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Dive Review of Mike Ball Dive Expeditions/Spoilsport in
Australia/Great Barrier Reef

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions/Spoilsport, Oct, 2008,

by Michael J Millet, CA, USA (Top Contributor Top Contributor 93 reports with 59 Helpful votes). Report 4539.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments The Spoilsport is a twin-hull boat that can take many divers; our trip had over 25. With this many divers, the dive deck gets a bit congested but meal time can be a real free-for-all. Meals are all buffet so one had to be somewhat aggressive in order to get enough to eat -- especially for dinner. The BBQ's were excellent with lots of shrimp, beef, chicken and kangaroo. Kangaroo steak is delicious; it's best cooked rare. Goes well with a glass of shiraz!

The crew were very helpful and friendly going out of their way to fulfill requests and to solve any problems. We had a regulator issue that they resolved and the fix for my camera tray was quite ingenious. The dive briefings were thorough and accurate. Dive guides were provided upon request as were dive buddies. A crew member was always a willing dive buddy. Most of the diving is from the mother vessel with a few dives from the rubber duckies.

Most dive sites were large enough to accommodate many divers but at a couple - lighthouse bommie and steve's bommie -- it got a bit congested. The shark dive on Osprey Reef was well done. One of the best I have experienced.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Palau, Yap, Truk, Kosrae, Solomon Islands, Galapagos, Socorros, all over the Caribbean.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, cloudy Seas choppy, surge
Water Temp 80-82°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Must dive with a buddy; no deco diving
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Plenty of camera table space with compressed air. Dive crew considerate of camera gear. The boat engineer, Stirling, did a great job rigging up a part to fix my camera tray after it broke. This enabled me to continue using 2 strobes.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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