TRAVELSPECIAL
Raphael scoots around the Faroud’ superstructure beautiful inlet known as the Blue Grotto.
Waiting at the entry point was Paradise Diving’ s co-owner, Rob Fergusson, who had brought along his little friends, SUEX scooters. Apparently, it can be a bit of a slog finning to the Faroud from shore, but Diver Propulsion Vehicles make it a lot more civilised.
We arrived at the wreck after five minutes of scootering. I felt weirdly leaden as I tied off the scooter and resumed use of limbs and fins while sizing up photo opportunities. My fellow divers felt no such obligation and remained tethered to their scooters while I tried to shoot them on the move.
The Faroud is a big wreck – 110m long with the prop and rudder at 36 metres. Keen to maximise our time, we stayed at deck level using the scooters to navigate the entire structure. The wreck is broken in two and there’ s plenty of scope to explore inside, but with the distraction of DPVs that was never going to happen. There’ s no place for subtlety on a DPV dive; it’ s all about keeping up with the guy in front.
There’ s a lot to see on the Faroud, and even with the benefit of my scooter I was only beginning to appreciate its features. Certainly, it was the biggest and best of the three wrecks I visited. The good thing about its scale is that it can accommodate several groups without a sense of crowding.
We made our way back to the inlet, making brief detours to harass diving groups unfortunate enough not to be equipped with DPVs. As we arrived, the afternoon sun had broken through the cloud, turning the Blue Grotto gold; alchemy in action. Malta diving? Yep – been there, done that … would really like to do it again.
Bow winch on the Faroud
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Raphael returns to the Faroud’ s iconic funnel
Essentials
GETTING THERE: Flights from UK airports with Air Malta and others. Be aware that hold luggage and cabin bags are optional extras, to be paid for via the airline’ s website.
SAMPLE PACKAGE: Tour-op Oyster Diving is offering seven nights at Paradise Bay hotel, 1-7 June 2025 with breakfast in a twin / double sea view room from £ 700( based on two sharing). Price includes flights to and from Stanstead, transfers to and from Malta airport and the hotel, plus ATOL protection. A 10-dive package with free Nitrox is priced € 375, payable locally. Oyster diving website: oysterdiving. com Tel: 0800 699 0243.
AUTUMN OPTION: Malta is a great place to visit during October, when the water is still warm and the sites are less busy. Oyster Diving is offering accommodationonly specials at Paradise Bay Hotel from 4-11 October. Room only- £ 260. Bed and breakfast – £ 363. Half board- £ 480. The same diving and nitrox rates apply.
WHEN TO GO: Sea temperatures in Malta vary from about 15 ° C in winter to 26 ° C in August. It was 24 ° C during my visit in October. Diving is possible yearround, but always weather dependent. December, January and February are considered the windy months. �