What it's like to work on the GBR!

After about three days of exams, projects, presentations and minimal sleep, I want to let my mind drift back to the days of working on a dive boat out on the Great Barrier Reef. It was a combination of relaxing bliss and high-paced topsy-turvy costumer service.

If anyone has ever considered getting a job on a luxury SCUBA diving liveaboard, this post will detail the pros and cons of the business, while letting me reminisce about my days at sea off the coast of Australia.

The faint crackling and popping sounds of the reef fill your ears. It draws your attention to the brilliantly colored parrotfish chomping away at the hard corals; their pectoral fins flap up and down like underwater wings. Angels? More like keepers of the reef. 

Another chomp awakens a small goby from its hole. It's eyes seem to give the parrotfish a once-over before slinking back into the confines of the coral crevice. 

Out of the corner of your eye a queen triggerfish swims by. With a seemingly enigmatic blend of arbitrary patterns, it boldly approaches you to investigate. Intrepid and beautiful, it flashes a toothy grin before retreating. At only ten or so inches, they are capable of a nasty bite.

One small frog kick at a time, you gently glide on. Weightlessly hovering over the bottom, your approaching shadow stirs a ray from it's sandy blanket. What was once just a pair of watchful eyes, emerges from the silt and elegantly takes flight. 

The loud flutter of bubbles upon your exhalation reminds you of how alien the human form is to this environment. Once again, you inhale the cool dry aid from your regulator. A glance down at your gauges reveal that your time below the surface is coming to a close....for now at least.

Even typing this short description seems to ease the tension of the stressful job aboard a SCUBA liveaborad. But, THIS, is what you do it for. Another chance to disappear beneath the water and immerse yourself into an exotic world: one that truly displays the creativity of nature.

The other side of the business is slightly less glamorous.

Crew awake from their cramped quarters promptly at 5:30am, the first dive is at 6:30am and there is much to do before that time.

My beloved bunk (equipped with bed bugs and all).

While the paying passengers are still nestled in their luxury cabins, the other hostesses and I busily gather the morning sugar and tea packets and brew up a few pots of coffee for the guests. While the coffee filters, we carefully set each table in the dining room table, vacuum, and clean all the doors and windows of the nightly sea spray. The household chores to keep the boat in tip-top shape!

Now doesn't that look lovely!

Finally, it is 6:15am and we scurry out to the dive deck and get ready for the for a morning dip! Throwing off the uniform and squeezing into a damp wetsuit and SCUBA gear in under 15 minutes takes time to master, but by now we all have the process down. The clock running and breakfast is served at 8:00am. We need to be back in the kitchen to set up the buffet at least 15 minutes before, so with no time to waste, we complete our buddy checks and plunge beneath the shimmering surface.

As the bubbles from the entry surround you and the cool water begins to dribble into your wetsuit, a wave of tranquility washes away any morning stress. Another chance to be weightless and to leisurely drift among nature's most beautifully obscure creatures. 

There is something to be said about one's ability to maintain a professional and orderly appearance just fifteen minutes after surfacing from the salty waters. The secret is to have a lot of hanging spots in your cabin! I don't think I ever used a clean towel and with only one shower between four hosts, you learn to suffice by quickly rinsing the salt crystals off your face and finger combing wet, salty, scraggly hair into a semi presentable bun. Four times a day we go through this process, and each time we eagerly await the next! It is the diving that makes all the hard work worth it!