Wreckmania 2002

[Natasha]

Hello divers:
Anyone want to get wreck certified this summer? Myself, along with our senior board member "Walter" bring you WRECKMANIA 2002.
Walter is an instuctor and will do the certifications this summer.
The Place: Pompano Beach or Deerfield Beach South Florida
The Dates: July 12th to July 16th.
The Dives: At least 3 days of 2 tank dives for the cerification
FAQ: #1 Yes, you can saty on longer to dive more wrecks.
#2 The classroom part will take place on the afternoon of the 12th so plan your flights early.
#3 This is still in the early stages and we are deciding on the group size. The reason for posting this now is to get a feel of who can commit with this little bit of info. We are considering a group of 15 to 20.
#4 Yes, Nitrox can be used for an additional cost.
#5 You will fly into Ft. Lauderdale airport
The Price: All we can tell you now is, it will be under 1000.00 total of a welcome party, a group T shirt, 4 nights hotel stay, certification dives, tanks, weights, and a farewell party.
Can you say " Yes" with this information?
:gorgeous:

[SunshineFish]

Natasha-

Yes'm - count me in!! I am free all July and August so the dates work out for me - yeah!!! :dazzle:


Walter-

I'm really excited about your course. Looking forward to learning a lot.

Sunshine :slick:

[NetDoc]

wondering if Walter will need help from a semi-local DM???

[Natasha]

Sunshine: You're in! Glad you can make it. We'll have more details soon.
Pete: You're personally invited! Walter is going to use the DMs from the boat. But if you want to come out and dive and bring a few of the Orlando people, that would be great! Hope you can make it.
:gorgeous:

[TexasMike]

Three Moderators on one boat....with me and Pete's humor to boot? You think the rest of the folks can stand it?

Oh, and WarHammer isn't that far away from all of this. And I bet we could get Iggie D to show up.

T-shirt graphic idea.... Like the photos that show what's going on both above and below water, have the above be something showing off Florida, NDI, or something, and below have divers swimming on a ship wreck with lots of sea critters.

[NetDoc]

new meaning to the name "Wreckmania"... like we wrecked your weekend, etc. etc.

Maybe I should write a parody to fit the occasion...

Stay tuned for the "Wreck Diver's Blues..."

[SunshineFish]

One request - no gators.

[TexasMike]

Originally posted by NetDoc
Stay tuned for the "Wreck Diver's Blues..." Lemme guess, You lost your scooter, reel, woman, (ability to put a gator on the t-shirt), & dog all on the same dive?

[TexasMike]

Oh, and don't forget snagging your bungeed wing and not being able to inflate it since you couldn't find your lungs of steel video.

[NetDoc]

Than a GATOR!!!

-even sans Spurrier...


Originally posted by SunshineFish
One request - no gators.

[herman]

Natasha/Walter

A few more questions for you.

I know it's early but can you define the dives a little better. Are we talking wrecks in say 50 to 80 ft range or closer to 120 to 140 ft?

What is the minimum dive experience/certs that you are going to require? For example, is a wreck cert required or just a nice to have? Is the wreck course required as part of the trip or it optional?

[SunshineFish]

LOL :) -

(Sunshine pulls out pom poms) GO 'CANES !!

[Walter]

Herman,

I plan to start shallow and build deeper. No dives in the class will exceed 100 ft. There might be some dives after the class is over that are slightly deeper.

You will need a minimum of 20 logged dives.

No one will be required to take the class.

Pete,

I'd love to have you along. If you're a YMCA DM with a wreck certification, you can help me with ratios. Since you aren't, you might want to become one before July.

SunshineFish & Mike,

It will be great to have you along!

DSSW,

WWW™

[scuba-sass]

.... But I'll have to check vacation times, $$$ and interest with my partner. We'll confirm within a week or two. Keep us posted!

Scuba-sass :-)

[SunshineFish]

What is the water temp in Lauderdale at that time of year? I tried to find web sites that would give me this info...but no luck. :(

[livestodive]

sounds like a lot of fun to me, with a cert thrown in too! New to the boards allowed??

[Bob]

Natasha,
I'll be there, count me in. :tree:Bob

Walter: Look forward to meeting/diving with you.

