Yongala Wreck & Coral Sea Expedition
7 nights and 29 dives
The Yongala Wreck and Coral Sea Expedition is a very unique and incredible expedition and live board with Mike Ball Expeditions and Spoil sport. This is a dive trip that combines adventure diving with the world famous SS Yongala Wreck with dramatic vertical walls at Holmes and Flinders Reef. The reefs here are sites on the Great Barrier Reef off Townsville in eastern Australia, both teeming with marine life. This is a diving trip and expedition that is booked as a 7 night trip and only runs a few times a year.
Weather permitting, you will also dive at the SS Gothenburg wreck. A ship that sank under similar conditions but is considerably less well known. She can only be visited if the weather permits. Dive back in time and into history.
Summary: Lots and lots of marine life and wreck diving. Large and numerous sharks are common around the wrecks, including tiger sharks and copperhead sharks. Here it is teeming with marine life and sometimes you are completely surrounded by fish. Sometimes you can also see large groupers here patrolling the artificial reefs. If you're lucky, a wobbegong or large stingray lies on the wreck and rests, and often schools of half-sized fish hunt and fill the reef with action.
Experience: You must be an Advanced diver or have logged at least 15 logged dives in the sea. You must have done at least 5 of these dives in the last 12 months.
Embarkation and Check-in: 18:00 at Spoilsport at Breakwater Marina, Townsville
Disembarkation: Thursday 8:00 - If multiple trips here are made then at Breakwater Marina, Town. Thursday 08:00 – Trinity Wharf, Cairns for all other departures
Weather
The most reliable season for diving trips to the Coral Sea is between September and January. The dive sites on all diving trips are chosen taking into account the weather and winds, and if the weather forces it, there may be a change in the route. Contact us for booking.
All pictures with © approval from Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, Australia
What is included in a liveaboard package?
- Transfer from the boat to the hotel or the airport after your liveaboard
- 7 nights in a shared cabin with private or shared bathroom (depending on choice of cabin) on liveaboard
- 3 meals per day on board as well as water, tea, coffee,
- Open deck diving 3-5 dives / day including, dive briefing, tank, weights, GPS
Highlights
Wheeler Reef
A very popular dive site located approximately 100 km from Townsville. With an average visibility of 30 meters plus and dive site depths ranging from 2 to 30 meters, perfect dive profiles and long bottom times are easy to achieve. Wheeler ranks as one of the best night dives on the reef, so enjoy.
Yongala Wreck
This world-class shipwreck is one of the main subjects of Sir David Attenborough's documentary about the wonder of the Great Barrier Reef. Recognized as one of the world's best historic wreck dive sites and most famous wreck, this 111 meter wreck lies on the starboard side at a depth of 30 meters. She sank during a cyclone on 23 March 1911 and is now home to a spectacular concentration of marine life. Most spectacularly, tiger sharks regularly circle around and above the wreck.
Flinders Reef / Flinders Cay
Experience the spectacular walls that here drop 300 meters straight down and with an average visibility of 40 meters. Dive down to large gorgonians over 5 meters wide and view the huge swaying soft coral gardens. Mix this with patrolling sharks, tuna and barracuda out in the blue.
Holmes Reef
A twin reef system approximately 240km east of Cairns, Holmes Reef offers adventurous divers a range of caves, tunnels, swim throughs and deep crevices to explore. Go a little deeper to explore the dozens of caves adorned or simply overrun with soft corals. Or swim a little higher up and let yourself be seduced by the spawning fish and shoals of different species here on the reef Some of the dive sites you will visit: Nonki Bommie, Amazing and South Holmes.
Yongala Wreck & Coral Sea Expedition dates:
2024 Departure dates: 7 March, 11 April
2025 Departure dates: 6 March
Programme
Thursday:
Check-in at our office (3 Abbott St, Cairns) between 8am and 30pm.
From 16:30: You will walk yourself to Hemingway's Brewery Cairns Wharf (200 meters from the MBDE office) to meet your fellow passengers. Please note that dinner is not provided on the first night so you may want to eat before boarding.
17.50pm: Our crew will guide you from Hemingway's Brewery Cairns Wharf to the board Spoilsport. Enjoy a glass of champagne and light snacks while your tour director gives a full briefing.
18:00: Spoilsport departs Cairns.
Time to arrange rental equipment and assemble the diving equipment on the diving deck.
Friday:
(4 dives + night dive) This is a sample of a 'typical day', but exact times may vary to optimize the prevailing weather conditions on the day.
06:30: Wake up, light breakfast available in the dining room
7:00 a.m.: Briefing and diving begins
9:00: Full breakfast
10:30: Dive briefing & diving. "Open deck" accommodates 1-2 dives either in the morning or in the afternoon
14:00: Lunch
15:30: Briefing & diving
16:30: Afternoon tea
18:30: Briefing before night dives & Night dives
20:00: Dinner
Saturday:
(4 dives + night dive)
As above.
Sunday:
(4 dives)
As above. However, all diving is finished at 17.00.
The liveaboard moors off Lizard Island for the evening.
As the sun goes down we pour the champagne, lay out the bites and get ready for an Aussie BBQ party night. Don't forget to wear your favorite tropical shirt or dress and sing along to music played by our talented team.
Halfway through the journey
Monday:
(2 dives + night dive)
07:00: light breakfast
8:00am: Farewell to the passengers doing the 4-night Fly Dive Coral Sea Expedition who will disembark here.
8:00 a.m.: Stay on board or take a shore excursion to Lizard Island to stretch your legs and explore a bit of this beautiful island.
11:00am: New passengers join us here. Drinks and light snacks are provided.
12:45: Dive briefing and diving
14:00: Lunch
15:45: Dive briefing and diving
16.45: Afternoon tea
18:00: Dive briefing and night dive
20.00: Dinner
Tuesday:
(4 dives + night dive)
Like Friday as above.
Wednesday:
(4 dives)
As above. The last dive must be finished by 17.00.
When the sun goes down, we pour the champagne, lay out the snacks and get ready for the farewell party!
Overnight cruise back to Cairns
Thursday:
07:00: light breakfast
8:00am: Disembark and transfer to your hotel in Cairns, the airport or to the liveaboard office in Cairns where you can store your luggage until 17:00pm if you have a later flight.
important:
We recommend that you allow 24 hours between your last dive and your onward flight (all diving is completed by 17.00pm Monday).
Please note!
Our solid program is a plan that is modified based on the external conditions that the weather gods reward us with. This means that we can move activities to other days and, in the worst case, replace planned activities with alternatives if necessary.
Liveaboards offering this safari
Spoilsport liveaboard great barrier reef
