IMPORTANT NOTICE to all our OZ-BOUND CLIENTS:
Mike Ball’s flagship live-aboard -- SPOILSPORT -- relocates to Cairns, Australia

In March 2006, to facilitate the upgrade of Mike Ball Dive Expeditions' Cairns operation, the Australian diving live-aboard Spoilsport was relocated from Townsville to Cairns in Queensland. Spoilsport will continue her unique 7-night, 6-day dive package including Osprey Reef, the Cod Hole, the Cod Wall and northern sections of the Ribbon Reefs that Mike Ball introduced with this beautiful scuba diving catamaran back in 1989. This classic itinerary had been discontinued Christmas of 1990 after a powerful Cyclone Joy damaged key dive sites at Osprey Reef. Now it's back & rolling along weekly in superb form, with currency exchange rates as favorable to the U.S. dollar as they were back in 2005 !

However, the best news is this new itinerary will provide an excellent meld of live-aboard luxury, diver convenience and customer service to divers who want to do 6 full days of diving, while zeroing in on the best dive sites available from Cairns. This service minimizes vessel travel in daylight hours and avoids the duplication of dive sites and wasted travel time back to Cairns. Divers can complete just the first or second half of the expeditions by utilizing Mike Ball’s spectacular low-level reef flight transfer at Lizard Island.

Now the Spoilsport will depart Cairns Thursday evenings. Day 1 will provide superior diving on reefs adjacent to Cooktown. Day 2 will be at Osprey Reef at such sites as Fast Eddies, North Horn, Fairy Grotto and Pinnacle Pass. Day 3 includes the fabulous Cod Hole plus a late afternoon Lizard Island excursion retracing the footsteps of Captain Cook when he ascended Cook’s Look to find an unobstructed passage through the Ribbon Reefs. Day 4 includes Challenger Bay and the Cod Wall. Day 5 and 6 sites are selected from Lighthouse Bommie, Pixie Pinnacle, Vertical Gardens, Rouge Reef, Andy’s Postcard, Clam Beds, and Steve’s Bommie.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s recent rezoning of the Cooktown management area affords protecting to all of the marine park areas visited by Spoilsport. This prevents fishing or collecting activities -- more chipper news for us scuba divers !

Looking forward to serving you in the future, with this much more streamlined & coral-rich diving adventure plan !

Sincerely yours,

MIKE BALL & the partners at U.S. DIVE TRAVEL NETWORK

Your Spoilsport Coral Sea Live-Aboard Package includes: All meals + at least 22 dives + outstanding crew & service. Many dive pros believe the Mike Ball Dive Expeditions Spoilsport is the top luxury motor yacht in Australia diving circles. We agree. The vessel amenities & the quality of the divemasters & crew are a solid "10."

This fast, stable 100' vessel takes you far east of Australia to the remote & virgin waters of Flinder's Reef in the Coral Sea, where you'll be delighted by pelagic sharks, a gleaming array of big corals, average 150' viz, amazing walls & pinnacles. This live-aboard Australia diving trip also includes the famous Yongala Wreck dive, which is THE scuba classic of Australia scuba diving. The Mike Ball Spoilsport adventure will spoil you with enough Australia diving memories sure to last a diving lifetime. This Mike Ball Dive Expeditions Coral Sea diving package has been changed in recent months to allow divers, when weather permits, to do even more than the standard 22 tanks. Be prepared to enjoy one whale of a lot of serious Coral Sea diving, in coral reefs so primitive & inspiring that you'll be grinning into your mouthpiece like a cod on codnip. The Coral Sea is the prime sector for the most colorful Australia diving, experts Down Under contend. Therefore, if Coral Sea diving is the nonpareil of Australia diving, then the Mike Ball Dive Expeditions Spoilsport is the means to that noble end. And U.S. Dive Travel has been repping the Spoilsport for years. We can make it happen for you, efficently & safely & with high satisfaction. Here are more details about your Coral Sea diving adventure, the pinnacle of what Australia diving has to offer.

The flagship of the Mike Ball Dive Expeditions live-aboard fleet, the Spoilsport has a crew that will pamper you properly, & show you some of the most intense underwater color & marine life that you'll ever be blessed to see. These folks are the class act of Queensland diving cruises. We are certain you will be delighted with the Spoilsport. Here are some more important specifics about your Mike Ball packages.

