Bubbles may june 2013

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

MAY / JUNE 2013 2013 Atlam Committee Members :Nader Bassily President nbassily@vol.net.mt Joseph Azzopardi Secretary guzeppi56@gmail.com Denise Baker Treasurer denise.baker63@ymail.com Nicholas Agius Diving Officer agius.nick@gmail.com Simon Ciantar PRO scagn@go.net.mt Anton Debatista Activity Officier andeb@go.net.mt Reuben Borg Activity Officier reuben.borg@vodafone.com.mt

IN THIS ISSUE page • Note from the Editor/ Meet Spongebob 2 • Surface Tether Diving: Applications-Dorian Law 3/5 • Species Page - Worms - Edward Vella 6 • Book of the month - Dorian Law 7 • Dived Where? Valletta Breakwater - Dorian Law 8 • Sea of Giants Indonesia Papua- Paolo Marino 9/11 • Website of the month - Dorian Law 12 • Dive Logs - Ras ir-Raheb - 28/04/13 - Edward Vella 13 - Crocodile Rock - 05/05/13 - Edward Vella 14 - Ras il-Hobz - Pictorial -14/04/13 - Various 15 - Ta Cenc - 02/06/13 - Edward Vella 16 - Reqqa Point- 09/06/13 - Tano Role 17/18 - Fessej Rock - 16/06/13 - Joe Formosa 19 - Dives Location Map - Joe Formosa 20

www.atlam.org

Astroides calycularis — Photo by Alan Mizzi

info@atlam.org

Editorial Note As the weeks drift on, and the wind dominated spring is now definitely behind us, as I write this, the long awaited summer weather seems to have finally arrived. The regulars are considering changing or modulating slowly into leaner neoprene, and the summer divers are blowing away cobwebs from their snorkels in anticipation….

Again, through the efforts of the committee, and the generosity of various instructors, a nice group of students is steadily marching through its training programme, and now zeroing in on their graduation to become fully fledged Two Star ** CMAS divers. We all have been along this road, and we know that it takes a good amount of will power to succeed – so students rest assured that you will find support along all the way!

Well there were fund raising events, but nobody is complaining, a barbecue was held near the Torri l-Ahmar at Mellieha, and a full blown Majjalata at Wardija on Eurovision Night. Both events were very well attended providing much needed revenue for the new clubhouse now in its finishing stage.

As is customary – the Bubbles team appeals to all of you members to contribute your photos and stories!Remember that this is the Atlam members (that is your) e-magazine’s, and not just the sub-committee’s. We would very much like to see the names of new contributors, and we are sure that you will feel good about seeing your work published and read by people who understand what you are writing about because they are divers just like you!

By the way, we now have proof that Bubbles is being read internationally!

Readers have been enlightened in the UK, USA, Germany, Australia, Belgium, Morocco, Costa Rica, Serbia and Israel.

Keep diving!

Edward Vella

Meet the Real Sponge Bob!!!

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 Nader Bassily on 99499101

Reuben Borg’s new freaky model

In the meantime, the committee has ensured that the boat dives took place every weekend, and even though sometimes sea conditions were not optimal (the trip to Ta’ Cenc on the 2nd June would have definitely spilt your coffee); it was noticed that attendance was markedly higher than in previous years for this time of the year – and it was not just because of the student divers.

I would like to think that perhaps Bubbles had a small hand in this?

Surface Tether Diving 2: Applications

by Dorian Law

Dear Atlam divers,

reliable means of exploring the depths of the sea providing a complete freedom In the last issue of the Bubbles, we had a brief look at the history of surface tether diving. We went from the pre-historic period where of movement and no more reliant on the men used hollow cane tubes to breath underwater, following the path of discovery and invention to the recent history, where in 1837 services provided from above. This was Augustus Siebe gave the diving community the hard-hat and suit concept that we know today. the ideal tool for the explorer who needed In this issue we will continue our path through the evolution of these designs until we reach today’s application of these inventions. to get close to the marine habitat that he wanted to explore.

Submerging chambers and spheres.

The first submerging chambers were tubeshaped and the cylindrical shaft was large enough to hold a man standing. Since no articulation was needed, construction was very easy and inexpensive. These highly reliable sealed chambers had one entry hatch or flange either at the top or the bottom with one or more small viewing windows or portholes. In this design the enclosed air was the only air available for the user and dive time was closely monitored since air was very limited. Further developments included the supply of compressed air from the support ship and the use of chemicals to remove exhaled air and moisture from the enclosed space. A steel cable was used to lower the chamber and communication was made via telephone lines. Due to their thick armor, submerging chambers have taken the underwater explorer from the 300meter operating depths of the armored suit down to 750meters at an impressive pressure of 76bar (1000psi).

It is now the 19th century and man has put his goals deeper than those of the previous century. Due to the increase in pressure with depth, the cylindrical shape was replaced by the sphere shape or bathysphere. The design concept remained the same, with the sphere attached to the support ship via a steel cable. In the 1930s

Dr. William Beebe used a bathysphere to reach a depth of 1000meters (1KM). This sphere had an entry flange, three very thick and small observation windows, electricity and telephone lines, a self-contained oxygen breathing system with soda lime to absorb exhaled carbon dioxide and calcium chloride to remove moisture from the enclosed atmosphere. In 1949, just five years after the end of the Second World War, Otis Barton reached a depth of about 1500meters (1.5KM) in his sphere design known as benthoscope.

