Ex Dragon Barbarian Odyssey 4 – 5 – 13 Nov 2022 Diving Expedition to Malta
Achievements
- 5 Newly Qualified Diving First Aid Trained in (BSAC Oxygen Administration)
- 7 Newly Qualified Ocean Divers
- 1 Newly Qualified Advanced Diver
- Logbook experience for all Sports Divers and Dive Leaders towards their next diving grades.
- Depth progression
- Sports Divers 30m
- Dive Leaders 35m
- Diving Experiences and conditions
- Shelving Shore Dives
- Wall Dives
- Wreck Dives
- Navigation Dives
- Dive Leadings
- As well as the physical qualifications this training helped develop both teamwork and mental resilience in a challenging environment. With some of the participants increasing their confidence and confronting their anxieties around water. It was clear the training was both physically demanding and challenging, helping to develop leadership attributes in our personnel. Adventure Training is key in helping develop personnel and it is great thanks to funding from Ulysses Trust and other organisations that help make this affordable and available to all.
Sat 05 Nov 2022 Travel Day.
It was an early morning start to meet up and sort all the expedition equipment prior to departing to Heathrow, for our 1125hr flight to Malta. It was not long before we were up and away, after sorting some exes’ baggage issues. After a turbulent flight, we landed on time in a rather windy Malta. We were greeted by our transport and speedily taken to our hotel and base of operations for the next week, just in time for evening meal. After a little time to settle in, we all met in the reception area for a safety brief and to run the theory elements of the Oxygen Administration Course.
Sun 06 Nov 2022 Day 1 Diving
‘Sunday Funday’
We woke Sunday morning with a mix of excitement and anticipation. It was clear that the wind had not died down and would be an issue with dive site selection. After breakfast we were collected by Dive Deep Blue (DDB) and taken to the dive centre. On arrival we had an orientation brief and filled in the relevant paperwork for the centre. As soon as this was completed the practical elements of the Oxygen Administration Course were ran which included assembly in both on demand and free flow modes. Oxygenated CPR and recovery position. Once this was completed the 7 qualified divers, diving under the Sub Aqa Diving Supervisor (SADS) got their equipment ready and made their way to a sheltered dive site in Valletta Harbour.
The 8 Personnel in the Ocean Diver group training under the instructors at DDB, started off with a lesson on aspects of diving and how to use the equipment. This was followed by a practical lesson on equipment assembly. Before leaving for the first dive site there was time for one last theory lesson about pressure under the water and the effects it can have on your body. A lesson which was needed to know what they were getting into once in the water. On arrival at the site the instructors worked out that they couldn’t go scuba diving due to the weather. With a quick change of plan the group covered snorkel diving. This included using fins for the first time and clearing a snorkel blockage. This was a good experience to start off with before moving on down the line to scuba equipment. Great first day and a lot of information was taken on board to use in the days to come.
On arrival at the busy site due to the weather the SADS Group began setting up the equipment ready for a rehearsal of the casualty evacuation plan. As the first pair were about to enter the water to simulate a diver in distress a diver about 50 meters from shore called out for help. First to react were the divers of 159 Exped. With 2 personnel diving into the water and swimming to the casualty, calming her down and pulled her to shore under the guide and direction of the Safety Supervisor. Great teamwork and reactions from our divers. Although this was a great rescue, we still had to carry out the rehearsal of our plan. Once the SADS was happy with the plan we went on our first dive of the Expedition. The wreck was the Coralita wreck X127 also known as the ‘water lighter’ on the east coast of the island, it is a wreck that was originally a transporter ship during WW1 for troops and horses. During WW2 it was bombed and sank to the bottom of the harbour by the luftwafe who were trying to sink the submarines below.
A great day was had by all and after evening meal some online studying was completed utilising the British Sub Aqa Club (BSAC) new online virtual materials.
Descending to 18 meters, carrying out previously taught skills and drills un
Monday 07 Nov 2022 Day 2 Diving
After breakfast we headed to the dive centre that was a 6min walk from the hotel. The SADS Led team prepped their equipment and checked the O2 and first aid kits before heading of for their chosen dive site, the Blue Grotto on the west coast. This was a pictures bay with sea caves attracting tourists who take boat trips around the coast. This site offers a mix of reef and wall diving with a large wreck called the Um El Faroud. As the diving team had not built up to the right depths for this wreck yet it was not in the dive plan. We undertook some relaxed wall dives along with some further skills and drills. The wind had died down from the previous day which gave us calmer water and the visibility had also improved. This helped the sports divers with Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB) deployments, controlled buoyant lifts (CBL’s) and exploring the area. Confidence and skill fade were greatly improved after this day’s dives.
The Ocean Divers had some further theory lessons looking at BSAC 88 Diving Tables to help calculate their diving depths and times to allow them to plan their nitrogen intake. Once these were completed the team headed out for their first Sheltered Water lesson. Due to the wind over the last few days, there was still a little swell which made getting weighted correctly and learning buoyancy control hard. With the moving motion it was clear that a few were feeling a little battered and seasick from the rocking motion. It showed at evening meal that not all were enjoying the experience as much as others with a few sorry tired faces.
