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metaldector

Contributor
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Location
Longwood, FL
# of dives
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Here is an article about one of the dive boats in Jupiter. I've have dived with Capt. Harris on the Reefling a couple of times, and also with Blue Tang, both who are without docks or a home at this time. If you're planning to dive Southeastern Florida soon, your supporting of these and really anyother boat in the area could go a long way to recovery of the charter boat industry. If they don't survive, we will have a lot fewer choices next season on where to dive. :11:

Florida dive boat captain struggles to stay afloat

by JEFF OSTROWSKI

Subsea Aquatics 40-ft 'Reefling'

JUPITER, Florida (25 Oct 2004) -- About 100 feet of mangled dock. That's all that stands between Jeannie Harris and her once-thriving charter boat business.

Before Hurricane Frances, Harris docked her dive boat at Castaways, an outdoor bar across the Loxahatchee River from the Jupiter Lighthouse.

Frances spared Harris' 40-foot vessel — she moored it in mangroves, away from docks and other boats.

But the storm wiped out much of the dock, which was home to Harris' Subsea Aquatics and three other charter boats.

"We've been homeless since the storm," Harris said of her business.

Harris sat at one of Castaways' tiki bars last week and arranged the next day's trip by cellphone. Pelicans sunned themselves on the buckled boards and bare pilings that remained of the dock. Harris ignored the calls from bill collectors.

"They always call twice," Harris said, checking her cellphone's display, then letting it ring.

The past two months have been a financial struggle, Harris said. She's booked only a handful of charter trips since late August.

Harris has fallen behind on her personal bills.

Florida Power & Light Co. and the water utility threatened to cut service to her home.

Harris paid those bills at the last minute, thanks to a dive group from Tampa that chartered two trips worth $1,200.

But Harris wonders how long she'll be able to keep her 22-year-old venture afloat.

Even in the best of times, a charter operator can fall victim to the weather and to the whims of the divers and anglers who book trips. You don't run a charter boat to get rich, she says.

Now, with the bills still coming in and Castaways dock unlikely to be rebuilt before the middle of next year, Harris has been forced to contemplate finding another way to make a living.

She sold clothes at a store in Knoxville, Tenn., before moving to Jupiter in 1982.


Jeannie Harris

"You do it because you love it," Harris said of her dive business. "Most of us aren't businesspeople. Once you've done it so long, you can't get dressed up again."

The thought of giving up the business that's so much a part of her life made Harris cry — a display of emotion that contrasts with the deeply tanned boat captain's no-nonsense demeanor.

A single mother, Harris worries she might have to give up the lifestyle that lets her teach her 13-year-old son a love for the ocean.

"I haven't actually cried over this in a while," she said, lifting her glasses and wiping away tears.

Harris' biggest challenge for the moment is finding a home for her business.

The Castaways dock was ideal, she said. The rent was reasonable, and the dock sits only a few hundred yards from the Jupiter Inlet, making for a short commute to offshore reefs. And Harris sometimes found customers among the happy-hour crowds.

More important, the bar's owner didn't mind that Harris' customers took up parking spots and dragged their equipment across his dock.

But since the Castaways dock was totaled, Harris has struggled to find an accommodating marina.

"I've been like a bad penny and turned up more than once," she said.

The answer is always the same. Most docks simply don't have enough parking spaces to handle charter traffic. Harris' boat, the Reefling, holds up to 24 divers, all of whom need somewhere to park.

"People don't like divers and dive boats because we're parking pigs," Harris said.

To reduce the parking crunch, Harris has cut back on the number of passengers she books.

Then there's the matter of divers' wear and tear on docks. Each diver drags hefty scuba tanks and other weighty equipment onto a boat.

"It's like a herd of cattle coming through," she said.

Harris has worked out a temporary arrangement to set sail from The Crab House Seafood Restaurant in Jupiter, although she worries that she'll wear out her welcome there.

Harris' company, which has one full-time employee in addition to Harris and five part-timers, is just one of many dive businesses devastated by Frances and Jeanne.

"We're seeing a pretty severe shakeout," said Charles Lehmann, executive director of the Palm Beach County Tourism Development Council.

The damage to docks and boats has led some charter operators to quit the business, he said.

Moreover, local divers are more concerned about repairing their homes, and out-of-town divers are hard-pressed to find lodging in an area where hotel rooms are scarce.

The dive industry's woes could be bad news for Palm Beach County's economy.

Dive operators give hotels and restaurants a much-needed summertime boost by bringing visitors from outside the area, Lehmann said.

He's pulling for Harris to stay in business.

"She is in a real jam," Lehmann said. "This is the worst problem she's ever had."

Harris enjoys a bit of financial leeway because her boat's paid for, but she figures simply being in business costs her $80 a day, including slip rental, insurance, fuel and phone charges.

In the meantime, she's hoping to land a Federal Emergency Management Agency loan and find a suitable dock for her boat.

"You hate to lose your business," she said. "You hate to ask for help."

SOURCE - Palm Beach Post
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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