INFO FOR KAMALA:
- If you are not an SD member then you will not have to become a paid member to do this trip. Basic Membership is free and premium is $35 a year of which $25 is refundable after every trip you take INCLUDING THIS ONE so that means membership is only $10 and if you take another trip with us during your calendar year you make money off the deal! BUT YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY ANYTHING OR EVEN REGISTER BUT if you do not do the free membership you can "see" what others say but you can't reply or participate. So super easy to create a fun screen name and join the group as a basic member and 'try us out' so to speak.
- If you are a SD member then you are already part of our structure so no problem.
- By using our forums to help convey info we can ensure everyone sees everything and its logical and no harder than FB, email etc. (And for those who are not members you'll see how we work)
- We *MAY* set things up in our booking system OR we may just keep track of what everyone wants to do and then send you a direct payment link for you to pay. This will come in handy if you 'change' your mind. The best example I can think of is say half want to do the 3rd dive. If that is the case then we'd have to do it as the $60 version where we go back to the dock and get other people and then go back out again. BUT If everyone wants to do (1) day of a 3rd dive then it would make sense to set up one day as a 3 tank dive day and save $30 off the price of the 3rd dive AND have lunch included in the price FREE. Trying to sign up via our system would mean making changes which would be harder. Deciding FIRST then paying when we figure it out gives us the most flexibility.
- We have offered to give you a single point of contact for payment and arrangements so you don't have to re-invent the wheel. We can also pass savings onto you when they arise by doing 1 payment to the shop and give us all more flexibility. If everyone tries to sign up with the boat directly someone could get left out. (I have booked the entire boat for 2 am dives for the 3 days. If we do not sell all the spots I will have to return them by the deadlines they impose. HOWEVER if we don't do it this way...if you linger too long you could find the boat full when you go to book and will lose out.
- Also this method of using our forums will allow Brad and I to help with the BHB dives. TRUST ME you need a local pro to help you. Just let us do what we do. It really is LESS work to do it this way than to try and do it any other way and you benefit from all our YEARS of experience.
- If I manage the whole boat I will have more clout regarding cancellation terms and payment options etc. More than individuals will have. The supplier knows me and we have worked with them before. This gives us a lot of flexibility. THE NUMBER ONE CONCERN EVERYONE HAS IS CORONA VIRUS CANCELLATIONS WHICH YOU WILL GET WITHOUT PENALTY IF THE ECONOMY IS NOT OPENED BACK UP YET. Since Florida is starting to open slowly now...its unlikely we will have this issue in Aug but we are protected with the dive operator and the hotel.
- NO MATTER WHAT I WILL HELP YOU WITH THE BOOKING of the boat, hotel, tanks, BHB dive, transfers from the hotel to the boat...YOU NAME IT AND WE WILL HELP YOU and it will cost nothing extra...its free because Tami wanted to dive with me!
OH AND I AM ABSORBING THE INITIAL RISK by putting my credit card down so we can all dive together. Again I do this for a living so its easy for me.
OPTIONAL ADDED DIVES:
- The optional afternoon dive is $60 per person + a tank.
- If everyone wanted to do (1) third dive we could do a 3 tank dive day where we get $30 off the price of the dive AND FREE Lunch. But we'd need everyone to want to do this since we are going out for 3 letting us reach spots we would not normally reach.
- Once we know who is interested we can dial this in.
- I would never suggest you wait til you get to the boat in Aug to decide you want to dive in the afternoon...unless you just like dreaming of diving. Unless there is a fluke cancellation there will be no vacancies. However should you be a betting person you can take that bet and see if I am wrong. I know I'm not because I've tried it myself several times and watched OTHERS dive. You do not need to sign up now but you will need to decide about 45 days out. Again if we only do 1 day of an afternoon dive its not a big deal. Of course you can wait and play it by ear but please have back up plans when the boat is full because I will release all spots we do not sell and the boat will sell them out. Once we get into the public forums and other members can chime in they will echo what I've said. (I apologize for being a bit direct but better direct and you get what you want or super polite and you are disappointed because the person who 'lives here' did not tell you the insider secrets.
BHB DIVES:
- These are free because it is a state park.
- These dives are tidal dives and should have a guide. The weekends are crazy and so I would "suggest" we do it on Monday when people are back at work. However we can only meet the tides if we do our (2) am boat dives at 8am vs the normal weekday boat departure time at 10am. If we have the whole boat then we get to set the time. If we do not take the whole boat then the shop sets the time and we can NOT do the BHB on Monday leaving only Sunday which is a zoo.
- Once we know how many people are even interested, don't mind fighting crowds, etc we can dial this in.