Whilst the sea conditions at the bottom might be calm, those at the top might be very different and these will ultimately be transmitted from the tether ship to the underwater chamber via the steel cable.

Diving in mid water, close to the bottom or on a wreck whilst the tether ship is being pounded, rocked and rolled by waves is an unpleasant and dangerous experience. The steel cable support was finally removed from bathyspheres with the invention of the Japanese ‘Kuroshio’ turret design. These were provided with electricity via a power cable and had self-contained propulsion and buoyancy mechanisms. A degree of freedom was achieved but there was still an ‘umbilical cord’ that attached the chamber to the mother ship.

Submersibles.

Having experimented with moving about the sea bottom in various directions and not just dangling under the support ship, it was now time for man to ‘cut the cord’.

The submersible is a self-contained and

The American inventor and patriot of the revolutionary war and the war for independence, David Bushnell, is credited with the design of the first submarine called the ‘Turtle’. This egg shaped boat was powered by manually operated cranks that turned screw-type propellers providing forward and backward movement at a very slow pace.

Ballasting was crucial in the design concept because negative buoyancy was achieved with the use of valves that let water in through an enclosed tank and positive buoyancy was possible with the aid of hand operated pumps that used the enclosed air to replace the water in the tank. The concept of ballasting with air and water is widely used in naval submarines and commercial submersibles.

The 1960s was a submersible boom period with many designs going to construction to cater for the different tasks and challenged of deeper waters. The need to cover vast areas in a limited time produced submersibles capable of doing over three knots, although a speed of one knot is considered best for undersea exploration.

Propulsion is achieved mainly by watertight or oil enclosed electric motors coupled to propellers providing not just forward-aft movement but also vertical, horizontal and transversal movement. The first designs included the use of pig iron as a means of producing negative buoyancy so that the submersible could sink faster to the desired depth. Once reached, the iron was jettisoned and the submersible operated at neutral buoyancy, with trimming being made with the use of the heavy iron mercury.

Power is provided by batteries and in some designs these can also be jettisoned in case of emergency thus having a positive buoyant submersible that would float back to the surface. Entry and exit is via a hatch or turret and a two man crew is normally catered for in modern designs. Viewing the underwater world through a large glass window or a transparent acrylic plastic dome is nowadays possible in submersibles reaching depths inaccessible to man but still under lower pressures compared to those at the ocean depths. Pressure has a lot of influence on the capabilities of a submersible designer to provide visibility of the underwater world to the explorer.

Visibility is achieved with the use of thick wide angle portholes or television screens via an outside camera. Some of the main instrumentation and tools in modern submersibles include sonar telephones, echo sounders and sonar, gyrocompass, powerful outside lighting and robotic sample collectors and manipulators.

The Trieste: To reach the abyssal depths of the ocean such submersible should be constructed of very thick steel. This thickness would make the submersible so negatively buoyant in the water that air ballasting alone could not counteract and bring it back up. Due to the depths to be reached, the use of a steel cable like in the case of submerging chambers is not possible because the length to weight ratio would make it too heavy and dangerous to handle on the support ship. A Swiss professor, August Piccard, was better known for his record breaking balloon ascents than anything related to sea exploration. He successfully employed the balloon concept to submersibles, by using a ‘balloon’ to provide lift. This empty space was a rigid hull and his idea was to replace the light air in balloons with gasoline (petrol) which is lighter than water, thus providing lift. Propulsion by propellers turned his bathyscaphe into an undersea dirigible (a balloon with controlled movement). He set out to conquer the deep by constructing three bathyscaphes named FNRS 1, 2 and 3. In 1953 together with the French navy he reached a depth of 4kilometers. The Trieste was first built in Italy to withstand pressure at a depth of 7kilometers. It was then acquired by the U.S. navy and refitted in Germany. On the 23rd of January 1960 Piccard’s son Jacques and navy lieutenant Don Walsh reached the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean, at a depth of about 12kilometers, deeper than the Everest and still a world record. In the 20minute that they stopped on the bottom, they observed a shrimp and a flatfish, proving that life existed at these dark depths. The descent took nearly 5hours while the ascent slightly over 3hours.

Today’s so called underwater explorers and scientists have opted to stay out of the water and they rely mainly or solely on underwater remote operated vehicles.

These machines can reach incredible depths and are equipped with the latest technology making the underwater world at dark depths visible to the many, would be explorers. Views which were only to be seen by those diving in a bathyscaphe are nowadays shot through a video camera, seen on the surface ship and around the world in real time and later viewed as documentaries on television.

The Trieste. Original design at launch.

The Trieste today. Naval Undersea Museum. Washington. USA.

Hard-hat diving. Commercial and Navy.

The main advantage of hard-hat divers for the commercial industry and naval applications is that the equipment used gives the diver the possibility to dive deeper and stay submerged for longer periods than with any other conventional diving apparatus. We find hard-hat divers in the oil and gas industries, doing underwater work on offshore rigs and platforms. Other industries making use of this kind of diving includes salvage operations, underwater surveying and repairs and underwater civil engineering.

