Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[divinh]

In short, there may be a difference between the low end gear and the top of the line - there probably is. It's not a difference I can notice, nor one that I believe is worth the price differential, and certainly not a difference I or every new diver needs. You don't need it till you do. There's time enough to decide to upgrade IF you decide you need to. Starting with top of the line, bleeding edge equipment is vast overkill for most beginning divers

Check out Alec Peirce's video on regulators:


He points out that the low-end regulator does everything you would need. The high-end ones provide extra bells and whistles, which may be worth it for some people, but not necessary to do a safe dive.

 

[Power Scuba]

I get the feeling that it shouldn't be too hard for "just a bunch friends sharing costs" to open a local chapter of an existing country-wide diving club network. As far as I know there is no country-wide diving club infrastructure in the US, so over here a move to "BSAC-type club structure" would require building one. .

There are some clubs/orgs that are close to what you envision, but you simply can't discount the length certain LDSs will go to in order to sabotage the efforts of non-profit/no-profit groups that have the temerity to leave the tiny corner most dive clubs have been painted into.

Lead a no-profit trip overseas or perform a co-operative group buy of gear and watch the small-minded LDSs band against you. Buy a compressor for your members and watch the LDSs absolutely freak the F out.

Ask me how I know...

Cheers,

Bill Powers

 

[Mrs. B]

In Hawaii the dive club bought a compressor and the shops would always spread rumors that the air was bad

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

In Hawaii the dive club bought a compressor and the shops would always spread rumors that the air was bad

That's easy to solve. Just show the certification of the air quality and provide carbon monoxide testers.

 

[tridacna]

Check out Alec Peirce's video on regulators:


He points out that the low-end regulator does everything you would need. The high-end ones provide extra bells and whistles, which may be worth it for some people, but not necessary to do a safe dive.

Good video. If he repeated things a little less often and mentioned pistons vs diaphragms, it would be a great video.

 

[yle]

I wonder why I don't see California marketed more heavily as a dive destination for tourist divers from elsewhere in the U.S. Instead of thinking of it as place people dive locally, or leave from to dive elsewhere, what's keeping it from becoming more of a place people from elsewhere travel to for a dive trip?

I'll take a stab at answering that for you. I think there are several reasons that we don't see California as being marketed as a dive destination.

1. Marketing funds are in limited supply, so it makes sense to spend them where they will get the most return. California has a lot of other attractions for visitors, which is why you see Disneyland, Yosemite, beaches, Hollywood, wine country, skiing, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc prominently featured in tourism ads.

2. In addition to cold, California water typically has poor viz. We're totally stoked (sorry... that's Californian for "excited") to get 30 feet viz on a beach dive; 20 feet is closer to typical... and we're happy to have it. We'll even dive in 10 feet viz (we just won't be too stoked about it.)

3. Boat diving is available from San Diego and Long Beach (these are the two big ones in So Cal, although some dive boats leave from other cities), but the recreational sites serviced by these boats from the mainland tend to be wrecks that are in ~100 feet of water. This means colder and darker... difficult to market to tourists. San Diego probably does a better tourist diving business than anywhere else in the state, largely because it's a tourist destination already and it has a handful of wrecks that are a fairly short boat ride from the marina.

4. If you want decent viz (but still cold water...) you have to hop over to the Channel Islands, which typically means a two-hour ride on a dive boat from Long Beach to Catalina Island. The kelp forests and giant black sea bass there are cool, and there's a fair amount of sharks in the neighborhood... but it would take a lot of creative marketing to convince people to travel to So Cal just so they can spend two hours on a dive boat (each way!) and bundle up in 7mm neoprene for a chance at seeing some giant sea bass drifting through the kelp.

5. Even if people wanted to do it, they would have to be able to handle the cold water diving. People with no experience in cold water diving tend to get themselves in a lot of trouble diving out here... the cold and thick neoprene causes some serious stress. And there's the rub: the vast majority of people with experience diving cold water aren't going to seek out a vacation with cold water diving when they could go to warm water instead! I know I wouldn't...

This is just my take on why California isn't much of a dive tourism destination. With that said, I'm sure if any of you are in the neighborhood and interested in a local beach dive, there are plenty of us here on SB that would be willing to show you around.

 

[yle]

I like the idea of providing low cost (or 'free') guides. That might help get people into the scene, including local residents.

I don't think the provision of dive guides would have much effect on the local diving scene. When people first walk into a dive shop to ask about getting certified, they don't know anything about dive guides on boats. We tell them about how awesome diving is and convince them to try it. They go through the class and we usually take them on a boat as part of their cert dives. It's at this point that they see how the boats are run, and the idea that they are responsible for their own dive is reinforced. In fact, I tell them in advance that for Dive 4 of their OW course they will lead and I will follow them.

In other words, the way dive boats run in California is, ideally, part of OW training here.

I wonder how many California residents get certified in warm water destinations, or go there very shortly, and get accustomed to, say, Roatan or Cozumel, then don't see the point in local diving? Maybe if they were reached earlier?

Absolutely. It's been my experience that Calif residents that are introduced to diving in warm water tend to avoid the additional hurdle of getting comfortable with diving in cold water.

The viz. averages lower in California diving vs. some of the more popular Caribbean locations.

THAT is an understatement. Sometimes we lose sight of each other during a safety stop... and we're hanging on the same mooring line!

 

[Steve_C]

For those reading this not from California there is some diving out of San DIego other than wrecks. Was in San Diego on business and took a boat to the Pt. Loma kelp beds. An enjoyable day. Short boat ride. Modest depths. Viz around 20 ft. Water in the low 60s. Plus hot food on the boat.

 

[scubadada]

For those reading this not from California there is some diving out of San DIego other than wrecks. Was in San Diego on business and took a boat to the Pt. Loma kelp beds. An enjoyable day. Short boat ride. Modest depths. Viz around 20 ft. Water in the low 60s. Plus hot food on the boat.

And....the Coronados. On my visits, bottom temp has generally been low to mid 50s, low of 50, high of 60. Water in the Coronados has run warmer than in San Diego. I've had vis of just better than zero to good, maybe 40-50 feet.

 

[gcarter]

I'm going to have to check out Dive Tech and Abucs. I've heard good things about these shops from others as well. I also hear Abucs has a new shop in Kingston as well.

Hold on to your wallet at Dive Tech... Dan is very well stocked with lots of shiny things