[Natasha]

Livestodive: Of course new board members are allowed! We're hoping to to attract any divers that want to have fun, learn wreck diving, and have at least 20 dives logged.
Bob: You're officially counted in!
Sass: Hope you can make it too? With your husband?
Sunshine: It will be nice down there in July. My guess on the water temp is somewhere in the mid to high 70's. Walter will tell us for sure.

I'm ready to party!

:balloon:
:gorgeous:

[socaldiver]

I am not sure what my schedule will be by July, but if I can swing it, I would like to be considered as well.

[large_diver]

Sunshine,

Try this site -- it has month-by-month avg. temperatures for coastal locations throughout North America. While it may not have the exact location you guys will be diving at, it will give you a general idea.

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/wtg12.html

Enjoy

[Walter]

Mid July water temps off Ft. Lauderdale are usually in the mid 80's. 87 was common this past year. That's perfect for just a swim suit unless you want protection against scrapes on wrecks.

As Natasha mentioned, it doesn't matter how long you've been on the board, if you want to join us, you're welcome!

Bob, I'm looking forward to diving with you as well.

DSSW,

WWW™

[TexasMike]

Natasha.....

I think from the response here, we should be able to declare this NDI's first official club dive. My nose count shows at least 10-15 pairs of nostrils, and more will probably come on board at a later time.

[Natasha]

Mike: You just may be right.
Let's go for the old list. As of today ..

Walter
TexasMike
NetDoc
Sunshine
ScubaSass (2)
Socaldiver 1st Dave so far
Bob
Livestodive
Herman?
Dee& Beast
Looking good ...
We should have the price in one more week.. and then the fun part ...sending in your deposits to SECURE your space!
Who else wants to go?
:gorgeous:

[Dee]

Originally posted by Natasha
Mike: You just may be right.
Let's go for the old list. As of today ..

Walter
TexasMike
NetDoc
Sunshine
ScubaSass (2)
Socaldiver 1st Dave so far
Bob
Livestodive
Herman?
Dee& Beast
Looking good ...


Natasha...I don't see YOUR name on the list :( You ARE going, aren't you? :confused:

[Natasha]

LoL Yes of course. But I don't know if my dive buddy will be able to come. Summer is his busy season.
And I have to tell you, as I told Walter, there is a chance I won't get to dive all the dives.
Most Dive Trips are "Business trips" for me. With people flying in, staying in hotels, and having special needs, someone needs to be around to call airlines if luggage is lost, book extra nights when people want to stay, find doctors when people get sick, and take them to the doc so they don't have to go alone. There are endless "behind the scenes" things I will be doing. I also hope to book restaurants so we can eat together. I hope to even have a volleyball, and beach stuff to do while we're not diving. So someone has to be the one to sit out if things need to be taken care of. It will be me. Awe don't feel sorry for me. Someone has to do it. ;)

PS On most of the trips I put together, divers end up calling me "Mom"

[CheeseWhiz]

You mentioned certification...which agency?

Any tentative time-of-day timing for the dives? Can I assume all a.m. dives? The Old Lady will want to come along (non-diver), so I need to know for itinerary planning purposes.

Thanks for your patience.

[CheeseWhiz]

Thanks for your patience.

[Walter]

CheeseWhiz,

It's too early to give definate times, but if I can schedule it with the charter boat, I'm looking at morning dives.

The agency is YMCA. I posted this in the other thread and it bears repeating here: To take this class you must be at least 18 years of age and have a log with at least 20 dives. We will be strictly following YMCA Wreck Diver standards for all training. You will receive a YMCA Wreck Diver specialty rating upon successful completion of the course.

Dee,

Are you & da Beast joining us? I certainly hope so. Trips are always more fun with the two of you around.

Natasha,

Luggage isn't allowed to get lost. No one is allowed to get sick. All bookings will be finished in advance. We will have lots of buddies for you to choose from. You're going diving.

DSSW,

WWW™

[DiverG]

Sunshine I was diving in the Fort Lauderdale area last year from July 13-20 and the water temperatures were a very nice and comfortable(at least for me) 82 degrees.

[SunshineFish]

Thank you large_diver, walter, and diverG - 82 to 87 degrees is exactly what I wanted to hear! :)

[seaangel]

I would like to tentatively say I am in. I still need to check my schedules but it sounds like a great time, plus adding in a specialty cert too! Two questions, 1- How about arriving by driving from Georgia rather than flying? 2- Open water certification by another agency is allowed right? Just as long as I have logged more than the 20 dives, which I have since I have 39 now. Hey by the way, July 12th is my birthday so we can celebrate that too.