In the navies around the world, hard-hat divers are used in underwater search and recovery, underwater bomb disposal units, salvage operations and underwater repairs and inspections of ships.

The new evolution in hard-hat diving includes the use of light weight demand helmets like those produced by the company Kirby Morgan. At just 16kilograms, and getting even lighter, these helmets function on the same principle of a demand valve. Air is supplied from the surface via a manifold from air banks (big air storage cylinders). The air supplied is mixed manually or by the use of computer control before being supplied to the diver.

Due to the cost of helium, some outfits make use of a rebreather on the surface.

Exhaled air from the diver is taken up via a second hose called the return line where it is ‘scrubbed’ and returned to the system.

Other designs include the ability to adjust the air flow when not fitted with a demand valve, thus operating as an open circuit system. Communication is nowadays a two-way system via a microphone and speaker arrangement, while video and lighting are normally mounted on the top of the helmet.

Many divers in this industry have their own routine prior to entering the water whilst the navy diving personnel have a standard checklist that has to be followed strictly prior to letting a diver in the water. These comprehensive checklists are used to ensure that the equipment is connected in the appropriate sequence and all checks are done because these are critical to the safety of the diver. Although there is no precise

Morgan Kirby KM57 Helmet. sequence, diver preparations include putting on the suit, harness and weights followed by a bailout cylinder and finally the helmet. Breathing and communication checks are done prior to entering the water and then repeated prior to descending together with a helmet leak check. A dive team or outfit might be comprised of at least two persons depending on the industry and the money involved. These include, dive team leader or operations manager, an air mix technician working with an air panel operator, line tethers, putting the line in and out of the water and a standby diver. In low-cost setups, one person on top might be doing the job or role of six

persons in a naval diving outfit, doing away with any dive safety standard expected by the industry. For those interested in starting a career as commercial divers one must be prepared to cover the expenses needed for this 20+ weeks course which might be in excess of Euro20,000.

Man has always dreamed about the impossible, hence we know that nothing is impossible. The extract below is from a book I read and this clearly shows one man’s dream, way back in the 70s, alas still waiting to come through: ‘Mammal lungs can function while breathing a liquid rich in oxygen …. It would be necessary to surgically insert semi-permanent injection tubes in the windpipe …. fill the lungs with an oxygenated, carbon-dioxide-absorbing liquid …. connect auxiliary tanks and circulatory pumps to the injection tubes in the wind pipe and fill internal cavities with a saline solution. Then such person would be capable of diving for as long as six hours and as deep as 1000meters.

The diver would be permitted unlimited ascents and descents without any decompression, since no neutral gases would be breathed. An even more daring solution, though, than fluid breathing is a blood exchanger, a cartridge which would allow direct exchange with the blood.

Artificial kidneys and mechanical heartlungs …. would constitute an artificial gill made of incompressible solids and fluids …. It could establish a favorable exchange between blood and a special solution with the ability to oxygenate as well as absorb carbon dioxide. Corrective lenses would be added to improve water vision and air cavities could be filled with any harmless fluid. A person equipped with this system is very close to being Homo aquaticus’.

The Comanche ROV by sub-Atlantic.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau. The ocean world of Jacques Cousteau. Man re-enters the sea.

This concludes this series on surface tethered diving. Suggested further readings include a visit to the Public Library and the Reference section where books on this subject are found together with an internet search of the specified subject.

Man’s ability to always improve himself and his quest for discovery make sure that further developments in the diving industry never stop. The scuba equipment, the rebreather and what appears to be an equipment that lets man breath ‘like a fish’, show man’s evolution in this field. The underwater remote operated vehicles and the submarine are in technological terms, ages in front of the first diving bells and chambers.

So when you see the next documentary on television, you can appreciate the path taken by those inventors who made it possible for todays’ equipment to be invented and put to good use.

Enjoy safe diving, Dorian Law.

Species Page Research by: Edward Vella

WORMS

For want of a better word, the species subject for this month is Worms – I am sure that you will realise that the subject is very vast, and to fit within the tight boundaries of this article, the descriptions shall be limited to cover those three species which are readily encountered during our diving adventures: the Bearded Fireworm (Hemondice carunculata – Maltese: Busuf); Spirographis (Spirographis spallanzani Maltese: Hanex tal-Fjuri) and the unlikely Coral Worm (Filograna implexa).

All of these are Annelids, and as the name implies (annulus – Latin for ring) they are so called, because their elongated bodies are made up of a series of rings attached to each other. And while we are on the technical side, it might as well be stated that all of the marine annelids are classed as Polychaetes.

Now you must know that at each ring (or segment) of their bodies, there is usually a fleshy bulb on which in many cases there are bristles…

Now for the Maltese diver, a worm with bristles can mean only one creature – the Busuf (alias the Bearded Fireworm). This worm can be found all over the place, and is to be treated with the utmost respect – for if some unfortunate inexperienced diver ignorant of what might happen if the Busuf

Busuf, Hanex tal-Fjur u Filograna

is handled with bare hands goes ahead and decides to fondle what might look like a cuddly creature, he will surely have his underwater experience enriched. The bristles enter the skin and snap, producing an intense burning sensation, and then remain itching for days. Bearded Fireworms have a very useful role in the eco system since they are the ultimate scavengers, and are often seen congregated on a dead fish, feeding off to their heart’s content.

