Bubbles May - June 2016

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

MAY/JUNE 2016 2016 Atlam Committee Members :Joseph Azzopardi President guzeppi56@gmail.com Anton Debattista Secretary andeb@go.net.mt Klaus Farrugia Treasurer klafster@gmail.com Alex Arena P.R.O. Victor Fabri Diving Officer vfabri@gmail.com Alvin Pace Activity Officer tamsinjane@yahoo.com George Mugliett Activity Officer

IN THIS ISSUE

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Editor’s Note | Ralph Farrugia - Appreciation 2 Species Page - Common Squid - Edward Vella A Trip to the Red Sea - Part 3 - David Agius

3 4/7

Dive Logs - Edward Vella Ghar it-Trozz | Malta 01-05-16 8 Ix-Xatt l-Ahmar | Gozo 22-05-16 9

Crocodile Rock | Gozo 05-06-16 10

Ir-Reqqa Point | Gozo 12-06-16 11

Il-Qaws | Malta 26-06-16 12

Dives Location Map - Joe Formosa 13

SS CARNATIC

Photo by: David Agius Read about this wreck and others in Part 3 of David Aguis’ experience in the Red Sea. (P 4-7).

www.atlam.org

The Editorial This is the first of the two issues of BUBBLES covering the peak of the diving season. As might be anticipated, the boat dive activities and attendances have picked up (with the continuous possibility of improvement), and with the clement weather, the declared diving destinations are in the great majority being adhered to – there was only one change during May / June when a persistent NW swell diverted a Crocodile Rock dive to Ta’ Cenc – but such are the facts of life at sea. Participation in the club boat dives is a great way to show support to the efforts of the Atlam committee!

Unfortunately, during June, we were hit by the very bitter news of the untimely demise of our dear friend and fellow diver Ralph Farrugia in a terrible road accident. Our heartfelt condolences go to his family and to his partner (and fellow diver) Lara Gerada. Lord grant him eternal rest.

Of course summer brings about a feel-good factor, during winter, the diver is subconsciously dreaming of these days when a mere 3mm barrier of neoprene should be enough to keep the cold at bay, and feeling the water flowing through your hair (does not apply to skinheads and to the balding). The summer day may be hot, and relief may be felt after stepping in, but as it often happens, a shimmering horizontal barrier is encountered during these summer months – yes it is the sign of a thermocline – the boundary layer between the lighter and warmer surface water and a denser and colder water, which settles to a lower level. The difference in temperature may be quite marked. Recently at Wied izZurrieq the surface temperature was about 23 deg C, but about 10 metres below came the shimmering fuzzy border, and the temperature fell to 16 deg C – and stayed like that for the duration of the dive – obviously lightly clad divers were uncomfortable.

There is another consideration for all of this. An esteemed physician well versed in diving medicine, recently told me about the importance of keeping the head warm. Apparently what happens is that the system (more specifically the head) reacts to the cold by producing more mucus within the sinuses and these fine passages within the head will tend to become blocked, with the effect that it becomes more difficult to equalise as the dive wears on. The bottom line is to wear the hood even during the summer months. I have experienced difficulty in equalising particularly during the second half of the dive, and this summer I am giving the hood a chance – do not need to feel the water in my hair anyway…

Other social and diving related events were the standing annual event of the Majjalata held to coincide with the final day of the Eurovision Song Contest – this year on May the 14th. As in the previous year, the event was held at the Lilly of the Valley Secondary School in Mosta. This turned out to be a very well attended event. Patrons were treated to a dish of succulent pork, washed down with copious amounts of wine or beer, and on top entertained by no other than la Losco!

Another interesting activity being held during club nights, are a series of lectures or rather workshops since the audience also participates by Ivo Caruana about “Enhancing/ retouching of underwater digital photos workshop”. The first lecture about treating the dreaded back-scatter was held on the 23rd June. The post-development of shots is an integral part of digital photography, and these workshops go a long way into revealing the do’s and don’t do’s.

