Navigation: Cirkewwa
Access: Shore Dive
Depth: 33 metres
Visibility: Good and an ideal diving site when wind is blowing from the North West
Sea Bed: Sand
Interests: Wreck Dive
Certification Required: BSAC Sports Diver, PADI Advanced Open Water or equivalent
The Dive:
The 51 metre Condor Class patrol boat was scuttled on 14th August 2007 after serving for about 15 years with the local Armed Forces Maritime Patrol Branch. The Patrol Boat had been purchased (together with P31 - scutttled at Comino) following the end of the cold war from East Germany where they originally served. A relatively new wreck which none the less after less than a decade is already attracting a large number of inhabitants, with frequent spottings of Groupers, Scorpionfish, various Nudibranches, Moray eels, Amberjacks and occasionally Barracudas seen on the whereabouts of the wreck, preying on the the small damselfish that are nowadays established.
The wreck sits upright at a depth of 33 metres with the top part at 12 metres. If diving from a boat the boat should anchor directly on top of the wreck and a shot line deployed. To get to the wreck from the shore you can either enter from the stairs where the entry point is easy even if there is some swell because you can wade in and hold to the stainless steel railings which lead to waist deep water.
Once underwater you take a westerly direction until you reach a depth of 6 metres. After approximately swimming for 100 metres you get to a drop off leading to a depth of 22 metres and deeper gradually. Once at the edge of the drop off you take a bearing of 320 degrees which will take you directly to the wreck or else you can enter from the old entry point down the slope. As above you swim out until you get to the drop off and from here you take a bearing of 270 degrees which will take you directly to the wreck. Watch out for currents.
