Yongala recommendations?

[Louie]

I am hoping to get back to the Great Barrier Reef region in a couple of months time. Before anything else, I would like to do the Yongala.

Now, is it only liveaboards that cover the area or are there fast dayboats? Would it be best out of Townsville or Cairns?

I've also been warned of backpacker boats full of open water students who - other than getting extremely drunk - trash the reef and lower visibility on dives.

Any recommendations of trips and operators would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Scuba Jim]

Yes, you can do the Yongala by day boat. But not from Cairns, which is 350km north of Townsville!

Click here for one operator at least.

Yongala is not an o/w student dive.

Regards
Jim

 

[David D]

Mike Ball runs (or at least ran) a day boat called Scuba Sport I think. Its a small but very fast cat, and sails from Townsville.

You will get two dives in a day on site, but it can kick up rough on the mooring so they will often go elsewhere for the second dive. When I did it, rather worryingly the mooring line broke just after we managed to get out of the water in a considerable swell. Getting up the violently pitching ladder was a little exciting as well.

Visability is considerably less than on the reef, and currents can be strong.

Its certainly worth doing, but pick your day with care!

 

[metridium]

I did a two-day charter to the Yongala aboard Mike Ball's Watersport, but a quick glance at the website seems to indicate that the itinerary was cancelled when the boat was recently retired.

It's a shame, because it seem like a long way to go for a mere two dives on a day boat.

 

[scuba_katt]

Hi there Louie

I've dived the Yongala on two separate trips, both of which left from Townsville (where I live & study Marine Science at the University):

The first was on a dayboat in March this year. The boat left around 7am and took over 3.5 hours to get to the wreck. We did two dives on the Yongala, with a mediocre lunch in between. The conditions & vis were a bit hairy - the current was pretty damn strong, which is common on the Yongala because it is situated in a topographical underwater desert (ie, there are no topographical structures to "soften" any currents). I think the operator we went with was Tropical Divers, who I suspect have since either changed names or gone out of business. The cost of the day trip is AUS$170 plus any gear hire if necessary.

The second time on the Yongala was about a month ago. We went on a liveaboard on "Aquarius III", a boat operated thru Diving Dreams - a dive shop in Townsville. We left on a Friday evening and the Saturday we did 4 dives on Wheeler Reef, including 1 nite dive.

We cruised over to the Yongala overnite and we were up early on Sunday to dive before breakfast because the conditions were meant to be getting a bit windy later in the day, so we wanted to get deep as soon as possible.

The conditions could not have been more perfect!!!! There was no current at all, and the vis was about 20+ metres, which is brilliant on a wreck in the middle of nowhere! We were greeted by free-swimming sea snakes, a variety of rays, a big leopard shark having a nap in 30metres, a few loggerhead turtles, loads of healthy soft corals and sponges and schools of fish I couldn't even begin to describe the amazing variety!!

Our second dive after breakfast was just as brilliant!

We headed back to Townsville around 12pm and we were back at the marina by 5.30pm Sunday nite.

The crew on "Aquarius III" was great - they let experienced divers pretty much do their own thing however, they were still keeping a close eye on us (from a distance!). The accommodation was great for us - as a Couple, we got one of the two "state rooms" with a queen size bed and ensuite with shower/toilet. Others shared 2 or 4 berth bunks and shared toilets and showers with the other berths. The trip for the entire weekend cost $395 (it cost us the same in the state room as it did for the singles in the share berths). There is a fee for gear hire if necessary (don't know how much though, we have all our own gear). The $395 covers weights, tanks and all air fills.

I've definitely got to recommend the liveaboard option over a day trip - $170 is a lot to pay for 2 dives in one day. $395 for 6 dives is a much better option IMHO.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me, I've got loads of info about dives up thataway.

cheers!

 

[Louie]

Great suggestions and yes, I'm with you all: a liveaboard is the way to go.

I am considering the Pro Dive 3-day liveaboard out of Townsville. Hopefully, vis will be good when I do the Yongala but it should be interesting whatever happens.

Happy diving