[Natasha]

Cindy:
#1 Yes, of course you can drive
#2 Yes you can have other certs. This will give you an YMCA cert
#3 We will have a cake for you!
#4 The people that are coming down for this can drive or fly, but my main request is that we all stay at the same hotel.
I will be blocking rooms and the more I block the better the hotel will treat us. Also, it is too hard for me to have people staying all over the place.
So if anyone wants to go, they will have to "Dive the Plan.. Plan the Dive"..
This means you will have to do what this group is doing.
This trip is meant to be a Wreck Certification Trip. We will be doing the wreck certs the whole time from July 12th to the 16th. If anyone wants to come in after that to dive with Walter, and not do certification, he is open to that.

[Walter]

Natasha,

Actually, I was thinking of staying after the class for more wrecks instead of arriving after the class.

Sea Angel,

It doesn't matter what agency your other certification(s) is(are) from. You can take this class.

DSSW,

WWW™

[Natasha]

Walter: I did say after, darling. Didn't I?
Maybe it didn't come out right? We are offering the class, the parties, the group activities, from July 12th to the 16th. From the 16th on, Walter will still be available do more wreck dives. But the party part and my part will end on the 16th. Is that better? Sometimes my English isn't that good. ;)

[Dee]

Originally posted by Walter
......Dee,

Are you & da Beast joining us? I certainly hope so. Trips are always more fun with the two of you around.

Natasha,

Luggage isn't allowed to get lost. No one is allowed to get sick. All bookings will be finished in advance. We will have lots of buddies for you to choose from. You're going diving.

DSSW,

WWW™


Walter.....
We wouldn't miss this! Unless something major comes up, we'll be there. Looks like we'll drive down. We really enjoy the Texas to Florida road trip....once we get past Louisianna! We're planning to stay until the 19th so add us to any plans for diving those days.

I'll volunteer to be the official group photographer if no one objects.

Natasha...You'll have plenty of time to dive 'cause nothing's going to go wrong. Oh yea...don't forget the ziplock bags....Mom!

[TexasMike]

Originally posted by Natasha
PS On most of the trips I put together, divers end up calling me "Mom" Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?

Mom!!! Pete's on my side of the boat!
(ad infinitum)

[seaangel]

Okay, I am definetly in. Checked my calendar and that will work for me. I am trying to recruit a buddy from home to come along. We will see. I am excited now. Ready to go.

[SunshineFish]

Walter -

Do you (or anyone) know of any good web sites with information (I particularly like historical) regarding Lauderdale wrecks? Or even any books that you'd recommend? I find that my diving is more enjoyable when I know the history of how the object sunk and what kind of "life" it lead.

[peter]

Someone take a camera I want to see too :)

[Walter]

Cindy,

Welcome aboard! We'll have a blast.

Peter,

Dee always travels with a camera, and while I'm not making promises for her, I'm sure this will not be an exception.

SunshineFish,

I have some info around here, I'll try to find some for you soon.

In the meantime, here's a little about one of our first planned dives. The Glassy Sweepers on this wreck are a treat.

ANCIENT MARINER
Part of South Florida's artificial reef program designed to create a diver-safe, living underwater ecosystem, this 165 ft. Cutter found its final resting place in June of 1991. Depths on this wreck range from 45 to 72 ft., and there are three other wrecks in the area. The wreckage has become home to barracuda, jacks and other tropical and schooling fish.

Now for a little information on the trip. We'll keep putting out more info as we hammer out details.

We will be diving out of Deerfield Beach on the Lady Go Diver. I've dived off this boat many times. It's a very comfortable 48ft vessel. The only time I wasn't comfortable on this dive boat was on New Year's Eve 2000 - 2001 and that's because air temps were in the low 30's. That will not be a problem in July. We have a dive schedule planned out as follows:

7/13 Dive 1 - Ancient Mariner 70 ft
Dive 2 - United Caribbean 70 ft

7/14 Dive 1 - Captain Dan 117 ft We'll stay at 100 ft or shallower
Dive 2 - Jay Doorman 83 ft

7/15 Dive 1 - Captain Dan 117 ft We'll stay at 100 ft or shallower
Dive 2 - RSV One 107 ft We'll stay at 100 ft or shallower

We do have limited space and there's only so many folks I can keep track of in a class (and this is covered in standards). The way it sits now, we'll all be on the morning trip. If we reach critical mass, we'll put half the class on the morning trip and the other half on the afternoon trip.

