The Premier Crew

by Captain Trevor Jackson

I recently had Fox Sports installed at home. For me, there’s nothing better than coming home from a trip and having all the previous week’s NRL games ready to go in the man cave when the boat gets in. Yep, a self-confessed NRL nut — and that, in turn, drives my darling wife nuts… but that’s another story.

The other night, during one of the broadcasts, the panel was discussing how and why some teams perform brilliantly one year and not so well the next, even when there’s little change to the lineup. They started talking about something they called the “one percenters” — strategies teams use that can improve performance by up to one percent. Among these were post-game ice baths, flash dressing rooms, and perfectly mowed practice pitches.

Then one of the presenters mentioned a recent study showing that a team’s performance is directly linked to their commitment to each other — and that a team focused on doing the best for the person beside them (rather than for themselves) performs up to 20 percent better than one full of self-absorbed individuals.

Twenty percent! That’s more than you’d expect from big factors like coaching staff or pay packets. The team that does it for each other, does better!

I was thinking about this concept the other night while reading through our onboard feedback forms. After every trip, we ask guests to help us improve by giving an honest appraisal of their experience. And the one thing that appears on virtually every form?

“The crew were the best thing about the expedition.”

That’s not to say the food, diving, and vessel aren’t great — they are — but it’s the crew that gets the gold medal every time.

Now, you’ll find outstanding crews on dive boats all over the world, and North Queensland has plenty of them. But this crew, on this boat, has something special — the kind of commitment to each other that those Fox Sports presenters were talking about. They’ve got each other’s backs, and their commitment to excellence is second to none. As dive crews go, they’re this year’s premiers.