(All Australia scuba diving photos courtesy of our friends at Mike Ball Dive Expeditions.)

Dive-cam briefing on SPOILSPORT.

KEY FACTS ABOUT MIKE BALL DIVE EXPEDITIONS
EXPLORATORY ADVENTURE to the CORAL SEA:

• On most of their trips, there's a high probability of good diving 12 months a year.



• More than 98% of all passengers booked since 1987 say they would recommend Mike Ball Dive Expeditions to a friend or diving buddy; & they do it.



• Mike Ball offers local Cairns-area diving all year round. The main MBDE diving center is open 365 days a year -- a bulwark of Australia diving!



• Australia scuba diving enthusiasts confirm that the months of most frequent rainstorms are: January through March.



• The windiest months of the year are April through July, according to on-the-water observations by Australia diving experts with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions.



• The typical year's cyclone season for the Great Barrier Reef is December through March, their summer, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions advises.



• The best visibility on the Great Barrier Reef normally is available from April through December, an Australia scuba diving verity.



• May through August the ocean waters are a bit cooler, during the Aussie winter along the Great Barrier Reef, according to Australia diving experts at Mike Ball Dive Expeditions.



• Beautiful big pelagic fish are in abundance to photograph or just observe all 12 months out of the year. Rare is a day on these amazing Great Barrier Reef dives when you don't meet some very big ocean critters & observe some pelagic species that are elusive & colorful. Live-aboards get you so close to the action, & you can go back again & again, as long as you don't ignore the dive tables. Live-aboard diving is THE way to go on the Coral Sea. That's the worst-kept secret of Great Barrier Reef diving.

Big cod, delicate eels on the Barrier Reef.

BRIEF HISTORY of MIKE BALL’s EXEMPLARY

SCUBA DIVING CAREER in QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA --

Esteemed friends, please let us introduce you to a pillar of the world scuba diving community.  Mike Ball of Cairns in Queensland is a gentleman of the first water.  This man was born to scuba dive, then share his passion for the Big Blue with new visitors to his native Australia.  Mike is the most respected & universally admired scuba diving patron in Oz.  You dive with his boats, you get a fair-&-square deal & you have a great time, as well.  Mike Ball Dive Expeditions never skips a beat with our people. 

A former officer in the Aussie military, Mike is a guy we enjoy doing business with for three key reasons: rock-solid integrity; his team is smart & friendly; & their service is superb.  The Spoilsport is simply the best scuba diving live-aboard in Australia -- & everybody knows it -- both sides of the Big Puddle.  We have known Mike, & have worked closely with his Queensland business office, since the early 1990s – 15 fun & humor-filled years.  Mike Ball Dive Expeditions treats our clients like family, every time.

Though Mike is never comfortable drawing attention to himself – he is easygoing & humble to a fault – here are some of the remarkable achievements that over the last 35+ years have earned him a title we created for him:  “The Pater Familias of Australian Live-Aboard Diving.”

This is the man, folks, & here is what he has done for Aussie scuba diving since 1969, when many of our best clients today were still toddlers, about as tall as a free-diving fin:

 

A diver's diver,
meet Mike Ball, mates.

The SPOILSPORT gettin' down ....

.... yes, she's the top dive yacht in Oz.

1969 – Mike founded the “Dive School” in Townsville.  It was the first Australian scuba diving instruction center to use cylinder pressure gauges & BCDs.

1975 -- Opened his first dive shop – Mike Ball Watersports.

1980 -- Mike Ball invented the “Stinger Suit”, which later became known as the widely used “dive skin.”

1981 -- Acquired MV Watersport, the world’s first custom-built twin hull diving live-aboard.

1981 -- Built Australia’s most advanced hi-tech dive training facility, with a super-deep pool, state-of-the-art reg’s, BCs & technical gear & the most savvy scuba instructors in Queensland.

1986 -- Built MV Supersport to expand the exciting Coral Sea operations.

1987 -- Started Shark Feeding at Hungry Jacks in the Coral Sea.

