Sweet and Stubborn!

Oh my goodness me... so forgive me in advance because I'm about to gush.

This week, as a newly qualified Tec Deep Diver, I was taken with some of our customers and highly experienced tec diving staff to enjoy a pleasure dive on HMS Stubborn of the beautiful Maltese coast.

I'd probably gotten into Tec diving for a less than fantastic reason - working in various diving centres, I'd acquired a lot of equipment in lieu if payment during harder financial times (dry suit, 2 regulators). Add to this some suggestive gifts from an old flame who wanted to convert me (back plate and harness) and a loaner from friends who were hell bent on me enjoying the deep quarries of Britain... I was sat with a whole tec set bar the twins!

I love to learn, and after becoming an Instructor, I felt it was time to become a student again (for the rest if anything!). Continuing to learn is so important for instruction - it gives you new enthusiasm, more skills and knowledge and also an empathy for those who are meeting challenges on their courses.

And that's how it began. I liked all the ideas behind Tec Diving - highly organised, backed-up and always in the aim of utmost safety.. but I wasn't sure how it was going to reward me in a sense of something to be passionate about. I'm not a massive military history fan, and cold, dark boxes of slate didn't thrill me either.

Despite this, I began the course with close friends both as my buddy and instructor. Even if I never Tec dived after the course, I will always treasure the fun we had on all those weekends of drilling and straining - learning to dive all over again!

I made it to Tec Diver Level 1 just in time to move to Malta for a summer of fun. Under the expertise of Techwise staff, I reached Tec Deep Diver and enjoyed the change from 4 degrees and limited viz, to a warm 20 on the temperature and metres of blue to enjoy. We'd seen the beautiful scenic dives around Gozo's Blue hold and Inland sea - but everyone kept telling me the best was yet to come. I wasn't sure how – wasn’t one wreck just like another - a place for life to grow into an artificial reef?.

So I had my doubts as we powered out to the site by boat. Would it be worth the fettling and equipment tinkering, the analysing and the sweating in a dry suit on the surface?!?!

The answer, of course is an elated YES! Absolutely amazing and now I can't wait to return! The beautiful rush of 'sky diving' down into the blue and watching the great hulk of the HMS Stubborn silently appear from a misty outline turning to a real and beautiful sight to see. The peaceful empty ocean surrounding us. The feeling of sneaking a peak where so few others have been, and even better to share it with close friends. This is a dive I could never have done on recreational gear - those who have I would call crazy. Barely a minutes view of the wreck and all of the danger added! Who would do that!? But now the effort of the training paid off, 20 lovely minutes wander up and down its length, the fish flitting by our eyes as we scanned the carcas of this wartime machine, perfectly preserved by the seas cocoon, almost untouched by time, but for the growth of pretty algae.

Even as we left, we continued to grin and enjoy the commradery. Nine of us floating effortlessly at the deco lines, smiling and signalling how great the dive had been! I saw it now... darkness and cold didn't really bother me. Bravery I can do... but not bravado... here we were all equal - newbies and old hands, all alike in our joy and wonder at the treasures that the deeps hold, and the joy of diving!