Tuesday 08 Nov 2022 Day 3 Diving.
After the usual routine of breakfast walk to the centre and check the O2 and first aid equipment the SADS team headed off to Cirkewwa in the North of Malta. The site consists of several different levels going down through from 3m to 12m and then a shelf drop-off to 20m making it great for training dives. The dive leader trainees went on the first diving wave which was a navigation dive to locate the P29 a wreck of a patrol boat. This was quite a challenge as she sits 150m of shore at a depth of between 22m to 32m. With a slight current running further out, the divers drifted off course slightly. With a sandy bottom, nothing to use as pilotage and air running low due to swimming on a bearing at a depth of 15m to keep sight of the seabed. It was clear the best and safest option was to turn around and head back to the shoreline. Deploying a Midwater DSMB to mark the position on the surface to the Safety Supervisor they made their way back to the shore with some lessons learnt for future dives and a surface swim for reflection.
The second wave entered the water after a safety hand over and done some training with a dive on the reef. Taking in the sea life and the Madonna Statue, which is 20 metres underwater. This helped them gain confidence going to that depth, especially after 3 years out of the water.
The second dive of the day saw both waves entering with a giant stride entry and completing a scenic dive on the reef, where they encountered octopus, starfish, jellyfish and all kinds of bright and colourful fish. As it was still early in the week, and it had been 3 years since some of the sports divers had last dived. They had to brush off some cobwebs, so the drills started when they got down to around 11/12 m. They done all the mask drills where it fills with water and you must clear it out. They even completely took their masks off while underwater! Other drills included a regulator retravel and a Controlled Buoying Lift (CBL) as well as deploying a DSMB while underwater.
The Ocean Diver team conducted their first Open Water dives having now completed all their sheltered water lessons. The first dive was to confirm skills and drills such as mask replacement and loss of a regulator and was conducted at 3m in groups of 2. The second dive was more of the same but this time at 7m, in groups of 4 and getting to grips with hand signals. Along with the skills and drills they also had to try and get to terms with their buoyancy, which some of them struggled with. Overall, it was a great first dive to introduce the team to the world of diving and they thoroughly enjoyed it.
Wednesday 09 Nov 2022 Day 4 Diving
Wednesday saw the SADS team return to the Blue Grotto to take on the Wreck of the Um El Faroud. Having done some further depth progression, the Dive Leader trainees were ready for the challenge of another Navigation Dive. Taking a bearing to the marker buoy they entered the water and swam on their bearing at a depth of 10 to 15m. After a few minutes swimming on the bearing, they come across a commemorative statue of a diver’s helmet. Remembering from the dive brief that this was slightly left they pushed right on the bearing and the shadow of the wreck appeared in the water. After a quick time and air check they swam around the wreck and down between the split as the bow and stern are separated and sat upright about 5m apart from each other. After about 15 min of dive time, it was time to head back to the shoreline to ensure they kept their reserve air supply. Deploying a Mid water DSMB on the way back and they carried out a 3 min safety stop before exiting the water. The second dive for the day saw the divers complete a wall dive along the coast to challenge their buoyancy and depth monitoring.
The Ocean Diver team went to cirkewwa where they conducted their first dive into double digits with a 10m dive to practice their drills at greater depth. The training was beginning to show with them carrying out their buddy checks using the acronym B.A.R (Buoyancy, Air, Releases). They then carried out a safety brief using SEEDS (Safety, Equipment, Exercise, Discipline and Signals). This is done every time before getting into the water to make sure all understand what they will be doing throughout the dive. Once the briefs were completed, they descended to 10 meters and carried out all their drills at depth. They had to take off their masks and swim around without it. This was to practice in case of an accident where they were to lose their mask or have their mask knocked off. After they had finished their drills, they had a swim around and completed the dive surfacing after 30min.
After a surface interval to allow the nitrogen levels in their bodies to lower they got their equipment back on for a second dive. This was an 8m dive for 25min on the reef before having to head back to the centre and wash all the equipment in clean water to help prevent salt build up. It was clear by the end of this day that the bug had started to bite. The sorry tired faces of Monday were replaced with beaming smiles and stories of the days diving. This was refreshing to see; it was clear the Regiment were going to increase their numbers of enthusiastic and qualified divers. next dive later in the day which will
Thursday 10 Nov 2022 Day 5 Diving
On Thursday the SADS based team had an early start to head to the ferry terminal and their first trip to Gozo. The Diving Officer conducted a full detailed SADS Brief on the ferry, so we were ready to dive. This was a big day for one of the divers who was going to complete his 20m rescue to gain his Advanced Diver qualification. Which involved a full controlled Buoyant Lift of a casualty from 20m under water. This went well and both divers were soon joined by a pair of sports divers who were completing their Sports diver depth progression to 30M. Once this was completed, they went for a reef dive taking in the sea life. Back on the surfaced a SADS Brief and handover was completed and the second team went on their dive which was a planned decompression dive with a surface swim to the buoy of the Caminoland. Due to currents that were running in the channel it took a while to complete the swim, The depth of this wreck meant dive times were short and they could only get on the top of the wreck for a brief look around before they went into decompression. This is when the Nitrogen has built up in the body that you are not able to come to the surface without stopping to allow the nitrogen to release slowly. They then had to put up a DSMB and begin to move into the shallower ledges of the reef to allow the nitrogen to escape. Once they were safe to do so they surfaced and exited at the ladders.
