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Special questions can be addressed to kamala@singledivers.comMegladon Teeth...8 Million years old and OTHER prehistoric teeth/fossils a whopping 40-60 Million years old!!! Find them diving 4 dives a day on the Cooper River, SC August 23-28, 2012. TRAVEL DAYS: Aug 23rd and Aug 28th
*Thanks to ScubaShafer for this awesome picture!Join this exciting and rare diving excursion arriving in Charleston, SC where you'll take a quick taxi if flying (about 9 miles) to our new hotel the Sleep Inn to get settled in and prepare for Four (4) full days of 4 one hour dives...yes 4 full (1) hour BOAT dives looking for Megladon Shark Teeth ranging from 4-6 inches across as well as other prehistoric teeth, fossils, pottery and exciting finds in the famous Cooper River. The Cooper River, once part of the ocean is a hotbed of history and we can experience this unique diving opportunity with one of the most renown dive operators on the River. AND we can help document history while still keeping any artifacts we find! (See below for info on helping the State of SC). River diving is quite an art...many operators will dive the river every weekend where due to tides you can only get 2 dives in during the day or maybe 3. Off the Wall Dive Charters our dive operator picks only the weekends where the tides will let you get in 4 dives each a full hour! In other words, twice the opportunity to find teeth for the same price as everyone else! And knowing the river like Bill aka OTWDiver, owner of OffTheWallDiving.com, does, he will safely put us on the rich gravel beds full of teeth, guide us to the transition points where new teeth are being uncovered and share with us new spots that he is continuously exploring so that we too can find these rare precious artifacts and LOTS of them! Don't miss this great opportunity limited to the first lucky 6 divers to do this unique and adventurous dive! And look for some special offers for ONLY SD members that OTWDiver will be offering us! Don't delay...only 6 people can go. Everyone is getting in on the excitement...see what SharkDiving Magazine has to say about their first shark tooth expedition...
We have never been so excited as when we offered our first Cooper River Megladon teeth shark tooth hunting trip! While we normally search out the live animals...no shark adventure would be complete without exploring the grand daddy of them all...the Megladon! And it was amazing!!!
Cooper River, SC Megladon Shark Tooth & Artifact Hunting Trip for $899* d/o (same as 2010) "Fly In or Drive In" plus air/transport to Charleston, SC.(Less $25 discount to be less than 2010 pricing if paid in full by Feb 19, 2012) Don't Miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to find Megladon teeth, 1800 century bottles, Arrow Heads, and more! The Cooper River trip is limited to 6 people so don't delay!
*Thanks to ScubaShafer for this awesome picture!Pricing Summary: Please see below for full terms and conditions.
Fly/Drive In 4 days diving 5 nites d/o $899 s/o $1154 (Same pricing as 2010)
PLUS...
If adding 4 rental tanks (all aluminum 80's) @ $12 per tank your rental price is $192 for 4 days.
If filling your own 4 tanks @ $8 per tank your fill price is $96 for 4 day trip (assumes tanks are full when arrive) [/color]
Who's Going Searching For Teeth & Artifacts? (MUST Advise D/O or S/O Pkg & Tank Needs & Lead Needs when booking) SEE POST #3 FOR FULL LIST OF THOSE GOING:
Here is the full information on the trip:
TEMPS & CONDITIONS:
The weather in South Carolina is remarkably consistent all summer and perfect for this kind of diving. The temperatures range in the mid to high 80's during this time of year and the water temps are in the mid 80's making this truly diving in comfort!
AIRFARE:
We'll fly into Charleston, SC which is where the Cooper River is located. Alternately you can fly into Columbia, SC which is a 1.5 hr drive or Atlanta but it is a 6 hr drive or you can fly into Greenville Spartanburg but that is approx a 3 hr drive. We'll be using domestic carriers so for a small $25 booking fee we'll make your arrangements for you otherwise you are more than welcome to make your own arrangements.
ARRIVAL:
Please plan to be in Charleston by 7:30 pm if you want to do the group dinner Aug 4th. This is not the group bbq we do that is included in the trip price. Otherwise we'll see you at breakfast at 6am the next morning in the hotel restaurant! The Sleep Inn is about 9 miles from the airport to the hotel. You can also rent a car if you wish.
HOTEL INFORMATION:
We'll be staying at the Sleep Inn which is about 9 miles to and from the airport. A breakfast buffet is also included with your stay. The Hotel is conveniently located to the boat ramp where we'll depart for our trip. A Home Depot is nearby as well as numerous restaurants offering all types of fare. The hotel is across the street from the Ramada which has become a living legend in its own rights as many Military Reunions have been held there for all branches of the service dating back many many years. The surviving vets and war heroes line the walls with photo memorabilia of a bygone time...and the reminders that 'Freedom is not Free'. You'll certainly enjoy the trip down memory lane and may even meet a real American Hero or two staying at the hotel.
