2000 Chapbook

Cairns, the jumping-off spot for the Great Barrier Reef, is a youth-oriented, tropical city with plenty of hotels and restaurants as well as an assortment of day boats going to the Reef and overnight trips to Cod Hole.Cairn's "beach" is a mud flat dotted with roseate spoonbills and other tropical birds, and you can visit the reptile farm to gawk at saltwater crocodiles eating chickens or take the Kuranda Railway for a look at a magnificent waterfall. Be sure to order a hamburger "with everything" to see how it's supposed to be done.... The best diving, with pristine reefs and oodles of fish, is to the north, reachable only by live-aboard during their summer months, roughly November to March. The Ribbon Reefs are known for big sharks,lots of them, including fleets of bronze whalers.... Pack safety sausages, whistles, strobes, mirrors, and any other safety devices that would make you noticeable if a current carries you too far from the boat.... Pricey Lizard Island is the northernmost land-based operation; they have day trips to Cod Hole to pet friendly, refrigerator-sized potato cod. To the south, the wreck of the Yongalaout from Townsville may be the best fish-covered wreck in the world.... Summer weather is sultry and oppressive, with tropical showers.... Water temperature is below 80 and colder in their winter, so bring rubber; visibility can at times be in the 50-foot range. Moving from Queensland south, you'll pass from full-on tropics, through temperate water, to chilly water in Sydney, and finally into the really cold stuff when you reach Tasmania.... Don't worry about the Great White in the GBR; they hang around south of Sydney....

For a full review of the following Australian live-aboards and destinations, see:

Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris - Kangaroo Island, Australia, Undercurrent- October 1999

True North- Australia, Undercurrent- April 1999

The Spirit of Freedom,In Depth- January 1995

SV Atlantic Clipper/Down Under Dive, July 1999, John DeRoo (jderoo@alum.mit.edu), Hopkinton, MA. Vis: 10-40 ft. Water: 23-24 Celsius. Weather: windy, rainy, cloudy. Water: choppy, surge. No more than 4 dives/day. They kept track of depth, time, and safety stops for each diver, and did PADI dive table calculations, but let divers with computers manage their own dives. Made a lot of noise about reverse-profile repetitive dives. One divemaster made it clear that we were to return with no less than 50 bar, but another told me that 50 bar is when we should start the safety stops. Only one "freshwater" tank - used for general equipment and cameras. No table or workbench. Excellent outfit for a first dive trip. Several classes on the boat and the operation seemed geared toward the beginning and intermediate diver. They include rental equipment, but computers are not available, and compasses had to be requested. Food was solid. Cabins in the bows are fairly quiet, but a passenger in Cabin 1 mentioned that the generator noise was loud. Hot tub wasn't heated in the winter. Signout/in procedure, a lookout whenever there was a diver in the water, and list we had to sign when they moved the boat to another reef. (Telephone +61 70-31-1288; Tel/Fax +61 70-31-1373; Fax +61 70-31-1210)

Nimrod III,June 1999, Kirk & Richelle Fleischer (kirkandrichellefleischer@erols.com), Baltimore, MD. Vis: 30-70 ft. Water: 75-78 degrees. Windy, cloudy. Water: choppy. Restrictions: None. Nimrod IIIshould be called the "Jenny Craig Dive Boat" due to complete lack of quantity of food and the poor quality of the limited food served. My husband, 6'6", was starving due to lack of protein. Another family on the boat had 3 college aged sons who were also very hungry. No accommodations made for special diets such as vegetarian or people who like their food plain, both of which were expressed several times before the trip. The dive master could not speak English so briefings were just that "brief" and you were left to read the diagram drawn. Save your money and go with Mike Ball! (Telephone +61 70-31-5566p Fax +61 70-31-2431)

Nimrod III,June 1999, Mary Temple, NYC. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 77-78 degrees. Restrictions: General profile. The Nimrodhas seen better days. It even sprang a leak on our last day. Booked the master cabin that is much smaller than it looks in the picture. We were to have fresh towels every day but these failed to appear. Food was ho-hum, but tasted good after four dives/day. Diving was marvelous. Lion fish galore, sea snakes, sharks, nudibranchs, turtles, coral as far as you could see, schools and schools of fish, free-swimming eels on a night dive, all topped off by a dive with minke whales! Friendly staff, especially Yuki the lead divemaster and Marco the chef.

