Geraldton TAFE have given us the opportunity for a 3-day trip to the Abrolhos Islands for a really good rate ($767.30 full price, $324.00 for concession card holders)! This includes all food, plus we can sleep on the boat on Friday evening prior to setting sail early Saturday morning. The boat returns to Geraldton on Monday. The trip is in the calendar provisionally for 12-14 August, but we can have the weekend before or after instead if we want.

The TAFE rates offered are conditional of all passengers taking part in a number of units from their Cert III in Aquaculture (See attached flyer – Scuba Diving 2017 V7MF), but they inform me that this is mostly observational as they know we are just focused on fun dives.

Currently I need to see if we have enough interested people to run a trip – we can have the boat to ourselves if we get 6-16 people, but it sounds like around 10 would work well. If you’re keen, please register at the bottom of the page, if we get enough I’ll go ahead and book the boat.

For a bit of info on diving the Abrolhos: http://50greatdives.com/listing/abrolhos-islands/

I asked them a bit more about the trip, see below for more info:

1)      With the timing of the 3-day trips, I assume people arrive and stay on the boat Friday night (we’d be coming from Perth), leave for Abrolhos Saturday morning and arrive back in Geraldton on Monday at some point – is that correct?

Yes this is correct. You will be able to stay on the boat overnight at the wharf when you arrive to allow for an early departure the next day. We usually leave between 6-7am to make the most out of the day. This could be for an arrival on Friday and return Monday but we are definitely flexible with days so please let us know if other days suit you better (mid-week or thurs-sun).

2)      Is it a requirement for everyone to do all units of the courses offered? If so, how much time does this take up vs just recreational dives? Most people on board have quite a bit of diving experience and would primarily be there for a nice trip to the Abrolhos rather than a focus on the course, so apologies if we have the wrong end of the stick there!

As it is a training vessel it is a requirement for everyone to enrol in the units. We do understand that the motivation is diving and that you will all be experienced but we will need to do some assessing (mostly in the form of observations) which should not take up too much time. The assessments will be very straight forward so should not really impact on your time diving recreationally. I would suggest you will get 3-4 dives each day still. Without being enrolled in the course the cost of the boat is much more so this is by far the cheapest way to do it.

3)      Is the boat Nitrox-equipped, and is there scope for doing any tec diving/rebreather dives etc. Everyone would have their own gear and most people in the club have at least an Advanced Open Water qualification.

We only have normal compressors on board so will not be able to refill nitrox however in the past people have brought their own nitrox tanks and used them so I cannot see this being a problem as long as you are certified but I will double check with the dive instructor and get back to you.

4)      What kind of sites do you go to, and is there scope to choose sites depending on what people are interested in doing?

There is definitely scope to choose your own sites based on your interests. We go to a variety of site which are all quite unique. For example there are sites with more corals and ornamental fish that could be better for macro, and then there are sites within the Reef Observation areas with more larger fish (coral trout, Dhufish, spangled emperor, schools of mackerel and the occasional sharks). There are also some sites which are better for getting crays and even some sites with ship wrecks such as the Batavia however this is largely dependent on the swell size and direction on the day. Usually we look at the weather each day and choose the dive sites based on that but there are always lots of options.

5)      How is the accommodation set up on board – cabins/dorms/people per room etc?

The accommodation is bunk beds set up in three different rooms (all connected) down below. Each room as 4 beds and there are a few extra mattresses that can be brought upstairs if people prefer to sleep in the wheelhouse. There is also the option for people to bring swags and sleep upstairs on the flybridge or perhaps on a jetty if we can get permission. There is one toilet/ shower which is fine even with 25 people. In the wheelhouse there is a lounge area and kitchen, TV for movies etc. There is also seating upstairs on the fly bridge for traveling. We also have fishing equipment on board that can be used.

6)      Is the price a flat rate, or is it possible to negotiate rates depending on how many people we have on board?

The price is a flat rate per person as it is run as a course. Having said that the concession is cheaper if you qualify with a centerlink/ healthcare  card which some students may have if they are receiving benefits. If we hire it out as a charter the cost of the boat is around $4300/ day plus the food costs so it works out much better to enrol in the units and pay per person.