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During the Second World War Malta depended on a series of convoys carrying provisions of essential supplies such as food, fuel and ammunition. In March 1942, a convoy of four merchant vessels was escorted from Alexandria to Malta, carrying approximately 26,000 tons of relief supplies. Multiple attempts by the Italian Regia Marina to disrupt this Malta-bound convoy would become known as the Second Battle of Sirte.
HMS Southwold was a Type II Hunt-class escort-destroyer, built to counter submarine and aerial threats. It was built by J. Samuel White and Company and launched on the ninth of October, 1941. A total of eighty-six Hunt-class destroyers were built, of which seventy-two were commissioned for the Royal Navy. The vast majority of these served in the Mediterranean between nineteen forty-one and nineteen forty-five, earning a high reputation for their convoy escort duties.
In March nineteen forty-two, HMS Southwold departed the port of Alexandria as part of the MW10 convoy, escorting four commissioned merchant vessels, the Breconshire, Pampas, Talabot, and Clan Campbell, to Malta. This British convoy was unable to reach the relative safety of the Grand Harbour under the cover of darkness as was initially planned, owing to several attempts by the Italian fleet to disable the convoy, leaving them exposed to intense Axis air raids on their approach to Malta. The merchant vessel Clan Campbell was sunk approximately thirty kilometers off the Maltese coast, and the fuel tanker Breconshire was left damaged off Żonqor point on the south-eastern coast, awaiting a tow into the Grand Harbour. The Pampas and Talabot entered the Grand Harbour only to be damaged by Axis bombs days later. HMS Southwold was dispatched, together with HMS Beaufort, to escort Breconshire into the harbour. Whilst attempting to pass a line to the fuel tanker in heavy weather conditions, HMS Southwold activated a mine, sustaining major structural damages and flooding the engine room. The tug Ancient was dispatched to tow the severely damaged HMS Southwold. However, her hull split and the escort-destroyer slowly sunk on the twenty-fourth of March, nineteen forty-two. Whilst the majority of the crew were rescued, one officer and five ratings lost their lives. Only nineteen percent of the approximately twenty-six thousand tons of cargo carried between the four merchant vessels actually reached Malta.
HMS Southwold lies in two sections outside Marsaskala Bay. The bow section of the vessel lies on its starboard side at a depth of 65 metres. The stern of the escort-destroyer lies upright on the seabed approximately 300 metres away at a maximum depth of 72 metres. The wreck is a war grave and caution due to unexploded ordinance must be exercised.
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Brigitte SSuper organized diving center with great equipment and varied diving spots This year I went diving on Gozo. As I was looking online for a diving center that offers diving to the "Tuna Farm", I came across Gozo Dive St. Andrews, which turned out to be a great find. I was able to clarify everything in advance by email, so all the paperwork was already done when I arrived. Well organized and very friendly. I was looked after by Anthony, who chose the right equipment for me with me. Everything was very new and well maintained :-) As it wasn't that busy yet, there was only one other diver in our group. Anthony gave us good information about the spot and we went straight across the street into the water. Everything was very relaxed. As we realized on the second day of diving that my qualifications were not sufficient for the spot, Anthony and Lean immediately looked for options. They offered me the "deep diving" course so that I would no longer be restricted in the future. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for this course this time. Even during the trip across the island to the spots, Anthony gave us interesting details about the island. Thanks again for the all-round support :-) I will definitely come back to Gozo and my choice will again be "Gozo Dive St. Andrews".Verified
thel6710/10 for Gozo Dive Second time with St Andrews. Fab instructor Ericka for my OW course, learned loads & went on further dive with Simon, hugely informative. Sites were amazing, what an island under & over water. Mark, Natalie & staff very welcoming, & organised our transfers, accommodation & gave suggestions. Very impressive team, working hard to cover everything & ensure safety. 10/10. Thanks Gozo Dive 💝Verified
Erik SSt Andrew’s dive shop, Gozo Amazing dive shop! Martin made our week dive experience. Easy to work with and very accommodating. Recommended for diver with experience. My group is all advanced open water and Nitrox certified with no need for dive guide. Very knowledgeable about conditions and very accurate daily dive site recommendations.Verified
Rory KIncredible people and excellent place to learn I did my Advanced Open Water padi course with St. Andrew’s Divers Cove the experience was exceptional. my instructor Simon is one of the best instructor I’ve had, friendly, excellent knowledge and amazing instructor. Simon has made me better and a more confident diver through conducting the padi course in a knowledge able and entertaining way!Verifiedthel67Comes with Free bananas 😂😎 New to this dive school - happy customers. Well experienced staff, confident, informative, attentive & fun. Owner presence & oversight ensures well run system & quality delivery with good vfm. Thanks for the fun days out, til next time 🤗💚Verified
SandraGreat Great ! Very well organized club, attentive, multilingual. For a stay with 10 dives, the objective has always been to introduce us to new sites each time. A special mention for Simon, who was our guide, and who is great.Verified
