Written by Trip Director - Craig Stephen
Cruising south after a great dive at the Cod Hole we descended onto Lighthouse Bommie where large schools of barracuda and trevally masses around the pinnacle and a brief encounter with a straggling Minke whale - possible the last for the season. Pixie Pinnacle, Andy's Postcard and Steve's Bommie were also added to the expeditions pinnacle dives with perfect conditions to explore. Steve's Bommie in particular was alive with no less than 3 stone fish crawling all over each other and 4 or 5 leaf scorpion fish pf green, yellow, white and black. Revisiting an old favourite, Fish Market, we were pleasantly surprised with cuttle fish, sharks, turtles, giant grouper and a mass of fusiliers being hunted by shark mackerel. The diving this week has been nothing short of spectacular.

Birgit Schulze, Netherlands. "Safety first! I am impressed by the way the staff is serious about safety and ecology and manages to keep it all fun."

Written by Trip Director - Craig Stephen
With brilliant weather and a great bunch of passengers we traveled north to Challenger Bay and Cod Hole. Flat seas and clear water delighted our divers. Potato cod, Napoleon wrasse and white-tip reef sharks cruised around the boat - the divers were in awe. With day 1 over we cruised out to Osprey Reef and what a treat we had in store. Manta rays appeared all day over both days with some great photo opportunities. A big highlight for many of us was the close encounters with hammerheads. As a seasoned diver this was some of the best diving I've ever done. We culminated the expedition with a terrific shark feed at North Horn. The feed was great with approximately 30 gray whalers and a great silver-tip cruising in to check out what all the fuss was about - Just Brilliant!!

Danny and Susan Yang, USA. "The professionalism of the crew."

Written by Trip Director - Ashley Hunt
Once the planes landed and the new passengers were safely aboard we made our way from Lizard Island for dive 1 at the Cod Hole then over to Challenger Bay for the night dive. A great way to start the expedition. Day 2 we awoke to better weather and calmer conditions. We spent most of the morning diving Pixie Pinnacle with it's huge array of marine life. We counted around 8 lion fish. Day 3 we started out at Andy's Postcard, a fabulous dive and to top the dive off a Minke whale came to visit some of the divers and snorkellers. Katherine got a great birthday present by swimming with the whale for a while. Over to Clam Beds and the giant clams. To finish the expedition off we spent the afternoon at Steve's Bommie with all the critters putting in an appearance: leafy scorpion fish. stone fish, schools of snapper and at the end another friendly whale. The BBQ at the end of the day with prawns and champagne was a good way to finish an exciting adventure.

Mary Rowe, USA. "Eli and Ashley and their help and support to our oldest and youngest. Whales. The humour of the staff and the help from the while crew. They are very good sports. Shay was very kind."

Written by Trip Director - Ashley Hunt
7pm and 25 passengers eager to get out there and check out the beautiful Great Barrier Reef. Heading out the leads and people are setting up dive gear, 12 hours later and a tap on the door starts their diving adventure. First stop - Cod Hole. Our cod attraction had 4 big potato cod hanging around and checking us out. Our night dive at Challenger Bay which is always exciting with the giant trevally chasing fish with the torch light. Lighthouse Bommie on day 2 but the Minke whales aren't as playful now days. We decided to check out an area we haven't dived before and were very happy with the site: turtles, sea snakes, giant clams, and a large variety of fish life. Then a night dive at Westend. The third day of diving most of it was spent at the amazing PIxie PInnacle then up to Larry's Layby. After the diving was done we made our way to Lizard Island and a BBQ and a few drinks to finish off another great expedition.

Tina Morgan, UK. "Frankly it could not be faulted or surpassed."

