Nekton

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats." - Wind In The Willows.

It's an inspirational piece of advice that, down through the years, has struck a chord with everyone who dives and who has ever dreamt of journeying to those remote diving locations where the marine life is more abundant, the underwater visibility always superior - and where there's a greater variety of diving and more of it. In that regard nothing quite compares with the thrill of putting to sea on a liveaboard dive vessel.

And just as there are dive sites that demand to be dived time and time again, so are there liveaboards that never fail to please. Like old friends whose company is always welcomed some vessels achieve an almost legendary status, both for the quality of the diving experiences as well as for the topside comfort and friendly professionalism of their crews.

For many years the Cairns-based, TAKA II, was just such a vessel; one that built a well-deserved reputation as one of the world's leading liveaboards and that, until recently, remained unsurpassed in the affections of those divers privileged to travel aboard her.

By anybody's standards it would be a hard act to follow, but as the 'new-kid-on-the-block' the new TAKA is already proving itself a worthy successor to its illustrious namesake.

Catering to the expectations of another generation of liveaboard divers, the purpose-built vessel - that came into service early in 2004 - is already gaining international attention as the perfect liveaboard from which to explore and discover some of the finest dive sites on the Great Barrier Reef and adjacent Coral Sea atolls.

The Vessel

Based on similar lines to its predecessor, the 30-metre TAKA is designed for passenger comfort and stability. Air-conditioned throughout and with accommodations for a maximum of 30-passengers and 12 crew-members, the seven spacious upper deck cabins all feature en-suite bathrooms, plenty of stowage space and even come equipped with individual television/DVD facilities. The four quad-share cabins below decks are equally spacious and comfortable.

A beamy vessel, the main-deck passenger saloon and dining area features comfortable lounges and chairs, a bar and food serving area, as well as an internet caf�. Mounted on both the port and starboard bulkheads, two large flat screen monitors act, during the day, as all-weather 'side-windows' relaying images of the surrounding ocean and passing scenery from a CCTV camera array mounted on the mast; and in the evening serve to play back video footage of each day's dives, or to screen movies from the well-stocked library of DVD's.

Abaft the saloon, the diving deck is well configured with individual diving stations and personal stowage facilities, together with five additional bathrooms. At the stern a companionway gives direct access to the sea-level dive platform; a large drop-down grating with twin-ladders mounted on each corner for easy exit from the water.

And with plenty of upper deck areas, there's no shortage of room for sun-baking and just plain relaxing between dives.

The Trip

Each diving destination has its own unique appeal. In the tropical waters of Queensland's Great Barrier Reef the attraction is the year round warm-water diving. With visibility that varies between 'good' and 'outstanding', the individual outer reefs and coral heads teem with colourful life.

But travel beyond the Barrier Reef's outer ramparts and the mood changes. Out in the Coral Sea the crowded thread of coral structures give way to a few solitary atolls, rarely visited pinnacles that, like Osprey Reef, rise up a thousand metres or more from the sea-floor before struggling to break the surface.

Following the same proven itinerary as its predecessor, TAKA offers passengers a choice of two regularly scheduled departures, a Tuesday-to-Friday, 4-day/
3-night trip to the Ribbon Reefs, and a Friday-to-Tuesday, 5-day/4-night cruise to witness the large shark action for which Osprey Reef has become justly famous.

Keen to re-acquaint myself with dive sites that I've always considered to be among the world's best in terms of marine life, I took the opportunity of a recent trip to Cairns to book onto one of TAKA's trips to the Ribbon Reefs.

A magnificent 128-kilometre exposure of ten individual reefs and passageways that stand on the Great Barrier Reef's outer edge - 240-kilometres north from Cairns and marked, at their northern end, by Lizard Island - the Ribbon Reefs offer a variety of diving opportunities with appeal to every level of diving experience and interest.

The Diving

Despite strong winds and a moderate following sea, the overnight cruise from Cairns to the northern-most Ribbon Reef #10 - where we arrived at first light - was a comfortable ride; one that allowed an opportunity to get to know the crew and fellow passengers better and to ready the diving equipment in preparation for the dive sites that we would visit on our leisurely return journey southward back to Cairns.

With the aim of giving divers maximum appreciation of the enormous variety of dive sites that exist along this stretch of the Great Barrier Reef's outer edge, each dive was preceded by a comprehensive dive briefing detailing depth, time and gas supply parameters, suggestions on routes to follow and information on the major attractions at each location.

While every one of the sites that we visited had its own distinctive appeal, several demand special mention.

The Cod Hole

Tucked comfortably into the lee of Ribbon Reef #10 - and sheltered from the effects of the 25-knot winds that continued for the duration of the trip - the much-acclaimed Cod Hole exceeded all expectations.

A site named after the giant potato cod attracted to the area by indiscriminate feeding, the presence of these large predators had dramatically reduced the numbers of smaller fish that had previously kept the corals clean and healthy. Recognising the adverse impact that this was having on the area's fragile eco-system, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority took steps to reduce the Cod population and, at the same time, placed restrictions on the practice of feeding them by hand.

