Spirit of Freedom Liveaboard

DIVE LEVEL:  We recommend this Great Barrier Reef liveaboard dive trip for Open Water to Experienced divers, or divers with minimum 10 ocean dives, including 5 dives in the last 12 months.

DEPARTS: Cairns 12:00 noon Thursday   RETURNS: Cairns 12:00 noon Sunday

DIVES: 11 (including one night dive)

Stepping aboard the sleek and spacious ‘Spirit of Freedom’, our 3-night liveaboard dive trip departs every Thursday from Cairns, and travels along the rarely visited Ribbon Reefs, finishing 240 km to the north at the world-famous Cod Hole. Along the ‘Ribbons’ you will have the opportunity to complete up to 11 dives as you encounter clouds of colourful tropical fish, an incredible variety of vibrant healthy corals, giant clams, anemones, huge schools of cruising pelagic fish, and a family of giant potato cod. On Saturday, we will make our way to the remote Lizard Island (Jiigurru), some 90km off the Queensland coast, for an overnight stay in the secluded Watson’s Bay where you will enjoy an evening BBQ dinner on the top deck. Sunday morning, you will have time to explore Lizard Island before boarding a one-hour scenic flight back to Cairns.

• Thursday: 
• The Spirit of Freedom courtesy bus will pick you up from your Cairns hotel around 11:00 am to transfer you to Trinity Wharf. There you will be greeted by the Spirit of Freedom crew, who will give you an orientation of the vessel before on you depart on your 3-night liveaboard dive trip at 12 noon. Enjoy lunch on board while we cruise to the outer Great Barrier Reef for an afternoon check-out dive and a twilight dive. After dinner we cruise north to dive the Ribbon Reefs.
• Friday & Saturday: 
• These two days are spent diving along the 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. 4 to 5 dives will be available each day, including a night dive on Friday. On Saturday evening we overnight at Watson’s Bay, Lizard Island, and enjoy a sunset BBQ dinner on the top deck.
• Sunday: 
• This morning after breakfast you will disembark and say farewell to Spirit of Freedom. On shore, at Lizard Island, you can take the guided walk from Watson’s Beach to Mary Watson’s cottage over Chinaman’s Ridge and back to the air-strip. Following a picnic of a Breakfast Roll and drinks you will board a light aircraft for your flight back to Cairns. The one-hour flight arrives at Hinterland Aviation, Cairns General Aviation Airport around 11.15 to 11:45 am, where the Spirit of Freedom courtesy coach will meet you for your transfer back to your Cairns city hotel at the end of your liveaboard dive trip.

Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs & Coral Sea Adventure (7 Day/7 Night)

DIVE LEVEL:  We recommend this Great Barrier Reef dive liveaboard trip to Advanced Divers, or divers with at least 20 logged ocean dives including 5 in the past 12 months. 

DEPARTS: Cairns 12 pm (noon) Thursday   RETURNS: Cairns 8:00 am Thursday

DIVES: 26 (including two night dives)

For the diver who wants to see it all, our 7-night dive liveaboard trip begins every Thursday from Cairns and combines the 3 Night Cod Hole/Ribbon Reef and 4 Night Coral Sea trips into one of the world’s most epic liveaboard dive boat adventures. Stepping aboard the sleek and spacious ‘Spirit of Freedom’, your Great Barrier Reef dive liveaboard expedition begins with a 240km journey through the rarely visited Ribbon Reefs, to the famous Cod Hole dive site. Along the ‘Ribbons’ you will the opportunity for up to 11 dives as you encounter clouds of colourful tropical fish, an incredible variety of vibrant healthy corals, giant clams, anemones, and huge schools of cruising pelagic fish, and a family of giant potato cod. On Saturday, will make our way to the remote Lizard Island (Jiigurru), some 90km off the Queensland coast, for an overnight stay in the secluded Watson’s Bay where you will enjoy an evening BBQ dinner on the top deck.  In the morning, you will have time to explore Lizard Island as our 3-night guests depart for their flight back to Cairns and the 4-night guests arrive to join the trip as we move to more advanced diving conditions. As you share tales of the past 3 days with your new dive companions, we make our way to the top of the Ribbon Reefs dive sites like Challenger Bay and Lighthouse Bommie, before an overnight crossing to the famous Osprey Reef (weather permitting) in the Coral Sea. An old volcanic atoll lying 220km off the coast, Osprey Reef is renowned for its spectacular walls of 1,000m, its massive soft corals, shark action, and exceptional visibility. We will spend two days here exploring different locations. North Horn, at the tip of the Osprey Reef, is a site where grey reef sharks and Silvertips congregate and your chance for a close encounter shark dive where you yo will typically see up to 30-40 sharks on this incredible dive. Your final day is spent at Ribbon Reef Number 3, or occasionally if the weather permits, Bougainville Reef, to the south of Osprey Reef. Overnight travel on the last night returns you to Cairns early on Thursday morning where you will enjoy breakfast before departing the vessel with up to 26 amazing dives to add to your logbook, and many fond memories of your liveaboard dive trip aboard Spirit of Freedom.

