Le Polynesien

Alexandre Hache & Graham Owens · Issue 124, Jan/Feb 2022 · pp. 47–52

Products mentioned: Sony A7R4, Sony FX-9, Big Blue 33,000 lumen video light, Big Blue 65,000 lumen video light, Panasonic GH5, Isota underwater housing, Lumix S series camera

It has become a ritual that each day at 6pm, we gather around the laptop and deliberate over the following days program. Today, our ‘young’ camera operator Matt, will pick the wreck we will dive on tomorrow. The choice in Malta is always difficult, as it has witnessed some bitter fighting during two world wars and the seabed is littered with high quality wrecks. It is the 6th day of our “Maltese Deep Wrecks” expedition and I feel fatigue is setting in. I see in the eyes of my five comrades the desire to ease off a little. We have already amassed a total of 500m of cumulative depth and 23 hours underwater including 18 hours of decompression stops. It is with some trepidation that Matt proposes the wreck of the SS Polynesien. At only 65m deep and with her mid deck at around 55m, she’s accessible to experienced recreational divers and wasn’t on our original ‘deep’ itinerary. The Polynesien …