Dive Spiegel Grove, Duane and/or Night Dive on Molasses Reef with Aqua Sports Inc.

[ffestpirate]

We are an "Elite Scuba & Rescue Training Institute" with an international reputation for excellence. We are not for every diver. Our client base tends to be the military, professional dive operations, research organizations, law enforcement, rescue agenices, and divers seeking to raise their knowledge and skills to their capacities.

If you are seeking only a boat off of which you can jump, and nothing more, we are not for you. You must seek your "Happy Ending" elsewhere, my friend. Best of luck with your professional diving education.

You have many excellent accolades. I hope those keep you warm at night. Others of us choose to pay a max of $65 for a reef and $75 for a wreck. And that is the high end. We live down here, we dive the Keys ops and we know the going rate for dives. If you are able to fill your boats at this rate, more power to you. If you want to attract repeat local divers, you may want to revisit this. The professional escort you mention is a nice service. Other boats call them dive masters and they work for tips. Some ops do offer a "dive guide" to take openwater divers to advance sites and that is a nice service and worth extra money. However, those that offer it make it an optional additional charge, not an inclusive one. A lot of us dive these wrecks and reefs often and really have no desire or need for a guide. I wish you luck with your ventures

 

[AquaSportsInc]

We are not offering merely a boat ride and a shove off the back. There has been too much of that on the Spiegel. Remember, 12 people and counting have died while diving the Spiegel, and it has only been down since 2002. More divers have been killed per year on that wreck than any other recreational-dive-limits wreck in the entire U.S.

So, if you're simply looking for the cheapest vendor to drop you in the water above the wreck, we're not a good option for you. We are are professional training institute of the highest quality, and we personally escort and train on everyone of our dives. Our goal is to enhance diver knowledge, skills, safety and fun!

We are an "Elite Scuba & Rescue Training Institute". Check out our list of clients - U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Government Agencies, Universities, State & Local Law Enforcement, International Research Organizations, International Cruiselines, and the staff of many, many Florida dive operations.

Moreover, I see that you are affiliated with e-divers. Please be aware that Aqua Sports, Inc. conducts the rescue and safety training for many of the dive operations in Florida that e-divers uses for routine daily dives. If you like the dive operations with whom you've been diving, you might want to ask, if we've trained that staff or if we've stocked their vessels with rescue equipment. You'll be surprised.

It is regrettable that we do not appeal to you. However, we tend to be extremely popular with divers, companies, and organizations that are dedicated to enhancing their dive education, skills, safety, and experience. Perhaps someday you'll give us a try, and maybe you'll come to agree with our thousands of satisfied customers.

 

[AquaSportsInc]

Thank you for your comments, and I agree with you that you are not our target client. However, I disagree with you that Florida locals don't need or desire professional training. Florida leads the entire world in annual scuba diving deaths, with an average of 1 death every five days in the area from Jupiter to Key West. Moreover, Broward, Dade, and West Palm Beach counties each average over 70 death a year by drowning.

We are dedicated to enhance diver knowledge, skill, safety, and fun...even if it means charging a few extra bucks. Some people think they are worth it.

Best of luck in your professional dive education.

 

[ffestpirate]

Thank you for your comments, and I agree with you that you are not our target client. However, I disagree with you that Florida locals don't need or desire professional training. Florida leads the entire world in annual scuba diving deaths, with an average of 1 death every five days in the area from Jupiter to Key West. Moreover, Broward, Dade, and West Palm Beach counties each average over 70 death a year by drowning.

We are dedicated to enhance diver knowledge, skill, safety, and fun...even if it means charging a few extra bucks. Some people think they are worth it.

Best of luck in your professional dive education.

Thank you for thanking me. I would encourage you to point at where I said that Florida locals do not need or desire professional training. I only referred to what I assume were supposed to be your serious prices for a 2 tank dive trip. If you are going to skew my words to meet your needs, perhaps you should go to work for the government. If your $99 2 tank dives includes training, perhaps your ad should expound on what training is provided and what kind of certification the diver will receive at the end of his/her 2 tank dive. That might make your exuberant prices seem more realistic.

 

[Tom Winters]

We are an "Elite Scuba & Rescue Training Institute". Check out our list of clients - U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Government Agencies, Universities, State & Local Law Enforcement, International Research Organizations, International Cruiselines, and the staff of many, many Florida dive operations.

Well this all finally got my eye. Especially this part --> "We are an "Elite Scuba & Rescue Training Institute". Check out our list of clients - U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Government Agencies,..."
What is up with this "elite" stuff? You guys walk out to the offshore reefs? Are your people elite or do you train elite portions of your listed clientele? The last time I checked, and granted it's been a while, the Navy pretty much had the inside track on training their scuba and rescue people and surely did not require outsiders in the loop. The Air Force and Coast Guard ran their own rescue swimmers schools, and the Marines and Army have lots of Barney and Sesame Street stuff to learn with.
It kinda sounds like you train lifeguards. And there's nothing wrong with that - everyone needs 'em, and Lord knows there are a bunch of hoops that lifeguards have to jump through to become fully credentialed. But still, mostly it's, "Hey kid, stop running or I'll throw yer outta here."
This is just my two cents, and you're perfectly welcome to suggest activities that I can attempt with a rolling doughnut. You will not be the first.
And my best wishes to you and your elite.

For that price do you get a Happy Ending?

