snorkel. These exercises are performed in choppy waters, with and without fins.

Another evaluation includes free diving, best achieved by an object retrieval exercise. Depth is not a concern in this evaluation process, since we are not trying to find another Jacques Mayol or Tanya Streeter. (Some children normally show a tendency to go deeper than others during this exercise. If this is the case, free diving might be a better choice of sport). This exercise is done with or without the use of mask and fins, in any combination. The child should not be evaluated on his ability to recover the object but on his ability to swim underwater, with and without mask and also the proper propulsion technique used.

Parents.

Every diver’s parents show concern regards the dangers of diving. Aged 44, I am still my parents’ child and still get the ‘Take care son!’ reply when I tell them my plans for the weekend’s dive or where I had been diving in the morning. I even get the same concern from my wife, a diver herself.

Being a father myself, I can understand the preoccupations of divers’ parents. It is with a parent’s responsibility that I have to decide for my son and daughter.

Aged 14, my son would have been ready to start diving when I apply the above mentioned water skills. Today, aged 18, he plays soccer but still loves the sea.

Aged 14, my daughter is a good open water swimmer. She is nearly ready to confidently perform all the above water skills. I tried to make it as fun as possible for them, without mentioning that they were being ‘evaluated’.

My daughter diving

My choice!

I do not agree that children under the age of 16 be allowed to dive. My choice is based mainly on the physical risks involved. In my opinion, young children up to 16 years, have more to gain from swimming classes and other sea sports, than from a scuba course at such a young age. As mentioned previously, I hope not to influence anyone with my writing.

My advice would be that, your final decision as a parent should be taken together with your child. I cannot but agree with David Harmon’s words; ‘Let the interest grow naturally, lest we risk turning them off from one of the most thrilling hobbies on earth.’

Enjoy safe diving, Dorian Law.

Qammieh Point

- Malta 12.04.15

The first boat dive of the season was scheduled at Qammieh Point which is situated at the western end of the Malta Ridge, not far away from Cirkewwa. The dive can only be done by boat along a reef which continues running out from the ridge in a western direction.

Our skipper anchored the boat, the ‘Lucky Lady’, very close to the coast almost on the reef drop off. We descended on the reef, at approximately 10m depth, and continued to descend along the vertical drop off to a depth of about 25 m noticing a small cavern on the wall.

My buddies later claimed to have seen a very large lobster which I missed while taking a hasty swim to inspect the cavern.

Article by Joe Formosa

We continued to descend along the seabed, which consists of smooth sand with jutting boulders sloping gently perpendicular to the reef wall, to about 44 m depth; then took a direction west out to the sea, starting a slow ascent towards the reef wall. We continued in the same direction along the wall till it was 25 minute dive time, and then started our return along the edge of the reef towards the boat.

We did not encounter any particular fish along this dive, except for a large dorid nudibranch (baqra) on the reef wall.

My computer registered a water temperature of 15°C, which has been stable since February. The number of divers was 11, plus 2 non divers, almost taking a motorcycle on board as well!

Photo: Joe Formosa

Photo: Reuben Borg

Photo: Joe Formosa

Photo: Joe Formosa

Photo: Reuben Borg

Ghar it-Trozz Down along Malta’s North West coast, sea conditions were as anticipated – well sheltered from the moderate South East wind, and as the dive boat Lucky Lady (the usual Atlantis 2 is having its annual refurbishment) came in the shadow of the Ras ir-Raheb headland, the calm deep blue brought pleasant boat dive memories from last year to the surface. Very soon skipper Joseph turned off the engine, and the divers were discharged right in front of the entrance to Ghar it-Trozz. (Trozz Cave) This dive site allows for many dive profile permutations. One could for example descend to the planned depth (and heading along the wall in a Northerly direction, the max depth is entirely up to the diver), another option is for photographers for example, to stretch the dive time by limiting their depth in the hope of encountering interesting sea life.

Close to the surface the sea was filled with comb jellies – the common name for Ctenophores – the majority of which were a species of Leucothea.

- Malta 26.04.15 Article by Edward Vella

The torch becomes mandatory towards the inner reaches of the cave.

Max. depth on the wavy sandy floor is a touch over 18 metres – and speaking of sand – one sure fire way of bringing any photo session in the cave to a stop, is of course to fin carelessly! Divers planning cave photography have to discipline themselves in sticking to strict finning methods that will not stir up the dreaded sand.

Outside of the cave and heading South towards Il-Blata tal-Melh, there is an interesting wall full of cavities and over-hangs, which would seem to be ideal habitats for juicy photo subjects like nudibranchs or perhaps slipper lobsters – one keeps hoping.

On the other side of the cave, therefore heading North towards Ras irRaheb the wall is smoother, but this time it was on this side that a large cuttlefish was encountered. This must have been a touch over 30cm.

Unfortunately, it was severely wounded – several of its tentacles were missing, and there were two large wounds on its back – it must have got away from a sea predator, or a terrestrial one. There was a small lobster just outside of the cave entrance, and a moray eel close to where the cuttlefish was seen. Other divers saw a ‘cow nudibranch’ Discodoris atromaculata , a slipper lobster, and more cuttlefish.

Let us pray for more fine weather.

It looked like there were no surface currents in the area close to the caves entrance, and the comb jellies were being dumped there. Small fish like bogue and what could have been sardines were having a feeding frenzy, tearing the jellies to shreds.

This is a nice cave to explore, and provides for many interesting occasions for photography – the entrance is wide to allow enough light to navigate to a certain degree without a torch, but of course no lighting means that the diver will miss seeing any of the cave’s multi-coloured sponges and other life forms which inhabit the cave’s dark environment.

Photo: Joe Formosa

Photo: Joe Formosa

Photo: Edward Vella

Photo: Joe Formosa

Photo: Edward Vella