slingshot
Contributor
Anyone going aboard Spoilsport in July?
Mike Ball
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OP
slingshot
Contributor
Or thinking of going? Or know someone going? I wanted to see if anyone wanted to meet in Cairns to sightsee the day of departure.
Sir-Dive-A-Lot
Registered
Going in early June, but I suppose that doesn't help sorry.
OP
slingshot
Contributor
Not unless you want to hang around Cairns for quite a while. I wish you a safe trip, and nice diving! Perhaps you can tell me about your trip when you get back.
Sieg@VU
Contributor
Regardless whether you are able to meet-up with someone, there are LOTS of exciting day trips & tours out of Cairns, in fact, you'll find yourself wishing you had more time before and/or after the liveaboard to experience them. I have taken 2 groups to dive with Mike Ball from the states, and all wished they had more time to explore the Cairns area. Have fun.....
I bummed around Cairns for a day on my own a in 2011. Ended up doing the Kuranda Sky/Rail tour which was a great way to kill a day (and see interesting things).
Don't forget that you can drop bags off at the Mike Ball office early if you want to keep on sight-seeing. The gathering at the local waterhole for drinks and food was worthwhile as well to start meeting people.
Don't forget that you can drop bags off at the Mike Ball office early if you want to keep on sight-seeing. The gathering at the local waterhole for drinks and food was worthwhile as well to start meeting people.
OP
slingshot
Contributor
Just returned from the trip, it was a straight there straight back affair with only one night in Cairns inbound in case my luggage failed to keep up. Quite the adventure, if I can get some time to put it all together, I'll post a trip report in the coming weeks.
Would love to see a trip report. I'm trying to book for September/October. Can't decide between the Spririt of Freedom and Spoilsport.
Wanted to do Palau or Phillipines but have heard that Jan/Feb is better for these areas ands we need to get wet waaaay before then
OP
slingshot
Contributor
Okay, if I put this off any more, I'll never get it done. Here's an abbreviated trip report. I flew via SFO and Auckland to Cairns on Air New Zealand. Decent seats, good electronics, with a wide variety of movies on demand. No in seat power in economy. About 12 hours to Auckland, then another 4 1/2 to Cairns. The layover in Auckland was short, but it seems you can make the connection in under an hour. You have to reclear security in the terminal, but you don't have to claim your bags if you are in transit, and the process was smoother than I expected. I flew in one day early, in case my bags didn't keep up, but ended up not doing much other than picking up a few souvenirs for the kids and trying to find some affordable food. Food in Cairns wasn't cheap, but there was more variety than I expected. Cairns seems really geared toward backpackers from Europe and tourists from Asia, Japan largely, but increasingly from China according to my cab driver. I did swing by St. Monica's Catholic church to see the stained glass, it's not a gothic cathedral, but the depiction of the creation was really spectacular. (continued)
---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 10:15 PM ----------
I checked in at Mike Ball's office on the day of departure, and dropped off my suitcase. Later that day guests met at a restaurant by the waterfront, in the Cairns Hilton. The weather was rainy and windy, and foretold of a very windy and somewhat cloudy week. This was to be a week combining northern barrier reef diving with Osprey Reef and Minke whale watching. Mike Ball himself was aboard, with Matt Curnock, a minke whale researcher with years of experience studying the minkes, both doing research and giving some excellent talks on minke biology and behavior. The strong winds this week kept us inshore, so sadly there was no trip out into the Coral Sea, but the diving along the ribbon reefs was worthwhile, for my first diving in the western Pacific. The mix of divers was good, and as seems to be typical for liveaboards, it seems everyone found someone they could hang out with and dive with. The diving was less intense as we were tucked in the shallower reefs, and as snorkeling with minke's took up a couple hours a day when the minkes were about. I did about 16 dives over the week and spent several hours on the minke lines, snorkeling to see the whales. Water temps averaged about 75 degrees, and after sometimes spending 5 or 6 hours in the water in the day, my old 3/2 and 3mm hood wasn't quite enough to keep from getting chilled. If I did it again, I'd go for a 5mm suit. The vis was variable from site to site and over the course of the day. At Acropolis, the vis was great, well over 100 feet, at the low end we probably were in the 50-60 foot range, but usually we were in between. We were under at least partial clouds for much