Diving GBR & Coral Sea in Late August: What Should I Know / Bring?

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Randallr

Contributor
Messages
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Location
New York, NY
# of dives
200 - 499
Thanks to great feedback from this group, I am going to do Mike Ball's 4-day GBR & Coral Sea liveaboard trip Aug. 27-31. The water's a bit cool for me, at 75 degrees F. What should I know about the boat, accommodations, staying comfortable in the water and in the air, crew, tipping, etc.? Also, since I'm a photographer, are there macro opportunities there at that time, or is this mostly a set of w/a scenes? Any other photo suggestions?

Really, I'd like any and all recommendations for anything. Scubaboarders are the best dive focus group on earth.
 
1. Boat is big and comfortable. Big dive deck with plenty of space for your dive and camera gear.
2. Accommodations - it's a boat. Rooms are reasonable size with charging points, and I never found hot water to be an issue while showering.
3. Late August - pack sweats of some kind. It probably won't be "cold" as such, but it will probably be quite windy. Daytime temps right now are around 25-26C, but it's down around 10-11C at night. Add in the wind, especially after doing 5 dives, and you'll be wanting to wrap up a bit! Full length wetsuit recommended - I dive a 5/4 mm at this time of year.
4. Crew are awesome, and they'll chat to you once you're aboard about what you want. If you want to just go off and do your own thing with a buddy, you can. If you want a bit of guidance, they usually have 1-2 DM's in the water on any given dive that you can follow around. It's all very flexible depending on your experience and comfort level in the water.
5. Tipping - in Australia this causes a bit of controversy. We don't really do it, because minimum wage here is actually enough to live on. There will be a tip box at the end of the trip when you're settling your on-board account for people to contribute to, but please don't feel obligated to tip here. Australian's will rarely tip at home, and even then, tend to only do so if someone goes above and beyond.
6. Photography - also a photographer here...There's not much macro on these trips. You might spot a handful of nudis towards the end of the dive as you're coming back up, but by and large, it's all reefscapes, fishscapes, and sharkies.
 
You are also looking at the end of the Mink season so macro is probably not the main focus of the photographers n board right now :)

You should be able to get some great shots.

The boat is so well organised and kitted out that everything is pretty much laid on for you including wash tubs for your camera equipment, chargers on board and laptops for download etc.

On the topic of tipping, whilst it is not really expected I can attest that as pro diver for a few decades now, we get paid a very low wage, and any tips are very gratefully accepted :D and extremely welcome ha ha
 
Thanks to both of you for this! Really great help.

In terms of weather & temperature, it seems daytime temps and the sun will make the deck comfortable in shorts. In the evening, how much time are people spending on deck? I'm wondering what kind of sweats I'd want - a serious hoody and gym sweats, or something lighter? And on a boat like this, are people generally sacking out early, or conversing into the night? In 30 years of diving, I've never done a liveaboard before, so don't know what to expect.
 
On that trip, you're usually up at 6am, in the water at ~6.30am, and then in and out for 5 dives all day, dinner around 6.30-7pm...Most people will sack out an hour or two after dinner so that they can get up at 6am again the next morning.

If you're on the 4 night trip, it means you'll be flying back, so your weight allowance on the plane won't be a whole lot (assuming you're taking your own dive gear). I'd be taking a hoodie at the very least and finding another way to offload some weight from my bag. After a full day of diving at the back end of winter, I'll be wanting warmth. Inside the boat is nice and warm, but after 5 dives, experience says "keep wrapped up".
 
Thanks again, Wetpup. Let me ask you for specific guidance on packing and the weight allowance, because it's bedeviling me. I'll be in Australia on business. The thought of dragging onto the boat a full suitcase of clothing, in addition to my dive equipment and camera equipment, doesn't thrill me. So I have two specific questions:

1. Which of their equipment can I safely rent? Wetsuit, BCD, fins? Wondering if I can get by just with my prescription masks and regulator/octopus/computer? I've rented in the past, but gotten used to my own stuff - especially the weight integrated BCD and open-heel fins.
2. Can you think of any way I can store my non-essential work clothing and stuff while I'm on the boat? Or, assuming I'm going to rent most of my gear, should I just bite the bullet and bring it?

I know these are naive queries, but they're the very reasons I haven't mixed work travel and dive travel in the past.
 
Tanks and weights are included in the standard price and full kit can be hired for $44 per day. Individual items can also be hired if you wanted to bring some of your own. E.g BCD $10 per day, wetsuit $10 per etc. So probably cheaper if you wanted to hire a full set. Maybe just bring your mask, fins and regs as you suggest, for comfort.


Any luggage you don't want to take on the boat can be stored at their offices and there is a weight restriction on the plane of 25kg (55lb) which makes it tough if you have a lot of camera equipment. Wear as much clothing as you can when on the plane so its not in your luggage!
 
Yeah, as Aquapro says, there's a weight limit on the plane that will take you back from Lizard Island to Cairns. They will weigh your bags (both carryon and checked) at the Mike Ball office in Cairns before you get on the boat so that it meets the limit, because the plane is small, and the weight really is a genuine issue - you can't pay for excess, so there is no "bullet biting" to really be had. You simply can't take it if you're over the weight limit. You leave all your spare stuff in Mike Ball's office in town.

For 4 days, I'd honestly be packing my camera gear and fitting everything else in around that until I hit the weight limit. Wear as much heavy stuff on your body as you can. Even I, who happens to live in this part of the world, will hire half the dive gear on board if I'm only doing the 3 or 4 day trip out because of my camera gear. The only way to really get away with taking all your own dive gear if you're a photographer is to do the 7 night trip so that you're not flying in either direction.
 
Just my opinion on the tipping aspect. I tip the crew the same amount, no matter what country I dive in . Usually between 5% and 10% of my trip cost. And yes, I am an Australian resident.
 
Just did a trip with Spoilsport in July. Easy boat from which to dive, good crew, you should have a great time. During the day a few people would catch some sun on the top deck, but most would hang out in the lounge or at the tables just aft of the lounge, which are relatively protected from the breeze. I tend to stay up late, and was up in the lounge during overnight passages, and almost never saw a soul after 10pm. As a photographer from the US, just note that the in room 110v has no ground, i.e. it is a two prong outlet only. I brought a multi outlet surge suppressor, and couldn't plug it in. There is a grounded 110v outlet at the camera station, but I wouldn't count on it staying dry, and the outlet is recessed so not all plugs will fit. Many electronics chargers, eg for my laptop, will work on 220, but you need to bring a plug adapter. Have fun!
 

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