Ċirkewwa · Malta

Susie's Pool

A sheltered rocky pool and six metre plateau where half of Malta has learned to dive, with a reef wall dropping to 30 m and a Madonna statue tucked in a cave at 18 m.

Open Water🪸 Reef5 to 18 mShore access: easyPopularity: highAlso called Madonna Statue, Susie's Pool, The Madonna

Plan this dive

Sea conditions

100

Excellent right now

Flat, sheltered and calm

Forecast for the site, updated 02:29 AM

Waves: n/a
Wind: 4 km/h; S, gusts 8
Swell: n/a
Sea temp: n/a; air 25 °C

Next 7 days

Today☁️100 ? m
14 SW

Sat☁️100 ? m
13 SSW

Sun🌦️92 ? m
5 ENE

Mon☁️100 ? m
13 WNW

Tue☁️95 ? m
20 NW

Wed🌤️97 ? m
22 E

Thu🌤️100 ? m
10 NNE

Sunrise 06:47, sunset 19:05

Exposed to wind and swell from: NW (315°), W (270°), N (0°). The alcove gives real shelter and this is usually the last part of Ċirkewwa to become undiveable, but once a northwesterly or westerly builds, the steps wash and the shallow plateau goes cloudy. In northerly through southeasterly winds it is flat and clear. Check the marine park webcam before driving north. Best season: All year when the northwest quarter is quiet, best from May to October. Go early for clear shallows and visit around Christmas if you want to see the crib beside the Madonna..

The dive

Susie's Pool is the front door to Ċirkewwa. The stairs drop you into a natural alcove where the water is waist deep and calm even when there is a bit of movement outside, which makes it the least stressful place imaginable to sort out a mask, fit a camera or run a student through their first skills. Beyond the alcove a rocky plateau sits at around six metres and stretches out far enough to do a whole dive on if that is what the day calls for.

Past the plateau the reef turns into a proper wall and drops away towards 30 m. Partway along it, at 18 m, a small cave holds a statue of Our Lady. She has been there since November 1987, placed by the Amphibians Diving Club, and the club has been quietly adding to the shrine ever since: a commemorative plaque for the twentieth anniversary in 2007, and a small nativity crib alongside her at Christmas 2017. Whatever you believe, finding a face looking back at you out of a dark slot in the rock at 18 m is a moment.

It is also the launch point for everything else. The route to the P29 starts here, past the memorial stone and the old anchor on the seagrass. Because of that the shallows can get busy and hazy by mid morning, so if you want the plateau and the Madonna to yourself, be in the water early. Late afternoon works too, once the training groups have packed up.

Waist deep entry where you can stand up and sort your kit
Six metre plateau made for skills, cameras and first dives
Madonna statue in her cave at 18 m, shrined since 1987
Reef wall dropping to 30 m for those who want a bit more
The starting point for the P29 and the rest of Ċirkewwa

Typical plan

Walk down the stairs, sort yourself out standing in the alcove, then cross the six metre plateau to the edge of the wall. Follow it along at 12 to 18 m until the small cave with the Madonna appears, take a look one at a time, then continue along the wall as deep as 24 to 30 m if you want it before turning shallow. Come back over the plateau and use it as a long safety stop before the steps. An hour on a single set is comfortable, and there is no need for nitrox unless you are pushing the wall.

What the bottom looks like

1Natural alcove and stairs, waist deep entry1 m deep · 5 m out
2Rocky training plateau at six metres6 m deep · 30 m out
3Reef wall begins its drop10 m deep · 70 m out
4Madonna statue, plaque and crib in a small cave18 m deep · 95 m out
5Cavern and ledge line along the wall20 m deep · 110 m out
6Sand at the foot of the wall30 m deep · 140 m out

Cartoon cross-section along the usual route from Susie's Pool stairs into the natural alcove. Depths are approximate.

Flat Coralline limestone plateau close in, then a reef wall of ledges and small caverns dropping onto sand and seagrass.

Who you might meet

Getting in and staying safe

The easiest entry in Ċirkewwa. Park in the diver car park with your certification card on the dashboard, walk a couple of minutes on level ground, and take the stairs with handrails down into the alcove. You can stand up in the water while you finish kitting. The same stairs serve as the exit, which is a blessing after a long dive. Toilets, kiosks, cafes and shade are close by at the ferry terminal.

Extremely busy with training groups, especially on summer mornings
Silt and fin wash reduce visibility in the shallows as the day goes on
Slippery steps and rock at the entry
The wall drops to 30 m and the sand beyond goes deeper, so students can get away from an instructor quickly
Small cave at the Madonna is a genuine overhead, so keep one diver at a time and a torch handy
Surge in the alcove and on the steps in northwesterly swell
Boat and ferry traffic offshore
Jellyfish in late summer

A bit of history

The Madonna statue was placed in her cavern at 18 m by the Amphibians Diving Club in November 1987, and the club marked the twentieth anniversary in 2007 by fixing a commemorative plaque inside the cave, adding a small crib beside her at Christmas 2017. She is one of a small family of Maltese underwater shrines that includes the Christ statue off Qawra Point, the nativity scene at Għar Lapsi and the diving helmet at Wied iż-Żurrieq. Out on the sand towards the P29 there is also a memorial stone to the British diver Frank Pembridge, which doubles as a navigation landmark. The whole area is now managed as the Ċirkewwa Marine Park.

Divers say

No reviews yet. First one gets bragging rights.

Further reading: Ċirkewwa Marine Park: Susie's Pool · Malta Dive Sites: Susie's Pool · Calypso Sub Aqua Club: Marfa Point, the Madonna · Malta Independent: 20th anniversary of the Cirkewwa statue · PADI dive site: Cirkewwa Susie's Pool