My volunteer week with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions

Diving on the Great Barrier Reef is something that many scuba divers have high on their bucket list. If you work on the reef out of Cairns like myself the bucket list reads: diving the Coral Sea with one of the best dive operators in Australia, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions (MBDE).

In January I had applied for a volunteer position on the dive deck of MBDE’s boat Spoilsport and in the first week of June I set out for a week of exploring and amazing diving in the Coral Sea and specifically on Osprey reef. In exchange for my work I would get two dives a day as payment, which was fine by me as it turned out to be some of the best diving I’ve ever done in my life.

I boarded the vessel on a Thursday afternoon and after meeting the skipper and crew I got shown around the boat and explained what my duties on the boat would be for the coming week. It was my job to assist the crew on the dive deck, help guests in and out of the water and make sure that everyone had a dry blue towel for when they came back from a dive. At the end of the week I had dried and folded more blue towels then I care to remember.

My quarters where down on the portside hull next to the engine room. My room was small, but quite comfortable. I had a bunk bed that to my relief was long enough and small bath room which I shared with two others.

Although I was exhausted when the week was over it was not a typical week. Spoilsport takes on a maximum of 28 guests but on the way north there were only 7. Imagine all the towels I had to fold if the numbers would have been up.

The days will run pretty much as follows: get up at 6.30 am, have a light breakfast, 1^st dive at 7 am which after we have my new favorite meal, second breakfast. Another dive in the morning and then lunch. Move to a different site and do 1 or 2 more dives. Take a nap and do a night dive before dinner. After that time to hit the sack. Of course this is the itinerary for the guests. The crew gets up earlier, has no time to nap and goes to bed last.

We departed at 6pm and overnight we steamed north to the Ribbon reefs where we arrived at 9 am the next day. The first dive site was the famous Cod hole. The visibility was more than 40 meters and I felt like I was diving in the Caribbean again. Diver size potato cods greeted us as we jumped in of the back of the boat.

The cod where quite inquisitive and came right up to your face looking for food. Scattered bommies (coral heads) with white sandy trenches made up the dive site. The cod swimming carelessly in their domain. White tip reef sharks resting on the sand. Schools of blue lined snapper and stripeys hiding in the trenches. Bird wrasse, parrot fish and fairy basslets brightened up the reef with their colors. Long finned banner fish and Moorish idols make their getaway as divers try to capture their beauty with underwater cameras. When doing my safety stop underneath the boat a big cod comes up to see me off as in a last farewell. I exit the water with a big smile on my face. If this is just the first location I cannot wait what Osprey reef has to offer.

The second location was called Lighthouse Bommie. It is a big sea mound in 25 meters of water next to a pinnacle that runs straight up to 5 meters. There is not much else in the immediate surrounding area which means lots of marine life lives and shelters here. Schools of big eye trevally circle up in the blue. Big dog tooth tuna waiting for their chance to feast on the schools of silversides hiding from the current behind the pinnacle. Yellow striped fusiliers hang out at the bottom. Rays, turtles and olive sea snakes called it their home. Smaller critters like nudibranchs, blennies, anemone fish and feather stars inhabit the lighthouse. There is not much coral on this dive site but the diversity of marine life in incredible. Slowly I swim in circles around the towering bommie towards the surface. Again an amazing dive. I ask myself how am I ever to go back to working on the reefs close to Cairns. It just doesn’t compare.

At the end of the day we left the Ribbon reefs to make our way to Osprey reef. The Ribbon reefs or quite a ways up north but still relatively close to shore. Not Osprey reef. It takes a good 9 hours to get out there.  It is a big stunning coral reef in the middle of the ocean and the reason why I’m on this boat.

