Sleek and spacious, the 'Spirit of Freedom' offers the best in live-aboard dive cruising to the Cod Hole and Ribbon Reefs. This tour begins every Monday from Cairns, and travels along the rarely visited Ribbon Reefs, finishing 240 km to the north at the world famous Cod Hole.
Number of Dives: Up to 24 dives, including 7 night dives
Number of passengers: 26 maximum
Vessel: 37m monohull, 3 spacious decks, fully air-conditioned, electronic stabilisers
What to bring:
- Dive Certification Card
- Hat & Sunscreen
- Warm clothing for evenings
- Money for bar and other on-board purchases
- Soft luggage
What's Included:
- Transfers to/from your Cairns city hotel
- Opportunity for up to 26 dives
- En-suite cabin with daily service
- Chef prepared gourmet meals - Australian style
- Australian wines and soft drinks with evening meals
Courses Available:
PADI Advanced Course
PADI Nitrox Course
7 day Cod Hole & Coral Sea Combined Adventure
The 7 day
Cod Hole and Coral Sea adventure, offers two unique destinations, combining our 3 and 4 day cruise. At the
Cod Hole & Ribbon Reefs you will dive with giant potato cod and encounter an ecosystem of unsurpassed marine diversity. The Coral Sea will offer you amazing visibility, sheer walls, sharks, and huge schools of fish.
Spirit of Freedom is Australia's largest live aboard dive vessel, and features electronic stabilisers, wide screen TV/ DVD, and roomy cabins with ensuites. Be prepared for fabulous chef prepared meals and a level of service to satisfy the most discerning dive traveller.
Australias Coral Sea Reefs are a system of isolated reefs that lie well beyond the Great Barrier Reef. It is here that you can experience an underwater world with exceptional visibility (average 30-40m), and reef landscapes of pinnacles and sheer walls laced with golden gorgonian fans. Drift diving with the currents, you will see huge schools of tuna, trevally and sharks passing you by.
About the Coral Sea:
To the south east, east and north east of Cairns and at least 100km offshore from the Great Barrier Reef, lie Australia's Coral Sea Reefs. Spirit of Freedom will travel to two Coral Sea Reef systems which can include South Flinders, Flinders, Dart, East Holmes, West Holmes, Flora, Bouganville, Shark, and Osprey Reefs. Destinations will vary and be selected to provide the best diving, and allow maximum dive time and passenger comfort, according to the prevailing weather.
The Coral Sea reefs feature spectacular walls, steep drop-offs and lone seamounts, rising thousands of metres from the ocean floor to just below the surface. Renown for crystal clear water with average visibility well in excess of 40 metres, a diver can appear suspended in air against a vertical wall laced with massive gorgonian fans. Sharks and schooling pelagics cruise through an amazing display of gorgonians, sea whips, and bright yellow soft corals, while nudibranch, anemones, unusual tropical fish, invertebrates, and huge schools of fish provide a rich variety of marine life.
Itinerary:
Monday:
The Spirit of Freedom courtesy bus will pick you up from your Cairns hotel around 11:00am to transfer you to Trinity Wharf, where you will board the vessel. You will be greeted by the Spirit of Freedom crew, who will give you an orientation of the vessel before a 12 noon departure. Enjoy lunch on board while we cruise to the outer Great Barrier Reef for an afternoon check-out dive and a twilight or night dive. After dinner we cruise north to the Ribbon Reefs.
Tuesday & Wednesday:
These two days are spent diving at the most northern of the Ribbon Reefs, Number 9 & 10 Ribbon Reefs. Dive sites and sequence may vary depending on the weather conditions, but will always include at least one dive at the Cod Hole, where you encounter a family of massive and very friendly Potato Cod. Other sites may include Wonder-wall, Pixie Pinnacle, Challenger Bay, Two Towers, Lighthouse Bommie, and the Snake Pit, just to name a few. If the current is right, you may also take a drift dive at Dynamite Pass, well know as a channel for sharks to pass through. See the dive site page for site selection of some of our dive sites on the Ribbon Reefs. 4 to 5 dives will be available each day, including a night dive on the Tuesday. On Wednesday evening we overnight at Watson's Bay, Lizard Island, and enjoy a sunset BBQ dinner on the top deck.
Thursday:
This morning after breakfast you will have the opportunity to go ashore at Lizard Island. A good chance to stretch you legs on land at this half way point, you can take the guided walk from Watson's Beach to Mary Watson's cottage over Chinaman's Ridge and back to the beach. Around 11.00am we will cruise back to Ribbon Reef Number 10 for two dives at a choice of sites including the Snake Pit, Cod Hole, Challenger Bay, Lighthouse Bommie, Pixie Wall, and Pixie Pinnacle. If the tide permits we may repeat a dive at the Cod Hole or visit new sites. We depart in the evening for a 10 hour crossing to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.
Friday & Saturday:
Two days will be spent diving Osprey Reef (weather permitting). Australia's Coral Sea reefs are renown for crystal clear water with visibility ranging 30 to 100 metres. The landscape is amazing with sheer walls laced with gorgonians, sea whips, and bright yellow soft corals, rising from the ocean floor thousands of feet below. 'North Horn' is a dive site at the tip of Osprey where grey reef sharks, silvertips, and the occasional oceanic congregate, and you can experience a close encounter with the Spirit of Freedom shark attraction dive. 4 to 5 dives will be available each day, including a night dive on the Friday. See the dive site page for site selection of some of our dive sites at Osprey Reef. On Saturday night we will depart Osprey Reef for overnight travel to the Ribbon Reefs.
Sunday:
At Ribbon Reefs Number 3 we will dive such sites as the sensational Steve's Bommie, Temple of Doom, and Flare Point. A second option for this day, in special weather conditions, is to head south from Opsrey to Bougainville Reef, known for its unusual underwater landscape or caverns, and its partially submerged wreck. On Sunday evening we will cruise overnight back to Cairns.
Monday:
We arrive back into Cairns at 06:30am. Enjoy a light breakfast on board and a group photo opportunity before being dropped back to your Cairns hotel around 08.00am.
Departures:
Departs: Monday at 12pm
Returns: Monday at 7:30am
Extra costs:
AU$20 EMC (Marine Park Fee)
AU$70 Fuel Levy
Other Extra Costs:
Diving Equipment (if required)
