A strong downpour pounded the marina where the 17 guests of the Spoilsport met to head out to sea for a 4 night 5 day dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. In a few words, the group I sailed with was just a good group of people that, collectively, made the short trip unforgettable.
Gathered on this voyage were two Norwegians, two Japanese, 8 Americans, three Brits, 2 Aussies (1 who has lived in Sun Valley for 30 years), 2 Kiwis, one German, and the crew of about 10 Aussies. A very international and diverse crowd! The skipper was a character!!! He and Dan made the trip! Thanks guys!
In terms of background and careers, we had two Vets (medical!), engineers on a seismic vessel searching for oil, 2 engineers working overseas in gold mines, a couple sailing around the world for 3 years, a retired marine (among other amazing stories), dive instructors on vacation, retired couples, an RN in an intensive care unit, retired ski instructor, and an electronics equipment salesman. Again, very diverse, allowing for unlimited conversations.
The general briefing by Dan our Trip Director started off by letting us know that the rain we were seeing was the southern edge of Cyclone Kate, which was kicking up 25 to 30 knot winds, which (upon asking that stupid question) can push up waves big enough to make some seasoned sailors uncomfortable. `You can quit now, and either get a refund or book another time, was the story, but not one person even considered giving up the chance we had to see some amazing underwater scenery, so we shoved off into a very uncomfortable night, steaming about 8 hours north from Cairns. Not even three vodkas and two sleeping pills could not knock me out with the rough seas?Ehe sounds that surround a 120 foot ship sloshing through 10 to 15 foot swells is pretty un-nerving for someone that is not used to it; my room mate Steve slept straight thorough it.
After about 13 minutes of total sleep time, we woke to good news, Cyclone Kate was only a Midget cyclone and will not have an impact on our trip! A collective cheer went out as we all geared up for the first of many amazing dives on the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef.
The daily schedule for the trip was 4 dives on the first day, 5 on the second and 4 on the third. For any of you divers out there, you can appreciate that 5 dives a day is tough?Especially under a 90 degree sun on a deck that is swaying?Eut did anyone complain? Not a chance. Every one stepped up and nailed it. I must admit that it is pretty cool to see a 62 year old man, and a 60 (ish) woman gear up and jump into a dive site knowing the nearest land is well over 100 miles away!
The highlight of the dive deck? My first knife shot of Veggemite, the rule of the ship is that if you dont sign your dive log before you leave the dive deck, you have to shoot a knifeful of Veggemite, which for those who dont know is, well, just gross but if you shoot it while brushing your teeth, you can get by, try it!
The highlight from diving? Very hard to say, but watching a 5 foot Moray eel slither up to a 6 foot 600 pound Potato Cod and bite it in the ASS was a pretty cool site, the cod did not even move, there will be some video of the moray on the video link so have a look.
Nights on the spoilsport were great!!! The food was insane, if you did not PUT ON weight during the sailing, then you did not do justice to the quality of the dishes prepared by Tony. WOW!!! The biggest surprise of the trip had to be Kenny.
Kenny is a former 1st Recon Marine who saw action as a medic in a squad that was sent into Northern Vietnam (read this as Laos, but I know, we were never there?E, and is now traveling the world, diving some of the most amazing spots ever seen. At first site, Kenny is a tall, tanned 55+ man with tattoos, scars, and a face that expresses the experiences and hard times he has been through in life. Kenny was my dive buddy for a number of dives, and man was he cool?Eagain for those who dive, Kenny was a perfect buddy. He was always there, checking if I was OK, but letting me do what I want to do and find what I want to find. Every 5 minutes we would give the OK sign, and carry on.
Kenny shocked the absolute SHIT out of all of us when he slid up on to the second deck where about 10 of us were gathered drinking, and playing the guitar. Now I brought my guitar and after 3 lessons and 8 months of practice can barely hold a tune?EBUT the little mini Martin that I have with me puts out some righteous sounds, Kenny asks if he can have a go on the Martin, I handed him the guitar with an almost 'whatever', kind of attitude, but our eyes and ears bulged when Kenny strummed his first chord.
Turns out Kenny has been playing Guitar for 45 years?E.he treated us to an hour of pure musical bliss with songs we know, and songs he wrote. Jaws dropped, eyes welled, and, if I wore them, I would have thrown panties...(no comments please Mallett..)
Kenny if you are listening, you are THE MAN!!!! (Post Note, I SAW KENNY WALKING IN DOWNTOWN PERTH TWO DAYS AGO!!! I COULD NOT TURN THE CAR AROUND FAST ENOUGH....KENNY, YOU ARE A HARD MAN TO TRACK!)
The last day on the boat ended with a sunset beach walk on Lizard Island. WOW. WOW. WOW. Lizard Island is a nature reserve with one hotel, and AMAZING scenery. Pictures will be posted, but what an amazing place. I must say this was the highlight of the trip. Captain cook (see the Byron Bay post) climbed the highest peak (center right peak in the pictures) to find his way out of the GB Reef when he was stranded there in the mid 1700s. I honestly dont think much has changed since he made that hike up the hill. AMAZING!
The end of the trip included a 700 foot, one hour flight over the reef back to Cairns. We were all on the shuttle bus back to our respective hotels, and the thought that we would probably never see each other again was overcome by a sensation that I have never felt before. Call it island fever, call it ship sickness...I dont know, but none of us wanted it to end....(except for the bus driver who obviously had a serious issue with luggage...I TOLD YOU TWICE!!!!). We all decided to meet for one last night in Cairns town. We looked at pictures, drank beer, ate pizza and laughed and laughed.
Its not often that 17 totally random individuals can come together to make a short trip an unforgettable experience, but oh BOY did we do it. I am so happy to have met all of the crew and guests of the (sadly LAST) voyage of the Spoil Sport, and I do hope that I can meet them (you!) again somewhere, sometime!
I will quote Kenny when I say that we got out of the trip what everyone put in to it, and that was a lot. Thanks again to everyone, and I hope to see you again!