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What a GREAT DAY! Thanks to all the vendors and participants...Everyone had a great time and we gave away $30,000 in donated prizes. This thread is for participants to talk about what they won...
We hope to see everyone next year, first weekend in June!
Some special news... Bonne Terre Mine has expanded and next years event will be inside... Naturally the dives will be in the mine, but all the vendors, the dinner and the auction will be held in an air conditioned building that will be part of the resort.
It was a first, but will not be my last. I had an ABSOLUTE blast. I could not stop smiling after the first dive.
It was all well organized and went very smooth (or they were good at hiding it).
Great job.
Even though I didn't win anything in the auction I did pick up a lot of knowledge from the other divers and vendors and shared some good dive and non dive stories.
If I could I would sign up for next years treasure hunt right now.
I won a Mares Icon HD Dive computer on Saturday June 4th 2011 at the Bonne Terre Mine treasure hunt!!!!!!!!! That was just a bonus of being able to dive in the mine on Sunday at a discounted rate. Everyone that went received a free dive at the mine and a Mario's buy 1 dinner get 1 free. The staff was excellent the treasure hunt went off with no problems that I could see. organization was key with 140+ divers participating in the treasure hunt there were plenty of schedules around along with loudspeaker announcements to ensure you never miss a dive time. Whether beginner or dive master 10 years old to ??? This trip IS for Everyone that is a certified open water diver. Thank you very much Doug and Cathy Goergens (The Owners) and staff I am already planning on coming back next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Philippe Tailliez wrote “The water is welcoming for those who know it. It washes away our worries as it rids us of gravity.” My worries were diminished by your generous prize of the advanced dive class. I rediscovered that exciting place where our minds are free to explore another world. The staff excelled in leading the group on an exciting adventure. The treasure hunt was a thrilling and fun. Having attended dives through other vendors I can honestly say your staff and facilities are exceptional! We can not wait to dive again at the mines. Nothing compares to the visibility and splendor. I will be looking forward to continuing my education with West End Dive Shop with my prize! Thanks again!
It is said that “Through repetition comes perfection.” Having just returned home to St. Louis after attending the Bonne Terre Mines Treasure Hunt, this old adage (like the mine) still holds water. It was the fourth annual BTM Treasure Hunt and it was also my fourth time attending the event. If, after the first event you had asked me, “Do you think next year’s event will be better than this?” my answer would have been “I don’t see how it could be.” However, every year The Hunt just gets bigger and better. They have introduced bigger prizes, adjusted the rules for the better, and generally improved the organization of the event. Also my chip locating acumen has improved each year, and this year I walked away with one of the top prizes - an all inclusive one week dive trip on The Rocio Del Mar – a 5 star live-aboard ship based in the Sea of Cortez! In previous Hunts I had won another vacation and assorted dive gear, but the truth is, even without these prizes I would still attend the event just for the camaraderie and fun.
Hundreds of divers and sponsors descended like 13 year locusts on the small town of Bonne Terre to participate in the friendly competition and get the word out about their SCUBA related businesses. It was a great opportunity to meet dive enthusiasts as well as some of the top companies in SCUBA from around the world. Employees and owners from industry icons like Ikelite, IST, Sealife, Mares, DUI, and more, were there to represent their products, answer your questions and ultimately to give away the prizes that they had donated. For those of you who did not attend, if you want to read about what you missed, please check out the details here on ScubaBoard and on Bonne Terre Mine’s official site.
Last, but not least, a *HUGE* thank you to Doug and Cathy for their consummate hospitality, to the attendees for their great attitudes, to the sponsors for their contributions, to Steve the “Ninja Diver” for envisioning and breathing life into the event, to Aussie Kevin for getting us all signed up, and most of all to “Bear” and his unparalleled staff for their hard work, patience, help and support. Without you all, there would be no Treasure Hunt, there would be no Bonne Terre Mine Dive Resort, and the dive community would be all the poorer for it. So at the risk of being repetitious, it bears repeating: “Through repetition comes perfection!” I could not imagine a more perfect Treasure Hunt! Seeya next year!
I cannot even express how much fun we had. We have been to Bonne Terre mines before, we bring our dive club every Jan or Feb. This is the first time to do the treasure hunt. How well organized this function was is belong belief. The staff were all so pleasant and fun and to keep that going all day is very impressive with the amount of divers that were there that day.
I won a PC lite LED from ikelite. Was fun to bid on, have never done that before. But what I really won was a great weekend. I told the people that I was with after the first dive that we were definately doing this again every year. I hope to get more people from my dive club that I run to come next year now that we know what is like. I would of still been happy to win nothing.
On top of the lite I won, we also all got grab bags. I got a Mares hat, a lanyard, and dive vacation book. How cool is that. Everyone walked away with something.
Was great talking to the venders. Looking forward to getting information from Roccio Del Mar. Very interested in booking a group trip with them.
Thank you so much to all the Staff of Bonne Terre Mines and the venders that donated all the items we bid on. Very impressed.
If you don't think this was awesome, you need awesome lessons. What an great event, and I had a fantastic time. The unique diving was fun as always, but this event brought in vendors from all over the place. I counted 13 trips in tropical locations that were given away. I actually won the 5-day trip to Bonaire, and I'm looking forward to going this fall. But the thing I'm constantly in awe of is the staff at Bonne Terre. They are all volunteers, and doing it for the love of their town and the sport. On top of that, the service is phenomenal. Every weekend, the staff go above and beyond to make sure visitors have a great time. But for the Treasure Hunt weekend, the staff improved their awesomeness and brought it to an entirely different level.
While I left Bonne Terre with a wonderful trip to Bonaire, it's the memories of an awesome weekend that I will remember most.
On Saturday June 4th 2011, I attended the Bonne Terre treasure hunt for the first time ever. Like many others there, I spent my time before, between, and after my two dives drooling over the selection of possible prizes.
In the water I spent my time elbowing, pushing, and fighting other divers for the coins. But, that is beside the point.
Anyway, one of the prizes I had my eye on was a Seahorse protective case. It was a foam filled, watertight, airtight, dustproof, crush resistant case that was perfect for my new and very expensive camera equipment.
Fortunately, I was able to win this Seahorse case. Now I am able to protect my camera equipment from most forces of nature as well as some manmade disasters. I can lock my camera equipment from others sticky fingers. But also very important, in this Seahorse case I can hide my camera equipment from my wife (who unknowingly paid for it all). What’s in the case is our secret. SSSSHHHHH!!!
Thank you very much.
I look forward to next year.
Jeff Sutton
This was my first time at the treasure hunt and I had a great time. Got to meet a lot of new people and the food was good. I won the DUI weight and trim system. Goes well with the DUI drysuit. Watching the staff move over a hundred people in and out of the mine for four different dives was pretty impressive. I'll be back next year.
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