Fed by the currents that wash over the site the corals have, in just a few short years, quickly recovered to again become one of the Great Barrier Reef's premier diving attractions.

With underwater visibility in excess of 35-metres and the occasional bursts of sunlight reflected off the patches of white sand between the many coral heads, the first impression of the site was one of light and colour. Already attracted by the boat's presence, a few potato cod circled beneath the hull, while down among the coral heads there were large anemones, each with their

attendant colonies of clown fish, electric-hued feather stars and a rich variety of colourful fish life both big and small, including white tip reef sharks and schools of sedate flutemouths.

Sheltering among the flourishing corals we found a large flowery cod, shyer and more timid than its cousins, the potato cod, while over the sand were a variety of blennies and gobies, sea cucumbers beneath curtains of butterfly and surgeonfish.

The Clam Garden

An early morning dive along coral walls that give way to a gently sloping sandy bottom, the site is named after the many giant clams found in the area - some measuring 1.5-metres or more - whose fleshy mantles ranged between browns, greens and vivid blues.

Among the multi-hued staghorn corals that thrive in the area, we discovered a hunting octopus and a variety of nudibranchs, while down along the gradually descending sand slope there were colonies of garden eels.

But the highlight of the dive came towards the end while carrying out a safety stop on the shot line. Looking upwards while waiting for my buddies to clear the ladders, I felt a tug on my fin. Slightly below me was another pair of divers, one of whom was tugging furiously on my fin while making stabbing gestures with her finger at a point behind me. I looked around in time to see a minke whale swim past, just a few metres away!

A baleen whale, (one that feeds by drawing in through its mouth huge quantities of water which it strains through a series of bony plates that trap the small creatures that comprise its main diet), the Minke spends the summer months in the huge krill feeding grounds of the Southern Ocean

before migrating northwards to breed, an annual pilgrimage of instinct that brings this coast loving species of whale into Australia's eastern waters from May through to August each year.

Regularly seen by divers to this region of the Great Barrier Reef during the southern winter months of June and July, in-water sighting of minke whales ranks as one of diving's most sublime moments.

Tending to travel either singly or in small groups, the Minke is a fast swimmer, easily keeping pace with vessels cruising at 13 to 16 knots. More inquisitive than most of its family, Minkes' regularly approach vessels and divers, apparently as curious and as interested in us as we are in them. Highly acrobatic, they are often observed leaping out of the water like a dolphin and even, on occasion, seen 'spy-hopping', quietly sticking their head out of the water for a quick examination of any nearby vessel and its passengers.

Throughout the remainder of the trip, we had regular sightings of groups of minke whales from the decks of TAKA, but sadly there were no further underwater encounters - possibly because I reminded myself of the importance of taking a camera with me on the future dives!

Steve's Bommie

A solitary pinnacle rising up from the surrounding seafloor at a depth of 30-metres or so and capped by a coral garden lying just beneath the surface, Steve's Bommie is one huge biomass.

Circling the bommie in ascending spirals, we swam through thick schools of dog tooth tuna, jacks, trevally, and unicorn fish while closer in to the walls there were easily identifiable clouds of yellow and purple antheus, fusiliers, anemone fish and a representative cast of rich and colourful reef life.

Stimulated by the torchlight the deep red flesh immediately started to flash as bursts oflightning bolts danced through it, a ploy that it uses to lure food into its maw.

The Temple of Doom

A dumbbell-shaped bombora topped by a beautiful coral garden, The Temple Of Doom is a personal favourite. Apart from the spiny-cheeked anemone fish and large white cowries that can always be found here, we were accompanied by a lone whaler shark that took up position on our flank throughout the dive.

One of the most remarkable creatures might have been overlooked had it not been for the on-board dive staff who, armed with torches, led divers to a small crevice in which sheltered a small creature rather like a fleshy clam with stubby tentacles down each side. Stimulated by the torchlight the deep red flesh immediately started to flash as bursts of lightning bolts danced through it, a ploy that it uses to lure food into its maw.

Topside Time

It's usual to judge a liveaboard dive boat by the calibre of the diving on offer, the sites visited and the overall comfort level of the vessel - not to mention the quality and quantity of the meals and between-dive snacks! In each of those respects the new TAKA exceeded all expectations.

Ultimately, however, the difference between a mediocre liveaboard experience and a thoroughly enjoyable one relies on the interaction between passengers and crew. With

none of that aloof 'them-and-us' approach that sometimes bedevils a liveaboard trip, every member of TAKA's crew were enthusiastic, selfless and openly friendly professionals. It was an attitude that - despite the less than perfect surface conditions - encouraged several of the passengers to immediately book a back-to-
back trip and sail with them again.

The perfect platform for relaxing and enjoying oneself between dives, a trip to the Great Barrier Reef and beyond aboard the new TAKA has everything that divers seek - and then some!

For further information on TAKA Dive, contact: 131 Lake Street, Cairns, North Queensland, Australia 4870. Tel: +61 (07) 4051 8722. Fax: +61 (07) 4031 2739. e-mail: takadive@taka.com.au or check out their website at: www.taka.com.au