For the second dive we headed back for a shallow reef dive at Cirewwa this was to minimise and control the nitrogen loading from the first dive and enjoy the sea life of this reef which offers a little of everything. With octopus, moray eels, scorpion fish, nudibranch and shoals of damselfish seen on most dives.
From Div to Diver!
Thursday saw the Ocean Divers qualifying with the team completing a final open water dive and the BSAC exam, after some frantic group revision. With some over inflated egos and some BCDs, the team dropped to 18m an remained buoyant throughout. Despite a few air balloon vacations back to the surface by some the team demonstrated the vast improvement made throughout the week.
Friday 11 Nov 2022 Day 5 Diving
Friday was the last days diving with the newly qualified Ocean Divers conducting their first dives as fully qualified divers and join the SADS team diving at the legendary Blue Hole in Gozo. With another early start to catch the ferry to Gozo and a full SADS Brief on the ferry. The team arrived in good shape at the site of the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is a 10m wide and 15m in depth sink hole with an archway that leads to the sea at around 9m below the water. It is one of Malta and Gozo’s most famous diving sites offering sheltered protection to divers. It took the team a while to ferry all the diving and safety equipment to the site before they were ready for the first few buddy pairs to enter the water. For safety a shot line was rigged as a reference point and to allow divers with problems equalising their ears something to hold on to. This site did not disappoint and was a great and challenging dive for the newly qualified Ocean Divers. This was a wall dive which dropped off to between 30 and 40m bellow. The fish life was plenty and all the Ocean Divers were teamed with one of the SADS diving team. The Ocean Divers were brilliant and impressed in how far they had come through the week. Demonstrating great buddy monitoring and communication through hand signals. As well as nailing their buoyancy in a very challenging dive site.
All divers and equipment had been recovered back to the vehicles just before remembrance giving the team time for 2 minutes silence in the carpark as time to pause, breath and reflect on the service and sacrifice that others have made and remember those that have fallen. It was then time to pack the vehicles and head back to Çirkewwa – this was the next dive site back on the mainland. Those that had not already seen the statue of Madonna went in search. The statue was placed at the dive site some 25 years ago by a local dive club and has become somewhat of a local diving attraction. With most succeeding to find the statue which lays at a depth of 18m along the reef wall. With all groups of divers safely accounted for it was soon time to head back to Dive Deep Blue to wash down the equipment for one last time.
Saturday 12 Nov 2022
Due to Diving regulations not allowing you to fly 24hrs after your last dive due to the pressurisation of the planes. Saturday was a day for exploring Malta. Utilising the islands great bus services most took a day trip into Valletta to explore the many historical monuments and war history. While the SADS’s team attended Dive Deep Blue to finish drying the loan pool equipment, arrange all the qualification and final sign off with the Diving Officer.
Sunday 13 Nov 2022
With an early fight of 0755 we met in the lobby of the hotel at 0430 with some alarm when the transport was not there. The night-time reception staff was not the most helpful person to deal with. Telling us we had booked it ourselves as he had no note for it. Having shown him our email chain and proving we had booked through them he gave up his cigarette and looked on the computer. A few phone calls later the transport arrived. Aptly named SWIFT, we were whisked away to the airport and soon cleared customs. Although there was a slight delay for fog over London, we arrived safe and well back in the Uk after an excellent AT package.
Best Diary Entry from Paul Baily – Diving Friday 11th Nov 2022
I came into this trip with an open mind and didn’t really know if I would enjoy Scuba Diving. I was anxious about the trip as I’ve only started to go into the Sea in the last 5 years or so. I can honestly say what a fantastic week it’s been so far and today is the day I get to put all my training into practice and dive down to 20 metres.
We headed to the terminal to catch the 08:15 ferry over to Gozo. As we were briefed on the ferry, I was looking forward to the dive (The Blue Hole). Here I was able to dive to the max depth allowed for a qualified Ocean Diver – 20m. The dive didn’t disappoint and the descent was brilliant. Going from a foot of water to literally an opening with a drop to the bottom was great. Buoyancy was nailed and off we went for a steady look around the site with so much to see.
Çirkewwa – this was the next dive site back on mainland and I wanted to see the Madonna Statue that’s placed halfway along the reef wall at a depth of around 18 metres. So off we went, a long stride off the steps and into the water we went. We took a steady descent down, hoping we didn’t miss the opportunity to see the statue. We were about 10 minutes into the dive and there it was, literally about a metre or so above it when we first got sight of it.
It’s been an amazing experience and I would recommend a Scuba Diving expedition to anyone. The trip has given me so much confidence to go back into the Sea.