1989 -- Launched MV Spoilsport, internationally acclaimed as Australia’s best liveaboard for more than 15 years.

1994 -- Introduced the “Peace on the Reef” program to raise diver’s environmental awareness.

1990 -- Created Scuba Zoo shark feed.  Submerged a large shark cage at 15 meters to allow closest possible safe viewing of feeding frenzy.

1996 -- Initiated the specialized Minke Whale Expeditions.

1997 – Pioneered the world’s first formally sanctioned, safely instructed ‘Solo Diving Program’.

1997 -- Launched Paradise Sport, hands down Papua new Guinea’s best luxury scuba diving live-aboard for 10 years.

2004 – Big year for MBDE.  Our friend & Australia partner Mike Ball was inducted into the Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.  Only one thing amiss with this – the honor came about 10 years late, we feel !  But such is life in this lightning-fast-evolving industry.  Mike is the gentleman Godfather of Aussie Scuba Diving, pure & simple.  We will stand by that.

GIVE SPOILSPORT a whirl for a week in the AMAZING CORAL SEA, & YOU WILL BE HAPPY YOU DID, we ASSURE YOU.

Roomy dive deck on SPOILSPORT.

CORAL SEA EXPEDITION / CLASSIC ITINERARY:

Day 1: Normally on Tuesday, check in before 4 p.m. at the Mike Ball Dive Expeditions office on 252 Walker Street in Townsville. Board the Spoilsport, flagship of the Mike Ball Dive Expeditions fleet, by 8 p.m. Start the 130-mile Spoilsport cruise to Flinder's Reef, Australia's renowned Coral Sea diving destination to the north.

Day 2: The Spoilsport visits Rock Arch & Anemone City. Here "viz" often reaches 150 feet on a good day & the wall diving is just spectacular. The Rock Arch is laden with large golden gorgonia (sea fans). But there's so much more on these Mike Ball Dive Expeditions scuba vacations.

Day 3: Visit Next the Spoilsport visits Herald Surprise & Lonely Eel dive sites. These coral reefs are very seldom ever dived & are wonderfully virgin marine sanctuaries. There's one long deep wall that's loaded with colorful soft corals, many of them gigantic formations. Pelagic sharks & turtles abound, as do billowing schools of fusilliers. Some sea fans reach 10 feet in height! This is like the Beatles' Octopus' Garden -- to the 7th Power!

Day 4: Visit Then the Spoilsport heads over to Soft Spot, Tawriffic, Eel Field & Flinders Sand Cay. You will see a dazzling aggregate of soft corals & sea fans at the Soft Spot + big fish cruising the Tawriffic Pinnacle + rare garden eels at Eel Field + you can amble amongst nesting ocean birds & sea turtles during the Nov. - Feb. season. On Flinders Cay you'll get a refreshing drink at sundown plus a dandy barbecue. Throw another shrimp on the...yep, you've got it, mate.

Day 5: Spoilsport also visits Watanabe, Dart Reef & Coral Gardens, among other Australia scuba diving classics. Here schools of barracuda, tuna, trevally & sharks will encircle & enchant you with their sheer numbers & diversity of color. The Watanabe pinnacle juts more than 140 feet above the ocean floor. There's an old Coral Sea diving classic wreck near Dart Reef's South Wall that's fun to explore.

Day 6: You'll also visit China Wall, Cod Wall & Scuba Zoo, Australia scuba diving classics. The China Wall drops off from your reef position to nearly 1000 feet into the inky abyss! You'll see the weird & intriguing Auger Cave, which spirals upwards like a rocky corkscrew tunnel & exits into a placid lagoon that's bristling with marine life. Scuba Zoo, another venerable classic of Australia diving, features graceful sharks that your dive guides will feed for maximum adrenaline & critter cruising action. But there's still more on these Mike Ball Dive Expeditions dive vacations.

Day 7: You'll visit the world-famous Yongala Wreck, one of the most fish-laden sites on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Some days gentle stingrays will float placidlly with you above the wreck. The numbers of different species here at Yongala Wreck, & the health of these Yongala Wreck fish will amaze you. You return to Townsville by 5 p.m., bidding adieu to one of the finest packages in Australia diving -- Yongala Wreck.

