GBR Liveaboard Trip from Cairns - which one to choose?

[Dan]

That's a good point, I never thought about this. Do you know if that is the case on all liveaboard boats (SOF, MB, prodive)?
My better half will do the AOW as part of the trip -so for the first few dives we should be save

I let others who have been on SOF & Pro Dive answer that.

FYI, a good guide would, not only take you to the right path (usually starting with against the current, if current is present at the dive site), know when to bring you back to the boat (rule of third, 1/3 of tank to go forward, 1/3 of tank to go back, 1/3 of tank for reserve), but also would point out to you those little fishes & critters, that you would never notice them since they are so well camouflage (like leaft scorpionfish, octopus, crocodile fish, flounder, etc.), especially in places like Steve's Bommie. So, it'll be worth it to hire a DM that knows the area.

Spoilsport loaned us Nautilus Lifeline for free of charge in case we got swept away by current and lost at sea. Fortunately we were all return back to the boat safely.

Make sure you do a pre-dive plan with your buddy on what to do when SHTF. One of my instant buddy disappeared on me during a night dive. All I saw was a faint dive light at a distant. So I chased him, finning vigorously back to the boat. By the time I caught up with him on the boat, it turned out that he ran out of air. He would have signaled me when he spent 1/3 of his tank or at least let me know when his tank was running low so I would have donate my octopus to him and ascent together to the surface and activated the Nautilus Lifeline so the crew on Spoilsport would have taken one of the skiff to fetch us.

 

[btscott]

On SOF, you can dive with a Divemaster if you choose. I prefer the dive your own way aproach. The dive briefings are pretty good and give you enough information on depths, currents, etc... But, you can decide on both MB and SOF before each dive how you prefer to dive.

Regarding sea sickness, yes, MB would probably be the more stable of the two. I was on a top deck cabin on SOF where it would be the least stable and never had an issue with sea sickness.

As far as number of dives per day. It's up to you how you want to dive. Dive as little or as much as you like on a liveaboard. Since your partner is doing AOW, maybe do the Nitrox course while she/he does AOW.

Regardless, I don't think you can go wrong with MB or SOF or the 4 day vs 7 day. I've only done a couple of shorter liveaboards and always wished I had more time. Where as with 7-14 day trips, I felt I had gotten my fill.

BTW, I like parties These are small boats where you get to know people pretty well (for better or worse), should be fun. I'm looking forward to my trip next week and will report back on Mike Ball's Spoilsport and its cheesy party.

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

When are you looking to come over? One thing to bear in mind is Mike Ball and Spirit of Freedom run twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) so plan your itinerary around that, also they book out months in advance. As June to Sept is Minke Whale migration they book out really quickly so don't leave it too late.

If you are coming in June - Sept then MB and SOF trips will win hands down. The Ribbon Reef areas are the best the Reef has to offer. Here is a bit of info of Outer Reef vs Ribbon Reef.

A both MB and SOF travel between the protection of the Reef the trips can encounter some swells and although both vessels are pretty stable take some seas sickness tablets with you. Not much difference between the 2 when it comes to stability.

With Outer Reef trips there are more than Scubapro (Pro Dive). See here for a few more options and I would not discount Reef Encounter of Ocean Quest either. 2 or 3 days trips to some pretty good spots (details of all the trips dive sites can be found on each of the respective web pages)

 

[Glenndini]

Hi Glenndini, thanks for your response.

Why would you advice to do Osprey and Bougainville compared to Osprey and Lizard island / Ribbon Reefs? are Osprey and Bourgainville not similar(both being really outside of the GBR in the middle of the ocean) meaning that the Osprey and Ribbon Reefs combination gives more diversity?

I am not aware that this combination is available "Osprey and Lizard island / Ribbon Reefs". The trips are usually "half way" at Lizard Island where you either fly in or out depending which half you're doing. Or do the 7 day whole loop for both.
Outer reefs before Lizard on the trip north and inner reefs after heading back south. That's what I've done on Mike Ball anyway.

 

[Schenkeli]

Hi Angelo, thanks for your advice,

The organization of Pro Dive is rock solid, and quite safe. The diving sites were not really amazing, of the 11 dives just 1 (the first one of third day) was really nice.

That's also my "fear" - all the reefs prodive goes to sound similar - whereas especially Osprey and also the Ribbon Reefs sound different. I did my OW course in the Wajsawi Islands next to Fiji and I had really nice dives there - but all were similar. On Fiji I actually prefered snorkelling in the bay in front of the beach hut more than the diving because you saw the same: lots of corrals and little fish. When going diving I wanna see stuff I can not see when going snorkelling. ANd going out to the Osprey Reef sounds exactly like that.

I was not really scared, but our sons had to do an orientation excercise swimming out of the light cone for 50m, turning lef 90° with the compass, swim other 50m, turn left again, and finally returning under the boat for the last side of the square. During this they entered the "shark area"...

Sounds much better than doing it in a sandy marina bay as I did. As long as the visbility is bad it's a good orientation dive

It was my first experience with these dive boats, and I must confess that we prefer "our way" of diving: juts one dive per day, and then do snorkeling or just relaxing all the day: it is holidays, that 11-dives-in-60-hours is not for me.
But I understand that going to Australia is difficult and expensive, and one wants to get the most from the short time available.
If I ever will come back again to Cairns, I will probably go with a different organization, making a longer trip (possibly one week) with no more than 2 dives per day.