TANKS:
Because so many people have their own tanks they get them filled and that is why charters do NOT include rental tanks in them. I gave the pricing already for the tanks, The tanks our ours for the day. If you are easy on air AND we do the BHB one day and you have 1500 psi left in your tank then use it for the BHB dive. Yes we will rent tanks for the BHB from the same dive operator as the boat. If you must rent a new tank then rent air to save a few dollars.
Once we know what tanks everyone needs I can further dial this in.
DIVE PROFILES:
The dives will be mostly drift dives and the boat will supply flags for you to use. You will NOT be able to go off and do a different profile and you will want to stay somewhat close to the person holding the flag as they know how to do FL diving and manage the flag. The flag is NEVER lost...just divers who do not follow it. Divers will need to know how to do live pick ups. We can help with that.
You may not need a dive flag for the BHB since its so shallow but I'll find out. Yes you can rent them but not sure the price. Yes BHB can handle large groups THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE A GUIDE. We will help get a guide for everyone. But not everyone will want to gear up from a car, on the grass or picnic table or sand or sidewalk and then lug their tank on their back to the water etc. And then repeat at the end. Some may end up being 'shore support' as diving the bridge is roughing it. THAT IS WHY WE DO NOT SUGGEST SUNDAY but rather Monday instead. Too many people and we won't get there in time to get the few tables they have and closer parking spots. BUT MONDAY we have a better chance. Because the bridge is hard to do on a weekend we suggested doing (1) boat dive in the afternoon. There is NO shore diving other than the bridge.
RESERVATIONS:
There is nothing to reserve other than telling me what you want and need. You do not need to call anyone to do anything. I will take care of ALL of it (and most has already been done) in our forums when I set it up and via this email until then. If you really want to handle it directly where everyone has to call up and tries to reserve spots, pay for the boat now, hold tanks etc, then I am happy to step down and let you do that. Its easier for me to do it this way but if you prefer doing the work yourselves just let me know.
Once we know what everyone wants to do I can further dial this in.
HOTEL:
I have a block of rooms at the Super 8 by Wyndham 2 mi from the boat. The normal price is $93-96 + tax and today's online rates are $96 + 13% tax. My group rate is $75 + 15% tax so $84.76 single rate per nite or $42.38 d/o rate per night. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO STAY HERE. If you want to stay some place else you can. I looked and nothing is cheaper UNLESS you have hotel points and can get a room free. But this rate is really good. I will have you sign up via the forums or this email. The hotel is check in the 7th and out the 11th so 4 nites.
Once we know how many plan to use this hotel vs their own choices we can dial this in.
DIVING:
As I said I have set up 3 days of diving Sat, Sun & Mon Aug 8, 9 & 10. The travel days are Aug 7th and 11th. So at 3 days of diving at $80 per person it is $240. (Need to see if they chg tax on diving. I know they chg it on the tanks)
Once we know how many want to dive what we can dial this in.
TENTATIVE COUNTS OF WHO IS IN:
As you know you will be joining us PLEASE let me know so I can ensure enough spots for you all. I will hold 10 for you + 2 for Brad and I which I think is more than Tami said you all needed. I will open up the others spots for sale. If you know you are IN let me know. As we fill the other spots we will dial in the original group's spots and tighten up the numbers.
QUESTIONS?
If you have more questions I'll do my best to reply. I'm working on getting this set up in the forums PRIVATELY so you can have first dibs but then open it to others to join us.
- Travel days Aug 7 and 11.
- Dive Days Aug 8, 9, 10
So I have been working to find suppliers for this timeframe and as expected MOST are full. I did however score one of my fave operators but for the Groupers only. The shark ops are totally full and the ones who are not..are not ones I would do. So I will do a Best of Florida next year during aggregation that will consist of the first part which lets you do ALL groupers and the second part which is ALL Sharks and you can do one or both 'long weekends' or an 8 day trip and do both.
So my operator has 3 boats, 2 of which are full. I scored one because I have worked with them before. The only dates open were the Aug 7-10 with diving on the 8, 9, 10th. I got the entire boat initially because either we try and fill the extra spots or they will put strangers on the boat with us. I have some time to fill the extra spots and I'm sure others in SD will want to join us. IF YOU PREFER THAT I ONLY BOOK THE SPOTS FOR THE 10-12 INTERESTED I CAN DO THAT AND LET THE BOAT FILL THE OTHER SPOTS WITH STRANGERS. I'm willing to manage the risk so hopefully its ok with you all but its always fun to dive with our members.