The day started off with a dive at a place called Fairy Grotto. Big, tall bommies occupy a sandy slope that runs down to around 30 meters before it drops off to amazing depths that exceed a 1000 meters. Whip corals and sea fans ornate the wall, while square spot anthias and schools of pyramid butterfly fish feed on the particles in the water. White tip reef sharks patrol the trenches as trevallies and Spanish mackerel inhabit the blue. The cave that gives this site its name is amazing. I swim through the entrance into the spacious cavern. As I turn around to look out, the light coming in behind me electrifies the blue water and makes me feel I’m in a BBC documentary. All in all a great start of the day.

But it doesn’t stop there. The diving just gets better and better. Our second dive site on Osprey reef is called Half Way. Gaint coral bommies with countless tunnels and swim throughs make up the site. The sun is out and lights up the pristine white sand in the gullies between the coral in a way that reminds me of tropical ‘bounty’ islands. Goat fish forage in the sand, garden eels scan their surroundings and disappear into the sand as divers get too close for their liking. Regal angel fish patrol their territory ignoring the sweetlips that hover under ledges and behind coral heads. I follow my dive buddy into a swim through which splits into two paths. A wide swim through and a narrow tunnel that runs slightly up. We decide to take the tunnel. Making sure I don’t hit my head or tank against the rocks and corals I make my way to the end of the tunnel where it opens up into a sandy arena surrounding a single ‘house size’ bommie.  Everything is covered in coral. Star, boulder and encrusting corals. Coral trees, soft corals and gorgonians. All ranging from green to red to pink and purple. My only regret is that I don’t have more time to explore this underwater paradise.

Although it may not sound like it I do spend more time on the boat than in the water. One of my duties was being on look out. As long as there are people in the water there must be a person on the top deck to keep a constant 360 degree view of the dive site to ensure their safety when on the surface. Even though I’m focusing on the underwater part of my trip I did spend several hours scanning the surface armed with a high visibility vest, whistle, radio and binoculars. If all goes well it is quite a boring job to do, but none the less very important. Safety is a big concern on the Spoilsport and divers even get a Nautilus personal GPS device that they have to carry on each dive. We are all a long way from civilization and therefor you can never be too safe.

Speaking of which, for me day 4 was all about sharks!

We moved the boat to the North Horn where we did a drift dive on the western wall. Geared up and ready to go we boarded the tender and got dropped off on a wall that runs straight down for at least a 1000 meters. A back roll off the side of the boat was the entry of choice. On one side a tall dark wall lined with giant sea fans. Rock cods and bumphead parrot fish occupying the wall. On the other side the big blue. Schools of barracuda, white tip reef sharks and grey reef sharks looking back at it from the dark blue vastness of the ocean. Closer to the surface the wall cracks and allows for red bass and big eye trevally to hide from bigger predators and wait for their turn to feed. There is something special about diving a wall like this. As a diver you are caught between a giant natural wall and the vastness of the big blue ocean. It definitely puts things in perspective. There was not much current and we had to kick a little to make it back to the boat. As the wall ends it wraps around the tip of the reef and creates a natural amphitheater. Which is the stage for the following dive, the much anticipated shark feed.   

After a very thorough briefing of what to do and what not to do during a shark feed divers with big smiles of anticipation entered the water. All divers found a spot to sit along the wall that curves slightly around a big bommie that doubles as a stage for the show to come. The crew brought down a big ‘sealed’ bucket with tuna heads and attached it to the top of the ‘stage’. Suspended on a rope about 3 meters above the bommie, crew member Nick swam in circles dragging the bucket to entice and lure in the sharks. Small ‘weasel looking’ white tips and the bigger ‘proper shark looking’ grey reef sharks where the main contenders. Red bass, trevally and even a big potato cod observed the whole ordeal from distance. After a few minutes around 50 sharks occupied the area not 5 meters away from me. The bucket was pulled down and secured after which Nick used a long pole to open the lid. A float on a chain emerged pulling 3 chunky tuna heads from the bucket. The tension in the water supplied by the sharks knowing there is food nearby went through the roof. For a few moments all you could see was a big ball of dozens of shark tails trashing around fighting for the tuna. The sharks would quickly swim off after tearing of a chunk of fish only to return a few moments later to get seconds. A big silver tip joined in as well. At one point the potato cod seized his chance and ripped of an entire tune head and took off with it. Even with all these sharks in the water, the cod was still boss. After a few short minutes the chain was stripped clean and the sharks disappeared like smoke. In just minutes it went from a full blown feeding frenzy with countless sharks to a calm reef with just a handful of these magnificent pelagic.