chris gSt andews dive shop gozo As a diver I have always known of this dive shop in Gozo and have had air fills from there . On a recent holiday we visited Gozo and my friends car who keeps his car in malta to use on holiday/ diving trips broke down with a broken clutch cable . I suggested we go to see Mark at St Andews dive shop to see if he could recommend a good mechanic . Well to cut a long story short Mark the governor was so helpful he arranged his mechanic to fix the problem and the car was fixed within four hours . We were delighted as we were only on gozo for one day and were due to fly out a few days later so thankyou Mark and his mechanics !! On my many visits to Gozo the St andrews dive shop is always busy and customer friendly . If your planning a diving trip give that diving shop a goVerified
Olivier LBeautiful diving holidays For a first in Gozo, a perfect success... Very professional center, both in terms of well-structured dives and safety, both in terms of magnificent sites, both in terms of pleasant and really available supervisors as well as the organization of transfers and accommodation. A truly relaxed vacation, to be repeated without a doubt.Verified
Laetitia WTo do Great instructors, very professional and caring. A good pre-dive brief, a good debrief, excellent advice. Thank you ! However, be careful, this is not clear, you cannot share a diving pack with several people. Prices are per person! So 3 people doing a dive the price is 3 times a dive... Too bad 😢Verified
EvercuriosGreat days diving We had the best refresher day with st Andrew’s dive centre. We hadn’t dived for 15 years or more and we eeee a little apprehensive but that evaporated very quickly. We were set up so just the two of us went out with our dive master Erika in xlendi bay. She really helped us to feel comfortable and in control and we had full faith in her. She obviously new the bay well and gave us a beautiful experience pointing out various fish and squid then ultimately taking us through the ledge. She went above and beyond by taking many great photos of us diving and the things we saw which she sent to us as a memento. Mark in the office was reliable and well organised and all the team were super friendly. Really recommend
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Mark VassalloGreat dive for a rusty diver like myself and my girlfriend. Xlendi bay and the adjacent tunnel seem ideal for this. Jack, our instructor was very patient and we felt in good hands all the way, which is what we wanted.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Fränze Svarre-LindnerFantastic diving experience for me and my boyfriend who were a little rusty. Jack, the instructor made us feel safe the whole dive without being too concerned and letting us experience xlendi bay and the underwater tunnel. Also have to mention service was 5/5 😊Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Keith TandyThe team was great to work with! Very professional, adaptable and flexible. I provided a few preferred dives and a small window of opportunity. As we closed in on the date, both the dive shop and I had to move things around. In the end, they provided my top two locations, had perfectly sized gear from head to foot (I'm quite tall), provided a great instructor (thanks Jaques), and we had a seamless day with a bonus of almost unlimited visibility (40 M+). To top it off, back at the dive shop, we lunched right around the corner in a nice seafront cove restaurant at the Moby, their recommendation.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
AlexandraTrès bon accueil de la part de tout le service, Lien et Bruno étaient d’excellents moniteurs qui nous ont fait passer un excellent moment entre copines. Nous avons effectué 3 baptêmes et 1 snorkeling. Je recommande à toutes les personnes (notamment français) de faire vos plongée ici !Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Arnaud ANGERUn séjour incroyable chez Gozo Dive. L’équipe est attentive et s’adapte très rapidement aux besoins et aux niveaux de chacun. Ils prennent le temps qu’il faut pour que les plongées se passent dans les meilleures conditions. Les plongées proposées sont magnifiques Je recommande vivement. Merci encore à Nathalie, Mark et Simon pour cette belle expérience.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Félicien PageUne première expérience absolument unique et magnifique en son genre ! Une baie magnifique, des instructeurs très sympas et professionnels ! Merci pour tout Charles & Dawn :)Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
sebhaSuper accueil, belle organisation, centre vraiment au top pour faire de belles plongées à Gozo et Comino! Dommage que leur bateau n’était pas disponible… mais ils en ont affrété un pour un jour donc on a pu profiter de Comino quand même! Merci Mark, merci Charles et toute l’équipe ! 👌🏻Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
thelma bleheinCompleted OWD with Erica & follow up dive with Simon. Really positive experience with GozoDive overall. Instructors were clear, with good briefing prior to each session- learned loads with ease & look forward to learning more. Would definitely recommend this dive centre, well organised, confident in their focus on safety, and good range of dive locations in what I saw. Mark Busuttil and team in the office were always cheerful, happy to help with any dive related, advice, as well info on locality. Transfers to/from airport, snorkelling for others in our group, accommodation all arranged seamlessly. This was my second time with Gozo Dive & will no doubt be back again. All in all a very enjoyable positive experience- a breath of fresh air !Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Theunis vanAardtFrom the beginning of planning this trip for a group of 8 people, the people at St Andrews was wonderful. Helping with arrangements to get from airport and back. Giving good instructions for where to dive (we were there in March so windy days) and helping individuals with gear. I cannot stress how much I will recommend this store to anyone that plans to dive Gozo. Special thanks to Charlayne and Mark. We loved every dive - and the organization within the store (tanks and gear room) was brilliant! They would be the first name on my list for any future Gozo trips. Sadly I cannot give more stars and sadly we had to leave......
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