The second polycheate worm being treated in this article is the Spirographis – or perhaps easier known as the tube worm. The major difference from the previous Busuf, is that the Spirographis does not move – it establishes itself in one place and develops itself there. The worm constructs a tube out of sand combined with a secretion, and lives inside. It then extends palm frond like appendages for breathing, and also to capture current borne particles.

Spirographis spallanzani

Hemondice carunculata

The third polycheate is the Coral Worm (Filograna implexa). I remember that the first time I saw one of these was on a wreck dive in Sardegna - I took a picture of it, not knowing what I was recording. Since then I came across this several times during local dives. The first thing that attracts is the white colour – it looks like a small white bush – nothing like a true member of the animal kingdom, but a closer inspection will reveal that this is really a colony. The individual coral worm is very small - about 4mm, and like the spirographis, opens its tentacles to breathe and to catch its microscopic prey. Filograna Implexa lives deeper than the previous two – usually below 20m. In case you were wondering, Filograna gets its name from filigrana – Italian for lace work, because that is just what the colony look like!

Even from this extremely limited sample, it can be seen how interesting this subject can be – perhaps then – there are to be more worms in future Species articles.

Filograna implexa

I have observed tube worms with differently coloured fronds, with those living in caves having more neutral colours.

The spirographis is quite photogenic, and can result in some very fine shots - but it also has a frustrating habit of retracting itself into its tube a split second before you snap the camera shutter! Large examples can get close to 50 cm.

Background photo by: Joe Formosa

Photo by: Edward Vella

July- Aug ­- Spotted Weever - Tracna Photo by Joe Formosa Photo by: Joe Formosa

Photo by: Joseph Azzopardi Falzon

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS

Name of Book: Il-Baħar Rasu Iebsa.

Author: Lino Psaila.

Publisher: Klabb Kotba Maltin. Santa Venera.

Malta.

ISBN Number: 99932 – 39 – 71 – 2.

Book in short: The book’s name translated in English means ‘The sea has a hard head’. Following the two previous editions of 1978 and 1996 this third edition by the Maltese well known writer Lino Psaila is also written in Maltese for those who prefer reading in our native language. He narrates real life events of Maltese fishermen, unfortunately many times these were tragic events. These strong and courageous fishermen, mostly from the picturesque fishing harbor of Marsaxlokk or the nearby village of Zejtun had to fight against the unforgiving elements of the sea and the weather. Before the introduction of bigger boats like the ‘lanca tas-sajd’, they were armed only with small but strong wooden boats like the ‘kajjik’, ‘luzzu’ or ‘fregatina’. These were sometimes rigged with small sails that had to be taken down during wind or storms, leaving these fishermen to fight their way back home driving the boat only with the power of their arms rowing oars.

These events are depicted in detail, sometimes recounted by survivors or by someone from their family who had heard the story from his father or grandfather. The author uses the characteristic dialect of the area when narrating the dialogue (spoken) part of the event, and this makes the story being read more realistic. There are more than forty stories in this edition amongst of which the tragic death of Marsaxlokk’s bravest fisherman Tonin Attard known as Padrun (boat owner) Kadanja who taught many would be fishermen how to fish, the ‘firilla ta’ Wied

Book of the Month

Article by Dorian Law

il-Ghajn’, ‘ir-Rocky u l-Lanca Pompei’ and the fight against the fierce shark (mlt; silfjun) or the events during fishing trips to catch tuna and swordfish.

At the back pages the reader will find a list of fish names in Maltese, English, Italian and the scientific name, and a glossary including names of parts of Maltese boats and their meaning.

The following quote in Maltese from the introduction of the book, describes to the reader the hardship of the Maltese fishermen, who never lost hope in desperate times, and makes this the book of the month.

‘Dak iż-żmien kull ma kellhom jgħinhom biex jeħduha mal-baħar kienet l-esperjenza li ħadu mingħand ħaddieħor u s-saħħa ta’ dirgħajhom. Ma kellhomx, dawn, l-istrumenti li għandhom illum is-sajjieda tagħna u anqas il-magni li għandhom illum ….. l-antiki kellhom ħaġa oħra li kienu bil-wisq iserrħu fuqha; kellhom it-tama fil-Ħallieq tagħhom.’

In English: ‘ During those times they only had the experience they had gained from others and the power in their arms to go against the sea. They did not have the instruments and engines that our fishermen have today ….. fishermen of the past had another thing on which they strongly relied; they had the faith in their Creator.’

Availability: Item 007 255 373. Malta Public Library.

Floriana.

“Dived Where"!!!

Unfrequented dive sites of the Maltese islands, where you will ask your buddy ”Where’s everybody?”

Article by Dorian Law

Valletta Breakwater Malta

Type of dive: Shore or boat dive. Air or Nitrox. Day dive.

Location: The Valletta Breakwater (Maltese; Il-Breakwater ilKbir) is situated on the Eastern side of the Fort St. Elmo promontory on the Northeastern tip of the capital city, Valletta. With its 400meter length, it provides protection for the Grand Harbour against Northwest to Northeast winds. To get there, at the intersection of Great Siege road and Marsamxett road, pass under the Mandragg archway / tunnel on Boat street past the waterpolo pitch towards the area known as il-Fossa or the HMS Maori wreck dive site. Drive on this road around the fort walls till the end of the road just in front of the new Breakwater Bridge. Follow the signs to the site.