What exotic ports-of-call did you learn about these ethereal delights and pleasures?

 

[fisheyeview]

What exotic ports-of-call did you learn about these ethereal delights and pleasures?

Try growing up in Cutler Ridge.

 

[fisheyeview]

We are not offering merely a boat ride and a shove off the back. There has been too much of that on the Spiegel. Remember, 12 people and counting have died while diving the Spiegel, and it has only been down since 2002. More divers have been killed per year on that wreck than any other recreational-dive-limits wreck in the entire U.S.

So, if you're simply looking for the cheapest vendor to drop you in the water above the wreck, we're not a good option for you. We are are professional training institute of the highest quality, and we personally escort and train on everyone of our dives. Our goal is to enhance diver knowledge, skills, safety and fun!

We are an "Elite Scuba & Rescue Training Institute". Check out our list of clients - U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Government Agencies, Universities, State & Local Law Enforcement, International Research Organizations, International Cruiselines, and the staff of many, many Florida dive operations.

Moreover, I see that you are affiliated with e-divers. Please be aware that Aqua Sports, Inc. conducts the rescue and safety training for many of the dive operations in Florida that e-divers uses for routine daily dives. If you like the dive operations with whom you've been diving, you might want to ask, if we've trained that staff or if we've stocked their vessels with rescue equipment. You'll be surprised.

It is regrettable that we do not appeal to you. However, we tend to be extremely popular with divers, companies, and organizations that are dedicated to enhancing their dive education, skills, safety, and experience. Perhaps someday you'll give us a try, and maybe you'll come to agree with our thousands of satisfied customers.

I'm glad to see that you have found an untapped nitch market in the dive industry. You do not see this very often in this day and age. Most dive operators just try to do the same thing and maybe they change one little thing to make them "unique".

You have taken that concept and blown it out of the water. I commend you for this.

I do have a question. Do you offer regular in house baby sitting, or do you just baby sit underwater?

 

[ReefHound]

We are not offering merely a boat ride and a shove off the back. There has been too much of that on the Spiegel. Remember, 12 people and counting have died while diving the Spiegel, and it has only been down since 2002. More divers have been killed per year on that wreck than any other recreational-dive-limits wreck in the entire U.S.

I'm calling BS. I think there have been 6 people die on the Spiegel since it went down. And your implication that it was die to lack of training is hogwash. Some maybe, but the three that died last year in the engine room were highly experienced divers and instructors.

You defend yourself by pointing out your training credentials. If you're offering training on your $99 dives, please tell us more about this. I don't see where you were offering anything but a boat ride and a DM, which can be typically had for $75 or less.

 

[jupitermermaid]

You have many excellent accolades. I hope those keep you warm at night. Others of us choose to pay a max of $65 for a reef and $75 for a wreck. And that is the high end. We live down here, we dive the Keys ops and we know the going rate for dives. If you are able to fill your boats at this rate, more power to you. If you want to attract repeat local divers, you may want to revisit this. The professional escort you mention is a nice service. Other boats call them dive masters and they work for tips. Some ops do offer a "dive guide" to take openwater divers to advance sites and that is a nice service and worth extra money. However, those that offer it make it an optional additional charge, not an inclusive one. A lot of us dive these wrecks and reefs often and really have no desire or need for a guide. I wish you luck with your ventures

I'm glad that you dive wrecks and reefs often in the Keys, but don't speak for the rest of us. I just finished my wreck certification course last weekend with AquaSportsInc., and I must say that I have never had better instruction or more pleasant dives than Colum and Ozge provided me. If you're happy and confident enough to pay your $75 to jump off a boat, more power to you. I was very impressed with the service and attention I received from Colum and Ozge while doing the certification course. They checked and rechecked my gear to ensure everything was working properly, they taught me techniques to improve air consumption; even though there were other people on the dive boat they knew great spots to go on the wrecks where we were the only ones and made it feel like an exclusive dive. They trained me how to protect myself from strong currents and be able to extend my downtime. Speaking of downtime, they were also constantly checking everybody's psi to see when they needed to ascend. If you are an efficient breather they allow you to stay down longer until you need to ascend so you don't surface with 1300 psi still in your tank.

Granted, SOME people don't need the wonderful service that AquaSportsInc provide. Those people don't need to be on this thread. Ozge is offering her services to those of us that aren't as experienced as you and would like to broaden their knowledge and expertise in diving more than what they can get merely going out with a DM. Not everyone on this board who dives has 1,000 or more dives under their belt.

I will definitely dive with them again when I go back to the Keys for a dive. They are worth the extra money. I am worth the extra money. I'd like to live long enough to have many more years ahead of me to dive, and I know that when I dive with them I will be safe, have a great experience, and learn more about myself and diving.

For those of you that have years of experience and are happy to pay $75 to jump off a boat and do your own thing, that's great. You don't need AquaSportsInc services, but please don't knock them, because they are vital to those of us that are fairly new to diving (and there are a lot of us), and we're the ones they are reaching out to. Find another thread that appeals to you and your needs, and let AquaSportsInc prepare newer divers to dive properly to protect our reefs and wrecks (and stay alive) by making us better divers. We all win when divers are well educated and trained. A little extra money is worth it.

 

[ffestpirate]

Aren't you required to have a disclaimer that states "this has been a paid endorsment by(fill in the blank)"