ANOTHER TYPICAL ITINERARY for this COLORFUL
CORAL SEA EXPEDITION on SPOILSPORT

7 Days, 6 Dive Days & Unlimited Safe-Table Diving

This Coral Sea experience is ideal for all levels of divers seeking to participate in Australia's
best live-aboard expedition Spoilsport is Australia's most prestigious & comfortable live-aboard.  Your Expedition cruises around 130 miles offshore to some of the most diverse sites available. Enjoy the best diving available on the great barrier Reef, Flinders Reef, & the world famous Yongala Wreck. (Dive sites listed are illustrative of the diving provided throughout this inspiring ocean voyage.  You WILL get to see these & many other colorful Australia scuba diving sites.)

Tuesday:   Check in & Departure --

Check in between 9 am & 4 pm, 252 Walker Street, Townsville. (Board Spoilsport 8 pm).
Cruise 130 miles to Flinders Reef Australia's premier Coral Sea Location.

Wednesday:   China Wall & Trigger Happy --

Experience 150 ft viz at the China Wall that plummets to 3,000 ft.
Circumnavigate "Trigger Happy", a group of bommies rising from 150 ft.
Find sleeping sharks & pipefish under overhangs laced with gorgonian fans on this Australia diving mega-site.

Thursday:   Pelagic Lookout, Arizona & Anenome City --

Visit Anenome City, coral heads carpeted with anenomes & a superb overhang
surrounded by sea fans.  Swim amongst a fish food chain at Pelagic Lookout.
Appreciate a superb variety of hard corals to 30 meters at a site dubbed Arizona.

Friday:   Watanabe, Grey Beards & Midnight --

Dive the towering Watenabe Pinnacle that thrusts a 170 ft.
Become engulfed in schools of barracuda, tuna, trevally & sharks.
Swim through a forest of diver size soft coral trees at midnight.
Find exotic marine animals like cuttlefish, sea hares & starry morays.

Saturday:   The Castle, Fantastic & Flinders Coral Cay --

Search for nudibranchs & leopard sharks at The Castle, rising from 150 ft.
Stroll with seabirds & turtles during nesting season (Oct - March).
Celebrate the end of a fantastic day with a sunset drink & Aussie BBQ.

Sunday:   Cod Wall, & Scuba Zoo & Geronimo's + Berlin Wall --

Scan this spectacular wall which drops to 1,000 ft.
Descend onto gorgonian fans up to 15 ft wide (The Gigantus Gorgonus).
Mingle with patrolling sharks, tuna & barracuda at this Australia scuba diving classic.
Come within arms reach of a 30 plus shark feed frenzy at Scuba Zoo.

Monday:   Yongala Wreck & Return --

Explore one of the world's best wreck dives - the Yongala.
Inspect the many remaining artifacts.
Hover with huge stingrays over the wreck.
Witness more marine life here than on a whole trip elsewhere.
Arrive in Townsville at 5pm.

(Details subject to some changes, depending on weather & currents, etc.)

MORE DETAILS about MIKE BALL'S SPOILSPORT:
Here are some of the advantages of choosing the Spoilsport's Coral Sea Adventure:

• The meals are great, everybody agrees. Bring a big loose belt, amigos, because you WILL chow down.


• Reader's of Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine, the Bible of the Sport, for several years running have ranked the Spoilsport their Favorite Pacific Live-aboard, & also Most Environmentally Sensitive Resort or Live-aboard in the Pacific. Considering that Scuba Diving is one of very few scuba magazines left anymore with an eye trained first on professionally objective reporting before lining their pockets with "good ol' boys" ad money, this is a substantive honor that deserves noting.


• Unlimited diving!  You can dive as many tanks as your PADI tables allow.
  
  
• Luxury atmosphere on every deck.
  
  
• This boat is one big, stable yacht. Length 100 ft, beam 36 ft, speed 16 knots.
  
  
• Average passenger number 22 (max 29).
  
  
• Fully air conditioned in every stateroom & common room.
  
  
• Full cabin service every day, same as a quality hotel.
  
  
• Large dining, lounge, alfresco deck & sundeck.
  
  
• Exceptional comfort & privacy.
  
  
• Many of the cabins have attractive ocean views.
  
