Short Notice Dives - What's yours?

[spectrum]

In season when the basics are in the van I can be rolling in less than 1/2 hour. The nearest ocean site is about :30 away.

 

[TSandM]

It takes me 30 minutes to pack my gear, assuming everything is more or less in working order. I have at least six shore diving sites within a 30 minute drive (if it isn't rush hour) from my house. So give me 15 minutes to change clothes, and an hour after that I'm ready to get into my gear. Puget Sound may be cold, but there are HUGE advantages to living here!

 

[gcarter]

Tanks are always filled immediately after a dive, so they are always ready to go. Max 30 minutes to get ready - even if I am leaving work I am only 5 minutes from home. 30 minutes to the quarry, 60 minutes to Brockville, slightly less to Prescott or Morrisburg.

 

[jupitermermaid]

My gear is always ready. I can meet for a dive at the drop of a hat. I can pack my gear in 10 min. and be out the door, and wherever I need to be in whatever time it takes to get to the site. Oft times my dive center will call (I'm 10 minutes away) and ask how soon I can get there, as someone needs a private dive master, or a regular DM can't make it. One of the luxuries of living in South Florida!

 

[smellzlikefish]

I was on Oahu typing away when I got an invite on a charter to play with blue and mako sharks leaving RI in a week. In less than an hour I had flight arrangements, transportation, a spot reserved on the boat and a place to stay.

 

[r4e]

I have fine-tuned the logistics at my holiday home in Tenerife, Spain. After a six-hour flight I am very efficient to get into water from the airport:
- 20 minutes from touchdown I am driving my rented car and phoning the local dive ops and passing my wishes concerning dive gases
- 15 minutes later I arrive at my holiday home
- another 15 minutes to shift gear from my suitcases into my dive bag and dress into shorts plus T-shirt
- 10 minutes later I arrive at the dive center and kit up in 10 minutes whilst the others go through the dive plan
- an additional 5 minutes to setup my camera and check it
- if I am lucky, 30 minutes later I am splashing into water
- a wonderful relax after a long journey

Altogether less than two hours from airplane touchdown to whitebalancing the camera in water.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

A text message to go diving is all it takes for me. I'm about 20-30 minutes aways from an ok dive site. An hour from the good sites.
I don't know if I could beat your 2 1/2 hours if I were already down town in a restaurant.

-Mitch

 

[CT-Rich]

I live 2 hrs from my favorite sites, but when the itch itches, I get in the car and go. I fill my tanks ASAP after each dive so I don't have to stop along the way, and I keep a wet box assembled in the garage for emergencies. tanks and weight in the trunk gear and wetsuit in the backseat, thermos of coffee, water bottles, bag lunch and I gone.

 

[drdaddy]

Not as good as TSandM, but I'm 1hr15min from divesite. My wife says I've looked outside and said - "I'm going diving". Pickup already has tanks in it, and it's backed up to garage - drop the tailgate, load in my gear (actually set it up for 1st dive), and w/in 2 hrs I'm in the water diving!!!! I've done this a couple of times, but usually don't have to as already had planned to dive whenever possible.

2 hours between "I'm going diving!" and actually in the water diving!!!!

But, here's the catch - I have to control my driving between here and the coast/Jetty - and drive like a human being through the curvy coast range highway - be safe - and don't give the county mounties (cops) a reason to stop me. A speeding citation could really spoil the day.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

I wouldn't drop everything and dive for any of the regular shore dives around me, although I do enjoy them. However, there's this current dive called 10 Mile Point, where it's only possible at slack tide. If someone wants to go, it's literally five minutes away - if my tanks are full, I can pack my gear and get there in 20-30 minutes. As for charters, I'd drop what I'm doing for a spot on a cheap charter to a great dive sites.