• Thursday: The Spirit of Freedom courtesy bus will pick you up from your Cairns hotel around 11 am to transfer you to Trinity Wharf. There you will be greeted by the Spirit of Freedom crew, who will give you an orientation of the vessel before you depart on your 7-night liveaboard dive trip at 12 pm (noon). 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.
• Friday & Saturday: These two days are spent diving at the most northern of the 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 known as a channel for sharks to pass through. 4 to 5 dives will be available each day, including a night dive on Friday. On Saturday evening we overnight at Watson’s Bay, Lizard Island, and enjoy a sunset BBQ dinner on the top deck.
• Sunday: This morning after breakfast you will have the opportunity to go ashore at Lizard Island. This is a good chance to stretch your legs on land at the halfway point of your trip! We recommend taking the guided walk from Watson’s Beach to Mary Watson’s cottage, over Chinaman’s Ridge, and back to the beach. Around 11 am we will cruise back to Ribbon Reef 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.
• Monday & Tuesday: Two days will be spent diving Osprey Reef (weather permitting). Australia’s Coral Sea reefs are renowned for their crystal clear water, with visibility ranging from 30 to 100 metres. The landscape is amazing, with sheer walls laced with gorgonian fans, 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. Four to five dives will be available each day, including a night dive on Monday. On Tuesday night we will depart Osprey Reef for overnight travel to the Ribbon Reefs.
• Wednesday: At Ribbon Reef 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 Osprey to Bougainville Reef, known for its unusual underwater landscape or caverns, and its partially submerged wreck. On Wednesday evening we will cruise overnight back to Cairns.
• Thursday: We arrive back in Cairns at 6:30 am. Enjoy a light breakfast onboard and a group photo opportunity, before being dropped back to your Cairns accommodation around 8.00 am.

Far North Expeditions

Join us on board Spirit of Freedom to dive the exotic Far Northern Great Barrier Reef. With space aboard our 7 Day / 7 Night Fly/ Dive Expeditions, you can take advantage of this rare opportunity to experience the seldom visited reefs along the isolated region of the Cape York Peninsular.

The Far Northern Reefs are known as the isolated reefs north of Lizard Island that extend to the east the tip of Cape York peninsular, around 500 nautical miles north of Cairns. One of the last totally pristine areas of the Great Barrier Reef, these reefs are seldom visited by any boats, and many of the hundreds of reefs in the region, are yet to be fully explored. The Far Northern reefs are famous for their fantastic wall dives, pinnacles alive with fish, massive coral heads, and reef fish and invertebrates of incredible variety and colors.

The nesting season for the green sea turtle runs from October through February, and November and December sees thousands upon thousands of turtles descending on the many small coral cays in the region.

The Spring is also the best weather season to dive the outer walls, offering a great chance of encounters with sharks, manta rays and massive schools of pelagics. The diving in this region can be challenging, and these tours are only recommended for the experienced diver.

[See: Australia Dive Travel Guide]

Other Information

Boat Specifications

• Year built: 1992
• Construction: Steel hull with aluminum superstructure
• Length: 37.0 metres / 122 feet
• Beam: 7.1 metres/ 24 feet
• Draft: 2.2 metres/ 7.26 feet
• Speed: 11 knots
• Engines: 2 x Rolls Royce C8M 410 249.8 kw diesel
• Generators: 2 x Cummings 6BTs, 90 KVA each
• Navigation: JRC 72 mile radar, Transas Plotter, Tsunami GPS System
• Communications: Ship’s phone, satellite phone and email, Icom HF Radio, Icom VHF radio, Wireless internet access when in range
• Compressors: 2 x Bauer 21 CFM Compressors
• Displacement: 250 tonnes
• Fresh Water: 20,000 litres plus Desalinators, Fully Air-conditioned throughout, Electronic Stabilizers
• Maximum guests: 26
• Number of cabin: 11
• Number of crew: 10
• Tenders: 2 x 4.8m Naiad Tender boats

• Time Zone: GMT+10
• Payment Onboard: AUD cash, Visa, Mastercard and American Express
• Local Currency: AUD (Australian Dollar)
• Language Spoken: English, Dutch, French and Japanese
• Electricity: 240 & 110 V

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