Home / Blog / Isla Pantellería . ¡Buen buceo! – Good Dive!

June 10, 2008

Isla Pantellería . ¡Buen buceo! – Good Dive!

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©OCEANA/ Keith Ellenbogen

 

At 8 am the dive team assembled for our first dive in the Mediterranean as a team. From Left to Right Keith Ellenbogen, underwater photographer; Alberto Iglesias, Diver Master; Enrique Talledo (Kike ), underwater videographer; Thierry Lannoy, Dive Master; and Carlos Perez, Operations Manager.

Our dive objective was to remove fishing net that was caught in our propeller while we were anchored in Ibiza — by a careless tramelnet fisherman. About a week later in the perfectly calm bay of Isla Pantelleria Thierry and Alberto removed the entangled fishing net with two knives. Kike and myself photographed and documented the work.

Wearing a 7mm wetsuits, one a time, we gracefully jumped 15 ft off the Oceana Marviva into the crystal clear and cold (68?F 20?C) water. My Sea & Sea underwater housing and strobes were lowered with the RIB (Rubber Inflatable Boat) into the Med.

Immediately after removing the net we changed tanks and went for an exploratory dive along the rocky shore of Isla Pantelleria. From the RIB wearing our scuba diving equipment we rolled backwards into the water and slowly descended into the vibrant blue ocean.

The clear water and rocky bottom was covered with a deep green sea grass. With the exception of a few small wrasse, I did not see any fish. However, looking under a couple crevices I found a large spiny lobster moving his antennae side to side.

Even though we didn’t see many fish — it’s a great feeling to be immersed and weightless — and after about 40 minutes at a maximum depth of 50ft we ascended to the surface feeling rejuvenated.

In the afternoon the Oceana Marviva set a course for Malta. We should arrive tomorrow.