  
• Video/Photo Pro service, a big plus in Australia live-aboards.
  
  
• Free Reef Ecology Certificate Course.
  
  
• Free resort course & PADI Open Water diver courses for non-divers.
  
  
• Warm towels after every dive !!  No kidding, funseekers. You will love this touch.
  
  
• Two inflatable dinghies for personalized dive service.
  
  
• Photo processing (E6) on board, a blessing on Australia live-aboards.
  
  
• Underwater photo gear rentals available.
  
  
• Waveskis, videos, deep-sea fishing also available, at extra cost.
  
  
• BBQ & party night; g'dye mite, an' put another shrimp on the.....
  
  
• Non-divers are always welcome on the Spoilsport, if they want to accompany a significant other, or a travel buddy, on an Australia diving sojourn despite no desire to puff a reg.

All dive package prices for the Australia live-aboard listed here are subject to possible change in this steadily evolving travel market. Lodging, side tour & diving prices are traditionally stable, as are live-aboard package prices; however air prices can fluctuate daily. Until air tickets are issued, all airlines reserve the right to change airfares without notice -- an industry standard per FAA rules. We at U.S. Dive Travel will price-protect you to the utmost of our professional ability; & that has been our pledge for one decade now. Our tropical vacation experts normally secure excellent wholesale discount air tickets for our clients who book early enough to secure limited seats in the best price categories. Remember please, the federal government has deregulated all U.S.-based airlines, so only they control their pricing -- not any travel professionals. Early is good when seeking the best air ticket rates to your Australia live-aboards.

Unless specifically noted, these above Australia scuba diving packages are prices for only the live-aboard portion of your dive trip, in most cases reflecting double-occupancy rooms. On most Australia live-aboards, there will be no triple-occupancy staterooms offered. International air tickets & commuter "island-hopper" seats are always extra above these land costs. Nominal service fees are also extra for air tickets & the dive vessel + side tour components. The baseline tariffs for all clients start at $55 per person for the land portion. Late-booking clients may receive slightly higher tariffs on our Australia live-aboards. Solo clients will always pay a single supplement to secure a private stateroom -- normally about 50% more than the standard double-occupancy rate for the live-aboard of your choice.

The preferred payment mode for all of our Australia live-aboards & air ticket specials is by cashier's check or wire transfer in U.S. dollars. All clients living outside the USA or Canada will need to pay for their dive vacations via direct wire transfer only. No personal checks will be accepted for any Australia live-aboard reservation. Thank you for your gracious understanding. Our service level is the highest & our prices the lowest in this industry, & thus we need to preserve a reasonable margin. For published-fare air ticket bookings, USDT always accepts Visa & Mastercard.

So if you are interested in any of these topics, please give us a call, & we are here to serve you -- Mike Ball, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, Spoilsport, Supersport, Australia diving, Australia scuba diving, Australia live-aboards, Australia liveaboards, Australia live-aboard, Australia liveaboard, Great Barrier Reef, Great Barrier Reef diving, Great Barrier Reef scuba diving, Coral Sea, Coral Sea diving.

Remember, regarding any of these topics you might choose, USDT carries a great deal of background info for you -- about other exciting Australia dive holidays from Mike Ball, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, Spoilsport, Supersport, Australia diving, Australia scuba diving, Australia live-aboards, Australia liveaboards, Australia live-aboard, Australia liveaboard, Great Barrier Reef, Great Barrier Reef diving, Great Barrier Reef scuba diving, Coral Sea, Coral Sea diving.

Also please remember, all tropical vacation clients on these Australia live-aboards will be asked by local officials overseas, upon departing the airport on your final day, to pay a nominal government departure tax, usually between USD $35 - $45 per client. USDT cannot collect this tax beforehand, so you simply pay it down there, in your host country. Be sure to stash away a little cash for this final moment at the airport, so you'll get your exit visa stamped quickly with no fuss; & away you go. Best of luck with your dive travel plans. We hope your scuba diving vacation is a safe & satisfying adventure. Blessings & best wishes with ALL your dive vacations on prime Australia live-aboards.

Best fishes too!

>////*>   <*\\\\<

John Hessburg & Susan Hessburg, Mgrs.
U.S. Dive Travel Network.