Ocean Quest/Deep Sea Divers Den (Cairns), April 1999, Randy Sauer, Cudahy, WI. Vis: 30-50 ft. Water: 78-80 degrees. My second ocean trip. 2-day, 1 night live-aboard. 7 dives, Saxon and Hastings Reef rained every day, fairly good chop. Had to stay on same 2 reefs due to weather. Max depth about 75'. Lots of big wrasse and cod, lots of fish and coral. One 4' cuda. Turtles, reef sharks every time down. All rental equipment had computers. Depth comfortable. Food quantity limited. E-mail conversations said everything included, though no towels on board. Crowded boat. Would not stay more than 3 days on it. Mostly alum 80s. (Telephone +61 70-31-2223 or +61 70-52-1404 or +61 70-54-1413; Fax +61 70-31-1210)

Spoilsport,October 1998, Bruce A. Bokori, Highland, IN. Vis: 70-100+ ft. Water 78-81 degrees. Dive restrictions: 10' more than deepest dive. Very over priced for one week. Every towel had a hole in it. They turned linen once during the week. Crew was not friendly, the tour person was too authoritative. Treated us like 7 yr. olds. They acted like they were doing us a favor. I guess they forgot who pays for the trip. For what I paid for one week in the Coral Sea I could have stayed in Costa Rica for 6 weeks. (Telephone 800-952-4319 or +61 70-31-5484 or +61 7-4772-3022; Fax +61 7-4721-2152 or +61 70-31-5470)

Spoilsport,November 1998, Kurt and Lisa van Brero (wahoo@pcez.com), Issaquah, WA. Wish I had found Undercurrentbefore my trip. I hold a Master Unlimited Any Ocean License and have Mastered some of the finest yachts available. Spoilsportis seaworthy, but the condition of the vessel falls below the advertised standards. Air conditioning does not work efficiently. Stateroom air conditioners drip water onto the berths causing wet bedding and moldy odor. Generator capacity is sub-par, which prevents equipment and conveniences to operate simultaneously. Sun deck nice, but no shade deck. I question the Captain's ability and seamanship; his primary concern must be the safety of his passengers and crew, both direct and implied. He showed neither. His handling of the vessel during transit from one location to another consisted of two speeds - full speed ahead or dead stop. At 2100 hours he would weigh anchor and steam at full speed directly in the trough or head into the seas so he could anchor again at 0200 or 0300 hours. This imprudent and ridiculous practice resulted in some passengers getting seasick while others were thrown from their bunks. Unsecured items were tossed all over the vessel. Since we started diving at 0700, why couldn't he throttle back and take a couple more hours. Services were acceptable, but far from what we expected for the upscale price; we had roaches in the staterooms. While the cook, James, did an adequate job with what he had to work with, the quality and selection of food were mediocre at best. I estimate the food budget did not exceed $8/passenger/day. Food and service were completely unacceptable for a trip costing twice as much as other live-aboards in Townsville. Couldn't understand why the menu didn't take advantage of the local meat, seafood, produce and tropical fruit. They fed us a steady diet of watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew. Australia has excellent beef and lamb, and exceptional seafood, but most evening meals were chicken dishes. The few beef dishes were terrible. One seafood dish we had was excellent. Three times I asked the crew if I could go fishing and was told "no." And fishing was one of the "special services" offered aboard your vessel. On the second to last evening, one of the crew asked why I hadn't brought back any lobster? Had we known this was an option, most of us would have taken advantage of it. After the allotted wine had been consumed with the evening meal, the passengers were expected to buy more wine if we wanted another glass, though the crew had consumed half the wine. I object to purchasing additional bottles when the crew helped us consume the night's allocation. B-B-Q was a great success. Dive crew a good group of people. Dive policies well suited to the "adventurous diver." Four dive locations were not diveable, and were cancelled. Rather than sending everyone into the water only to surface fifteen minutes later and end the dive, a scouting team could have predetermined that conditions were unfavorable, and another dive location could have been found. Closing the dive deck during meal hours is silly; we were forced to eat breakfast and lunch together, having the small group of 22 always in the water at the same time. If a passenger doesn't eat three meals a day, and instead prefers to dive, that should be the individual's option. Trip should have provided thirty dives, giving us every opportunity offered in their brochure. Instead, we ended with twenty-four dives, eight short of what we planned. The trip itself was fantastic because I had dreamed about it for years and it was our honeymoon but the amenities were far from 5 star and even with a retro fit and updated a/c it wouldn't become 5 star. We were sent $1000 refund, but felt that the company should have been honest up front. I guess for my first live-aboard it taught me about what to ask for/ how to ask it and definitely find out the safety procedures aboard the boat. (Mike Ball, Mike Ball Diving Expeditions, 252 Walker Street, Townsville, Queensland 4810)

Spoilsport,May 1999, Kirk and Richelle Fleischer, Baltimore, MD. Vis: 70-100 ft. Water: 75-78 degrees, choppy. Windy. Only on Yongalaand Scuba Zoo were there restrictions. Photography easy by Mike Ball photography crew. Outstanding dive operation. Starting from a personal send off from Mike himself, to the hot chocolate and hot towels after night dives, I can't say enough great things about the trip. Rich, the tour director, ran a tight ship. They met our dietary requirements with finesse and quantity.