Access: Entry is made on either side of the bridge. A suitable exit plan has to be prepared beforehand as there are three options to be considered. Exit from the entry point is not very easy due to the height of the wall which gradually becomes lower a few meters away. Exit without equipment is preferable since no ladder is installed at the time of writing, then pulling up the equipment with a short rope becomes easier. If the weather permits, exit can be made along the Northern shoreline or from manmade steps further up along the coastline. The last exit point to consider is the same exit as that used when diving the HMS Maori some 500meters away from the entry point.

When Not to dive: When winds blow from Northwest (Majjistral) to East (Lvant).

Depth: 10 to 15meters around the breakwater and 20meters on the wreck.

The Dive

Entry is made just to the side of the remaining column of the old bridge. Depending on the exit plan made, the dive starts due East along the breakwater walls on the inner or outer side, then returning due West towards the exit point. Boat traffic under the bridge is a constant hazard, so avoid surfacing in this area. If diving by boat, it is ideal to start and end the dive just under the bridge on the harbor side, with the boat providing cover during the dive. On the inner side of the wall, in line with the outer tip of the two breakwaters, where the red and green port lights mark the harbor entry, there are two unnamed wrecks (or wreckage) that are a must to explore. Unfortunately they are in the harbor’s entry and exit shipping lane.

When planning to explore these wrecks, predive planning should include knowing ship movements and getting permits (if needed?).

It is also advisable to use a weighted guide rope from the entry point to the wrecks, thus ensuring a safe return should the bottom be or become murky due to ship traffic. For safety’s sake, an enquiry at the Valletta Port Control or Transport Malta is a must. Ideal dive times are at port closing times or during the annual boat races known as regattas, when a complete harbor closure is ensured.

Important Notice: The information contained might not be accurate or reflect the conditions found daily at the site. More accurate information should be obtained prior to planning to dive these sites.

Current & Visibility: Photo courtesy of: Joe Formosa

Trace current on the outer part. Visibility not more than 15meters.

Base photo by: Joe Formosa

Cendrawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua

Sea of Giants

Article by Paolo Marino

Cendrawasih Bay is the huge bay opening on the north side of the Indonesian side of the island of Papua.

It’s just a few years that this part of the world has been opening to tourism both on land and underwater.

Although a good number of liveaboard boats and resort have been operating on the westernmost tip of the island (what is now as the Raja Ampat archipelago), Cendrawasih Bay is still a very much an unexplored entity.

About five years ago there were the first reports of the extraordinary opportunity of close diving encounters with the biggest fish of all: the whale sharks.

Despite the fact that it is now possible to reach that area with relative ease, whale shark diving is performed routinely by only one very basic resort. A couple of diving boats organise trips to the area, but these are not normally scheduled (i.e based on demands) and are not more than 2/3 per year/boat.

The advantage of the liveaboard is that you will be anchored just off the shark area and you can dive non stop at least for 2 days until there is a general agreement to leave. I was on the m/v Aurora (http://auroraliveaboard. com/#!page=enra) that has 9 double cabins and good comfort/food. The boat operates off the port of Manokwari and in the six day diving you will spend at least two days (but up to five if the passengers are really whale sharks crazy!) with the whale sharks and the rest diving the local reef and a Japanese shipwreck just off the harbour.

On the other hand if you like a bit more adventure and a bit of nice reef diving, the Ahe dive resort (http:// ahepapua.wordpress.com/about/) on the tiny Pulau Ahe is the place. It’s very basic with six double bungalows, no airconditioning and electricity only few hours a day. Still the small island (you can make the tour in 45 minutes) is a natural jewel with a tropical forest, a nice beach and a pristine home reef . There is even a wreck of a Japanese bomber off the beach, but only one wing and few pieces of the fuselage are still in place, while the two engines are on show on the beach.

The island is also home to a couple of hundred of frigate birds that put up a flying display above the trees every evening at sunset.

There are several lively reefs around the island that are worth diving, with colourful corals and a fair number of macro subjects: pygmy seahorses, shrimps, nudibranchs etc. Big fish are scarce although some barracudas and grey reef sharks appear sometimes out of the blue.

Of course the highlight of the stay is the trip to the whale shark area. It takes around three hours to reach the spot as the available dive boat is not quite to western standards. They plan for a new fast one soon, but time runs slow in Papua….

One trip is included in the standard 5-day package; extra trips can be made a price. Due to the boat size maximum of 6 divers are allowed per trip; what is anyway a bonus for photographers.

To better understand the kind of whale shark interaction you experience in Cendrawasih bay, it is useful to explain how the encounter started years ago.

Fishermen from various Indonesian islands are sent by fishing companies to catch bait fish using big outrigger boats permanently anchored in different parts of the bay.

At night they lower horizontal nets under the boats and attract fish using powerful lamps. The fish gather at the surface on top of the nets; so by simply raising thennets slowly starting from the outside hedge, the fish are trapped in huge quantities. Whale sharks also feed on bait fish (not only plankton!) so they are attracted under the boats by the concentration of small fish.

