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Dive Review of Mike Ball's Supersport in
Australia/Great Barrier Reef

Mike Ball's Supersport, Jun, 2004,

by John Crossley, CA, USA (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 28 reports with 10 Helpful votes). Report 1360.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments
Mike Ball’s Supersport
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
June, 2004
John Crossley

What a classy operation Mike Ball has! I was originally booked on back to back Mike Ball boats, the Spoilsport and the Supersport, but a large group on the Spoilsport cancelled at the last minute leaving just two of us booked for the week. To compensate, Mike Ball Company refunded half my money and booked me on another livaboard (Spirit of Freedom) for free. They also paid for my transportation down to Townsville so I could dive two days on the Yongala. That diving and four days at a nice hotel were covered as well.

Although the Supersport is the smallest of Mike Ball’s three livaboards, it’s still an excellent ship. My room had above average space for a livaboard, and although it did not have a toilet or shower, there were four shower/toilet rooms just a few steps away, and never a wait. There is an excellent dive deck, with two rinse bins for cameras only, and a decent sized camera table. Food on the ship was excellent and there was no charge for soft drinks.

Dive guides went with the less experienced divers, but the very thorough dive briefings allowed buddy teams to find most of the “good stuff” anyhow. Sometimes the dive guides marked certain sites with light sticks so everyone could find the subject (fire clam under a ledge, etc). We did two dives at Lighthouse Reef because it had excellent macro life, several sea snakes, a school of jacks, and lots of the usual tropical fish. However the highlight was having three curious Minke Whales hang around the boat during both dives. They came right up to divers and looked us in the eye! Steve’s. Bommie was also good because of a Woobegong shark, turtles, octopus, lionfish, and two beautiful porcelain crabs in a bright green anemone. Cod Hole with its friendly Potato Cods was also great fun. Overall visibility ranged from 50 to 80 feet and water temps were 77 to 79 degrees.




Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Sipadan, Galapagos, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Truk, Palau, Yap, Florida, Cayman Islands & more
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather windy, cloudy Seas choppy
Water Temp 77-79°F / 25-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-90 Ft/ 15-27 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Some time limits but reasonable
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales >2
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 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 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Good Camera table & rinse buckets. E6 processing did good job
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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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