18 January, 2007

Written by Trip Director - Shea Callaghan
On Monday morning we splashed in for another adventure at Cod Hole where a few pilchards brought some locals in for some close up encounters of the fishy kind. After lunch we went to have a look at the beautiful Lizard Island and say goodbye to two of our guests.

Some crazy cats decided to climb to the peak of Cook ’s Look in fierce heat while others preferred to lay on the beach and catch some rays.

We had some brilliant diving down the Ribbon Reefs with sea snakes and turtles at Lighthouse Bommie, loads of lion fish at Pixie Pinnacle and leafy scorpion fish and nudibranchs at Pixie Garden . A visit to Andy’s Postcard rewarded us with a meeting with a beautiful lacey scorpion fish. Steve’s Bommie gave more nudibranchs and incredible fish life and Flare Point beautiful big cuttlefish.

Finally to top it all off a pod of frisky dolphins played around snorkellers as the sun went down… just a totally incredible encounter.

Good food, good friends and the worlds best diving… what a wonderful world!

Phil Robb, USA . “Your crew is outstanding, very competent and very willing to help with anything. I found all of the staff very approachable.”

Written by Trip Director - Shea Callaghan
27 passengers from two continents joined us aboard the beautiful Spoilsport for the trip of a lifetime on the far northern Ribbon Reefs, Lizard Island and the Coral Sea . Great weather greeted us at Challenger Bay before moving onto Two Towers where many had their first encounters with slippery olive sea snakes and a hawksbill turtle.

The next day saw us out at Osprey Reef diving the steep walls and coral canyons that drop away into the abyss. Favorites that day were the swim-through at Admiralty Reef and the packs of cruising grey reef sharks and white-tip reef sharks that swarm around North Horn at the very tip of Osprey Reef. Even a large silver-tip came in for a look!!

After two fantastic days of majestic walls and sharks it was time to kick back with a beer and enjoy the amazing atmosphere and swap some tall stories before heading back into the beautiful Lizard Island .

Uwe Pieter , Germany . “Good organization, friendly people.”

Written by Trip Director - Fran Truter
A torrential down pour did nothing to dampen the start of our journey south. The walk up Chinaman’s Lookout was somewhat exciting as was the ride across the bay to Spoilsport. As quickly as it clouded over the sun reappeared and much time was spent up on the sundeck during the trip. Humid conditions made for fantastic sunsets and balmy tropical evenings.

The Ribbon Reefs always provide for interesting diving. The diversity and variety of fish life and critters makes every dive a treasure hunt. The photo competition this trip was proof of the myriad of species spotted underwater: emperor angel fish, long nose hawk fish, dusky nembrotha, giant moray eels, dog faced puffer fish, crystal leafy scorpion fish, olive sea snakes, crystal shrimps and much more.

Everyone on board this week was absolutely lovely which created a great atmosphere on board. Many thanks to the ‘Dive Magic Group’ and their fearless leader Kelly. Also to the ‘sunset club’ and the beautiful spinner dolphins who wowed us at Steve’s Bommie. Our mascot for the trip, Hector the Boobie Bird, has gone to wildlife rescue for a rest and a good feed. When he is ready we will take him home to the Great Barrier Reef .

Thanks everybody for a ‘MAGIC’ week!

Doreen Dumbelton, UK . “The complete service from A-Z – comfort, diving help, good dive equipment ‘check’, excellent in and out of dive ‘check’, health and safety was foremost, dive briefing clear and exciting. 100 out of 100.”

Written by Trip Director - Fran Truter
Glassy conditions and not a breath of wind out at Osprey Reef meant gorgeous dive conditions. However as Spoilsport could not safely moor up in those beautiful conditions it created exciting zodiac drop-offs on the reef. Everyone deserves their ‘NAVY Seal Specialty’ for well orchestrated back rolls and tender entries.

Visibility was awesome on the incoming tides and some big fish were seen on the deep walls. Hammerhead sharks and a big silvertip shark came into the shark feed. Our shark attraction was very exciting this week with 25-30 individuals venturing into the feed site at The Horn. Eagle rays, manta rays, tune and more reef sharks than you could poke a stick at completed the Osprey Reef experience.

A big thank you to all for your sense of adventure, good humor and camaraderie. Divers really are the best people.

Cynthia Colquhoun, USA . “The staff, the food, the guests and the dives… especially the shark feed.”

Written by Trip Director - Shea Callaghan
After a relaxing morning on beautiful Lizard Island for our week long guests and an amazing flight over the azure colours of the Ribbon Reefs it was all aboard the beautiful Spoilsport.

Splashing into Cod Hole revealed many playful potato cod, gentle giants who did figure eights round people and glided between their legs to everyone's delight. An afternoon at Challenger Bay revealed a busy scene with all the reef inhabitants out looking for a meal.

