Notes from The Deep

Five deep wrecks and a Beaufighter in a week of perfect conditions, with dive times of up to three hours, my XCCR and a support team on hand throughout. Plan your own normoxic or hypoxic week.

Filfla is a protected nature reserve opened to divers only three times a year. What's actually down there, why access is so restricted, and who to dive it with.

Stunning visibility, clouds of juvenile fish and a big school of barracuda at Dwejra. Temperatures, what it's like right now, and video from a two-hour CCR dive.

Trimix 75 was written with Malta in mind. What 60 and 75 actually open up here, why helium is as much about a clear head as depth, and why the boat you dive from matters more than you'd think.

Inland diving at home is getting pricier and real depth harder to find. Three hours away there's 26°C water, shore-dive depth and wrecks from 34m to 65m. Bring the kit and the banter.

Five of us from Dive Systems dedicated a dive to cleaning up our house reef at Exiles in Sliema — plastic, cans, fishing material and a lift-bagged car tyre. Supporting Ambjent Malta, with more clean-ups to come.

The question I get asked most, answered honestly: my top ten from the 67 sites we dive — wrecks, walls, caves and the local secret — with depths, access and who each one suits.

Life takes over, the diving gets parked. Adam stepped back in after a two-year break to finish his PADI Tec 50 — a week of confidence, wrecks and scooters, finishing at the Inland Sea.

Two months of hard everyday use — a backup mask abused in a pocket, bolt snaps and all — and a Fourth Element Seeker that never once fogged. A technical instructor's five-star verdict.

George qualified at a site that was a first for both of us. Elias — a returning friend, years in the making — silted out a wreck, pulled me out of an entrapment drill, then asked for more.

Sandy beaches, waterparks, Popeye Village and easy days out — the guide for the non-diving half of the family while someone in your group is underwater.

Three years teaching in Malta and Double Arch was still a first: a stacked double arch at 30m, a massive cave, and a reef slope that makes decompression a pleasure. From the Dive Systems boat, mid-course.

An ocean sunfish — a one-tonne swimming head with a startled expression — just cruised past Malta's most-dived wreck. Meet the mola mola, and why the marine park keeps attracting bigger visitors.

High season is in full swing — but the divers who know book autumn. The sea at its warmest, the crowds gone, the deep wrecks quiet, and a direct flight from New York. Here's the case.

Ċirkewwa's marine park is fresh from a €600k refurbishment, Għar Lapsi's €2M rebuild is underway after Storm Harry — and Malta's best-in-Europe shore diving keeps getting better.

The most common question I get, answered properly: every certification level, the wrecks it opens, and the one course that unlocks the next tier — from the Rozi to ORP Kujawiak.

The UN just endorsed Malta's WreckLife project. How wreck protection, permits and war graves actually work here — and why our wrecks are in such remarkable nick.

15–16°C, the clearest water of the year, and a 110-metre wreck entirely to yourself. Cold-water diving is trendy now — here's the comfortable way in.

Malta's into the low twenties and the suits are back out. A straight word on staying hydrated for the deep stuff — and the honest, slightly cheeky truth about not peeing in your drysuit.

Game of Thrones, Gladiator, Popeye, By the Sea — half of Hollywood has filmed on these rocks, and a fair few of the locations sit right next to a cracking dive. A spotter's guide for your dry days.

The first direct Delta flight from New York JFK touched down in Malta this morning — three flights a week now connect the islands with the US. For American divers, the Mediterranean's best wrecks just got a direct flight away.

The practical guide for American divers — flights, entry requirements, what gear to bring vs rent, dive insurance, money, plugs, and how to put the whole week together.

Surface intervals, rest days and that no-fly day before you fly home — sorted. Valletta, Mdina, Gozo, Marsaxlokk, temples older than the pyramids, and the food you can't leave without trying.

Delta now flies direct from New York to Malta — about 9-10 hours to warm, clear water, legendary wrecks, and world-class TDI training, all major agencies welcome. Here's why Malta should be your next dive trip.

From the accessible Um El Faroud to the deep, protected wrecks like HMS Southwold and HMS Olympus — a technical diver's guide to Malta's wrecks, grouped by the training each one calls for.