I'm excited!

Natasha, this is going to be a great trip!

DSSW,

WWW™

[Bob]

Walter,
This dive is sounding better all the time. I am very much looking forward to July!:tree:Bob

[Walter]

Bob,

Wait until you see what SunshineFish found for us. Check out: http://www.dixiediver.com/shipwreck.htm She's more than a pretty face, she's talented too.

DSSW,

WWW™

[SunshineFish]

Aw shucks :embarrass

I find it amusing that there are wrecks named Budweiser, Miller Lite, and Beck. :coke:

Check-out slide show #1 of the "Sea Emperor." Looks like a green moray got a little too close for comfort - ouch!

Originally posted by Walter
Bob,

Wait until you see what SunshineFish found for us. Check out: http://www.dixiediver.com/shipwreck.htm She's more than a pretty face, she's talented too.

DSSW,

WWW™

[Dee]

What a great site.... Thanks SunshineFish!

Peter....Walter's right, I always seem to have a camera at the end of one arm or the other. I have a new digital I'll be learning to use in Roatan so hopefully by July I can provide the group with a few keepers.

I'm getting excited about this trip!

[Bob]

SunshineFish,
Great Site. Is it July yet?:tree:Bob

[herman]

Natasha;

I am thinking about joining in. I have a lot going on this spring but would love to make this trip for no other reason than to put a face and voice to the names. So I am going to see what I can do.

Walter:

Just for all our info, what if any "special" equipment will be required/encouraged? I am thinking along the lines of pony bottles, reels and safety sausages.

[Walter]

Herman,

Safety sausages are always a good idea when diving in the ocean.

We will be discussing streamlining equipment and will be working on gear with that in mind.

Doubles and pony bottles will be discussed. You are welcome to bring either, but they are not required. I will be diving doubles. We will not be making staged decompression dives, although we will simulate it.

Reels, slates and lights will be required. I'll detail this in an e-mail to all participants once we have the class roster complete.

DSSW,

WWW™

[Natasha]

I have been on the phone with several different people in Deerfield beach all morning. We need to change the dates of this trip.
July 12th to the 16th is the Grand Prix Boat Races down there. We don't want to be there while all those boats are racing above us! Good thing we found this out now. Let's change to the following week, which is the 19th to the 23rd of July. There is nothing on the event calendar then. They suggested this is a good week, and not to do the 4th of July weekend either.
I'm still finding the best place for us to stay, so stay tuned. Will these dates still work for those that have said 'yes' so far?

[NetDoc]

Well, OK, you can still count me in... :tease:

[scuba-sass]

You mean you don't want to try to match the Manatees, propeller-mark for propeller-mark?

Lydia and I are still "maybe's". Money and availability of vacation time are our issues, not the exact dates. :-)

Keep up the great work!
Scuba-sass :-)

[Bob]

But... you can't get rid of me that easy. The dates still work for me.:thumb: :tree:Bob

[SunshineFish]

uh oh, I just found out I have work training that weekend. I am on the phone right now to see if the powers that be (and my boss!) will let me reschedule.

[Natasha]

Thanks for the kind words, Sass.
Here's the story:
Until I post WRECKMANIA 2002 part 2 everything we are doing now.. is 'getting a feel' for what everyone wants.
Part 2 will have the final plans. Unfortunatly, when Walter talked to Captain Rob to book the dive part, Rob did not know about the boat races. The hotels did know, and I confirmed it with City Hall down there.
So if everyone will hang in there, we will continue to work out the dates, to try to accomodate everyone (yeah right)
I will have the hotel selected soon.
Thanks, You guys are great!

[Dee]

Natasha...the dates are fine with us. July is wide open so the actual date doesn't matter too much.

I'll doiuble check with da Beast and let you and Walter know for sure about the class.

[herman]

That's actually a better dates for me.

[AquaDog]

My girlfriend and I are interested in this trip. We are friends of Walter from Ft. Myers. But don't hold that against us, we';re really nice people. =:^D
I think Dee will vounch for us also.

