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Dive Review of Mike Ball - Supersport in
Australia/Ribbon Reefs/Great Barrier

Mike Ball - Supersport, Jun, 2005,

by Rene Umberger, HI, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 5 reports). Report 2083.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 2 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Planned this trip to be there with the Minke Whales. Absolutely beyond what we expected. A must do trip for anyone desiring close encounters with cetaceans. Shortly after hooking up to a mooring the whales showed up and approached, oggled and circled the boat, divers and snorkelers for hours! They seemed to want to communicate with us and approached closer and closer as the day went on (a testiment to the well controlled program). These whales are hunted by the Japanese once they head for Antartica to feed, and are in need of protection. As for the crew, they're in need of retraining. The staff, service & food quality was well below what we had encountered the previous year. The briefings were much too long and extremely repetitive - a definite waste of precious time. The cook was inexperienced, even serving leftovers for lunch (that weren't that great the first time around). They let their "interns" (free help) enter the water before paying customers. We logged our complaints with Dorothy, Mike Ball's office manager, and she responded perfectly by acknowledging and addressing our concerns and making sure that our next trip with them, 2 days later to the Yongala, was up to par. She went out of her way to provide great service, even taking her own personal time to deliver a forgotten item to us at the dock before departure!

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Calif., Hawaii, Roatan
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather cloudy Seas calm, currents
Water Temp 73-75°F / 23-24°C Wetsuit Thickness 7
Water Visibility 30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Approaching the whales while on scuba is prohibited. Crew seemed to have a hard time discerning hovering from approaching and were a bit over the top at times, but better to be over protective...
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales >2
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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