Welcome to our Spring issue of Quickies

Our state-of-the-art Quicksilver Dive Centre, the only dedicated dive training facility in the Port Douglas region, will be opening its doors (and pool!) to adventure seekers and dive enthusiasts in the coming weeks. And we're Licenced for Thrills!

As a 5 Star PADI Training and Instructor Development Centre, a range of PADI accredited courses are available for beginners to advanced divers looking to further their skills in a professional, safe and fun learning environment. 

The Quicksilver Dive Centre features a four metre deep training pool, classrooms and offices, and a specialty dive retail shop.  The swimming pool features a unique above ground design with innovative viewing wall.

The 4 Day Open Water Course will comprise two days at the training centre followed by two day trips to the Great Barrier Reef aboard our Port Douglas based dive vessels, Poseidon and SIlversonic, for training and certification dives.

The 3 Day Open Water Course with eLearning, offers a great option for those thinking about learning to scuba dive but are short on time. Classroom theory is replaced with online eLearning which can be completed in your own time before arriving in Port Douglas. Following a day of pool training, you'll join two exciting day trips to the renowned Agincourt ribbon reefs to become a certified diver. 

Courses include:

• 4 Day Open Water Course
• 3 Day Open Water Dive Course with eLearning
• Open Water Dive Refresher Course
• Advanced Open Water
• Rescue Diver
• Dive Master Course  
• Instructor Development Course.

With our awesome selection of over 35 World Heritage Agincourt ribbon reef sites, there really is no better place in the world to learn to dive than the Great Barrier Reef!

Check out our website at www.quicksilverdive.com.au

For more information, contact Quicksilver Dive at [email protected]

One of the most exciting and topical research projects Quicksilver is currently involved in, is a Coral Restoration Project at our Agincourt 3 platform. Coral reefs around the world are susceptible to many types of impacts both natural and man-made. The small coral bommie under restoration was impacted by cyclonic waves a few years ago and with an unstable substrate, natural recovery was impeded.

Simply, the project involves the installation of three steel mesh panels of 1.5 x 3 metres size to grow coral ‘recruits’ connected to a power source. This is the first time this type of project has ever been conducted in Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. It was installed in July 2018 and shown in this short video clip.

Tony Baker, Managing Director of the Quicksilver Group said “We are extremely pleased to be part of this innovative Australia first research project. We believe this reef restoration project can build resilience into our site and enhance this specific coral bommie.  We hope within one year the “powered” coral will have no visual signs of the support structures.  By making this research project visible to our snorkellers, we are confident that our passengers will gain a further understanding of reef systems and how Quicksilver is being pro-active in assisting the rehabilitation of coral reefs.”

This ground breaking research project can be viewed by our guests who are snorkelling at the platform. It is being conducted in partnership with researchers from Reef Ecologic and Quicksilver’s Reef Biosearch team of marine biologists under permit from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

It is hoped that this rehabilitation technique will assist in making areas such as this research site, more resilient to stress in future natural disturbances. If successful, this technology could help support reef resilience in many locations across the Great Barrier Reef and other reef systems in the world.

After two hot summers there are great sights at Agincourt 3 Reef where we are seeing successful colonisation of new corals. Not only have we seen good recovery of previously bleached corals, but we're also seeing recruitment from the last two summer’s spawning.

These photos show a snapshot of new corals spawned in either 2016 or 2017 that have successfully attached to the reef. After experiencing cooler water conditions at our sites this year we are certainly hoping for a good spawning this summer!

While the robustness of the recovery at our various sites off Port Douglas and Cairns is heartening, it's important to remember the Great Barrier Reef faces challenges, both natural and man-made, and we all need to keep working to reduce our impact.

Pro Dive Cairns has been acknowledged by PADI, the world's largest recreational diver training organisation, for 35 years of outstanding customer service.