Dive hard, Augie

aquadog@excite.com

[Dee]

Originally posted by AquaDog
My girlfriend and I are interested in this trip. We are friends of Walter from Ft. Myers. But don't hold that against us, we';re really nice people. =:^D
I think Dee will vounch for us also.

Dive hard, Augie

aquadog@excite.com

I don't know Dawg....what's it worth to ya?

Ya'll have a blast this weekend, eh? :bang:

[NetDoc]

claiming to be a friend of Walter is like painting a target on your back... :tease:

[seaangel]

I am still in, but you will miss my Birthday cake. LOL. Really, those dates maybe even better for. Now I can dive with my LDS the July 4th trip to West Palm, I was afraid they were too close together before.

[Natasha]

Well... I want to post someting today, so everyone knows a bit more. I know a day on line is like a week in the real world. People want answers fast.. or they're on to the next page.
Thanks for being extra patient. I promise it won't be much longer.
We have the place worked out.... and the parties planned. Just a few more last minutes details and we'll be ready to post it all.
Looks like it's a growing group. Good! We will want to fill 12 rooms. Aquadog: Welcome! And Cindy: Too late, we're still going to have a belated cake for you.
Sandy: We will know 100% sure on the new dates very soon. Do you think it will work out? Dee: Thanks for the offer to be our group photogrpher. We will definitley take you up on it, as long as there are no pictures of me!

:sunny:

[C_C]

Please consider me a Wreckmania Wanna'be.

Thanks,

C_C:thumb:

[SunshineFish]

Natasha,

As long as it is not the last week of July, I should be okay. Thanks for all your had work on these trips!

Sandy

[sieger]

Natasha,

I'm interested in joining the Wreck Mania group for part of your diving week. Is that possible? Coming from Gainesville, FL it's a fairly easy trip South. I can take care of the accommodations, could I book on to the boat for two or three days?

Sieger (aka john)

[Dee]

Originally posted by C_C
Please consider me a Wreckmania Wanna'be.

Thanks,

C_C:thumb:

Oh NO...we've been infiltrated by another CWB!!!

Hope you can make the trip :D

[TexasMike]

Boy! With this many divers we're gonna need a flotilla just to get out to the dive site!

Looks like this is gonna be a good dive...perhaps we can convince LD and KN to join us??????

And Warhammer, where are you in all of this?

[Natasha]

I was waiting to post this in the Wreckmania part 2 thread, but since Sieger brought it up here, maybe I will go over some of the specifics Walter and I have talked abut.
We have been in contact everyday.
Our first concern is to give everyone a wonderful trip. That is my job. Like all of you, I like to do a good job at work. Walter is an excellent instructor. He wants to do a good job too.
In order to bring this to you, we have to set up rules and guidelines. I don't want this to sound 'mean' but things have to be run well in order for everything to work the way we want it to.

Read next post ...

[Natasha]

Here are some of the specifics.

#1 Not everyone that wants to go on this trip, will be 'cleared' to go. So sorry, don't want to sound mean. But the truth is to run a great trip, sometimes not everyone is allowed to go. I will need to talk to everyone that wants to go on the phone. I will decide if you have been 'cleared' to go. I run all of my trips this way. Yes, you are paying for my service to run this trip. But I am not that money hungry that I will take everyone's money. I want to know I did my job 100% and allowed the right people on the right trip. I have turned people down.
#2 Walter wants the right people on this trip also. He is not money hungry either.
#3 People that are staying at the place we picked out, will first be cleared for the dives.
#4 I am not saying you cannot go on the dives if you are not staying with us. I am saying you will be on a list to go. If there is room after the people that are staying with us are confirmed, you will next to be considered.
#5 This is a package price we will be giving out, and will not be broken down.
#6 There can only be one boss. Guess who it is? (Ok maybe two)
#7 Trust me this will be a well organized, great trip! I don't want to sound like a meanie. But to bring people in from all over the country someone has to be in charge.
Ok let's hear the comments ...