Edward Vella evella@onvol.net

Appreciation –

Ralph Farrugia

I never expected to find myself writing this appreciation – but for sure, it is not just myself. No one could have foreseen the untimely departure of our dear friend Ralph.

Of course compared to his immediate family and loved ones, we his friends and diving buddies, should be the least to feel the loss, but even here, our hearts are leaden.

A gentleman is recognised immediately from his demeanour, and the way he expresses himself. No one could miss noting these qualities in Ralph. A genuine environmentalist and nature lover – I still remember how his face used to light up when he described his visit to the volcano Stromboli, or to the island of Marettimo. He was one for living close to nature, and to have your hand on Earth’s pulse, you have to be humble and gentle.

Farewell dear friend.

JOIN ATLAM SUBAQUA CLUB and share the fun & experience Activities for Divers: • Shore Dives • Boat Dives • Night Dive • Diving Excursions Abroad • U/W Photo Competitions • Lectures on various subjects • Nitrox Courses.

• Free e-magazine

Activities for the whole family • Weekly Club Nights & Bar • Barbecues • Majjalata • Pasta Nights • Boat Parties • Gozo Diving Breaks • Camping on Comino and other places.

For more info contact the President Guzi Azzopardi on 79493275

Species Page Research by Edward Vella

The common squid comes from the same phylum under which one can find cuttlefish and octopus, to mention the more commonly encountered members of this enormous category. These are molluscs, within whose numbers is included the humble land snail.

This is a very aggressive animal and feeds mostly on fish, but also crustaceans and even other cephalopods, (some sources also mention cannibalism) which it initially catches with two long tentacles, by which it draws its prey within reach of its other eight short tentacles which are close to the mouth – so ten tentacles in all.

Common Squid (Klamar) - Loligo vulgaris This is a fast hunter – catching its prey while it still on the move.

On each side of the body are two characteristic long fins which are used for moving and changing of direction.

The main means of propulsion however is by another method. Squids are the fighter jets of the sea. Pressing water from an internal cavity, squids move backwards like a rocket, and prefer to use this method to move about. The jet’s direction (and thus the direction of the movement) can be changed by altering the siphon’s angle.

I am sure that it comes as no surprise that squids release black ink when threatened (the Maltese name is Klamar from the Italian calamaro which means ink pot!).

The body is torpedo like - long and cylinder shaped with a relatively small head and big eyes that are covered with a transparent membrane. I learned while researching this article, that in relation to the size of their body, squids have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom!

As previously stated squids are pretty voracious, but on the other hand they have, unfortunately for them, a considerable commercial value for the most dangerous species on Earth. Squid are caught by trawlers throughout the year and when in season also by recreational fishermen - locally between September and March. Apart from man, squids are favourite prey to many fish species, such as whales for example.

Photo by Edward Vella

Also in line with its cousins the octopus and the cuttlefish, squids can change their colour at will.

Squid eggs attached to hull of the Tug 2 at Exiles, Sliema

Next Species

Triton Shell

Photo by George Muliett

BRONJA - Charonia lampas P L E A S E S E N D P H OTO S

PA A Trip to the Red Sea • Wrecked at Abu Nuhas RT 3 In the calm waters surrounding Abu Nuhas Reef our Liveaboard Boat was awaken by a very high pitched call “ “Wake UP Wake UP Good Morning Good Morning” from our Dive Guide Sergio who had a particular way of calling this out which could really wake you up, even though our comfortable beds made their best to reatain us.

On this liveaboard, this routine start of the day happened at 6am everyday, so that by 6.30 we are all in the living area for a quick coffee and water and with enough life in us to understand the briefing for the first dive scheduled to start at 7am.

As the Maltese saying goes, who sleeps doesn’t catch fish and in our case, early wake-ups were intended to give us the maximum number of dives to fit in during the day, up to 4. Being the morning of day two today, it was time for some serious wrecking with three wreck dives lined up .

