After many months of planning, 8 divers set off on our 50th Anniversary celebratory trip to Sardinia. The journey was super quick, 07:45 ferry, 08:45 train direct to Gatwick and a 13:00 fight to Olbia. A seamless pick-up at the airport, bags dropped, hello’s at the dive centre and in a bar by around 18:00!
The red wine was definitely a hit! Always goes so well with diving the next day.
Our diving was arranged each day by our hosts ‘Nautilus Diving’, https://www.divesardegna.com
Vinny & Stephanie were excellent hosts and took care of all organisation. All we had to do was arrive at the boat on time each morning with necessary personal equipment and the rest was taken care of. We had two apartments for the week which were adjacent to the dive centre, one street from the harbour side and a short walk to the centre of town. Perfect.
Water temperature 22C, so it was either a 7mm wetsuit / semi-dry or a 5mm wetsuit with an additional 5mm shortie over the top for most of us. I was toasty warm most of the time!
Sunday – A morning to ourselves, followed by an afternoon intro dive at Punta Tegge. I hour dive to 20m using 32% nitrox. A mid channel dive between the mainland and La Maddalena island.
Octopus, Yellow tail Barracuda, Groupers, yellow striped moray, Nudibranch and much much more. Colourful flowing yellow and orange anemones, corals, sea squirts provided a great backdrop.
Monday – Two morning dives to the Lavezzi Islands. They are across the Strait of Bonifacio and part of the neighbouring French island of Corsica. First dive was an encounter with very friendly and particularly large Groupers. A 16m shot line entrance and exit to a rocky outcrop at 28m known as ‘Grouper City’, Secca della Cernie. Second dive at Faro di Lavezzi at 27m. Big topography, gentle descent, swim throughs.
Tuesday – Two morning dives, Secca di Spargiotello, 28m & Canalone di Spargiotello, 19m. First dive onto a submerged rock pinnacle, with swim throughs and dramatic rock formations. Second dive in a sheltered bay of a small island. This was really clear, visibility over 30m. There was a big drop off on the east side, with Barracuda and Dentex feeding off the large shoals.
Wednesday – First dive: Punta Sardegna, 30m. Large Scorpion fish. Second dive Johannes Point, 21m. Large statue of an Angel on seabed commemorating the sinking of a ship in WW2 by the British.
Thursday – Both dives: Punta Tegge, 24m & 13m. Due to a storm blowing through over past 24 hours, this spot provided us with shelter from a somewhat windier and more choppy sea.
Friday – Best dive of the trip for seeing shoals of Barracuda and more big Groupers. Secca di Washington, 22m has current running down one side, where 200 plus Barracuda cruised around and picked off their prey at will. Jacks and Dentex joined in the feeding. Last dive was back to Secca di Spargiotello, 20m was a good sign off to some very good end of season diving.
11 dives in total and over 11 hours of diving. We had a great time in Sardinia.