:gorgeous:

[Natasha]

Ok looks like I scared everyone off. LoL Come back!
I didn't mean to sound like the Gestapo. Thanks for telling me in PMs.
But as many of you know, not everyone on line is on the up and up. Most people are. I have learned from 4 years of doing group dive trips, and 12 years of doing 'regular' group trips ( vitamin people and retired school teachers to name a few) There has to be guidelines.
I want to be as diplomatic as I can be, with also trying to weed out people that might not be right for the trip.
The only way I can do this is on the phone. I can't meet with everyone first. You don't have to worry about 'saying the wrong thing' could get you bumped off the trip.
But, I will tell you from talking to people first, I have seen men going to just meet single women, other men have shown me their temper on the phone, and various other reasons they might not be 'right' for the trip.
Hope that cleared things up.
Trust me, I want this to be tons of fun and a time we will all remember.
Still love me?
Mom

[Walter]

This is going to be a wonderful trip! We'll have fun diving and we'll have fun when we're not diving. I know it's tough when we'll be forced to spend all our time either diving or relaxing on the beach. We will take a few breaks for barbecues and parties. I feel extremely lucky that we have a professional running the trip. I handled a large group dive trip to Pompano last summer and I wish I'd had guidance from Natasha when I planned and executed it. We had a grand time, but I see how it could have been even better.

Natasha has to have a degree of control to protect everyone on the trip. I need a degree of control of the diving to assure we'll all be safe, have fun and meets all the requirements of the course. We both agree everyone is on the trip to learn to safely dive and penetrate wrecks while having a grand time. Everything Natasha and I do in planning this trip and while on the trip will have either safety, fun or education as our goal, often all three.

Let's go wreck diving! Wreckmania 2002!

DSSW,

WWW™

[SunshineFish]

Hi Mom,

:hiding:

Don't worry. :) This trip will be tons of fun. :balloon: I understand completely where you are coming from - I've been in your shoes many times before. They're not easy shoes to be in though! ;)

Sandy

[Bob]

Natasha and Walter, :hi:
I think everyone understands that with this large of a group that we all have to stay together. We"ll need to be together simply to expedite the class work, diving, eating and PARTYING.:dance: Even though we'll have a good time, let's not forget we'll be conducting some serious business, penetrating wrecks We'll need to be on our best dive behavior and listen to and follow Walter's instruction. Everyone will have a great time earning their wreck certification, making good friends and coming away with wonderful memories. :yea: Hey, Is it July yet? :idea: :tree:Bob

[Dee]

OK Mom...you can come out now! :hiding: (I love this one)

I'm looking forward to having someone else handle all those details and particulars that make a trip run smoothly. I've done what you're doing and I sure wish I'd had some of your experience and expertise to make it better. You're doing an awsome job and I'm right behind you waving a flag. As long as you're mean with a smile on your face, we won't mind. :D

Are we there yet? huh? huh? How much longer? huh? Are we there yet?

[TexasMike]

Ditto what Dee said

[Natasha]

LOL You guys are the best. And Cindy, and Sandy, your Pms made me feel great!
I guess everyone still loves Mom even when she's giving a spanking! Hehehehe
Not much longer and all the details will be out ..want some of them now ...Daddy Daddy can I tell them ???

[Dee]

Originally posted by Natasha
.....I guess everyone still loves Mom even when she's giving a spanking! Hehehehe

Well...we all remember what you Mom's always say before a spanking...."I'm only doing this because I love you so much!"

:rofL:

[NetDoc]

YOU can spank me ANYTIME... :tease:

[Natasha]

LOL Peter! You bad boy. Go to your room.
(((((((((( Spanking Pete's Bottom))))))))) who's next?

[scuba-sass]

Natasha and Walter,

As new divers, Lyd and I are perfectly comfortable with someone else begin in charge of the diving details - we promise to follow instructions.

As for the overall plans, who (besides Natasha) wants to sweat the small stuff? We promise to leave the fate of our vacation in what I'm sure are your very capable hands! (I just hope we pass the telephone test!)

Thanks for all the hard work you've done to put this together. I'll PM you with my phone number, so we can get this thing overwith...

Scuba-sass :rainbow:

[Natasha]

Sass: LoL. Glad to have more kids around. The phone test is pretty simple, really. Those that have already taken it (Bob and Cindy) will tell you this is true. (They both passed)
It basically is this: If you told us you're a woman, and you're a man on the phone, you flunk.. and vice versa. LoL
Seriously, as Walter said, the 'test' is just a little screening to keep the trip as safe as possible. You know us parents, always worried about the safety of our children.
MoM

[Bob]

Hey Fellas,
Don't let Natasha fool you. The only reason I passed is because she likes to listen :ears: to my slow Southern Drawwwwwwwl. :hehe: :tree: Bob

[socaldiver]

Bob,

How come I didn't notice a southern draw? Must not have been paying any attention to what you were saying. ;)

Although it appears I am not going to ba able to participate in "this year's" Wreckamania I wish the participants well wishes. It sounds as though it will be a bundle of joy and a wealth of knowledge.

