It wasn’t until late this summer that I was finally able to go on a dive trip. I usually start my diving travels around May, but all my trips had to be cancelled or postponed to a later date due to the travel restrictions imposed by the COVID19 pandemic worldwide.
My first summer 2020 trip would take me to Sardinia, with somewhat difference to my other dive trips in previous years. I would not be using air travel due to the restricted flights available, and instead take a road trip to Sardinia. I started my trip by driving up to Barcelona, where I then got an overnight ferry to Porto Torres in Sardinia. Travelling by car, although makes the trip quite long, has its benefits when been able to carry as much luggage as you want, and not been restricted by airline policies.
Crossing over the border from Gibraltar into Spain, just in La Linea, I already noticed a huge difference. Everyone wearing masks on the streets and almost no sight of anyone out, and hardly any vehicles on the roads! At Murcia, where I stayed to rest in a popular hotel near the centre, I was soon quick to learn I was the only guest in the hotel. I soon realised how different things were just across the border in our neighbouring country, Spain.
Boarding and disembarking the ferry from Barcelona to Sardinia was quite straight forward and easy. The only new regulations in place was that a self-declaration certificate for COVID19 had to be filled in, signed and handed in to the crew on boarding, and when leaving the port at Sardinia, a passenger location form (filled in online 48 hours before arrival) had to be scanned by authorities in Porto Torres.
I stayed in the small town of Palau in Sardinia. Just opposite the town you can see a few Islands minutes away by boat. These are a collection of Islands and Islets which make up the Maddalena Archipelago. The area is a Marine Reserve and rated as one of the best places to dive from in Sardinia.
Diving procedures had also changed due to the COVID19 pandemic. Although things were more relaxed in Sardinia at the time of visiting, and could be compared to how Gibraltar was dealing with the pandemic, the diving was completely different to how we are currently practising COVID19 procedures in Gibraltar.
Off one of the Islands in the Maddalena Archipelago we find an aircraft engine. The Engine is from an unknown aircraft. The rest of the plane has never been found but suspected to be from WWII. Sardinia is well known to divers for its crystal clear waters. One of the best in the Mediterranean and easily comparable to that of the Caribbean. The water temperature is also quite warm. I could see the dive boat from the bottom of the seabed looking up!
Although staying in Palau and most of my diving was based around there. I had heard of a special wreck which was located near a town 2 hours’ drive away from where I was staying. I had to go down there to see it!
The KT12 Wreck! She was an Armed German Cargo Ship which was sunk by a torpedo fired from the British Submarine HMS Safari. The attack happened during WWII on the 10th June 1943. Until recently, little was known about her "mission". Only when one of the last surviving passengers was interviewed did we find out her true story. The ship was heading for North Africa, with a group of engineers and technicians and a cargo of trucks and antennas, which are now scattered along the seafloor. The mission was to test some new long range antennas and frequencies for Germany. Little did they know the mission would end up in such tragedy.
Below is a video from my dives in Sardinia:
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