Lighthouse Bommie was a big it with turtles and sea snakes and even a manta ray sighting as well as nudibranchs, pipe fish and all the other usual suspects. As always Steve's Bommie stole the show with its awesome fish life and curios critters: trevally schooled, sharks buzzed, anthias and fusiliers flittered in formation in the front of the pinnacle whilst stone fish and leaf scorpion fish lay waiting in perfect camouflage. What a dive site and what a way to be remembered... here's to Steve.

Lisa Cooke, USA. "Everything - from the attention to details, incredible quality of service to awesome dive sites."

Written by Trip Director - Shea Callaghan
Light winds and calm seas greeted us upon waking at Challenger Bay, with predictions for weather to get even better. After a couple of fantastic dives there is was off to the Cod Hole at the tip of Ribbon reef #10. A good incoming tide made for a great dive along the Cod Wall - the outer edge of the reef. Dropping into the blue we were buzzed by a couple of grey reef sharks and some dog tooted tuna. So nice to just relax and let the current do the work as you take in the beautiful plate corals and fish life.

As predicted the weather kept getting better over the weekend with perfect glassy conditions at Osprey Reef in the COral Sea where we have some fantastic shark encounters. Now usually when someone yells 'Tiger Shark' you would think people would get out of the water... yes? Well not on this boat - masks were slapped on and people leapt into the water to watch a magnificent little (just over 2 meters) tiger shark make curious passes near the back deck. Absolutely beautiful!! After that it was off to North Horn to see the gray reef sharks in action as we stirred the pot with our shark attraction... awesome!

Lorraine Hof - UK. "Everything - from the diving briefs to food! Staff personalities fantastic. We were nervous O/W divers with 17 dives - we leave as confident Advanced O/W divers. Shea's dive drawings were A1 we can now dive as a buddy pair alone.The number of VIP's on our trip says it all. We would come back to Australia just to do another Mike Ball Trip. Awesome in every way. Thank you so much."

Written by Trip Director - Shea Callaghan
The best weather conditions of the year so far! Perfect conditions greeted us at the Cod Hole with glassy, still water and dolphins playing near the boat. After a bite to eat it was into the drink to cool off and blow some bubbles. Everybody was blown away by the huge potato cod, beautiful coral and marine diversity. All smiles and a great atmosphere on the boat.

We kicked off Tuesday at Lighthouse Bommie which turned it on with lots of olive sea snakes hunting around the pinnacle, two turtles and heaps of fish and marco life.

Wednesday once again saw us at the magnificent Steve's Bommie for the third week in a row we were joined by a huge snaggle toothed great barracuda, a huge school of trevally circled above, gray reef sharks cruising past and leafy scorpion fish and stone fish lazed on the reef.

Amazing diving and even better company, truly what liveaboard diving is all about. Thank you!

Written by Trip Director - Shea Callaghan
Leaving from Cairns we set off the Ribbon Reefs to a little patch reef known as Challenger Bay - you may have heard of it? A fantastic start to the trip with masses of fish and stunning coral. Next stop was the world famous Cod Hole to see massive potato cod and white-tip reef sharks out hunting in the night.

Overnight we steamed out to Osprey Reef, the weather improving we were set for some great diving. An afternoon at North Horn got everybody excited about the shark attraction dive the next day. Great conditions allowed for a night dive there where hunting sharks used our torchlight and in the deep the far off glow of flashlight fish. As promised the shark attraction was enjoyed by all except an unfortunate surgeon fish who unexpectedly became an entree for the sharks.

Awesome!

Florian Koller, Germany. "Good and friendly crew, best service for diving, nothing to care about, good photo service."

Written by Trip Director - Fran Truter
Our New Year began with a walk across Lizard Island taking in the view from Chinaman's Lookout. Sweltering weather conditions meant everyone cooled off in the beautiful tropical waters of the main beach. There was some creative sand sculpture going on as our new guests headed out to Spoilsport. Dylan you're a good sport!

The lovely weather helped out till Wednesday night and we experienced some great diving conditions. The water has finally started to warm up making extended dives more comfortable. Lots of bottom time means even more creature spotting opportunities. This week we saw mating nudibranchs, leafy scorpion fish, giant pink stone fish, pipe fish, juvenile box fish, rock-mover wrasse and lots more.

Nesting season has begun for the titan trigger fish so divers beware!! Many guests had close encounters this week with a few gaining some souvenir bite-marks in their fins. The potato cod are in full courting mode and there were some extremely close encounters. This week they were also accompanied by schools of juvenile golden trevally making for fantastic photo opportunities. Smoochy cod, feisty fish and sex on the reef... thanks foe an awesome trip everyone.

Dylan Moore, USA. "I really enjoyed all the dives and the freedom they gave you to do what you pleased."