I took off with one of the crew to explore a bit of the eastern wall since we had plenty of time and air left, while other divers searched the stage for teeth that sharks lost during the feed. What an amazing experience and I considered this dive alone enough payment for a week of hard work.

After two days on Osprey reef we steamed back to Lizard Island. The guests that came with us on the north bound trip got of here and took a small plane back to Cairns. That same plane also brought 13 new guests that would join us on the trip down south again. We said goodbye to the old and welcomed the new divers we would be taking care of until Thursday.

All what the guests have to do on board is sleep, dive and eat. The cabins are very comfortable, the dives are amazing and the food even better.

Breakfast would be, boiled eggs, bacon, hash browns, fresh fruit, blue berry pancakes and eggs benedict. Sausages, baked beans and much more. Lunch would range from leek, corn or pumpkin soup, a variety of salads, breads and fruits. Dinners would consist of creamy pumpkin risotto, barramundi, roast veggies, chicken curry and a fish and chips that would not be out of place in a fancy restaurant. The chef, Kate, did a wonderful job and worked miracles in her galley every day. One of the benefits of not having a full boat is that there was always enough of this amazing food left over for the staff. 

On the way south we visited some of the dive sites we dove on the way up. We started with the Cod hole then two towers, light house bommie, pixie wall, Steve’s bommie and flare point. At the Lighthouse I swam with an olive sea snake, which was very cool. They are quite friendly and just move through the water so gracefully.

Steve’s bommie turned out to be one of my favorites. A tall pinnacle similar to Lighthouse bommie only a few sizes bigger. Thousands of purple and orange Anthias line the pinnacle wall and are the visual confirmation that this site is booming with life. Huge schools of blue lined fusiliers surround the tower. Constantly dodging the attacks from trevallies and red bass. When taking a closer look pipefish, anemone fish and the superbly camouflaged stone fish appear. On the ledges at the top feather stars stretch out their fern like arm to catch the particles in the water. Simply beautiful.

But the true stars of the show on the south bound trip where the Minke Whales. It was still at the beginning of their migration season and we were lucky to encounter them. There is still very little we know about these 6 to 7 meters long marine mammals and the rules of engagement are very strict. There is no scuba to be undertaken with the Minke Whales. Bubbles generally scare them of. If we would encounter Minkes, we had to come back to the boat, get out of our scuba equipment and get back in armed with mask, fins and camera. Two long floating lines where attached behind the boat which we could hold on to whole enjoying the show. The best way to get the whales close is to lay flat on the surface and let them for 100% control the interaction.

On several occasions we had the possibility to swim with these amazing creatures. They are quite curious and playful. They are much like oversized dolphins with a whales face. A few passed underneath us just 2 or 3 meters away, rolling on their sides to take a closer look at us. It is definitely something special looking this big mammal in the eye and see it sees you and acknowledges you as well. What an experience!

Wednesday was the last day of diving and that evening we had a ‘party’ night with a barbeque, music and drinks to finalize an amazing trip. Overnight we travelled south back to Cairns where we arrived at 6 am. After the guests left the vessel it was time for a thorough clean-up of the boat and making it ready for departure later that day.

I was exhausted when I came of the boat, but felt very satisfied. I found it interesting and learned a lot being part of a team on a 5 star dive boat that goes to the most amazing places. I could definitely get used to this. So hopefully next time I get out there it won’t be as volunteer, but as permanent crew living the dream.