Hotel Address for divers is: Sleep Inn N. Charleston
7435 North Side Dr
Charleston, SC 29420 US
Hotel Amenities
• Swimming Pool
• Bar
• BBQ and picnic area
• Free Wifi
• Free Breakfast
SCHEDULED ITINERARY
Aug 23rd Arrive in Charleston South Carolina and meet for dinner in Lobby at 7:30pm
Aug 24th Breakfast at 6am at the hotel. First dive at 7am or 7:30 am with subsequent dives at approx 10 am, 1 pm and 3:30pm. (Dive times are contingent on the tides and currents and subject to change but we will let you know the schedule the night before). SD will prepare a traditional cookout with four types of meats, grilled veggies, sides, dessert, wine & beer & sodas so all you have to do is clean up, relax, eat and enjoy! Dinner will be approx 7:30pm
Aug 25th Breakfast at 6am and the same dive plan as the day before. Group Dinner will be approx 7:30pm nightly at a local eatery! (Ribs, Seafood, LOTS of great choices!)
Aug 26th Breakfast at 6am and the same dive plan as the day before. Group Dinner will be approx 7:30pm nightly at another great local eatery!
Aug 27th Breakfast at 6am and the same dive plan as the day before. Group Dinner will be approx 7:30pm nightly at yet another great local eatery!
Aug 28th Departure Day for everyone who flew in or opted to stay the last night so as to relax, enjoy and get a fresh start on the 29th. We'll also get pictures of all our great finds!
WHAT YOU'LL SEE:
*Thanks to ScubaShafer for this awesome picture! You'll be doing a night dive in the middle of the day. Its not muck diving...simply night diving in fresh water as you descend 20-40 feet to the bottom of the River. You'll drop in 'heavy' as you do not want the current to take you downstream as you descend. As you descend to the bottom you'll see the water go from a red color to a dark tea color but with your lights on you'll have as much visibility as your light will give you. And more than enough to see the 'teeth' and artifacts in the gravel beds of the river bottom! You can drop straight down...or go down the anchor chain as a visual reference. (If opting to go along the anchor chain you will actually be moving up river along the chain so it will take you longer to reach the bottom. However it also means you will start your searching ahead of everyone else which could mean add'l finds for you.)
COOPER RIVER $875 drive with one less night hotel or $899 fly d/o or $1154 s/o FLY/DRIVE IN PACKAGE INCLUDES:
• 5 nights/4 days diving for Megladon teeth, artifacts and other prehistoric fossils (If doing the drive in pkg you will have one less night of hotel)
• 4 (1) hour dives daily for 4 days or a total of 16 dives!
• Hotel accommodations at the Sleep Inn Including FULL BREAKFAST Daily at 6am
• SD Famous 'Meet & Greet Get To Know Everyone' Parties
• Full Lunch, snacks and drinks on the boat each day of diving
• Grey SD T-Shirt typically with funny saying on the back commemorating the trip!
• All taxes included
• Daily SD.com H20 Happy Hours and Dinner together as a group!
• Diving Gifts and Giveaways from various SD Vendor Partners as available
• Meals: An SD Cookout including 4 marinated meats, veggies, slaw, wine & beer & more is included along with lunch, snacks and drinks on the boat along with full breakfast daily at the hotel. Dinner the remaining nights will be a local area restaurants on the member!
COOPER RIVER PACKAGES DO NOT INCLUDE:
• Airfare or transport to Charleston, SC
• Air fills or rentals (see below for pricing) - NOTE YOU NEED 4 TANKS ON THE BOAT EACH DAY
• Dinner night of arrival nor 3 of the 4 nights in town
• Rental, instruction and retail charges
• Crew gratuities, usually $20+ a day
• Trip Cancellation Insurance
• The only food not included is day of arrival lunch and dinner, and dinner all other nights except for the SD cookout.
• 3% non-cash fee on all payments per transaction that are made via credit card and/or all non-cash transactions
OPTIONAL ADD-ON'S:
• Air fills: If filling your own 4 tanks @ $8 per tank your fill price is $96 for 4 day trip (assumes tanks are full when arrive)
• Rentals: 4 Rental Tanks (all aluminum 80's) @ $12 per tank your rental price is $192 for 4 days. (you'll need 4 tanks a day on the boat)
• Nitrox: Sorry nitrox is not available due to the shallow depths of 20-40 ft
• Canister Light Rental $25 per day or $100 for trip (only 4 available)
• Brass Pick Rental $15 for trip (only 5 available)
• Meg Teeth Goodie Collection Bag Rental $15 for trip or $25 for purchase
• Gloves $3 for purchase
• Single Room Rate is $51 more per night or $255. (A limited number of single rooms are available.)