Some stories say that fishermen started to actually feed the whale sharks as thanksgiving for supposedly bringing the fish to the nets. This might only be a legend, but it makes a nice story and it is part of an award winning movie presented at the Antibes Underwater Movie Show some years back.

Practically the sharks arrive spontaneously during the night and are kept under the boat during the day by leaving some of the fish in the nets and throwing some in the sea. Encounters are almost guaranteed: just try to avoid the full moon as fish are less abundant and shark presence scarce.

Normally some whale sharks are always around one or the other of the several fishing boats: just it might take a little while to find the right one.

Anything from 1 to 10 sharks have been spotted at any one time; personally I came to dive with up to five.

The beauty of the encounter is that the sharks are so much focussed in feeding that they let you get extremely close and even to touch them without problems; actually they can bump you if you are in their way. This gives the photographer an unique opportunity for really close-up shots or fish eye pictures with several sharks together!

www. Website of the Month.com

Name of website: Kirby Morgan Dive Systems Inc. Access to website: www.kmdsi.com Other access: N/A. Purpose of site: To promote hard hat diving equipment produced by Kirby Morgan.

Features: The header features the company’s logo on the left. A five option menu bar, also to be found expanded in the footer of the web page, stands horizontally from the center to the right area with further ‘mouse over’ drop down options having features as follows: Home: Returns to home page.

Company: Information and history of the company, trademarks, terms of use and private statement.

Products: The most important section of this website featuring the four main elements namely Helmets (hard hats), Band Masks (basically hard hats without the hard

part), Full Face Masks (a lighter version of the band mask) and Air Control Systems featuring the latest model the KMACS5 which is a lightweight portable control box for use in surface supplied air diving operations. Spare kits and regulators also have their own options and information section.

Support: Apart from a list of dealers, faq’s, a product registration form and the company’s warranty, the company offers the user bulletins, checklists information and manuals with exploded views.

Dealers: As the company does not sell direct, a worldwide list of dealers is available by continent.

Below the header, a slideshow continuously shows the current items produced by the company like the KMHeH-2 Commercial Helium Helmet or the next generation helmet the M48 Mod1. Just below this slideshow a pair of three-boxed options, serve as short cut for the user to get the information desired. These include spare kits,

Article by Dorian Law

manuals, product bulletins, Kirby Morgan apparel, find a Kirby Morgan dealer and featured products.

To conclude on the description one has to mention that a newsletter sign-up can be found both at the header and footer and a very informative section on training can be accessed from the footer and includes information on the dive lab and the Kirby Morgan Pro Dive Center. A visit to the apparel section is also worth a click.

Why visit this website: If you are looking for information regards the best equipment, from a highly reputable company, to start your commercial diving career, then this is a must site to visit.

Ras ir-Raheb

- Gozo 28.04.13

The Easterly wind may be considered by most as being humid, and generally contributing to short tempers, but geographically speaking for us divers, it is in fact the most ideal direction since the best dive sites in Malta become nice and sheltered.

As per the forecast, on the day the North East turned moderate, but at the chosen site, sheltered beneath the imposing Ras ir-Raheb cliffs it would be calm – and so it was. The original plan was for the dive boat – the Atlantis II – to discharge the divers in front of the cave, and then pick them up from within Fomm ir-Rih bay, but given the wind direction, it was decided (at the last minute) to keep proceeding along the cliffs due South and anchor in front of another cave – the large mouthed Ghar it-Trozz. This would mean that the cliff wall would now be on the left hand – actually this dive is more economical, since we would be visiting two caves for the price of one!

The Atlantis II edged closer to the cliff face at the headland, and discharged the divers close to the cave entrance.

Immediately in the water, the diver is greeted by dark blue, already the mind is set that this will be an exciting dive – and then the first encounters – the translucent structures comb jellies drifting in the current. Soon the cliff face appears and further on the cave entrance –here starts the dive.

Torches on - in this cave light is required. Once inside there is a circular chamber whose floor gives me the impression that at some stage, it must have subsided.

Down and immediately to the diver’s right hand (with back to the entrance!) there is a hole in the floor – it leads down into darkness. We went down this vertical shaft, which then bottoms out at about 25m. Once the bottom is reached blue light filters in. Looking out towards the sea, one realises that he is at the far end of a crack in the cliff face, the top of which was the cave entrance, but more than this – the atmosphere of the place is breath-taking – the rising wavy contours of the crack silhouetted against the live blue of the deep is something that will live within your memory for a long time…

Article & photos by Edward Vella Once out of the crack, as agreed we turned left, and descended slowly up to the agreed limit of about 30m.

Here there is no problem of choosing your maximum depth, because it really goes down! We decided on this depth because there is a bit of a distance to reach the other cave – Ghar it- Trozz, and the idea was to conserve air for the second cave. So it was a very gradual ascent from that depth – we also maintained our typical relaxed fining – we were not in a hurry, and wanted to see the underwater life go by. We did find a good example of a purple and yellow fringed Chromodoris purpurea nudibranch, and one other diver found a large slipper lobster Scyllarides latus.

Unfortunately we did not see any large pelagic fish (about which we so often dream about), and as it turned out by the time we got to the second cave, the air supply was nudging the limit of the red zone at 50bar. This meant that we had to limit our depth to less than 6m (doing the safety stop at the same time), remaining in the light zone, and in an area where we could surface. Ghar it-Trozz with its large entrance and steeply sloping sides, would obviously warrant further detailed exploration. In previous dives we had entered further – it is mostly surfacable, but at its far end this option will not be possible.

