Middle Finger is one of my favourite examples of a site that does not force one style of diving. The pinnacle rises towards the surface while the surrounding wall drops into serious depth. You choose the dive you are trained and equipped to make.
Site at a glance
The pinnacle
The top of the formation is around eight to ten metres, while the channel and outer walls descend rapidly. That vertical range is what makes the site so useful: recreational divers can have an excellent dive in moderate depth, while technical teams have immediate access to deeper training and planned decompression profiles.
The rock concentrates marine life. Amberjacks, dentex, moray eels and smaller creatures use the cracks and current edges, so it is worth looking both into the blue and into the wall.
Access
Ras il-Ħobż is reached by a rural road towards the south coast of Gozo. The last section can become rough, particularly after rain. Parking is close to the shore compared with some Gozo sites, and the entry is from the rocky coast.
The site is exposed enough that I treat wind direction and sea state as part of the access plan, not something to evaluate after carrying all the equipment down.
Recreational and technical versions
A recreational dive does not need to chase the bottom. Staying around the pinnacle and reef can give a complete dive without exceeding the mid-twenties. The deep water is there; it does not need to be used.
For technical training, the depth and the shallow plateau create a very practical combination. The same geography that gives you depth also gives you a place to spend decompression time without hanging in empty blue water.
BusaBoy note
This is also a site that appears in my own technical logbook at fifty metres. What I like about it is that the deep profile is a choice, not the only way to appreciate the place.
Where it is
GPS reference: 36.01690, 14.27840. Coordinates identify the site area; they do not replace underwater navigation, a current local briefing or an assessment of access on the day.