MV Spoilsport (Mike Ball Dive Expeditions)
I absolutely love, love, loved my week on the Spoilsport! I was not ready to depart when the time came.
The crew was amazing- with the exception of one of their "volunteer" crew members, they were all attentive and friendly. (perhaps they could screen those volunteers better) The Captain, "Pirate Pete" was quite the entertainer and played the guitar and sang! Our Divemasters, Ash, Shona, Kirin (also our cruise director)... I'm sorry I can't remember all of their names but they were all wonderful and fun.
My cabin was clean and compact with plenty of storage space. The AC was a bit though to control and kept hedging a bit toward Arctic but after a word to the crew it was quickly fixed. We always had plenty of hot water for our showers which is not always the case on a liveaboard.
The food was very good, they catered to all the funky habits and needs of the divers without so much as a raised eyebrow. There was plenty of variety, I loved the soups that were served with most of the lunches. And there was always something to nibble on.
Now, about that diving...
The dive deck is well run. The dive deck towels could have been a bit bigger. I'm a small person and thought they were itty bitty but they were always clean and dry and waiting for us. The briefs were thorough with maps drawn and full explanations of currents and possible dangers. After the brief we were allowed to dive when we wanted, with or without a guide, divers choice. I particularly loved that because I have a camera and would prefer not to be with a crowd or moving too fast. My buddy and I were first in and last out on most of the dives. On the first day when we came back way later than everyone else we apologized only to be told that the crew was there to cater to us and it was fine! Sweet.
We saw so much... The Giant Potato Cod were so much fun, gentile giants, they swam right up to check us out and just stayed around to have their portraits taken. We saw Giant Clams, beautiful corals and tons of little stuff as well, nudies, sea squirts, anemones, christmas tree worms... I enjoyed the game of, Stump the PhotoPro, in which we were to take photos of things we thought he couldn't identify. He actually did very well.
For me the hardest thing about the diving was deciding weather to take the fish eye or the macro lens. We did a fantastic drift dive that I think was called, Vertical Gardens. The drift dive was followed up with a shark dive. Living in Hawaii, I get to see lots of sharks and expected the shark dive to be tacky but it was a ton of fun! A great time was had by all I think even the sharks enjoyed it. And the photo ops on that dive were stellar.
Of note to some- The 100 mile overnight to Osprey Reef was quite rough and a number of people were sick, although most came around in a day or so, I would be sure to bring your patches if you have a tendency toward seasickness.
Would I do this trip again? Yes, in a heartbeat.