We surfaced beneath the entry arch of Ghar it-Trozz, where the Atlantis II was waiting.

Crocodile Rock Sitting in the middle of the rocky inlet between Il-Gebla tal-General (Fungus Rock) and the Dwejra area, Crocodile Rock marks the drop-off edge of the reef running parallel to the shoreline. This weather beaten rock, shaped (with a bit of imagination) in the form of a crocodile, has to withstand the prevalent North West wind and the associated seas it stirs up. You would not want to be in the water here in those conditions……on this day however, the wind was blowing form the North East, that is from the landward side, and that means that the site was nice and calm…. and the perfect setting for a super dive!

The Atlantis II takes close to an hour to get there (which is on the moderate long side by local standards), and then finds convenient anchorage on the reef top, close as safety allows to the Crocodile Rock itself. There is always anticipation to see what the deep blue coloured sea reserves here, usually the best sightings occur at the beginning, deeper part of the dive.

Right next to the ‘Crocodile’, there is a small breach in the reef top edge, and through this we went, first onto a small platform then onto a slope dotted with large boulders that have fallen off the reef wall. Obviously, depth wise we could have kept on going, but this time we stopped at a touch over 37 metres – and as hoped for and anticipated, we saw for too brief a time, a group of about three to four large dentex (denci), also right next to them a couple of mottled groupers (cawluni). But this brief encounter was one of the rewards of this dive - we do too many ‘barren’ dives even in Malta’s remotest locations without seeing any sizeable fish!

- Gozo 05.05.13

We continued on a course converging with the reef and ascending until after about 25 minutes of slow fining, we came to the so called “Roger’s Cave”. This cavern’s floor is at about 19m, and has a simple semi-circular plan form. The sandy floor slopes slightly upwards, and at its inner third, it goes up by means of a ‘step’ forming a higher level. The roof is covered in multi coloured sponges, which light up spectacularly under the torch’s illumination. If intending

Article by Edward Vella

to do some photography, attention has to be made to the fining method, because the sand is very fine, and stirring it up would mean the end of the cave photo session for the day!

As in previous dives at this site, the cave is the dive’s turning point, and once out we kept ascending slowly against the reef wall, until once more we came to the break in the reef – one look at the surface, and the Crocodile Rock could be seen through

the waves. We had a slight decompression which counted down quite rapidly on the reef top. On top of that we kept on exploring in the shallows, also to make for a safer dive profile.

It seemed to me that at 18 deg C, the sea temperature was on the cold side for this time of the year, but anyway, on the way back we thawed out under the sun, with a can of cold beer giving a helping hand!

Base hoto by Joe Formosa

Return to Ras il-Hobz

- Gozo 26.05.13

Pictorial

The Atlantis II at Ras il-Hobz Photo by Joe Formosa

Parrot Fish on the reef edge.

Not Abstract Art nor noodles...

Photo by Edward Vella

Photo by Edward Vella

Divers at the base of the pinnacle

Clouds of damsel fish surround the pinnacle. (aka the Middle Finger!) Photo by Edward Vella

Photo by Edward Vella

The Pinnacle Photo by Joe Formosa

Ta’ Cenc

- Gozo 02.06.13

Article by Edward Vella / Photos by Joe Formosa

It turned out that it was not just myself who was anticipating an early Sunday morning call to cancel the boat dive to Ta’Cenc. As forecasted the NW had ramped up to Force 5, but when the time to leave home came, and still no call, then it was reasoned out that conditions in the Gozo channel had calmed down.

Well conditions were manageable for sure, but the wind was stirring up at least metre high waves, which made the initial part of the boat trip interesting! (Made using the toilet successfully seem an achievement). Then once in the lee of Gozo, conditions improved, and when at the dive-site, it was business as usual.

As often happens at Ta’ Cenc, the divers group up according to their ‘speciality’, a group went down at the entrance to Mgarr ix-Xini bay with cameras at the ready, where on the sand with sparse posedonia tufts is reputed, well not reputed – documented – to reside the elusive sea horse. Another group, the technical divers were dropped further West under the cliff face which will eventually lead to Ras in-Newwiela. Their dive profile would be to reach for the depths, and then follow the gradually ascending seabed towards the bay.

Our group’s initial plan was to access a particular cave on this same cliff face. The cave has an entrance / exit consisting of two small holes, the lower one is about the size of a single diver, and is situated close to the ground, and the other hole if I remember correctly is situated a couple of metres higher up and smaller.

As it was, since our group consisted of five divers, and the cave is narrow, our dive leader decided that we would be too many for safety’s sake, so the signal was made to proceed along the wall towards the bay.

We did not go deep, max depth reached this dive was about 20m, but it was nice and relaxed. Eventually we got to the bay, and first entered into a small creek on our left beneath the Ta’ Cenc resort – I had been thinking that we had not seen any interesting sea life, when we came across one very tame cuttlefish – so tame that it actually allowed one diver to touch it, it just did not want to go away. So this was what we needed to discharge the cameras’ batteries – and all of us got some nice shots! This was the dive’s highlight.