Written by Trip Director - Ashley Hunt
A lot of passengers were staying on for the week so we all went over to LIzard Island to explore and spent a bit of time on land. 9am the new passengers arrived and we bid farewell to the 5 that were leaving. After rounding everybody up from the island we headed over to the Cod Hole. We did a night dive at Challenger Bay which is an exciting dive. Day 2 we spent mostly at Lighthouse Bommie to see if the Minke whales were still around. A couple came past but didn't hang around. A brilliant site anyway with critters like sea snakes, turtles, octopus, and mantis shrimp to name a few. The ever popular exciting Pixie PInnacle and Pixie Gardens to finish the day. Day 3 we saw ourselves at Clam Beds, known for it's giant, giant clams. We had Minke whales hang around for a couple of hours so people got to snorkel with them and get a close up look at these amazing creatures. We finished the expedition off at Steve's Bommie and then a BBQ and party night with most of the crew and passengers dressing up in crazy costumes for a bit of a laugh, fun times out here on Spoilsport.

Sylvia Fernandez, Puerto Rico. "Dives and meals as well as the crew attitude - Great!"

Written by Trip Director - Ashley Hunt
7pm and the passengers start boarding. A big group from the USA and a few from other countries around the globe. After introductions it was an overnight steam to Challenger Bay for dive 1. Then over to play with the potato cod at the world famous Cod Hole. Perfect conditions for diving with limited current and plenty to see. Another overnight steam got us out to Osprey Reef out in the Coral Sea. With it's shear walls down to infinity and crystal clear waters. The weather got better with sunny days and low wind. A lot of the newer divers got to see sharks for the first time and were very excited by the beautiful corals and the abundance of marine life. A drift dive along the wall that was practically bottomless was a thrill for the divers. We finished the day with an easier dive at Admiralty Anchor and paying in the swim-through's and checking out the anchor that's one of them. Day 3 off again to check out more of Osprey Reef. That afternoon we did a shark feed at North Horn with about 30 sharks coming in for a nibble. That night we spent having a BBQ and a few drinks before motoring back into Lizard Island.

John Foglesong, USA. "The staff was great, amazing diving, and overall great trip."

Written by Trip Director - James Hutchinson
With 22 passengers staying on and having already been on Spoilsport for 3 days, it was time for an expedition around the beautiful Lizard Island. After a morning spent on the island it was time to head off to the Great Barrier Reef and in particular the Cod Hole. The extremely friendly potato cod were very generous in front of the camera and a great time was had by all. The following day proved to be the highlight of the expedition with 14 Minke whales at Lighthouse Bommie. The whales were extremely friendly and came to within a metre of both snorkellers and divers. To top this off a school of mobula ray swam around below the whales and all we could say was WOW!

Written by Trip Director - James Hutchinson
This expedition started out to a lot of new waiting faces from different parts of the world: USA, South Africa, UK with the majority Australian. The expedition started off well with some fantastic diving on the Ribbon Reefs but due to some weather conditions we could not make it out to the Coral Sea. Instead we made our way around the Great Barrier Reef and took in some of the more majestic, sheltered, sites on offer. Some of the trip highlights were diving with giant potato cod at the world famous Cod Hole and of course swimming and diving with 5 Minke whales at multiple dive sites. This was made even better with the fantastic group of passengers on board. What an adventure!

Alan Jones, United Kingdom. "Had not been on a live aboard before. Impressed with how well organized it all was. Shame about the weather! Kelly in particular was so helpful. Amusing banter and laid-backness also appreciated."

Written by Trip Director - Ashley Hunt
After a magnificent low-level reef flight over the Ribbon Reefs we were soon diving the world famous Cod Hole. With 40+ meters visibility guests were spoiled with some amazing diving. 8 gray whaler sharks cruised between the divers all afternoon seemingly oblivious to our presence; the cod continued to delight our guests with their 'larger then life' presence. We were again blessed with the presence of no less than 8 Minke whales around Lighthouse Bommie although we had interaction at all of our dive sites throughout this expedition with over 24 different encounters. The pinnacles of Andy's Postcard and Steve's Bommie were amass with fish life which will leave a long lasting impression of our Great Barrier Reef adventure.

Joe Adamcik & Lee Hill, USA. "Learning about the reefs and diving the reefs."