Spoilsport,May 1999, Tom and Cathy Reardon (treardon@procommtelecom.com), Stockbridge, GA. Vis: 75-150 ft. Water: 77-79 degrees. Sunny. Water: choppy. Restrictions: Time and depth limits enforced and verified after every dive. Divers encouraged to plan their dive, and dive their plan. Magnificent diving on GBR and Coral Sea. Trip Director, Rich, ensured that every guest was well-taken care of. Crew was tremendous! Our first live-aboard. Food superb, with more than you could possibly sample. I spent a lot of money, gained a lot of weight, and made friends to last a lifetime.

Supersport,June 1999, Paul Panayotatos, New Brunswick, NY. Vis: 60-100 ft. Water: 75-77 degrees. Restrictions: Depth limits depending on number of dives and whether using computer. Flight to Lizard Island cuts steaming time in half with 25-30 knot winds and 6 foot waves inside the reef. Supersportcrew great; everyone a divemaster; if your buddy skipped a dive someone would suit up immediately. Lots of life and macro mantas shrimp, fireflame shell, ghost pipefish in the table corals. Cod Hole disappointing but Pixie's Pinnacle and Steve's Bommie teaming with life including leopard shark, Barramundi, sea snakes, morays and a 30 ft+ Minke whale. Night dives OK, whitetips on one. Giant step from second deck hairy for beginners. Smooth operation, food mediocre. (Telephone 1888 MIKE BALL or 604 273 6105; Fax 520 556 9598; e-mail: usa@mikeball.com; website www.mikeball.com)

Taka II,December 1998, Paul W.H. Tung M.D. (pwtung@meganet.net), Freedom, NH. Vis: 25-40 ft. Water: 78-82 degrees. Restrictions: 130 ft max. Value 2-3 out of 5. Crew was meticulous to ensure all divers were aboard and recorded their computer profiles and psi post dive. Crew was helpful. Divemaster gave good briefings. Boat was old, run down and slow. (Telephone 800-241-7690 or +61 70-51-8722 or +61 70-51-8722; Fax +61 610-7031-2739)

Undersea Explorer,October 1998, David Merrill, Pomona, CA. Vis: 25-125 ft. Water: 81-83 degrees. 4 dives/ day max., 130 ft. max. depth, computers mandatory. Takes one or two scientists along who brief divers with slide shows and lectures. Two divemasters, each marine biologists also lectured to the divers. Crew friendly and helpful. Boat moved between sites at night. Crossings choppy and noisy, but tolerable. At the sites, boat moored in lee, so conditions were good. Two mechanical breakdowns, but the crew managed repairs so no slowdown in activities. Diving the Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea was the highlight. Great viz, many pelagics and small critters. (Telephone +61 70-51-4777; e-mail: undersea@ozemail.com.au; website www.underseaexplorer.com)

Watersport,April/May 1999, Tom Sheley, Two Rivers, WI. Sole reason for this trip was to dive what was advertised as "the greatest shipwreck in Australia," the Yongala.First dive on this wreck was very disappointing after two weeks in Kwajalin and Truk. Water temp was 68 degrees and visibility was only 20 ft. No one is allowed to penetrate the wreck. The exterior of the wreck is not worth a wreck divers interest. The boat trip out to the wreck is 45 miles. A live-aboard would have been acceptable if the ship wreck was truly available, but with little other to interest me I found that having the lounge, eating, cooking and living facilities all in one central location was noisy and smelly. The crew, like most Australians, were very friendly and helpful. Food was very good, and the sleeping accommodations (although noisy and filled with cooking smells) were very acceptable. When I asked the other divers what they found interesting about the wreck they all noted the marine life. Every one of the 18 others on board (not with our group) were totally unfamiliar with what they were looking at. There were lots of turtles, snakes, and others, but as a wreck interest there was almost none for me. My opinion is that all of the people on board would have been better off going out another 30 miles to visit the reef. I also think Mike Ball should change the descriptive for the Yongalafrom the greatest shipwreck in Australia to the only shipwreck in Australia. And oh, by the way, "if you touch it we will fine and/or deport you." (Telephone 800-952-4319)