Our Approach
If you love diving, want to dive in Maltese waters, want to get back in the water after a break , have just learned to dive with another entity and now want to continue diving or want to dive with a great group of like-minded people.
The Calypso Sub-Aqua Club is a Branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Established in 1970 the Club was the first purely SCUBA diving Club in Malta. Our first priority is diving. Diving is organized all year round, by divers for divers. Our membership currently stands at about 100 locally resident divers.
We are not a commercial dive centre. Members have the opportunity to participate in all diving and activities organized by the Club.
The club accepts members from other diving organizations. Persons who wish to follow a BSAC course or wish to cross-over from another diving organisation are welcome to visit the Club on a Tuesday from 19:00 to 22:00 or contact us where detailed information will be given.
Our Activities
Sunday Boat Dives
The club organises Boat Dives every Sunday (weather permitting) in the North of the Island for qualified divers.
Club Members are given priority to book their space on the boat dive on a first come – first served basis, but people considering to join the club are also welcome.
Dives are carried out at dive sites not normally dived from shore and which provide good opportunities for beginners, experienced and advanced divers to enjoy the dive and explore new areas.
Diving Training Courses
The Club organises depending on demand and instructor availability a number of BSAC Scuba Diving Courses (more general info from the BSAC Website) to teach complete beginners the techniques to dive safely as well as improve the skills of those already certified.
Club Nights
The Club organises regular club nights at our Santa Venera premises with diverse social and cultural activities, including:
- Underwater Photography / Videography Presentations
- Marine Environment Educational Sessions
- Diving Skills Advancement Courses
- First Aid and Water Rescue drills
- many others social and cultural events
Our History
In the year 1969, four expatriates, a biologist, a botanist and two physicists who were in Malta working as teachers at the Evans Laboratory and University used to practice different sport disciplines, like football, tennis, snorkelling etc.
One day these individuals met a certain Ken Riley who offered to teach them how to dive using self contained underwater breathing apparatus.
These individuals immediately set upon the idea and being all science graduates they already knew the theory and what they needed was some one to teach them the practicals. So Ken Riley taught them how to dive.
In 1970 Ken Riley suggested to the others to form a Club and to affiliate with the British Sub-Aqua Club. At the time to form a BSAC Club the requirement was that the Club had to have a minimum of 8 members. So the four individuals decided to rope in their respective spouses and the Calypso Sub-Aqua Club was born in June of 1970.
In order to function well and attract new members to the Club, the Club had to become self sufficient, it required to have it’s own in-house instructors to teach the techniques of diving to others who wanted to learn this sport.
So in 1972 Mike Upton and Harvey Fudge went to Leeds University in London and followed an Instructor’s course which is believed to be the first held by BSAC. They came back to Malta as fully fledged instructors ready to teach the sport.
In 1973 the Club organised the first Instructor’s course locally at the Cresta Quay Diving Centre which was attended also by some locals, who in the meantime had joined the Calypso Sub-Aqua Club.
The first meeting place where the members used to meet was at the Mellieha Bay Hotel. This venue was offered to the Club by Mr Chris Scott Taggart at the time the General Manager of the Hotel. The hotel’s pool was also made available to the Club.
You can see Committee Meeting Minutes from this period here (1970 – 1974). https://www.calypsosac.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/FirstMinutes.pdf
During the initial years the Club moved from one place to another, the club had a Club house in Marsa, than from there it moved to the Vilhena Band Club in Floriana, and then to Centru Sport Edukattiv, 25 Market Street, Floriana, which it occupied for over 20 years until it had to move out and use temporary premises at Dive Systems in Tower Road, Sliema.
The Club over the last years invested in a property in Santa Venera which in 2025 became its new permanent premises. The Club membership hovers around 100 individuals of different levels of training.
Important Documentation
The latest version of our Club’s Statute is available here.
The Code of Conduct for attendance at club premises and activities is available here.
The Statement of conditions applicable for diving activities may be found here.
Our Privacy Statement may be found here.
The Calypso Sub-Aqua Club is a registered Voluntary Organisation – VO/0965, and licenced by the MTA to provide recreational diving services (Ref: DIVE/119).
