{"id":678,"date":"2017-05-08T18:58:12","date_gmt":"2017-05-08T17:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.josephcaruana.co.uk\/diving\/?p=678"},"modified":"2017-05-10T10:00:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-10T09:00:21","slug":"revisiting-the-xlendi-wreck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.josephcaruana.co.uk\/diving\/2017\/05\/08\/revisiting-the-xlendi-wreck\/","title":{"rendered":"Revisiting the Xlendi Wreck"},"content":{"rendered":"

On\u00a0Sunday morning I dove the Xlendi<\/em> wreck, which I visited three\u00a0weeks ago<\/a>. \u00a0This time round I carried along the new, bright GRALmarine light with the intention to take a few lit-up pictures of the interior’s outskirts. \u00a0As a reminder, the Xlendi<\/em> wreck lies upside down on the sandy bottom (as the featured image of this post clearly shows) and it is dangerous to penetrate. \u00a0So please be cautious and avoid all temptation to do anything stupid.<\/p>\n

Before we even approached the wreck itself we encountered a streaked\u00a0gurnard, so we paused and hovered above it momentarily, until it whizzed off at super speed.<\/p>\n

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A flying gurnard on the sandy bottom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following this, we turned around the Xlendi<\/em>, and I snapped the below picture which\u00a0shows how she has almost ‘merged’\u00a0with the seabed itself.<\/p>\n

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The Xlendi wreck lying upside down on the sandy bottom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we turned around,\u00a0I found myself reminiscing about how\u00a0I used to board this boat which served as a ferry between Malta and Gozo when I was a child.<\/p>\n

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Diver by the wreck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Continuing along, we came across a couple other tech divers doing the circuit in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

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More tech divers!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eventually we had a very short peek at the outskirts of the Xlendi’s interior. \u00a0Once again, I ask that you do NOT venture inside this wreck, not even its outskirts, unless you are an\u00a0experienced diver and\u00a0diving accompanied by someone well experienced with this wreck.<\/p>\n

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The darkness inside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After this short excursion, we proceeded outwards from the other side.<\/p>\n

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Our exit point.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Upon exiting we came upon a nice Scorpion fish which was unusually fine with a two noisy bubblers approaching it.<\/p>\n

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A particularly unfazed Scorpion fish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before we knew it, our planned 30min bottom time was up, and we proceeded our slow ascent to the surface, stopping at each decompression stop until we came to our six-metre stop.<\/p>\n

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During our 6-metre deco stop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here, we saw a seahorse well hidden amongst the surrounding fronds. \u00a0I had to snap a picture, of course, but\u00a0this one’s not going to take any awards! \u00a0There was a frond right in front of it and I was very reluctant to move it as it was very close to the seahorse and I was afraid that by doing so I would disturb it. \u00a0(Seahorses are very sensitive little creatures.)<\/p>\n

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Spot the seahorse.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And that was it!\u00a0 70 minutes went by like a breeze and I’m already missing the weightlessness of the blue world. \u00a0Below you may find the dive profile logged by the Shearwater Petrel 2.<\/p>\n

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The dive profile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And, as always, here goes a summary of the log. \u00a0Until the next one, folks!<\/p>\n