All four of us did our first ever diving on board. As an [...]]]> This weekend on board Powerplay over Easter was absolutely fantastic. Myself and my partner went along with my sister and her husband visiting from England. We had great weather, which was really lucky and were able to stick to our itinerary almost completely.

All four of us did our first ever diving on board. As an intro diver I was a little nervous as I know that often intro divers do their first dive with a stint in a swimming pool first. I had nothing to worry about, Matt our dive instructor was really good and I never felt unsafe. The introduction he gave us on board was really clear and simple and made me feel much calmer about the whole thing. We then went into shallow water to get used to having the equipment on and the straight into the dive. Everyone enjoyed it so much and felt so confident that we all did another dive and one of our party did another two dives. I’d also like to add that Matt did a really good job of subtly educating people about the reef and the damage we do environmentally, I think he really made people think and hopefully they will go away with better habits.

The boat was beautifully clean and well presented. Alongside a lot of the other boats Powerplay looked like a quality vessel and we definitely had a lot more space on board than most of the boats I saw. We had room to lay down and sunbathe on the deck, to sit in the shade if we wanted and to move around. The hot tub on board was so nice to jump into after taking wetsuits off when we were a little chilly after our second dive and our cabin was clean and really cosy at night time.

The food was fantastic and this is coming from a notoriously fussy vegetarian. I’d like to thank Cass for making the effort to prepare special food for me. Even the boys who eat continually said they were really well fed. Our skippers were the friendliest people, Rob took the time to chat with us and point out star constellations at night and show us the phosphorus in the water, he went out of his way to accommodate us while Kris was lovely and funny and let people steer the boat and hang out with him up the top.

I have nothing bad to say about Powerplay, the crew were brilliant, entertaining and nice people, the food was great, the diving really made our trip and we loved the boat. I took a chance booking the boat as my sister was only here for two weeks from the UK and I wanted her holiday to be perfect, the boat trip ended up being the highlight of her holiday and I’m so glad we went, we have some amazing photos and memories and a new love of diving.

Victoria Groom
Travel Consultant
Flight Centre Byron Bay

Over the years, Islandive’s Company Directors Keith Roberts and Mike Keyte have avidly supported and been pro-active within local committees in the prevention of [...]]]> Since Skipper Ian Thompson (Thommo) joined Whitsundays Sailing Adventures Islandive, he has always valued the company policy in helping protect and preserve our Great Barrier Reef Park and the marine life within. 

Over the years, Islandive’s Company Directors Keith Roberts and Mike Keyte have avidly supported and been pro-active within local committees in the prevention of waste infiltrating our ocean.  Islandive and its staff continually works in conjunction with the Queensland Marine Park and its environmental program.  

Ian is a participator in Islandive’s Eye on the Reef Program and is well informed and knowledgable on the natural heritage, conservation and the colossal eco-system of the Great Barrier Reef and its environmental threats.

We are proud he is actively going out on his own in April 2010 in his quest to sail around Australia to raise awareness of plastic bags polluting our ocean,  and the devastating effect this has on our marine environment. Ian has Islandive’s full support and we are pleased to be able to contribute to his campaign.

Plastic bags are a true menace to our marine ecosystem.  Non- recyclable, the Australian Government is working with the industry and the community to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bags.  Everyone shares some responsibility for this problem as nearly half a million plastic bags are collected on clean up Australia Day each year.  It takes only four grocery shopping trips for an average Australian family to accumulate 60 plastic bags.  Many people are starting to use reusable bags such as the ‘green bags” you buy at supermarkets.

Plastic bags which are made from natural gas or oil, are especially dangerous to turtles who mistake them for jellyfish, their main food source. 86% of all known species of turtles have had reported problems of entanglement or ingestion of marine debris. ,

Our marine creatures are dying and they need our help.  We ask you to support Ian in his determination to break the record of the fastest person to  sail solo around Australia, and to be the voice of our endangered marine creatures.

Islandive  has put on every vessel  a tin can in the hope that passengers touring on an Islandive vessel will donate a gold coin to contribute towards Ian’s food bill over the 50 days he is at sea.   This donation will go directly towards his expenses and his voyage around Australia to save our wonderful marine creatures. 

Anyone wishing to support his campaign should visit the campaigns website at www.sosoceanracing.com  

Needless to say our expectations were high but got blown out of [...]]]> Hamish and Adam embark on the ultimate Aussie road trip as they motored around Queensland with Van-Tactic Adventures.

We have chatted to quite a few backpackers so far on our adventures. The common consensus was that the Whitsundays is one of their highlights in Queensland.

Needless to say our expectations were high but got blown out of the water when we went out on a 3 day 2 night excursion around the Whitsunday Islands with ISLANDIVE.

The hub for accessing the Whitsundays is a place called Airlie Beach.

Many people have being known to lose their clothes after a big night out in Airlie Beach so proceed with caution.

A typical night out in Airlie will go something like this: BEACHES > PADDY’S > MAMA AFRICAS’S > KEBAB SHOP > SLEEP

We ventured out of the port in the morning onboard a spacious, comfy catamaran called POWERPLAY. David AKA – ‘Cookie’ our captain was behind the wheel leading the charge. Cookie was a legendary fellow New Zealander who kept us entertained with laughs the whole trip. Chur bro chur.

One of the best things about going on Power play is that you do not have to be certified to go diving because all the trips are guided. We got to do 4 dives and you would not believe what we saw out there.

Apart from the zillions of colorful fish we were lucky enough to see turtles, sharks, stingrays, whales, a mcmassive manta ray and Swedish backpackers.

We suggest when you book with these guys try and get on one of the two boats that have a hot tub. There is something about coming in from a dive, cracking a cold beer, relaxing in the hottie tubbie and watching the sexy sunsets.

The jewel of the Whitsundays is called Whitehaven Beach. This place boasts some of the whitest sand in the world and has to be seen to be believed. It was a perfect location for our inaugural Sports Illustrated cover shoot. Check out our pics.

At the end of each day everyone sits around a projector and gets to see the pics that the photo savvy crew girls have taken of you. This creates a laugh and a half. You will also have the chance to learn about all the sea creatures to give you a better understanding of what you are seeing on your dives.

Big thanks to all the team for a spot on 3 days. Ka Pai. (Maori for chur bro)

Jess’ 25th in the Whitsundays from Matthew Thompson on Vimeo.