Since commencing operation back in 1983, Pro Dive Cairns has become one of the world’s most respected and awarded scuba training schools and liveaboard operators. In that time, over 150,000 people have chosen to take the plunge and learn to dive with Pro Dive Cairns, more than any other Australian dive school.

Accepting this latest award, Paul Lim, General Manager of Pro Dive Cairns said, “This award is an outstanding testament to the dedication and professionalism of all our staff and the quality of training delivered. This is all backed up by our fleet of three premium liveaboard vessels and of course an amazing variety of quality Great Barrier Reef sites in which we conduct our training dives and liveaboard experiences. We have shared a strong and successful relationship with PADI over 35 years and look forward to many more.”

With a team of 67 highly qualified staff, Pro Dive Cairns’ 5 Star PADI Career Development Centre is located in Cairns CBD. Three 25 metre multi-million dollar liveaboard boats Scubapro, Scubapro II and Scubapro III, conduct 3 Day / 2 Night Trips visiting a selection of 19 exclusive Great Barrier Reef sites.

For more information contact [email protected]

Pictured with the award from left to right are: Perry Roos, HR Manager; Tomoo Asai, Operations Manager; Cleo Legge, Reservations Manager; Liza Robbins, Reservations;  Paul Lim, General Manager.

It's been a sensational whale season this year with many awesome and surprising encounters for our passengers and crew.

From the inquisitve minke to show-off humpbacks, here's a few special highlights to enjoy.

While on a Pro Dive Cairns liveaboard trip, diver Mikael Kulig captured this mesmerising video of a minke whale as he joins him during a dive. What an incredible experience!

Poseidon passengers and crew had an amazing experience when this curious juvenile humpback swam in to say hi. Poeidon was moored at Helms Deep site at Agincourt Reef when he decided to be part of the snorkelling group.

Crew in the water kept the snorkellers in a tight group as the 3-4 year old whale swam around for 20 minutes.  Skipper Dan Hill said, ”The level of curiosity was extreme which I have not seen before and he made at least 20 passes. Poseidon diver Liam Platt was in awe “this whale seemed to be even more curious than a minke whale. This is a once in a lifetime event for someone who spends every day on the reef”. 

The video was captured by Poseidon skipper Dan Hill.

PADI International Women’s Dive Day on 21 July saw our dive and snorkel vessel Silverswift with a crew of amazing ladies take centre stage on the Great Barrier Reef.

Quicksilver Group has an amazing talent of crew but this day was all about celebrating women's growing contributions to what was once a very male dominated industry, and encouraging the next generation of female divers and instructors.  

But it wasn't just our lady divers celebrated on this day. Silverswift, was led by Skipper Amanda Matthies as the vessel travelled from Cairns to experience three amazing reef sites on the Great Barrier Reef. Amanda was supported by an almost all female crew from the customer service team and four female diver instructors. Making up the complement of crew, the guys joined in celebrating the achievements of their female colleagues.

Tony Baker, Quicksilver Group Managing Director said, “With around 650 staff across the company, our female diver instructors are very much a part of ensuring our passengers have sensational days diving the underwater world.  It was great to see Silverswift join in this day, as did our crew from Pro Dive Cairns aboard their liveaboard dive vessels. Pro Dive Cairns has a growing number of female dive instructors and they currently represent one third of the team.  We congratulate them on this PADI International Women’s Dive Day on the amazing dedication they have every day on the Great Barrier Reef.”

Did you know Quicksilver's platform at Agincourt Reef 3 is home to Australia's most remote official Australia Post letterbox?

To celebrate International Year of the Reef, Australia Post has launched a new set of "Reef Safari" stamps, and of course, there was only one place to launch them! 

You can view Australia Post's release here, filmed at Quicksilver's Agincourt Reef 3 platform and featuring our very own Dr Glen Burns, Marine Biologist.  