Giannis D The first wreck dive was on this iconic wreck whose bridge area is just 5m shy of the surface right at the edge of the reef which it so fortunately (for divers) hit in 1983 and thus sank. The iconic scene of its stern lying on its side is seen over and over again

Article & photos by David Agius

in Egypt diving publicity material, and rightly so. For photographers, it’s shallow maximum depth of 24 metres gives them the ability to take pictures of the wreck in wide angle and using natural light to its maximum, helped also by the crystal clear waters and visibility well beyond 30m.

The wreck itself, even though just slightly more than 30 years after its sinking, is already well populated with corals and fish life is plentiful on and around the wreck.

Nudibranch and Flatworm lovers are also in for a treat and another spotting during this dive was of the elusive octopus which is not that popular or visible in these areas of Egypt.

The middle part of the ship has been well battered by the storms but both its bow and stern are pretty well preserved. These offer good penetration possibilities and again, thanks to the shallow depths and a Nitrox blend of 32% one can really do some good wreck exploration inside its engine room and other quarters. However, as previously sated, one can also simply stay at 15m and still have great dive and apart from the wreck, explore the reef drop off nearby.

This ship was a bulk carrier and its cargo at time of sinking was wood which is nowadays gone.

Lifewise, the wreck is a playground and hunting ground for many fish and other forms of life such as sting rays, flatworms and nudibranchs. We were also lucky to spot an octopus, which during our trip were either very shy or rarely seen.

The SS Carnatic The second dive for the day (just before lunch) was on another iconic shipwreck, the ‘SS Carnatic’. This wood and steel steamship originally built in 1862, so at the dawn of steam powered vessels, found its fate on the Abu Nuhas reef in 1869 and thus has laid there for almost 150 years. What is not still there is a huge cargo of gold which was salvaged within two weeks.

Reports from the time said that all gold was salvaged, but wine bottles did not make the ticket for salvage and you can still see fragments of the loads of wine bottles that were onboard.

If you can’t find gold coins or fine wine however don’t despair. Any underwater photographer will find a boxful of gems worth in this divesite, with plenty of awesome wreck pictures to take in the wreck’s holds and all around it. The construction of the wreck with Iron beams and wooden decks means you can penetrate inside the ship (which lies split in half and on its starboard side) with relative ease and plenty of lights as decks have rotted away.

After 150 years down here at a maximum of 30m, nature completely claimed the wreck as its own and the amount of soft and hard corals which have covered this wreck makes it a beauty to dive and photograph. No trip to the Red Sea would be complete without a visit to this wreck. Simply an amazing dive and pity air requirements and RHIB were calling out loudly after over an hour on and around it.

The Dunraven and Beacon Rock It was time to set sail again and after our Carnatic dive, our Liveaboard boat let loose from its moorings towards another ancient wreck to visit for our third dive of the day. The Dunraven lies close to an area called Beacon Rock and after the short “steam” towards this old steamship, which sank in 1876, we soon had another nice dive to look forward to.

This wreck, contrary to Carnatic, had a metal hull which is still in good nick even after 140 years and lying upside down at the edge of a coral reef. Since being upside down mean most of the dive is inside the actual hull, its not a dive for new starters and one should take care of silting.

However, inside it is a beauty for wreck explorers and for finding out the small nudibranches and other forms of life that prefer the darker (but not completely dark) interior. Inside, the must see are the ships two boilers (lying amidships in the centre) and the glassfish, prawns and pipefish that inhabit it.

Once done from the wreck, which is a bit faster than one would like as the dive inside the wreck means you have to keep within the 20+ meter range, there is a coral reef just outside. The reef is an amazing jungle of hard and soft corals and fairly large Napoleonfish and eels all around.

Dear Nemo is everpresent together with the slightly creepy (in my opinion) Bigeyes and the beautiful batfish.

Three nice wrecks all in a day, time for relaxation and getting ready for the next day, which involved a fairly known wreck formerly named as the “Thistlegorm”, or better, the apex of a wreck tour in the Red Sea with it WW2 war equipment including trucks and motorcyles... but more about it in the next issue of Bubbles.

