Gozo October 2003
 
                    

Firstly all praise and thanks go to Peadar and Deirdre Farrell who made the whole thing possible and so very enjoyable. Peadar was the D.O. and organiser of this trip and to say it went without a hitch would be simply to speak the truth. Deirdre, along with Peadar, being a resident visitor to the island, made every one welcome and added an air of serenity, calm and sanity which might otherwise have been sadly lacking.

Other members of the group included Shane Tyrrell (next years D.O., or so they tell me), the brothers O’Dowd – Gerry and Alan, Andrew Legg and Anne Kenny who flew in from a Sicillian film festival, Phil Butler who didn’t, Jamie Hargreaves who would have been accompanied by his beautiful partner but for a slight hitch at Dublin Airport, Brian Holland who travelled alone but not in spirit and Jean Kelleher and her daughter (and future Curragh trainee diver) Karen. Oh and trainee shore marshall me.

Apparently the weather had been quite bad before our arrival but Peadar seemed to have that in hand with clear skies and temperatures in the high twenties for most of our stay. Days were spent diving - morning and afternoon or, as on one occasion, at night. All the best sites were visited, some more than once, such was the enthusiasm in the camp. One of the most popular sites was the Twin Arches which for some involved a rather long fin back to shore accompanied by agonised expressions of pain and fatigue belying the panted tales of beauty and awe experienced in the vacinity of the Arches moments before. Another was the Blue Hole. Not being in any way aquatic I can’t tell you what it was like but if you’re in Gozo I know eleven people who’ll say it’s not to be missed. The ‘Inland Sea’ too, had it’s admirers. There is an experience here which is worth the journey on it’s own, according to the garbled accounts of the divers, and the only way to describe it, they say, is: ‘Into the blue’. By diving into the ‘Inland Sea’ - a tract of water little bigger than a pond - and charting a course out to sea under a large arch the effect is of going from darkness to an all encompassing and ever increasing lighted blueness. A little touch of the narcs there, eh lads?

While not diving there were sightseeing opportunities on the island with it’s legendary number of Churches both large and small. We stayed in Marsalforn which, while winding down for the season, had a number of reasonably priced good quality restaurants. Many nights we adjourned to the local hostelries for a lemonade or two to discuss the day’s diving. If the mood was right some of us might even sample a prickly pear (a somewhat alcoholic liquer made from a local fruit of the same name). Brian, of course, was always on hand to advise moderation, ever mindful of the next day’s diving.

All in all then Gozo was a great week’s diving. With good weather, good food and particularly good lemonade – what more could you ask for? Thanks, again, to Peadar and Deirdre.

Liam Mooney
CSAC Groupie and Honorary Shore Marshall

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