Night Swimming...

Today has a peaceful hush about it. People are taking it easy and conserving their engery. But as the sun starts to slowly set over the bays of St Julians, a quiet buzz will begin. Tonight we are Night Diving and the whole day looks forward to that moment! New divers will kits up in the dusk light, perhaps a little anxious, but also excited. If you thought that going underwater revealed a whole new world, then going underwater at night changes that world yet again.

The eerie but calm experience of floating in the darkness, viewing only where your torch light extends - its possible to dream you are in space, or maybe even in a horror movie! The shafts of light searching through the black seem like something from an alien space ship. Though we move slowly and breathe in a relaxed manner, no-on can deny the loud thump of their heart beat as they wait for the next surprise to dart under the beam of the lamp...

We will see creatures that hide away in the daytime, now boldly gliding out in the open - Cuttlefish, Octopus and Moray Eels. The fish that we saw in the day will also seem new to us, displaying different behaviours. The lack of sun hides some things from us, but now against the dark, we can easily see the pin-prick reflections of tiny eyes amongst the rocks - shrimp and crabs.

While Paceville thumps with noise and bustle, we will be silent stealthy creatures (except for the sound of bubbles) and go night swimming...