G˙ar it-Trozz | Malta | 01.05.16 Article by Edward Vella This was to be the second consecutive week visit to a dive site at the Ras ir-Raheb headland – but nobody was complaining!

First of all, due to the persisting Easterly wind, it made sense to seek the shelter of the west facing cliffs, and secondly this is a very interesting site, diving along a terraced shore wall, in anticipation of arriving at Ghar it-Trozz - a large cave situated due south of the headland.

We had previously done this as a cave to cave dive, that is starting from the cave at the headland, and ending the dive at Ghar it-Trozz. The downside to this dive profile, is that there is a considerable distance between the caves, and while easily achievable – even if one stays shallow (15 – 20m) – by the time one comes to the second cave, the air pressure would have alas gone down to 50 bar. Hardly the pressure to start exploring a cave – we therefore went for a compromise, and entered the water about half-way between the two caves, and also would give us the option to cruise at depth.

The threshold is at about 20 metres, but huge boulders which over time have fallen from the roof. The entrance is exposed to the prevailing NW wind, even though I would say that it is facing a touch more to the West . The boulders are piled on top of each other, and rise up to some 12 metres. Once over the boulders, the steeply sloping sides lead down to a sandy floor.

The corridor shape of the cave suggests the passage of water in ancient times, when the sea level was much lower. As one goes further into the cave, the passage becomes rock bound – there is no possibility of surfacing. We would have liked to explore further, more so that apparently there is an air lock further in, but we actually took our time photographing the beautiful light at the entrance, and the colourful sponges and bryozoans which line the walls – and obviously the air was now getting low.

When we surfaced, we saw that the Atlantis II had drifted a considerable distance away, I was about to inflate my dayglo DSMB, but we were soon spotted and picked up to the unavoidable post-dive comments.

Once de-kitted and the diving gear secured, nothing beats an ice cold beer – Atlam legend has it that it actually aids the decompression process...

As previously mentioned, the shore wall which is the base of the towering cliffs that make up the Ras ir-Raheb headland and continues due South towards Il- Blata talMelh, does not drop down sharply, but is made up of several terrace like steps. The closer one gets to the cave however, the terraces slowly disappear and become a vertical wall. This being a morning boat dive, meant that we were in the cliff’s shadow, but then when we came to a darker than usual patch we realised that we were in front of the entrance to Ghar it-Trozz.

Photo: Joe Formosa

Photo: Joe Formosa

Photo: Edward Vella

Xatt l-A˙mar - MV Karwela | Gozo | 22.05.16 Since ix-Xatt l-Ahmar is on Gozo’s south facing coast, it qualifies as one of the options available for boat dives when the North Westerly blows – which is after all the Maltese Island’s prevailing wind direction. For some reason however, the Gozo wrecks (the Xlendi, the Karwela and the Cominoland), are rarely the subject of our boat dives. They are all lying on a slightly sloping sandy sea bed at a depth of app. 42 metres.

There was quite a good turn-out of divers on the day, a good number of which were those interested in photography.

The Karwela is arguably the most photogenic wreck of the three – it is also the most conveniently placed, being almost within sight of the reef. Most of the divers were on air, and did not have decompression cylinders, so the close proximity of the reef meant that one could maximise his dive time on the wreck, and then ascend onto the reef to decompress in safety.

The fully laden Atlantis II tied temporarily to the purposely provided yellow buoy which is made available during the late spring / summer months when damage from storms is much less likely. This buoy is in close proximity to the Karwela. Actually we surface swam a few meters seaward, and there a couple of meters beneath the surface we found the ‘unofficial’ buoy, which is actually tied to the wreck itself. Obviously being at 42m, it is a descent into the blue, but the darker shape of the ship shows up after a short while against the light coloured sand. On the day, visibility was quite good.

We descended and found ourselves amidships, and went towards the stern which is deepest and the farthest from the reef. We finned a few metres beyond to get some shots – and then made our way forward on the top deck towards the superstructure. The Karwela has two thin masts, one of which lies over its port side. Fired up by this dive, I saw a movie taken on the day of the sinking – the mast was actually broken as she was going down by the bow.