DIVING & POSSIBLE ITINERARY via Pura Vida Diving:
I have some pricing etc for you and we can do a Sunday mid morning Blue Heron Bridge dive (BHB) after our boat dives. THEN we can get lunch. BHB is ONLY a tidal dive and must be done when tides are right or you can't dive it at all. We can also add a 3rd dive for those interested or the FREE BHB dive (just pay for a rental tank and lead). And I will have a guide to help us with the BHB dive if interested since there are a lot of spots you can go to 'at the bridge' and it always helps to have a guide to show you the ropes. NOTE: BHB is a shore dive so we get geared up on picnic tables at the park and do the dive. It will be WIDELY crowded on Sunday but also doable for MONDAY if everyone is not rushing back home OR has an afternoon flight on Tuesday so can still meet the new 18 hr no fly rule or the old 24hr no fly rule.
(2) tank am dives $80 per person per day (includes soft lead on the boat only and not tanks...tanks can be rented or filled depending on preferences. )
- We have 3 days of diving scheduled (Sat, Sun, Mon.) so $240 for diving
(1) 3rd tank dive Sat afternoon is $60 THIS IS OPTIONAL
or
(3) tank charter per day WITH LUNCH = $110 + tanks = $30 savings! (We don't have to do every day but I have to fill the boat to get this deal. I suggest we consider for Sat and then BHB Sunday and/or Monday.
BLUE HERON BRIDGE:
If we do the Blue Heron Bridge (it is possible due to tide schedule for right after diving on Sunday and Monday but only on Monday if we have the full boat so we can leave early. Otherwise the normal departure time is 10am and we would miss the tides for the BHB dive. Remember you need to rent a tank for it (if you are good on air you can use what's left in your boat tank vs renting a new tank if you have at least 1500psi left. Otherwise you should rent a different tank. Suggest air for cost savings BUT CHANGE YOUR COMPUTER as the depths are very shallow at the bridge.
Required Equipment FOR ALL DIVES: (note that dive computers are not optional for the club so let me know if you need one): Every diver MUST have ALL gear required as follows to dive with them. Any missing items must be rented or purchased at check in. Required gear includes Mask, Fins, Snorkel, current BCD (no horse-collars, etc), Regulator with alternate second stage, Pressure Gauge (or air integrated Computer), Timing Device (Watch or Computer), and Surface Marker Buoy or Lift Bag.
Gratuity: Our captains and crew work hard to ensure that your group receives the best possible care and customer service. A gratuity of $20 per diver per trip is requested for groups of 10 or more. (NOT A PROBLEM FOR US) Plus the boat capt if he is available is ONE OF OUR MEMBERS!!!
HOTEL Super 8 by Wyndham
I was able to get a special rate (from having used this hotel before) for a really close hotel Super 8 by Wyndham and is very conducive to divers. You can choose other places to stay but the hotel is suited for single as well as double occupancy. The online rates are $93-96 + 13% tax. Our rate IF we pay via one check and in advance (as I normally do) will be $75 + 13% tax per night. HERE is a link to the hotel. It is rated 5.6 so not too bad although its only a 2 star property. BUT they cater to divers and very close to the boat AND most cost effective unless you have points etc. SO IF YOU DO NOT USE THIS HOTEL PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN DROP ROOM(S) FOR YOU.
TANKS may need to do on one ticket as well OR *MAY* be able to do at the shop directly if you prefer to pay as you go):
You need to either bring your own tanks or rent tanks. The dive operator will load the RENTAL tanks for you and remove at the end of the day. If you have your own tanks then you need to do this yourself and get them filled between dives. You will need to rent at least 2 tanks or 3 depending on the BHB dives OR if you do the 3rd dive as there is not enough time to get one tank filled if doing the optional 3rd boat dive.
Rental Tanks:
- Aluminum Air Tank $10.00
- Steel Air Tank $15.00
- Aluminum Nitrox Tank (34%) $15.00
- Steel Nitrox Tank (34%) $20.00
Let me know who else is going and if you want to set up a private FB group to better manage this? We can also use the forums. Let me know. Thank you! Kamala
p.s There are at least 2 people going who are friends of Tami or Barb and not SD members. We will work around that so they do not have to join the club to do this trip. We'd love for them to join but we won't require it. I will set this up in the booking system for you to pay to make that easier as well. All prices listed are cash. LET ME KNOW WHAT I HAVE NO ADDRESSED. Thank you Kamala
THOSE COMMITTED TO GOING (let me know as you decide):
- Kamala
- Brad aka dive_sail_etc
Edited by WreckWench, 20 April 2020 - 10:26 PM.
Will put the link in the first post to annotate it done. 