• T-Shirt Color Upgrade: The trip comes with a white or grey SD t-shirt which can be upgraded to black or purple for $5 subject to availability.
DISCOUNTS:
• Price includes a cash discount. Please add 3% if paying via any non-cash methods including paypal or credit card. (E-checks via our payment link do not incur this fee nor do they cost you anything via our Secure Online Payment GateWay however credit card payments still do!)
• $25 rebate eligible after trip for SD premier and above membership levels (See my signature for link to the forms forum. If you are new to the site send an email to trips@singledivers.com to get the password. PLEASE follow the directions on the form for proper submission & processing.)
• Sign up and pay for this trip in full by Feb 19, 2012 and receive an early bird booking discount of $25 cash at time of booking if paid in full making the trip cheaper than 2010 price
• Add'l $25 Active Duty Military Discount for any active duty military of any country that fights for freedom.
• Deposit is a $400 per person non-refundable deposit. (Deposit can be refunded via claims on your trip insurance if you have to cancel or by selling your spot to a non-SD.com member, however you must ask SD for help. Note: Manifest, airline and other passenger change fees may apply even if you sell your spot.)
HOW TO BOOK A SPOT ON THIS TRIP:
1. Post in this thread that you plan to join us and advise your check or credit card payment is on its way via our SECURE ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY. (SEE PAYMENT LINK BELOW.) We'll then put your name on the 'check's in the mail' list. (Please send your pymt asap as we can NOT hold any spots on this trip. Your spot will ONLY BE CONFIRMED when we receive your $500 non-refundable deposit or get the $100 early payment deal with payment in full by Dec 30, 2011.) - To post on the site you need to register as a member of the site. Registration is free however you need to be a premier membership to join the trip which is only $35 a year and you can get $25 back after the trip as a member rebate. Click here to learn more.
2. Fill out the Trip Rooming & Diving Survey plus the SingleDivers.com Medical Liability Release & Insurance Summary form which you'll find under "Stuff you need to know for ALL SingleDivers.com trips & activities!" or click here to link to it. (Send a PM or an email to trips@singledivers.com for the password.)
3. Send your deposit for the trip and/or monies due based upon the payment schedule posted below and payment options. If you need to make special arrangements about payments with me please contact me and I'll gladly try to work with you.
4. We need to know if you need rental gear, will be diving nitrox and if you want d/o or s/o for the trip. You MUST include as much of this information as possible with your initial reservation.
5. You will also need to verify if you have trip insurance or will be procuring trip insurance or conversely not procuring trip insurance. All participants must have Current Dive Insurance and state one of the following:
a. I have trip insurance that covers this trip already.
b. I will purchase trip insurance to cover this trip.
c. I will not purchase trip insurance and will accept all losses accordingly. - THIS TRIP DOES NOT REQUIRE TRIP INSURANCE BUT IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
6. You are responsible for all info in the thread. We try to keep our FAQ and Important Updates posts #2 & #3 updated to make it easier for you but you are responsible for monitoring the thread for all updates. As the trip gets closer we'll open a private forum for all trip goers to answer last minute questions & provide last minute details. For sure monitor the thread the last 30 days prior to your trip for last minute updates and information.
7. Only requests posted in this trip topic/thread are considered official especially for limited options such as use of a computer, or going on a tour, etc.
8. Please note that while you may send pm and email requests for availability, the "official" availability is only accurate in the main trip post. For more information on SingleDivers.com, booking policies, etc please read here.
9. Also note that for FASTER service pls email trips@singledivers.com for all general questions and kamala@singledivers.com for custom questions or special requests. (Please allow more time for replies from Kamala as she may be traveling leading a trip.)
10. PLEASE SEND ALL DOCUMENTS ONLY TO TRIPS@SINGLEDIVERS.COM as I do not regularly check trip documentation emails, rather leaving it to our awesome volunteers who help me with our trips.
11. Save $75 by getting your documents in house within 3 weeks of booking your trip. If you miss the 21 day timeline we'll simply add the $75 document fee to your invoice total. If signing up within 45 days of the trip documents must be submitted within 3 days to avoid the document fee.
Booking Template - (Cut and Paste the Booking Template from Post #3 into a new post in this thread/trip details to sign up for this trip):
PAYMENT TERMS & SCHEDULE:
PRICE SUMMARY: $899 d/o or $1154 s/o for 5 nites 4 days of (4) one hour dives daily, includes breakfast and lunch and snacks daily + our awesome cookout including beer and wine OR as low as $874* d/o & $1129 if paid in time to qualify for our early booking special making it less than 2010 pricing.
*assumes payment in full by Feb 19,2012 d/o for this price. See above for full details and other pricing options.