Next we entered the first outward cave in Mgarr ix-Xini bay. It has a sloping quite silty floor, but with careful fining, it is very interesting to explore its sponge covered walls – it also has some large tube worm residents.

We still had plenty of air left after some 74 minutes – no doubt due to the shallow depth and the slow relaxed fining.

On the return trip, the sea was a bit calmer and was now actually helping us on our way home. And so ended another enjoyable boat dive.

Reqqa Point

At last! After so many windy weekends, which ruined any plans for a dive along Gozo’s northern coast, we managed to find a break in the weather to organise a boat dive to Reqqa Point. Many of you may have noticed that we had a particularly nasty change in weather patterns lately which resulted in uncommonly strong, persistent, winds and generally dry conditions. We even had some strange cloud formations following the sandstorms raging down south over Libya. In fact, even as we snorkelled out onto the reef, a series of low clouds drifted northward from over the land and out to sea. This was something I had never experienced before in all of my years of diving. It seems that climate change may hold some surprises for our local diving community!

I had originally thought of diving Ghar ilKbir (aka Billingshurst for the less wellinformed) but I changed my mind while on the boat and decided to dive the Reqqa Deep cave (aka ic-Cumnija or Chimney). There were four of us in the group and that is just the maximum number of divers for this cave. There is simply not enough room for any more.

- Deep Cave Gozo 09.06.13

Article by Tano Role

The last time I had dived this cave was in December 2010 and a description of this dive is contained in the December 2010 issue of this Bubbles magazine. There is even a rough sketch of the cave in cross section and I am reproducing it here for convenience. Just like the previous dive, we entered the cave from the lower entrance by the sandy seabed and made our way up the steep sandy slope into the main chamber. Despite its ‘chimney’ label, this cave is shaped more like a bottle with a distinct main chamber. I guess that the impression of a chimney is more pronounced if one enters the cave from the upper entrance.

We did not spend too much time inside the cave but I had enough time to look around. The most notable marine life were the brightly coloured sponges which decorated the walls of the cave but, milling about in the crevices, were a whole host of cave shrimps. There must have been hundreds of the critters and my hands were itching for my camera. Of course I had to leave this on the boat since its housing is not rated for this depth.

(Maltese Xilep - Sarpa salpa) Photo by Joe Formosa

Dromia personata Photo Tano Role

I also found a perfectly intact moult of a Sponge crab (Dromia personata) which I considered taking to the surface but I soon realised that it would disintegrate since I had no rigid box to place it in. It seems that every time I visit this cave I seem to find moults of crabs lying on the sand. The last time I was here, I found a recently moulted Shame-faced crab (Calappa granulata).

Just as I was about to leave the main chamber and ascend through the upper entrance, I came across a beautiful feather starfish (Antedon mediterranea) walking busily over the sand and waving its featherlike arms like some graceful ballerina. Oh if only I had my camera!!!

By the time we were outside the upper opening I only had two minutes to spare before I got into a full decompression stop.

I also noticed that my first deep stop was indicated at 30m.

The rest of the dive was spent along the reef where a nice school of golden Saupe (Maltese Xilep - Sarpa salpa) played just out of reach.

I saw Joe Formosa getting into position for an artistic shot and I tried to herd the fish towards him and get into the background. It seems to have worked quite well; I may even have a bright future as a male model! This may sound rather presumptuous until one sees that I am fully kitted up and in a few metres underwater in cold seas.

The return journey to Marfa jetty is always good fun. By way of thanks to Guzi’s generosity for getting us a round of beer, we filled up his box with empty beer cans. I guess that if there is any moral to this story we can always use the following – do not bring any diving kit boxes on board!

Safe diving to all – Tano

Base photo by Edward Vella

Fessej Rock

- Gozo 16.06.13

Fessej Rock is a dive site found offshore from the Ta’ Cenc and Mgarr ix-Xini inlet along the south shore near Gozo Mgarr Harbour. It is a tall, circular and vertical column of rock which rises (black) about 15 metres above the water. This free standing rock just outside the mouth of the creek presents an interesting dive at various depths. We usually make a boat dive in these areas when strong prevailing north westerly winds inhibit diving elsewhere in the north archipelago.

However, today was Father’s Day and many wished a short trip to return home early.

The boat anchored on the east side of the rock, its deepest side. We descened slowly, plunging plumb along the vertical rock to the sandy seabed at a maximum depth of 55m, then gradually spiraling clockwise along the extreme outer circumference at base of the rock formed with huge boulders, and then gradually ascending after a 180’ turn where the rock becomes shallow, completing a whole circle. We then completed a second spiral at a shallow depth of 10m to release an accumulated 10 minutes decompression time.

I did not encounter any fish during my dive, but divers who made an earlier descent declared seeing groups of dentex out in the blue. I did however come across two peculiar nudibrachs at shallower depths: a large white spotted brown nudi which someone defined Berthella ocellata, and a small blue yellow ‘brazil’ nudi. ( Which we would like to identify! Editor). At shallower depths, I also bumped into a group of ‘xilep’ plunging vertically to the deep.

I dived with a 5mm wetsuit: no gloves no hood, water temperature 21’C surface, 18’C at depth; wonderful sun, clear blue sky and pleasant temperature on the boat deck on our way to port.

Article and photos by Joe Formosa