Dive Rutland Trip to Gozo 2026
Diving Gozo with Dive Rutland – October 2026
written by Vic Russell
Like a somewhat more British version of the Avengers, we assembled at the secret transport hub (Gatwick) for our mission to Gozo. Alongside our leader, Captain Marvel, there was The Green Man, Athletico, The Hulk, The Squid Kid, Sarb the Mysterious, The Portuguese, The Corkman and his partner Dolphin Girl.
We were joined later by the Technician and his entourage. We established a forward operating base close to our objective and readied our equipment.
Next morning we made contact with local forces and split into two battle groups. Whilst one group tackled the aptly named "Kiddie Pool", the other set out to explore the strategically important Cathedral Cave where we suspected the enemy were holed up. As a shakedown mission it was challenging and on return we discovered that a diver had fallen off the cliff by which we entered. The blood on the rocks may have prompted the local police to be over-zealous in holding us at gunpoint:
Later that day we turned right at the horse with two arses and headed west to The Inland Sea, mingling inconspicuously with the crowds of divers:
Next day we combined our forces and conducted 2 marine operations, braving the ocean swell and approaching our objectives by rib.
The first of these was the cryptically named Wied il-Mielah which very roughly translates as "Where's your lunch?" and turned out to be a great site. The second dive was to the "Double Arches" which started some salivation amongst those who had lost their lunch, only for them to be MacDisappointed by the lack of burgers. Eels and scorpionfish were on the menu luckily. And the boat ride home yielded plenty of sightings of the elusive Maltese Falcon:
Day 3 was challenging due to strong winds and a sizeable swell at many of the dive sites. The groups split again with half going back to the Inland Sea and Blue Hole
whilst the others pushed their limits Billinghurst Cave. It turned out to be a great dive but perhaps not we had been led to expect on entry!
With the conditions reducing everyone’s dive options, this site was extremely busy so we headed south for the second dive at the little known site of Ta Cenc. This turned out to be quite an adventure, chasing the sprinting dive guide, and surfacing short on air in completely the wrong place. We won’t be using that guide again!
The missions (and BBQ cooking) were taking their toll but 7 of the original 10 divers made it to the prime objective on day 4: the MV Karwela.
To dive the Karwela, with its iconic staircase, is the aim of many a diver and we weren’t disappointed.
Having completed this milestone, we approached the next-door wreck, the MV Cominoland, with eagerness. Ben’s group had a great dive, Tracey went fishing, but we all had stories to tell afterwards!
An impromptu day off on Friday allowed the group to explore the island, while the children visited the water park on Malta.
On the last day we chose to go back to the wrecks (MV Karwela and MV Cominoland) allowing us to see things from a different perspective second time around.
Overall, this was another fantastic trip – wrecks, caves and deep dives. Dive planning, NDLs and Nitrox analysis. Saltpans, cliffs, and bouncy RIBs. Bolts, dive vans, minibuses, ferries, and the stroll down to the dive centre. Calamari, Maltese sausage, olives, pasta, garlic bread. Milk shakes, Cisk, coffee and, of course, lots of cake. Lots of fantastic memories!
And the accomodation (Villa Pergola) wasn't bad either!
Thank you to Captain Marvel for organising it all – without you none of this would happen.