The phone test is good. I support Natasha's rules for organized trips like this. When you have a large group getting together for an extended period of time that will be participating in activities together it is crucial they all get along. Although the hone test is not "fool proof" it can give you a sense (gut feeling) of who you are speaking to on the other end.

[Natasha]

Awe, Dave, You're just saying that cuz you passed it a few months ago with the upcoming Bonaire Trip..
Oh by the way, the way the phone test works is .. if you passed it once, you're in for life. Unless of course you have a sex change .. then we need to talk.

:gorgeous:

[SunshineFish]

Mom and Walter (or shall we can you Dad? :) ),

any updates? any updates? :bounce:

[Natasha]

OK a little update.
I have blocked a whole motel for our group that is right on the beach. It's a darling little place with 2 gas grills and our own swimming pool to use. There's volleyball and beach chairs for those times we're not diving. Most of the units have kitchenettes.
Just a few more last details and we will post prices and take payments.
Sound good?

:gorgeous:

[SunshineFish]

<Gasp!> :eek:

A Gas Grill? :jump: As in, cheeseburgers, hotdogs, grilled chicken, shish-kabobs, shrimp, baked potato, corn on the husk..... :lunch:

Sandy [tho profile lists "Eating" as an interest...i prefer hobby!]

[seaangel]

:balloon:


:thumb: the phone test does not hurt , Natasha is a great person to talk to. I now feel I have a new friend that not only can type but talks too.

Seriously though, I am much relieved to know that this trip is being run by some very concerned and safety conscious people.
I feel more secure that is this going to be a great trip.

Keep up the good work and I don't mind someone handling all the fine details.

[TexasMike]

Originally posted by Natasha
Oh by the way, the way the phone test works is .. if you passed it once, you're in for life. So I guess my birthday party counted for me, yes?

[Natasha]

Mike:
Meeting face to face (like at your birthday party) makes for a double yes you're in. LoL
Cindy: I feel the same way. This trip is designed to make life long friends. You'll see why soon.
Bob: Did I ever tell you I worked in New Yawk for almost 3 years?Makes me love that southern dawllll even more! ( Not that I don't love New Yawkers too.)

:gorgeous:

[Walter]

Sorry I've been out of touch, but I was diving one of the wrecks we'll see during Wreckmania 2002. I made 3 dives yesterday with about 25 folks from the Diverlink board (several are also members here). We dived out of Pompano Beach, but this morning several of them were diving again off the boat we've scheduled for July. I dropped by to remind the Captain we'll be taking over his boat then headed over to check out the hotel.

The hotel is a very short drive from the dive boat with the added bonus that it's across the srteet from the beach. There are no buildings on the beach side of this stretch of beach. We'll be right across from a city park where I've made a couple of excellent beach dives in the past.

Things are looking better and better!

SunshineFish, if you call Natasha "mom" and me "dad" I'm afraid Natasha's husband might get the wrong idea.

DSSW,

WWW™

[scuba-sass]

Whew! The phone interview was grueling, but I think I passed!

Just kidding....

Natasha is as much of a delight on the phone as she is on the boards. Thanks again to both you and Walter for puting this thing together!

Getting REALLY excited about this!

Scuba-sass :-)

[Walter]

"The phone interview was grueling"

I know. I've had several and I'm still on probation.

Natasha is working up a post with details. We're very excited about the trip. I believe everyone will be very happy with costs, etc.

DSSW,

WWW™

[Natasha]

Wreckmania #2 is up and running now. Thanks for your patience. You guys are great!

:gorgeous:

[TexasMike]

Natasha and Walter.....

Just thought of something......You do realize that if this goes off as well as expected, you'll be expected to come up with Wreckmania 2003?
(or would that be the Dive Rumble to follow with the WWF theme)

[Walter]

If it comes off as expected, I'd love to do another one next year.

DSSW,

WWW™