Liveaboard in GBR Australia

[scubarchtraveler]

My son (now 16) and I will be going to dive on the Great Barrier Reef in 2008. Does anyone know which liveaboards we should consider? We are only OW certified and currently have about 40 and 25 dives each. Hopefully we will have much more experience by 2008 but we will still likely be fair weather shallow divers. Are we biting off more than we can chew by going on a liveaboard on the GBR? Will we be wasting our money by missing out on dives that are too technical?

 

[BlueSun]

Hi there,
My husband and I boarded a 6 day liveaboard with Undersea Explorer with only 25 dives a piece. We had an incredible time and doubled our number of logged dives during the trip! Some of the dives were challenging (deep, drift, live drops etc) but we felt very well looked after by the crew and enjoyed the opportunity to increase our skills and experience by challenging ourselves a bit. Aside from the three unforgettable days on the 1000m walls at Osprey reef we also visited plenty of "easier" sites like Cod Hole, Steves Bommie and Tracey's Wonderland on the Ribbon Reefs, and they were wonderful too.
If that doesnt sound like what youre looking for there are plenty of fun dives around the Cairns and Port Douglas reefs. Have a fantastic time!
Caitlin

 

[calgrl76]

My husband and I went on the 4 day Mike Ball liveaboard in June leaving out of Cairns then getting off on Lizard Island and doing a low level flight back to Cairns. The flight was awesome to fly over the the GBR. On the boat the food is awesome and you won't be hungry. You get to do 3 or 4 dives a day and if you want can go with a dive master, being a beginner won't be a problem. They also keep a careful watch on you in the water, if you can't make it back to the boat they will pick you up in the zodiac. Also, while we were they it was Minke whale season. Mike Ball is one of the few that has a permit to swim next to the whales. We set achor at Lighthouse bommie and at one time I saw 5 whales swimming around me. They are very curious of people and as soon as we stopped they came around and stayed until we left. On the last night, we had a BBQ on the deck, played games and our captain pulled out his guitar and sang songs! We had a great time with Mike Ball and definitely recommend them.

 

[diverbob]

I just got back from Cairns 2 weeks ago, and we was out on the Spirit of Freedom. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a great time. 4 days on the GBR and then a few days out in the Coral Sea on Osprey reef. The Coral Sea blew the GBR away, in my mind. Have a good time!!!!!

 

[MatWill]

from my experience diving a livaboard in the GBR is alot easier then most diving you have ever done, its very heavily regulated.. and is like a beginner park when it comes to diving.

there are a very limited amount of stressful dives.. and 99% of dives i would consider AOW or easier.. most can be done with just OW experience.. i cant think of anyone who does a drift dive.. and the rest of the dives you will surface within 100m of a boat which is fixed to a mooring... and has spotters and a tender to pick up stray divers.

don't sweat it.. if you have 20+ dives you are considered experienced in the north GBR