Hey Bill,
I totally agree with you there. Down here it is not even worth the cost of getting your OWSI anymore, because with the liability inusrance, testing, etc that comes along with it, you are looking at several thousand dollars. If you figure 2500 for the whole process, it would take 50 trips at the $50 per trip rate that crew is paid for a trip. Some retail shops on the island are charging $125 per person per trip to the Vandenberg, yet the crew is only getting $50 each plus the tips. If you have 15 divers, that is close to $1900 per trip that the particular shop takes in. Yet they have 4 crew on a boat.... Do the math.
We have all seen the shops and independant dive operators dry up. Bone Island Dive Center was sold in 2000, Key West Diving Society closed shop and boat back in 2004. Southpoint Divers went from their shop and 2 boats to a booth and one boat. Seabreeze is gone now from the Galleon. The only real remaining operations that have been around long term are Captains Corner, Subtropic, Lost Reef, and Dive Key West. And there are rumors that one of those might not be around for much longer.
Which leads me into my main point. As dive boat captains and crew, we are very limited on who we can work for and what we can do in the industry. And the dive shop operators KNOW this. So it is either work for what they sadly offer us, or we dont work at all. I remember getting to the Island in 98, and the rate was the same $50 as it is now. And the cost of living was less as well.
Just because a dive shop charges more money for a dive trip does NOT make them a better trip to take. A lot of times, it merely means they have more overhead to maintain, and their prices reflect that. Any of you driving down the Keys will know what I mean when you take a look at the gas prices on the way down. Once you get out of Tavernier at about MM95, the prices go up about $.30 a gallon.
For value and quality of diving, I recommend Captains Corner. For a Vandenberg trip, tanks and weights are $65, where other dive boat operators are running up to $125, and require you to go off the island to get their boat. If you need everything, it is $90. No gear at all is $55. Just because they are less expensive doesnt make them inferior. To me, it makes them more appealing.
You can have a 6 pack that charges you $100 to go out, but the boat feels really full because of the size. Or you can have a boat that charges you $70 to go out, has 15 divers on it, but has a lot of room to move around and place your gear. Decide what you want in a boat and what kind of diving you want to do. That will make finding a boat a lot easier, and you will be happier in the long run........
SAFE DIVING>>>
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