Edward Arrigo Biography

Sunday Circle September 2010 edition

“Please take care of them,” says Edward Arrigo,
handing me four old photo albums. “They
are all my life.” I skim through the old pages,
covered in fading and tattered newspaper
cuttings and old photographs, a few going
back more than 50 years.

Clippings in the first album talk of this
promising young man taking the world of
spearfishing by storm between his junior and
senior wins. “Successful outing for young
competitor,” a headline reads, showing a
picture of Edward with his winning catch.
“New star,” says another.

Articles, now more than 50 years old, talk of
Edward closing the gap between him and the
more experienced leader at the time. “Arrigo’s
catch… does credit to a champion,” says one
article as it describes a win by the athlete
- even before he had won his first major
tournament the newspapers were referring to
him as a champion.

A later clipping from the same year, 1956,
shows that Edward didn’t quite snatch the
lead from his opponent this time around. “He
could have done better, perhaps had he not
wasted so many chances at the beginning,”
claims one article. Edward “has paid dearly for
past lapses, and has learned his lesson for next
year,” says another.

I am once again riveted by articles that talk
more about him chasing down the same
competitor as I reach 1957. “It would take
a superhuman effort by Arrigo to catch
up.” It seems it may pan out the same as the
year before. But I leaf through and find the
headline: “Arrigo’s splendid catch lands him
triple crown” – superhuman indeed.

“This is when I won the coveted Rolex,” says
Edward, flashing his wrist as he still wears the
watch more than 50 years later; now, at 70,
he still cuts a trim and fit figure. The Rolex
championship is one of many awards won
by the spearfishing legend as he tells me he
has around 110 trophies at his home. From
this point on, his scrapbooks are filled with
photographs showing the sportsman being
presented with numerous trophies at award
ceremonies. His home must be full to the
ceiling with them.

The years that followed Edward’s epic

lastminute win took him and his colleagues
around the world, representing Malta in
different world championship tournaments
in underwater fishing. “We went everywhere
from Cuba to Portugal,” he says nostalgically,
noting the sense of pride he gained
representing his country as he points to
a score sheet that lists Malta as seventh
out of 30 nations in a world championship
tournament held in the Lipari islands off the
coast of Italy in 1969.

There was always a huge element of
sportsmanship among the competitors,
recounts Edward fondly. “Although we were
rivals when we were out there in the water,
we were always proud of a colleague who did
especially well on an outing.”

Edward himself was known for battling with
the larger fish to bring home. An article,
speaking of an impressive 99 lb. stingray
caught by Edward, says “Arrigo’s catch must

have been a blend of courage, strength and
good luck and clearly demonstrates that for
this sport every bit of energy and strength
counts.”

But there are darker memories too - as he lost
many friends and colleagues along the way and
has kept clippings from newspaper reports on
such events. “It was a dangerous sport because
we dived without any breathing apparatus to
depths of around 28 metres,” explains Edward,
adding that hyperventilation upon resurfacing
“was a killer that took many lives.”

“My parents used to worry greatly about me,”
he adds, “especially when I went abroad to
unknown seas where the unexpected could
happen.” However, he describes his career in
the sport as “very lucky” since he never felt he
was in any danger. “I was definitely one of the
fortunate ones,” he says. Though, recalling just
one disaster, Edward’s voice saddens a little as
he tells me of a colleague that was lost. But he
shies away as we approach the topic in more
detail – perhaps he wants to remember more
the good times than the bad, as if recognising
the danger may change his past in his eyes.
Making light of the moment, he recalls when
in Cuba he came across a turtle the size of four
dinner tables. “At first I thought it was a large
rock,” he laughs, “but then I realised it was
alive.” The sights underwater have always been
a thrill to the man, even to this day. “What you
see today, you may not see tomorrow in the
ever-changing scenery down there.”

Edward’s life hasn’t just been about spearfishing
however. Along the way, he has had three sons, has
undertaken commercial diving contracts in Libya
and Egypt, as well as locally, has been part of a                                   

triumphantwater polo team, owned a succession of

clubs and bars, and now runs his own scuba diving
club, the Preluna Beach Club in Sliema. “I
settled here in 1995 and have been here ever
since,” he smiles.

His passion for the water seems to have been
passed on to his three sons who all have careers
involved in the sport. Kurt is a well-known
underwater photographer and travels with the
Rolex sailing races, Taran has dived in many
places around the world and now works with
his father at the Preluna club, and Shaun directs
educational underwater videos. “We’re a family
of divers,” says Taran as he walks past, catching
what we’re talking about. “Dad has been a huge
influence on all of our lives and led us all in the
direction to something we love.”

As he leafs through the albums and clippings,
recalling the highlights of a lifetime spent in the
sea, Edward talks proudly of his sons, and Fynn,
his grandson, also now taking to the water. “We
often spend some time clearing up litter from the
seabed,” he says. “It may not be much help, but
we try to do our bit.” He is proud to have made
the name Arrigo synonymous with diving, to the
point that he has taken Buzz Aldrin and David
Jason to explore the sea depths. Now, at 70, he
can enjoy a slightly quieter pace of life, passing
on his knowledge of diving to locals and tourists
alike, taking them to see all that he loves under
the surface of the ocean.