Once at the wheel house, a descent down the Karwela’s Grand Staircase is a must! The play of light here invites photography – unfortunately, there was quite a bit of suspension swirling about – perhaps the 20 odd divers

Article by Edward Vella

Photo: Joe Formosa

going down en masse had something to do with this.

We were really enjoying ourselves, but at this depth, decompression time has to be accounted for, so over the bow we went. Of course here we spent another few minutes getting a classic head on view of the wreck, during which there was a sudden appearance of a veritable swarm of divers – the scene reminded me of bats coming out of their cave at dusk!

We did our deep stops on the nearby reef wall, and then ascended to decompress further on the posedonia covered reef top. In the meantime, the Atlantis II had left the yellow buoy and dropped anchor on the reef, which made life easier.

I think that it is safe to say, that this proved to be a very nice dive, and definitely one to visit more often when the north westerly blows.

Crocodile Rock

| Gozo | 05.06.16

So once again Crocodile Rock – but in spite of the many visits, this dive site remains one of the favourites with many Atlam SAC (and not) divers. Although the Crocodile Rock is close to land, reaching it entails a longish walk along a rugged shore, exiting is also a challenge. Diving this site by boat smoothes out most of the wrinkles!

Article by Edward Vella

Sea life – on the way going while we were fighting the current, we did see large dentex and mottled groupers.

Difficult to photograph in ideal conditions, this time we were more preoccupied with the sea conditions, so we just took a memory snapshot – these impressive encounters you do not readily forget.

Adding to the attraction of this dive is the boat ride itself.

One gets to admire (twice in one day) the majestic Ta’ Cenc cliffs - I am sure that to a geologist they tell an interesting story about how the Gozo we know was formed. And so, about an hour or so after leaving the jetty at Marfa, the Atlantis II was dropping anchor in the usual well rehearsed spot – about 50 metres behind the Crocodile.

Another of this site’s attractions is that since many of the divers have dived this site many times, and are therefore familiar with its features, it turns out to be a spectacular but relaxed dive – so we planned the usual – pass through the dent in the reef below Crocodile Rock, descend onto the first platform at about 40m and then start ascending slowly in a NW direction along the reef, with the turning point being the so called ‘Roger’s Cave’. On the way back ascend to about 10m and then onto the reef top via the previously mentioned ‘dent’. This time however it turned out to be anything but relaxed…

Photo: Joe Formosa

Even while we were on the reef top, a slight water movement could be detected. When we then went over the drop off and descended to about 38m, the current actually became stronger. It is unusual to see algae fluttering in the current stream at this depth, and making progress against it was demanding a considerable effort – of course, in these conditions, it did not make sense to maintain that depth, since this would have caused high consumption of air, so we ascended to about 20m and proceeded towards the turnaround cave.

As it was, at the cave, we were not as relaxed as we would have wanted to be, but then reasoned that the current would now help us on our way back, however we soon realised, that at this depth the swim was going to be once more against the current, only this time it was tamer.

Photo: Veronica Busuttil

Photo: Edward Vella

Reqqa Point

| Gozo | 12.06.16

A quick look at my dive logs revealed that last year therewere at least two boat dives at Reqqa Point, and another two the year before. Dives to the site have therefore been logged many times in previous issues of Bubbles, and therefore anyone who has never dived Reqqa Point would perhaps be justified to get to the conclusion that it is a bit of a delicate matter on how to present this dive log without boring the reader…. It just takes a dive experience at this site to realise how many dive permutations exist here!

This is in fact, a ‘one man band’ site – a lot of different dives all playing together in one place – which I think is the reason behind the popularity of this place. It can be a wall dive, and different walls at that – there is a north facing wall, forever in shade, along which there were hundreds of orange anthias, or it can be a wall dive along the outer middle reef beneath a lone pinnacle. Out in the blue, one really may expect to see large amberjacks loitering about – waiting for their opportunity. A couple were seen dashing in on the reef towards the clouds of damsel fish.

