After driving four hours from Townsville to Cairns, my daughter and I checked into the Holiday Inn on the Sunday evening and rewarded ourselves with some delicious Thai food nearby. It was so good that we returned after our trip with some new friends that we made on the live aboard.
The following morning, we were picked up from the hotel in a minibus and then taken to Divers Den dive centre where we paid for our trip and presented our dive cards etc.
After that we were then taken to the marina where we boarded SeaQuest, which would take us out to the live aboard ship OceanQuest with two dives on the way. On SeaQuest, we were given safety briefings by the crew, and filled out all of the necessary paperwork.
SeaQuest
Main Cabin Area in SeaQuest
Cecile the Purser on SeaQuest
Two hours later, over slightly choppy water and under an overcast sky, we reached the first dive spot. This was close to OceanQuest, and we had a couple of dives at two dive spots on Norman Reef (more about that later).
Dive Deck on SeaQuest
After the dives we had lunch then were taken to OceanQuest.
OceanQuest
The transfer to OceanQuest was well organized; luggage first then the owner of the luggage, names ticked off, cabin assigned, and then guided into the galley area for a nice fresh baked muffin and a hot drink.
Galley Area
Once the departing passengers had boarded SeaQuest, we then moved to our cabin which was reasonably spacious with a decent sized shower and toilet and two single beds plus some storage space. The first thing we checked was the life jackets and the escape route. There were also plenty of notices around with dive eat sleep schedule, so it was always in your face and easy to time other things.
Two berth cabin
Toilet / Shower
We opted out of the afternoon dive, and decided to do only the night dive on the first day. Similarly, on the second day, after three dives in the morning (06:30, 09:00, 11:00) we opted out of the afternoon dive and only did the night dive after dinner at 19:00. So in total we did ten out of a possible twelve dives over the three days.
Dive Deck - everyone out except us
Meals were all freshly prepared in the galley and pretty good. Everyone again was checked in to the galley, ensuring nobody was missing I presume. There were constant checks made, when entering the water and getting back on the boat too. Nobody was going to be left behind or miss a meal!
On the third day we packed up after lunch and attempted to dry out our gear as best as possible and then vacated our cabin for the transfer back to SeaQuest. This gave us a few hours to chat with other divers and have a drink too. One of the key rules during the trip is that once you have an alcoholic drink then all diving ceases for that person for the day.
Ellen the Purser on OceanQuest
Dives are limited to 50 minutes for day dives and 40 minutes for night dives, which for people like my daughter and I, is far too short. However, given the schedules that they run, this is understandable. The logistics of organizing 40 or so divers off and on the boat is not easy given the mixed experience levels from DSDs and snorkelers to well experienced divers. The diving organization cannot be faulted and I was quite impressed at how well it ran, hats off to the whole team. Also the boat crew from the captain, purser, chef and for sure some unseen members a big thanks for keeping everything ship shape.
We also met some really nice divers too, Sandy from HK, Miki-chan from Japan and the Smith Family from Florida.
The trip was actually booked through Kevin from Aquapro Dive Travel who is on this forum, and all went to plan, thanks mate.
Next episode the GBR
The following morning, we were picked up from the hotel in a minibus and then taken to Divers Den dive centre where we paid for our trip and presented our dive cards etc.
After that we were then taken to the marina where we boarded SeaQuest, which would take us out to the live aboard ship OceanQuest with two dives on the way. On SeaQuest, we were given safety briefings by the crew, and filled out all of the necessary paperwork.
SeaQuest
Main Cabin Area in SeaQuest
Cecile the Purser on SeaQuest
Two hours later, over slightly choppy water and under an overcast sky, we reached the first dive spot. This was close to OceanQuest, and we had a couple of dives at two dive spots on Norman Reef (more about that later).
Dive Deck on SeaQuest
After the dives we had lunch then were taken to OceanQuest.
OceanQuest
The transfer to OceanQuest was well organized; luggage first then the owner of the luggage, names ticked off, cabin assigned, and then guided into the galley area for a nice fresh baked muffin and a hot drink.
Galley Area
Once the departing passengers had boarded SeaQuest, we then moved to our cabin which was reasonably spacious with a decent sized shower and toilet and two single beds plus some storage space. The first thing we checked was the life jackets and the escape route. There were also plenty of notices around with dive eat sleep schedule, so it was always in your face and easy to time other things.
Two berth cabin
Toilet / Shower
We opted out of the afternoon dive, and decided to do only the night dive on the first day. Similarly, on the second day, after three dives in the morning (06:30, 09:00, 11:00) we opted out of the afternoon dive and only did the night dive after dinner at 19:00. So in total we did ten out of a possible twelve dives over the three days.
Dive Deck - everyone out except us
Meals were all freshly prepared in the galley and pretty good. Everyone again was checked in to the galley, ensuring nobody was missing I presume. There were constant checks made, when entering the water and getting back on the boat too. Nobody was going to be left behind or miss a meal!
On the third day we packed up after lunch and attempted to dry out our gear as best as possible and then vacated our cabin for the transfer back to SeaQuest. This gave us a few hours to chat with other divers and have a drink too. One of the key rules during the trip is that once you have an alcoholic drink then all diving ceases for that person for the day.
Ellen the Purser on OceanQuest
Dives are limited to 50 minutes for day dives and 40 minutes for night dives, which for people like my daughter and I, is far too short. However, given the schedules that they run, this is understandable. The logistics of organizing 40 or so divers off and on the boat is not easy given the mixed experience levels from DSDs and snorkelers to well experienced divers. The diving organization cannot be faulted and I was quite impressed at how well it ran, hats off to the whole team. Also the boat crew from the captain, purser, chef and for sure some unseen members a big thanks for keeping everything ship shape.
We also met some really nice divers too, Sandy from HK, Miki-chan from Japan and the Smith Family from Florida.
The trip was actually booked through Kevin from Aquapro Dive Travel who is on this forum, and all went to plan, thanks mate.
Next episode the GBR
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