PROGRESS PAYMENTS:
a. $400 due at booking
b. SAVE $75 Document Processing Fee By Submitting Your Docs Within 21 Days of Signing up for this Trip (If docs are not submitted within 21 days of signing up, we'll add the fee to your final invoice.)
c. Feb 19, 2012: Last Day for $25 early payment in full discount
d. Apr 20, 2012: $300
e. Jun 20, 2012: $191
f. Jul 20, 2012: ALL EXTRAS DUE...Tank Rentals or Tank Fills, rentals, RAB's, extra days etc.
Note: Trip must be paid in full 60 days prior to departure. Extras must be paid in full 30 days prior ie. Nitrox, extra nights etc.
DISCOUNTS:
• First DIBS SAVINGS OF $25 for PREMIER MEMBERS until Feb 19th! Sign up and pay for this trip in full by Feb 19 and receive an early bird booking discount of $25 at time of booking.
• $25 rebate eligible after trip for SD premier and above membership levels if you file for it (See my signature for link to the forms forum. If you are new to the site send an email to trips@singledivers.com to get the password.)
• Add'l $25 Active Duty Military Discount for any active duty military of any country that fights for freedom.
• Deposit is a $400 per person non-refundable deposit. (Deposit can be refunded via claims on your trip insurance if you have to cancel or by selling your spot to a non-SD.com member. Ask SD for help.)
• Price includes cash discount. Please add 3% if paying via any non-cash methods including paypal or credit card
• SAVE $75 by submitting your Documents within 21 days of booking this trip. If booking within 45 days of the trip please submitt your documents within 3 days of booking. Otherwise the $75 document processing fee will be added to your final invoice.
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
SingleDivers.com uses a secure online payment gateway that allows you to pay for trips or merchandise using either an e-check which debits your checking account directly without having to mail in a check or debits your credit card without having to fill out a SD.com credit card authorization form. (Please note that any non-US bank originating credit card MAY still have to use the paper credit card authorization form as different processing procedures may be followed to process international/non-US credit cards. You'll find this form in the Forms Forum link in my signature. - NOTE: For State us AA if using an internation credit card.)
SingleDivers.com provides its members with pricing that reflects all possible cash discounts so any payments via credit card or paypal will still incur a 3% non-cash convenience fee. Our SECURE payment gateway which you can access by clicking the PAY HERE LINK along the top, in my signature line and on the homepage of SingleDivers.com.
This trip may sell out quickly due to the great pricing we have so in order to ensure timely & accurate processing of payment receipts and therefore timely & accurate acceptance of members onto the trip, ONLY PAYMENTS RECEIVED VIA OUR SECURE PAYMENT GATEWAY WILL BE ACCEPTED
If you are unable to use the gateway please provide a complete description of the problem/error you are encountering and contact kamala@singledivers.com immediately to manually process your payment for you.
The gateway will add a 3% non-cash convenience fee if paying via credit card or any non-cash option. Checks, money orders and real cash are discounted already.
International/ Non-US Clients: Please use the traditional written credit authorization form to submit credit card payments IF the payment system does not work for you. (Remember use AA as the state and it should work). Click here for the form and ask trips@singledivers.com for the password.
IMPORTANT TRIP UPDATES:CLICK HERE!!!
IMPORTANT TRIP & DIVE INSURANCE INFORMATION:
PLEASE obtain TRIP insurance - IT IS OPTIONAL BUT STRONGLY RECOMMENDED FOR THIS TRIP ...it is VERY inexpensive and will protect your investment. REMEMBER IF YOU MISS A DAY….YOU MISS A LOT! You can purchase it right online as well as check quotes etc.
Click here for Dive Assure for either a 'one time' policy OR an annual policy that is BOTH Dive & Trip Insurance providing PRIMARY COVERAGE with excellent rates and coverage! PLEASE LINK US TO YOUR ACCOUNT BY CHOOSING US FROM THE GLOBAL/BUSINESS PARTNER LINKS DROPDOWN
or
Click here for a free quote from CSA Travel Protection or to purchase online!
PLEASE obtain DIVE insurance - IT IS MANDATORY FOR THIS TRIP ...it is VERY inexpensive and will protect your investment. Even if you have insurance that you think covers DIVING ACCIDENTS and air lifts…it is CHEAP to get a supplemental policy to ensure you are cared for.
DIVE ASSURE ... get BOTH TRIP & DIVE insurance in one convenient package or now separately! PLEASE LINK US TO YOUR ACCOUNT BY CHOOSING US FROM THE GLOBAL/BUSINESS PARTNER LINKS DROPDOWN
or
Click here for Diver's Alert Network and use our reference ID 1603080.
_______________________________________________________________
Pictures Shown Are:
Pic #1: Colonial Pipes found by the Wench
Pic #2: Trophy Meg
Pic #3: Trophy finds from one single trip!
Pic #4: The SD Trip Group Haul
*Thanks to ScubaShafer for these awesome picture!