The creatures featured on the colourfuls stamps are:

• Nautilus (Nautilus pompilius)
• Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
• Olive Sea Snake (Aipysurus laevis)
• Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator
• Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)

Here's a lovely trip down memory lane.. Thanks to Deb Cole for visiting us on Green Island recently and for sending us this wonderful old photo taken on Green Island in 1965 by the "Bikini Tree".  Deb is pictured in the photograph as an 8 year old with her mum while on a Queensland family holiday, 53 years ago.

After finding the photograph, Deb knew she had to visit Green Island again and is now on a journey recreating her family holiday.

Unfortunately the tree is no longer on the island but she had a wonderful visit and memories of her childhood holiday.

In near perfect conditions with blue skies and gentle winds, 128 swimmers of all ages took to the clear waters of Green Island for the 13th annual Great Adventures Green Island Ocean Swim.

Swimmers aged from 12 to 65 competed in 500m, 1.5km and 3km events while the fun “Nippers” swim for the under 12 year olds saw 18 enthusiastic future ocean swimmers enjoy a taste of swimming in the Great Barrier Reef.

We were delighted to welcome back many long term local competitors in addition to swimmers from across the State and country including Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, WA as well as international competitors from Japan, UK, USA and Hong Kong.

But it was again the talented young Cairns swimmers taking out the wins in all categories. In the 3 km swim, 15 year old Zac Tabuai won the men’s event for the second consecutive year, while 16 year old Ebony Crowe won the Women’s. In the 1.5km swim, 15 year old Alicia Davy broke the course record by 13 seconds to take out the win and 13 year old Rhys Kurukchi won the men’s. The 500 m swim was won by 12 year Bryce Menzies.

Once again we offer special thanks to Surf Life Saving Queensland for their wonderful support and community spirit in conducting in-water safety for the event and to the Cairns Crocs Triathlon Club for assisting with the timing.

Thanks to Gregg Maxwell of Maxwell Media for the fabulous footage of the event.

Returning to Port after a day on the Reef, it couldn't have been timed better as Poseidon made a guest appearance at a wedding ceremony on the foreshore of Rex Smeal Park.

Onboard our romantics at heart and quick thinking Poseidon crew Lindsay and Shay, show 101 uses for a flotation noodle! It was a beautiful touch and we wish the happy couple, Hamish and Taylor, a wonderful future together.

Thanks to Port Douglas Wedding Photography for the main photo. 

We were delighted to welcome Ed Halmagyi - better known as "Fast Ed" from 7 Network's Better Homes and Gardens Show aboard to experience Quicksilver's Outer Reef Cruise to Agincourt Reef. Ed swapped his Chef's hat for snorkel gear while filming a segment for the show, taking time out to chat with Hayley, one of our knowledgable marine biologists and also took part in an amazing snorkel tour with one lucky UK family! 

It was the stars of the Great Barrier Reef that 17 year old American actress and singer, Isabela Moner, came to see with her family and was thrilled to experience her first scuba dive aboard Silverswift. Isabela is currently appearing in a major role in “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and is also known for her work on Nickelodeon in “Transformers: The Last Knight” and the animated movie “Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature!” 

Quicksilver Group is proud to support many community events and is pleased to be associated with the Cairns Tennis International Pro Tour, returning for its ninth year.

Mascot Terry the Tennis Ball proved to be a very popular guest when he bounced in to visit the Great Adventures crew heading out for a day on the Reef. 

Th Pro Tour event takes place from 14 - 23 September and is a pinnacle sporting event which attracts National and International players, offering a prize pool of $50,000.00 USD and world ranking points.

Good luck to all the players!

Introducing....Gary Savins, who has been busy heading up the launch of our brand new Quicksilver Dive Training Centre in Port Douglas. A dive fanatic, Gary opened and operated his own scuba diving school in Singapore in 2011 and along the way, he’s clocked up over 4,800 dives for leisure and teaching! After relocating back to Australia in 2017 Gary is now continuing his passion for teaching, mentoring and tourism and is looking forward to sharing new adventures with our students at Quicksilver Dive.