I absolutly agree with you. Two dives a day and some other activity in the afternoon is just way more relaxing. But as you say: As Europeans we will go to Australia maybe two or three times in our livetime. That means we wanna make it count. And these trips do cost quite some money - so in the end you wanna get in as much diving as possible. But more than 4 days of diving makes no sense for us, just too much. So the 1 week trip is not an option.

Or do something different, such as renting a 4x4 car, make the offroad path to Cooktown, which is really nice and exciting, and then make some same-day diving excursions from there being lodged at the only decent hotel in Cooktown, which at the time was the Sovereign (now perhaps there are better ones)...

We will be in Australia for 8 weeks, and we will rent a 4WD for 10 days to go to cape york. And after the liveaboard trip we will rent a normal camper for the remaining ~5weeks and go to Mission Beach and the Yongala wreck before heading to the Outback and to the West. We are also planning a stop in Exmouth / Nangaloo reef before finishing our trip in Perth for some more diving, but the majority will happen at the GBR. (https://www.scubaboard.com/communit...ling-tipps-cairns-darwin-exmouth-perth.588375)

Cheers,
Thomas

 

[Schenkeli]

Hi, thanks for your response,

When are you looking to come over? One thing to bear in mind is Mike Ball and Spirit of Freedom run twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) so plan your itinerary around that, also they book out months in advance. As June to Sept is Minke Whale migration they book out really quickly so don't leave it too late.

We are in Australia 10.07. till 05.09.2020 roughly, and we also will do a 4WD trip to cape york either before or after the diving trip. So we are very flexible when it comes to the boar times. But I can see that some trips in July are already booked out. Thats' why I want to nail it down now. Worst thing would be to find out MB and SOF are want we want to do when they are already all booked out.

With Outer Reef trips there are more than Scubapro (Pro Dive). See here for a few more options and I would not discount Reef Encounter of Ocean Quest either. 2 or 3 days trips to some pretty good spots (details of all the trips dive sites can be found on each of the respective web pages)

True - but they are more like swimming hotels. We think that we will like the athmosphere of a medium sized boat more.

 

[Schenkeli]

I am not aware that this combination is available "Osprey and Lizard island / Ribbon Reefs". The trips are usually "half way" at Lizard Island where you either fly in or out depending which half you're doing. Or do the 7 day whole loop for both.
Outer reefs before Lizard on the trip north and inner reefs after heading back south. That's what I've done on Mike Ball anyway.

Hi Glenndini,
with MB that is correct, but SOF has this trip: "Coral Sea & Ribbon Reefs Adventure" - starting e.g. 23.07.2020 with the following route:

"Sleek and spacious, the ‘Spirit of Freedom’ offers the best in live-aboard dive cruising to the Coral Sea and Ribbon Reefs. The 4 Day Coral Sea tour begins Thursday morning at 8.30 AM, with a low-level flight from Cairns along the coastline and over the reef to Lizard Island, to meet the ‘Spirit of Freedom’. The first day will see you diving the very top of the Ribbon Reefs, before overnight travel out to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.

Two days is spent diving the spectacular walls of Osprey Reef, an old volcanic atoll lying 220 km off the coast. Renowned for its spectacular 1000 meter walls, Osprey Reef also offers massive soft corals, amazing shark action, and exceptional visibility. ‘North Horn’ at the tip of Osprey is a site where grey reef sharks, Silvertips, and the occasional oceanic congregate. Here you can also experience a close encounter with the Spirit of Freedom shark attraction dive. The last day is spent at Ribbon Reef Number 3, or occasionally if the weather permits, Bougainville Reef, to the south of Osprey Reef. Overnight travel on the last night, returns you to Cairns early on a Monday morning."

So if everyone works out fine you might even get the Ribbon Reef, Osprey Reef and the Bougainville Reef, which sounds just ideal for us as we are looking for diversity in terms of the diving spots. No Cod Hole, but you can't expect everything to be included in a 4-day trip.

Only thing is that this is not a "Mink Whal Expedition" - so I'm not sure if that means they are not explicitly looking for Mink Whales but there is still a good chance to encounter some - or if they are not even going where the Whales are so chances to see one are practically zero ...

Cheers,
Thomas

 

[Schenkeli]

Only thing is that this is not a "Mink Whal Expedition" - so I'm not sure if that means they are not explicitly looking for Mink Whales but there is still a good chance to encounter some - or if they are not even going where the Whales are so chances to see one are practically zero ...

Okay i just checked Cairns Dive Trips to the Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea with Spirit of Freedom - Discounted Prices guaranteed (Thanks for the link) and the SOF Coral Sea trip seems to include also Cod Hole if suitable on the first day before going out the Osprey Reef and talks about a chance of some more Mink Whale interactions on the way back. Looks like this trip got it all (if you are lucky and the conditions are right)

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Okay i just checked Cairns Dive Trips to the Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea with Spirit of Freedom - Discounted Prices guaranteed (Thanks for the link) and the SOF Coral Sea trip seems to include also Cod Hole if suitable on the first day before going out the Osprey Reef and talks about a chance of some more Mink Whale interactions on the way back. Looks like this trip got it all (if you are lucky and the conditions are right)

Have just sent you a PM about getting the discounts on the prices

 

[Schenkeli]

Hi - me again. I have now heard from some other Tour Operators who are goign to Reefs closer to Cairns that durign July and August SOF and MB are often not going to Osprey Reef because of the strong southerly winds. Is that true or are they simply trying to sell their own cheaper tickets?
Cheers,
Thomas