of the week, limiting the available light somewhat, but the major effect of the weather was a bit of a wind blown surface current, which was strongest at our first dive at Cod Hole. The sites were usually easy to navigate, and the pre-dive briefings were concise and useful. As has been mentioned elsewhere on the board, it is an open dive deck with most people diving as buddy pair, in my case I was buddied up with two divers of similar level and we enjoyed a week of diving together. There weren't formal guided dives, but they always asked if anyone needed to be buddied with a crewmember/divemaster, or just needed another guest to dive with. On this trip there was a family diving with younger divers, who were great by the way, and the dive staff went out of their way to help keep eyes on them. (continued)
---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 10:30 PM ----------
As for the dive sites, I enjoyed Cod Hole because the potato cod remind me so much of the black sea bass in California waters, but the cod are more photo friendly. I think some divers feed them, but this did not happen with our group. My favorite sites were Lighthouse Bommie and Steve's Bommie, mostly for the variety of coral and fish life. Apparently the biodiversity on Steve's Bommie is unusually notable, and it has a photogenic group of anemonefish at about 18 fsw that are said to be the most photographed fish on the GBR, which is probably true next to the potato cod. Among the other notable sea life were white tipped reef sharks, occasional turtles, numerous olive sea snakes, lots of soft corals, and several interesting nudibranchs. The dive deck was a bit tight as we were at capacity, but overall the deck was well laid out. Tanks were filled by your typical whips at your dive station, and Nitrox 32 was available, as were meters to check your gas. You had to record your mix and your MOD and state this to the dive deck staff before entering, and they also recorded your dive time and max depth upon return. My fills were typically 3000-3100 psi, and the nitrox stayed pretty much at 32%. Tanks were AL80s with yoke valves, and some had DIN inserts. Entry was either from a midline gate with about a 6ft drop, or you could go in at water level by climbing down the stairs at the back of each hull (Spoilsport is a catamaran, as pretty much everyone knows). I prefer the drop, myself. The staff would grab your camera and hand it to you off one of the swimsteps after you entered. There was a large central camera table, and freshwater buckets dedicated to cameras, into which your camera was placed after each dive. Separate towels were available for the cameras. A dedicated dive deck towel was assigned to each diver (they had an embroidered number matching your dive station) and they would toss them in the dryer in between dives if needed. (continued)
---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 10:48 PM ----------
I was in a basic cabin, without windows, but it was in good shape and each room had an individual AC unit. The larger guest cabins had windows, but this is covered on their website. The catamaran design allowed for lots of room. The cabins are on the dive deck level (except for cabin 15), above which is a large indoor lounge/dining area with a large outdoor veranda. A sundeck was above, but on this trip is was windy enough to preclude its regular use by me. The foredeck was off limits to guests. The boat is aluminum, made by a company that also makes a large number of high speed ferries, including the Hawaii superferry, and one of the two main versions of the Littoral Combat Ship. While I question the survivability of the LCS, I did not question the seaworthiness of the Spoilsport, which seemed a sturdy vessel. While there was lots of rocking and rolling in our crossings, particularly where exposed by gaps in the reef, I thought she could probably handle much more. Hence my constant hope we would cross over to Osprey despite the weather! Food was plentiful, and there was a fridge stocked with beer and wine for those who wanted it, a tab was kept behind the bar for the alcohol. Midweek and on the last night, the BBQ was fired up, and champagne passed around, and the captain regaled us with his guitar, supplemented by Minke Matt's uke and Ollie's drumming. There's a light breakfast on the day of disembarkation, and a transfer to local hotels or the airport is included. Well, I could write more, but it's getting late, and this has already been longer than I expected. If I could change things, I'd love to have internet access aboard, but some people may relish getting to disconnect so fully. I'd also put a strobe or brighter marker light under the boat on the night dives. Overall, I enjoyed my trip very much. The crew was professional, the dive deck orderly and safe, Mike Ball was an entertaining and courteous host, and the marine life was neat. In short, Mike Ball Diving is a good show.