Photo: Pierre Mallia

Article by Edward Vella

This dive can be a cave or even a double cave dive. Along the above north facing wall there is at about 36m, the socalled Shrimps Cave with its internal dome crawling with narval shrimps, and further west along the same wall is the huge Reqqa Cave with its long tunnel and airlock at the innermost end. Its walls as far as light can reach, are covered with multi-coloured sponges, and orange star corals – this cave is really another dive experience on its own.

Technical divers? This site was made for them – for example, remaining on the subject of caves - out on the outer reef wall is the entrance to the vertical bottle-neck

cave at about 58 metres, with its exit at about 30 metres, unless of course a reverse direction is planned! However if exploration of the cave is on the cards, then it makes more sense to exit at 30 metres than at 58. Teccies not keen on caves, have a deep reef to explore where large (really large) groupers are sighted frequently. (This boat dive was not an exception – a large one was seen on the sand beneath the reef.)

All of the above scenarios, were in fact dived during this boat dive by the different diver buddy groups – one thing that is certain is that nobody will say “Not again!” if we had to re-do this dive again next weekend!

Photo: Joe Formosa

Il-Qaws | Malta | 26.06.16

Article by Edward Vella

As the summer season rolls on, the boat dive favourites start making their appearance again.

Il-Qaws is one of them – and it was a well laden Atlantis II that headed southerly along Malta’s scenic North West coast. The sequence of Qammieh Point, the indentations of Golden, Ghajn Tuffieha and Gnejna bays, the majestic headland of Ras ir-Raheb, and then the gradual cliff buildup leading to the cliffs at Dingli make this enjoyable even if it was just a boat trip.

There was a light north westerly blowing, which was getting slowly stronger, this gave the boat a hint of a rolling movement. We were in fact unsure of how the conditions would be at the drop zone, there was also the question of visibility, since it has rained heavily the previous Friday, and a waterfall forms from water running at the bottom of the valley below Mtahleb. When we got there however, surface conditions were ok. The divers were dropped on the left hand side (looking seaward) of the inlet at promontory called Ras id-Dawwara.

Photo: Edward Vella

Photo: Veronica Busuttil

Photo: Veronica Busuttil

Photo: Edward Vella A colony of False Coral (Myriapora truncata)

Visibility was good - OK there were times here when it was crystal clear – this time there was a slight haze, but very acceptable. For the ‘photo’ divers, this site offers three large caves with plenty of opportunities, and then the nudibranchs. Unfortunately most divers (except one!) came up empty nudibranch handed, but this diver apparently found the correct depth, and nearly sizzled her strobe batteries on them!

At the mouth of the inlet, where we started our dive, if one had to descend onto the sand, it is estimated that the depth there would be around 45m. It gets shallower the more one progresses towards land. It seems however that there is an impressive drop off if one had to draw a line across the inlet’s mouth – this is not confirmed however.

Technical divers stated that when they looked over the edge, the sea bed was not visible, and they were already close to 60m.

Apart from the photographers’ nudibranch disappointment, the right hand wall is a spectacle in itself.

It starts off covered with green algae with multiple cavities and recesses – spiny lobsters are frequently found here.

Then comes ‘Dolphin Cave’ with the steeply sloping floor – we once found a dolphin’s skeleton here – gone now probably buried beneath the fine silt. Beyond this cave, the wall is in subdued light, probably because it would already be beneath an overhang which is the forepart of the large cave which lies at the innermost part of the inlet. The wall here becomes covered with layer upon layer of pink Lithophyllum algae. The amount of calcium in this algae makes it look like it is made of stone (hence the name). One can also see a great variety of sponges (and this is why we expected to find certain nudibranchs, because they feed on these sponges – and here they are abundant). Also there are spectacular colonies of orange false coral – if one looks closer, one can see fluff like tentacles extended.

And so the pressure gauge once again dictated the end of the dive. The water temperature was a comfortable 21deg C – so now looking forward to some more exciting summer boat dives.