December 2014 on the Great Barrier Reef

Deep Reefs…..What will we find this year?

Captain Trevor Jackson

They have a few things in common, those deep offshore mountain tops. They all plunge thousands of metres to the seafloor, they all have water so clear you can get the impression you’re base jumping off a cliff and sharks…they are everywhere. Moreover they provide the backdrop for our once a year Deep Reefs expedition. Folks on board Spoilsport will often read our brochures and become intrigued about what Deep Reefs is all about.

I usually respond thus: “Deep Reefs is a trip that comes around once a year where we spend most of the trip way way outside the beautiful confines of the Great Barrier Reef, out where it really is ‘deep sea diving’. We go out to where the walls just keep dropping, and, subject to the limits of one’s certification, we let you explore them”. The next question is usually, “So you can go as deep as you like?” Well…..”You can go as deep as you’re qualified to”.

Put simply, if you’re qualified to dive to 100 metres and you’ve got the kit to do it, we will see you when you get back onboard.

But it’s not just about going deep, it’s really about finding new stuff, deep and shallow. This year we are rejoined by researchers from the University of Queensland who will be doing their darndest to repeat last year’s effort of discovering a previously unknown species using an ROV way down in the darkness. Rebreather divers will be exploring around the 80 metre mark looking to find another site that is equal to the stunning Deep Sea Arcade, discovered during a Deep Reefs trip two years ago. Air and Nitrox recreational divers will enjoy the thrill of dropping in on walls that have simply never been seen by humans before. Deep Reefs is about exploration, it’s about doing a USS Enterprise and boldly going where ‘no man has gone before’. And it’s a heck of a lot of fun as well.

Deep Reefs is open to anyone who pangs for the discovery of new things. You don’t have be a tech diver, sites are carefully selected on the basis that they provide something for everyone, with the particular emphasis on first time discovery. Deep Reefs in 2015 sets off in mid January, just a few weeks away, and we are already wondering …what will we find this year?

For further details complete a Contact Us form, or find out more and book direct online.

Rogues Gallery