---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 10:55 PM ----------
A short trip video, if the link is permitted: https://vimeo.com/72944114
---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 10:15 PM ----------
I checked in at Mike Ball's office on the day of departure, and dropped off my suitcase. Later that day guests met at a restaurant by the waterfront, in the Cairns Hilton. The weather was rainy and windy, and foretold of a very windy and somewhat cloudy week. This was to be a week combining northern barrier reef diving with Osprey Reef and Minke whale watching. Mike Ball himself was aboard, with Matt Curnock, a minke whale researcher with years of experience studying the minkes, both doing research and giving some excellent talks on minke biology and behavior. The strong winds this week kept us inshore, so sadly there was no trip out into the Coral Sea, but the diving along the ribbon reefs was worthwhile, for my first diving in the western Pacific. The mix of divers was good, and as seems to be typical for liveaboards, it seems everyone found someone they could hang out with and dive with. The diving was less intense as we were tucked in the shallower reefs, and as snorkeling with minke's took up a couple hours a day when the minkes were about. I did about 16 dives over the week and spent several hours on the minke lines, snorkeling to see the whales. Water temps averaged about 75 degrees, and after sometimes spending 5 or 6 hours in the water in the day, my old 3/2 and 3mm hood wasn't quite enough to keep from getting chilled. If I did it again, I'd go for a 5mm suit. The vis was variable from site to site and over the course of the day. At Acropolis, the vis was great, well over 100 feet, at the low end we probably were in the 50-60 foot range, but usually we were in between. We were under at least partial clouds for much of the week, limiting the available light somewhat, but the major effect of the weather was a bit of a wind blown surface current, which was strongest at our first dive at Cod Hole. The sites were usually easy to navigate, and the pre-dive briefings were concise and useful. As has been mentioned elsewhere on the board, it is an open dive deck with most people diving as buddy pair, in my case I was buddied up with two divers of similar level and we enjoyed a week of diving together. There weren't formal guided dives, but they always asked if anyone needed to be buddied with a crewmember/divemaster, or just needed another guest to dive with. On this trip there was a family diving with younger divers, who were great by the way, and the dive staff went out of their way to help keep eyes on them. (continued)
---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 10:30 PM ----------
As for the dive sites, I enjoyed Cod Hole because the potato cod remind me so much of the black sea bass in California waters, but the cod are more photo friendly. I think some divers feed them, but this did not happen with our group. My favorite sites were Lighthouse Bommie and Steve's Bommie, mostly for the variety of coral and fish life. Apparently the biodiversity on Steve's Bommie is unusually notable, and it has a photogenic group of anemonefish at about 18 fsw that are said to be the most photographed fish on the GBR, which is probably true next to the potato cod. Among the other notable sea life were white tipped reef sharks, occasional turtles, numerous olive sea snakes, lots of soft corals, and several interesting nudibranchs. The dive deck was a bit tight as we were at capacity, but overall the deck was well laid out. Tanks were filled by your typical whips at your dive station, and Nitrox 32 was available, as were meters to check your gas. You had to record your mix and your MOD and state this to the dive deck staff before entering, and they also recorded your dive time and max depth upon return. My fills were typically 3000-3100 psi, and the nitrox stayed pretty much at 32%. Tanks were AL80s with yoke valves, and some had DIN inserts. Entry was either from a midline gate with about a 6ft drop, or you could go in at water level by climbing down the stairs at the back of each hull (Spoilsport is a catamaran, as pretty much everyone knows). I prefer the drop, myself. The staff would grab your camera and hand it to you off one of the swimsteps after you entered. There was a large central camera table, and freshwater buckets dedicated to cameras, into which your camera was placed after each dive. Separate towels were available for the cameras. A dedicated dive deck towel was assigned to each diver (they had an embroidered number matching your dive station) and they would toss them in the dryer in between dives if needed. (continued)
---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 10:48 PM ----------
I was in a basic cabin, without windows, but it was in good shape and each room had an individual AC unit. The larger guest cabins had windows, but this is covered on their website. The catamaran design allowed for lots of room. The cabins are on the dive deck level (except for cabin 15), above which is a large indoor lounge/dining area with a large outdoor veranda. A sundeck was above, but on this trip is was windy enough to preclude its regular use by me. The foredeck was off limits to guests. The boat is aluminum, made by a company that also makes a large number of high speed ferries, including the Hawaii superferry, and one of the two main versions of the Littoral Combat Ship. While I question the survivability of the LCS, I did not question the seaworthiness of the Spoilsport, which seemed a sturdy vessel. While there was lots of rocking and rolling in our crossings, particularly where exposed by gaps in the reef, I thought she could probably handle much more. Hence my constant hope we would cross over to Osprey despite the weather! Food was plentiful, and there was a fridge stocked with beer and wine for those who wanted it, a tab was kept behind the bar for the alcohol. Midweek and on the last night, the BBQ was fired up, and champagne passed around, and the captain regaled us with his guitar, supplemented by Minke Matt's uke and Ollie's drumming. There's a light breakfast on the day of disembarkation, and a transfer to local hotels or the airport is included. Well, I could write more, but it's getting late, and this has already been longer than I expected. If I could change things, I'd love to have internet access aboard, but some people may relish getting to disconnect so fully. I'd also put a strobe or brighter marker light under the boat on the night dives. Overall, I enjoyed my trip very much. The crew was professional, the dive deck orderly and safe, Mike Ball was an entertaining and courteous host, and the marine life was neat. In short, Mike Ball Diving is a good show.
---------- Post added August 23rd, 2013 at 10:55 PM ----------
A short trip video, if the link is permitted: https://vimeo.com/72944114
Last edited:
You pretty much duplicated my trip from 2011 -- down to the presence of Minke Matt! (Though we didn't have Mike B. on the trip...)
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